Blue Beetle is a superhero character that has appeared in various American comic books since 1939, published by different companies over the years. The most recent rights holder for the character is DC Comics, which acquired the rights in 1983. The Blue Beetle character has been portrayed by three distinct individuals: Dan Garrett, Ted Kord, and Jaime Reyes.
- Dan Garrett: An archaeologist who discovered an ancient Scarab in an Egyptian tomb, granting him superpowers to fight crime.
- Ted Kord: A brilliant individual with no superpowers, who continued the Blue Beetle legacy using his intelligence, gadgets, and a sharp sense of humor.
- Jaime Reyes: A teenager from El Paso, Texas, who bonded with Dan Garretts Scarab, gaining incredible alien armor to defend his hometown against metahuman criminals.
In 2023, a Blue Beetle film was released, featuring the character Jaime Reyes as the main protagonist. The film follows Jaime's journey after he graduates from college and returns to his hometown, where he is chosen to become a symbiotic host to the Scarab, an ancient alien biotechnological relic that grants him a powerful exoskeleton armor, turning him into the superhero Blue Beetle. The film explores themes such as immigration status, gentrification fears, and micro- and not-so-micro-aggressive racism against Latinos within the American context.
