After the releases of The Flash, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Black Adam, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, it seems that movie superheroes are starting to lose their powers.
Over the past 20 years, Marvel and DC heroes have reigned supreme in movie theaters around the world. Comic book movies have infiltrated the culture in such a way that they have become part of our identity. However, we have reached a time when the genre is showing obvious signs of crisis, saturation and fatigue. This is noticeable at the box office and in the lukewarm response of the collective to the same old tropes.
Amid this sea of mega-productions, epic showdowns and overly complex universes, Blue Beetle may be a rare, delightful and unexpected exception. This feature film reminds us that sometimes the most compelling stories can emerge from the simplest beginnings.
Starring Xolo Maridueña (the teen star of Cobra Kai), Puerto Rican-born filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto’s film introduces the first Latino superhero in DC history.
Part of what makes Blue Beetle an endearing project is that it is not only a story about great power and great responsibility. It’s also a story about the power of family. And the fact is, for Jaime Reyes, being a superhero is a family affair and this helps the film transcend the trappings of its genre.
To be fair, Blue Beetle is not the most original take on a superhero, but it is an injection of hope in a genre that lately has felt like it is not running on all cylinders.
Maridueña leads a cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, George Pérez, Bruna Marquezine and Belissa Escobedo.
What is Blue Beetle all about?
Blue Beetle tells the story of how Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a recent college graduate, becomes a superhero by accident.
The production is set in the fictional Palmera City, a sprawling coastal metropolis. Our hero and his family reside in the underprivileged neighborhood of Edge Keys, a sort of neo-Miami belonging to the same universe as Superman and Batman.
When we meet Jaime, he is a 22-year-old who has just returned to Palmera City after graduating from law school. Almost immediately, he finds himself with a family in dire financial straits: the Reyes have been forced to close their car repair shop and are about to lose their home.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle is deeply involved in both the hero’s background and the family’s background. The film takes its time to explore the challenges and dreams of the clan members.
Jaime Reyes is the son of Alberto (Damián Alcázar, El crimen del Padre Amaro) and Rocío (Elpidia Carillo, Depredador), Mexican immigrants who have made multiple sacrifices to give their loved ones a better future. His sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo, Hocus Pocus 2), is a sassy and witty teenager who makes his life miserable while loving him fiercely.
Also part of this family are Nana (Adriana Barraza, Babel), the tender grandmother with a checkered past, and uncle Rudy (George Lopez, Sharkboy & Lavagirl), a tech genius who steals every scene he’s in.
Like many Latino families, the Reyes clan is especially loud, meddlesome and deeply closeted. They are not rich, they are not especially bright, but they are devoted, loving and unconditional. They know in advance that as long as they are “united” they can face any adversity in their path.
Unlike other typical hero movies, Blue Beetle offers a rather unique take, as Reyes’ family becomes the heart of the plot.
The turning point of Blue Beetle occurs when our protagonist, Jaime Reyes, seeks a job at the private corporation Kord Industries, run by the cold and ruthless Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon). Victoria is the ambitious sister of Ted Kord and has been pursuing the “Scarab” for years, with the aim of obtaining the most advanced weapons technology on Earth.
Things get complicated when Victoria’s niece, Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), steals the powerful intergalactic “Scarab” and gives it to Jaime to protect at all costs.
As fate would have it, Jaime gets his hands on Kord Industries’ most important secret weapon and, as expected, his life is turned upside down. It so happens that the “Scarab” (an entity known as Khaji Da) chooses Jaime as a symbiotic host and endows him with an incredible exoskeleton armor that is practically indestructible.
From this fusion, the young man acquires a handful of abilities, such as superhuman strength, agility, speed, the ability to fly, the regenerative healing factor, and the most impressive element: the “Scarab” can generate any construct or weapon the host devises. “Whatever you can imagine, I can create,” says the armor with a mind of its own.
We could easily say that the “Scarab” is to Blue Beetle what the “Symbiote” is to Venom.
As is often the case with origins films, the main hero tries to adjust to his new life and unequivocally encounters his first supervillain. In this case, Jaime finds himself embroiled in a brutal battle against Kord Industries. And the fact is, Victoