Revenge Of The Reach!

It's been a while since we looked at Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle...and what better way to do it than with a look at an episode of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold"? I'll be honest, it took me a while to accept someone other than Ted as a Blue Beetle...and seeing Jaime guest star in this animated series is what eventually sold me on the idea. Ted is still "my" Blue Beetle, and I'm eagerly awaiting his eventual return to comics, but the kid is growing on me.

Today we're looking at BTBATB season 2, episode 3...

The episode opens, chuck full of Silver Age goodness, with the Challengers of the Unknown investigating a meteorite crash on Dinosaur Island. Batman shows up (he just happened to be in the area and thought he'd check out the meteorite too) and brings a giant spider with him! Not really, but it does appear shortly after he arrives. After guessing the spider may have been mutated by radiation from the meteorite (no one bats and eye or wonders about the dinosaurs though, hmmm) the quintet team up to take the arachnid down! After they finish their work as exterminators, Bats figures the Challengers have things under control and heads back to Gotham...at which point the meteorite ruptures to reveal Starro spores that quickly attach themselves to the Challengers...

Meanwhile, in space, Blue Beetle (Jaime) is battling Evil Star. His scarab reminds him that Batman didn't think he was ready for a solo mission, but Jaime says he couldn't ignore the distress call he picked up. He does admit he could use a little help though, so he calls...Paco?! Jaime's friend Paco is home playing the new Blue Beetle video game, though he's not sure what BB stands for (philosophically)...Aquaman protects the seas, but Blue Beetle? Jaime hides his frustration and asks Paco how he thinks Blue Beetle would defeat Evil Star. Paco hasn't gotten to that level yet, and before he can say any thing else, Batman calls. Jaime's suit apparently has call waiting and he puts Paco on hold to answer Batman...and gets blasted with a "What do you think you're doing?" When Jaime explains he's trying to save the universe, the Bat snaps back "You'll be lucky if you can save yourself!" Way to inspire young heroes Bruce! No wonder Grayson left and became Nightwing! Jaime hangs up on Bats (way to go kid!) and returns to Paco who reminds him that Evil Star gets his power from starlight. Jaime and the scarab devise a plan to block out starlight with an electromagnetic field, weakening Evil Star. It works, but something's not right. Jaime's eyes go blank and he begins mercilessly beating the downed villain, until Bats steps in to break it up.

The duo gather up Evil Star and head to Oa, in what appears to be Ted's BUG, to hand the criminal over to the Green Lantern Corp. Bats lectures that he's just trying to make sure Jaime is prepared for solo work, that the suit the teen wears isn't just armor...it's a weapon. Jaime is pretty amazed they're going to Oa, and that he'll get to meet the Green Lantern Corp...but neither is prepared for the reception they receive. After one Lantern removes Evil Star, Guy Gardner orders Jaime to "Power down! And turn over the scarab! No one's holding you responsible kid...it's the armor!" Batman sticks his pointy ears in and asks what's going on, but Guy blows him off with a line about "Corp business" before giving the order to blast Jaime. Once down the Lantern's surround the kid and tell him they're taking him to a science-cell "for his own good". 

Jaime doesn't like the sound of that and he and Guy start fighting mano y mano...until Bats jumps in to break it up. It's then the Guardians come into the picture and begin explaining that Jaime's armor IS a weapon created by their ancient enemy...the Reach! They explain that the Reach sent the scarabs to various planets, the scarabs bond with a life form and turn them into heroes, build trust, until their true programming kicks in and they're revealed to be the advance guard of a Reach takeover. For once Batman tries to do the right thing! He explains he's been training Jaime, he's a good kid! Guy says if that's the case, it's time to hand over the scarab. Jaime refuses and Guy starts reciting the Green Lantern oath. "Poetry?" asks Jaime. "A sacred oath bug-boy! That's what I stand for...what do you stand for?" Jaime is speechless, and storms away. The Guardians suggest they all allow time to determine if the boy controls the scarab, or if the scarab controls the boy? Sadly, it looks like it's the latter, as walking down the hall Jaime freezes and goes all blank-eyed again. We get a quick glimpse inside his mind as the scarab explains what he's about to do isn't personal...it's just programming. With that the scarab takes control and his first act? Blasting G'nort, the dog-like GL that was once a member of the JLI. (ok, maybe he's not all bad, lol)

After trying to break into a secured section of the Guardians' stronghold, the Beetle is confronted by Bats and Guy. And without Jaime's restraint it takes them out quickly. Kilowog tries to step in, but he too is defeated by the scarab controlled Beetle. Reaching its destination, the main control room, the scarab drops the shields that protect the planet Oa then releases control back to Jaime. Kilowog, Bats and Guy all come to, but too late...an army of Reach controlled Beetles are descending on the planet! Jaime struggles to keep control as the Reach summon him to his "destiny". Guy is convinced Jaime's a traitor, but Bats insists he's not, adding that he had the power to destroy them but he didn't meaning Jaime is still in there somewhere. While the battle rages over Oa between the Reach and the Corp, Bats tries to get through to the again scarab possessed Jaime. 

Inside the armor Jaime struggles, but finally succeeds in taking control! He regroups and asks the Lanterns to pour their energy into his armor. After a little hesitation, Guy and the Lanters comply. Using the Green Lantern energy and his own scarab tech Jaime connects with the other Reach Beetles, disabling their armor and returning them to their normal, alien, forms and saves the day! The Guardians thank him on behalf of the universe, but then ask for Jaime to turn over the scarab. Surprisingly, Guy actually sticks up for him and says the kid proved himself and should keep it. Bats even admits he thinks the kid is ready to fly solo! Wow...two birds with one stone...the kid impressed two of his harshest critics!

A fun episode, but it left one question unanswered (ok, two...there's still that Starro opening)...what does Jaime stand for? They brought it up twice...first with Jaime's friend Paco, then with Guy...but they never followed through with a clear answer. Maybe that's in another episode?

Menace Of The Madniks!

.

 

 

 

A while back I blogged about 2 episodes of "Batman The Brave And The Bold"..."Rise Of The Blue Beetle", and "Fall Of The Blue Beetle". Both featured Ted to varying degrees, but were definitely Jaime-centric. This time we get "Menace Of The Madniks!"...with Booster Gold...and a lot more Ted!

 

The episode opens with Batman in high speed pursuit of Ma Murder. She leads him into an ambush but he's rescued by the ghost of Jeb Stuart...in the Haunted Tank! Oddly, even though this is General Jeb Stuart and not General Lee they still jump a bridge and yell "Yeehaw!" while honking a horn that plays "Dixie"...just like on the old "Dukes Of Hazzard" TV show.

 

(I know...this image has nothing to do with Blue Beetle, but the Haunted Tank is cool!)

 

After the opening titles we find Batman fighting with the Madmen (for some reason called Madniks on the cartoon) outside a bank. A group of reporters swarm in around Batman followed by Booster Gold. Booster plays it off like Batman's his hired help and tells the reporters to let Bats do his job in rounding up these criminals. As Bat's and Booster resume the fight the caped crusader tells Gold to back off...he's settling a score for an old friend, the Blue Beetle! "Wait...you knew Ted Kord?" BG asks. "He was a true friend, and a real hero! Something YOU wouldn't understand" is the reply. We've seen it with Jaime, and now we see it with Booster...Batman can be a real ass! Gold doesnt take it too personally though, he tells Skeets he thinks this is the closest he's seen Bats to being emotional. Apparently BG is a little emotional too and tells Skeets he thinks they should go visit Ted...not the memorial statue, but the man himself! Oh the benefits of time travel!

 

 

In just a few seconds Booster and Skeets arrive 2 years ago at Ted's headquarters. While the Blue and Gold duo catch-up, alarms sound alerting BB to a break-in at STAR Labs...and coincidentally, the culprits are...you guessed it the Madn...Madmen! Maybe not too coincidental, the episode is named for them after all. The Madmen (I just can't gt myself to call them Madniks) have broken in to steal a Quark pistol. What is it? Why do they want it? It's not clear. It does appear to have the ability to disintegrate walls though. The Madmen taunt BB. He's fought them before, but they always get away. What makes him think it'll be different now? He's got Booster Gold in his corner! And with a quick shot from his wrist blasters BG destroys the Quark gun and helps his pal Ted finally get "the one that got away".

 

Sadly, once he returns to the present Booster finds that the world is overrun by giant energy monsters! Batman shows up and after some premature denial Gold admits to have meddled in the past..."A lil bit...yeah." So Bats and Booster head back to just after Blue and Gold defeated the Madmen. When Booster asks why this point in particular Bats declares "Look! I'm not going to explain the intricacies of time travel to a man without a library card!" Another dickish move by Batman...what does he have against Booster anyway? Ted seems pretty shocked to see them together when they arrive at the Bug Cave and explains that he didn't think they'd get along. That's why he doesn't discuss them around each other. Batman is a work friend, and Booster is fun friend. Ha! That ought to put ol' pointy ears in his place!

 

 

Ted's been looking into the Madmen and the Quark pistol and thinks the explosion may have altered their DNA and suggests the trio go to Hub Island Penetentiary to investigate before it's too late. They arrive just in time to see the Madmen...transformed into the future/present energy monsters after touching an electric fence while trying to escape. The trio has some trouble working together at first, Booster and Bats both acting like Betty and Veronica trying to get Beetle/Archie's attention, but then Ted comes up with a plan. The creatures are drawn toward energy. If they follow them toward the nuclear power plant, and Ted alters the radiation signature of the BB gun they may have a shot at defeating them. Booster quickly volunteers, but Batman tries to steal his spotlight. Ted points out that they'll ALL need to be involved and the plan is set in motion.

 

 

By resetting the BB gun, and linking it into Booster's suit so it can be broadcast through its forcefield generator they can defeat the energy monsters! Bats settles down, after realizing how much his friendship with Ted really means to Booster and they finally work together. After the plan ends succesfully and the Madmen are captured, Ted comments how this has been a great night...seeing his two best friends working together. Back at the Bug Cave, Ted finds a message waiting from...Batman. Seems there's trouble on Science (Pago) Island. (kinda creepy...this is the mission that Ted gives his life on) Booster and Bats say their goodbyes and time hop to the present, just as Past-Bats shows up to leave for Science Island with a slightly bewildered Ted. Back in the present Booster says he's ok with Batman being Blue Beetle's "second best friend". And Batman, maybe realizing now that he's been an ass for most of this adventure, invites Booster to help him take down some thugs committing the 2nd bank robbery this episode.

 

This was another fun episode, even with the slightly depressing/sad "we all know Ted's about to die soon" stuff. In fact I'd love to see them bring back Booster and Beetle for a Blue and Gold cartoon! It won't happen...but sometimes it's fun to dream.

 

Until next time!

 

Fall Of The Blue Beetle

Ok…the last time we talked “Batman: The Brave And The Bold” I covered the episode “Rise Of The Blue Beetle”. It was fun, but was Jaime-centric, and as I said at the time “Jaime’s no Ted”. Well, today we’re going to look at “Fall Of The Blue Beetle”…it’s still pretty Jaime-centric, but it has a decent sized serving of Ted Kord!

The episode starts “two years ago” with the Batmobile and the Bug arriving outside a secure industrial type building. Batman leaps from the Batmobile and good ol’ Ted swings down from the Bug. As they make their way in they are confronted by security guards…Bats starts to reach for his utility belt but Ted stops him. “Allow me!” he says drawing and firing his BB Gun, which disorients the guards and leaves them on the ground puking. As they crawl thru the ventilation ducts (Teaser Tuesday #7) into the industrial complex they compare notes and discuss tech, knock-out pellets, laser torches, and how people just don’t appreciate the time and effort that goes into good gadgets. After a showdown with a laser security system, the floor gives way and they fall into an evil security guard lunch room then. Shoulder to shoulder, they prepare to continue the fight! It’s only 2 minutes long, but this is one of my favorite BMBB pre-title sequences! It’s not simply that it’s Ted…it’s that Ted is portrayed as Batman’s equal! It makes perfect sense too…both are ordinary men, with no super powers, who fight the good fight under extraordinary circumstances, and rely on technology to even up the odds (to put it simply). What happens next? Read on…

Once again we find Jaime discussing superheroes with his friend Paco, this time by a campfire. Jaime’s telling Paco what he believes to be the “secret origin of Green Lantern” (he’s dead on by the way). Paco blows him off saying the story about a dying alien commanding his ring to find a worthy successor is stupid. Heroes aren’t chosen…they luck into it. Jaime’s apparently trying to understand his place in the superhero world, and the idea that it may have been just dumb luck isn’t sitting well. It bothers him so much that he decides to travel 1500 miles cross country and interrupt Batman’s fight with Dr. Polaris to see what Bats thinks about heroes being chosen vs. selected by dumb luck. This of course irritates Bats a bit, and when Jaime presses for an answer to the question “Do you think I was chosen to replace the Blue Beetle because we share the same heroic traits?” Batman snaps back with “There’ve been a lot of Blue Beetles and you’re nothing like the one I knew!” Ouch! Burn! Wait…”a lot”? Has Batman been reading my blog? (see this post à click me) Bats leaves in a huff and Jaime’s scarab decides to look for info on the previous Beetle online. They end up at Kord Enterprises looking for the “Hero of Hub City”, quickly stumbling into Ted’s underground headquarters…sort of a “Bug Cave”. (nice shot of Dan and Ted’s outfits behind glass!)

 

After hacking into Ted’s Bug ship with the help of the scarab, Jaime heads to the last place listed on the Bug’s trip log…Pago Island…thinking maybe Ted’s still there, injured or in trouble. When he arrives he’s greeted by several robo-insect sentries and bearded man. When Jaime says “I’m the new Blue Beetle” the bearded guy says “So, you’re my replacement? I thought you’d be taller. Welcome to Science Island. I’m Ted Kord.” Man…”Ted” is kind of an ass. Or is he? Things aren’t always what they seem.

Batman is on his way to Jaime, when he flashes back to his last mission with Ted. See, Ted had Dan’s scarab, but couldn’t figure out how to get it to work, so he took it to his scientist uncle Jarvis. Jarvis doesn’t want to give it up though so Ted and Bats are forced to fight an army of Jarvis’ robots to get it back!

 

Cut back to Jaime as “Ted” is telling him about his dream of harnessing the scarab’s power to create a utopian world that will benefit all mankind. (Something seems fishy here...isn't that how a lot of supervillain speeches start?) Jaime asks Beard-O why he was chosen and is told “I sent out my scarab in search of an ally…someone of great virtue…” (yeah, ths is too good to be true) After mentioning Batman in casual conversation Jaime heads off to bed, and “Ted” orders one of his little insect robots to set up defense perimeters…protocol “Batman”! Beard-O is a rat! Jaime finds another little robot toting around some bullets and it becomes clear to him now too…something stinks…and he needs to call in Batman…who is quickly subdued, along with Jaime, by robo-bug guards. While tied up, Bats reveals that “Ted” isn’t who he says he is…he’s the real Ted’s evil Uncle Jarvis! Bats also reveals how the real Ted swore an oath to continue the work of his mentor, Dan Garrett, and how Ted sacrificed himself to put an end to Jarvis’ plan to launch a rocket full of robots at Hub City! He explains that he held off on telling Jaime all this because “our work is dangerous…and not all hero stories have happy endings” Jaime powers up the scarab (not sure why he waited this long) and breaks them free, then nails Jarvis with a sweet right hook! They fight more robo-bugs as they set the self-destruct in Jarvis’ lab and rush to escape the island!

 

I definitely had more fun with this one than I did with “Rise Of The Blue Beetle”…mostly because this had some strong Ted moments and some great Blue Beetle history! If only there were more Ted Kord moments on “Batman: The Brave And The Bold”…oh wait, there are! We’ll talk about them another time!

Remember you can follow me on Twitter @KordIndustries1

Like me on Facebook at Kord Industries

Email me at kordindustries2013@gmail.com

Rise Of The Blue Beetle

Ok…I guess it’s time to give Jaime more than just a passing comment. I struggle with Jaime. As I’ve said before, Ted is “my” Blue Beetle and he had to die (well, he didn’t have too…but that was the decision made by the DC editors) for Jaime to carry on the legacy.

So, today let’s talk “Batman: The Brave And The Bold – Rise Of The Blue Beetle”

The Clock King has Batman and Green Arrow caught in a clockwork deathtrap! Will the Caped Crusader? Will the Emerald Archer? Jaime sits at home discussing superheroes and watching the finale to this fight on TV with his friend Paco. After sending Paco home and turning off the lights he notices that world famous silhouette at his window. Batman is waiting outside he needs Jaime’s “expertise” with a meteor that’s headed on a collision course with a space station. Once on the way though Jaime’s suit takes control and the duo find themselves pulled through a wormhole, landing on a planet “on the backside of the Milky Way” (Batman deduces that based on the alignment of the stars in the sky) where Kanjar Ro is rounding up the local inhabitants, the Gibble People, to convert them to fuel. Wait, what?! Yep, you read that right…he’s killing the local life form to create energy. (Kinda dark for a kids show, don’t you think?) Any way the Gibbles seem to be familiar with Blue Beetle, they even have a statue in his honor, but they never expected to see him again…not after his last fight with Kanjar Ro and his weapon, the Gamma Gong!

 

Seems like Jaime’s scarab has been here before, but with another host. Jaime and Bats decided to rally the Gibbles and take on Kanjar Ro as a team. They storm Kanjar’s ship and Bats finds himself in trouble, staring down the barrel of the villain’s gun. Jaime swoops in for the save and begins a cocky celebration…until Ro reappears with the Gamma Gong, a sonic weapon that strips Jaime of his armor. Next thing you know Batman and the Gibbles are tied up like some kind of sacrifice for space squid, while Kanjar Ro gets it on and bangs a gong trying to use the sonic weapon to remove the scarab and take its power for himself. Bats manages to free himself and, after hearing one of the Gibbles quote Jaime about “finding the power within”, he electrocutes said Gibble. What the?! It's ok folks, he's alright! After his odd moment of sadism, it’s actually Batman who inadvertently hits the right note allowing Kanjar Ro to get the scarab and become an evil Beetle. Depowered and just wearing his boxers, Jaime manages to “think like Batman” and frees himself before rescuing Bats once again by using the Gamma Gong against Kanjar Ro. After leaving the Gibbles in the capable hands of their new leader, the one Bats zapped, they cross back through the worm hole and arrive just in time to stop that meteor! Batman wraps up their adventure with these words of wisdom, “I wanted to see if the kid had hero potential, instead I got to see him become one!”

 

Ok...I have to admit, this was kinda fun! He's still no Ted...but he's got potential.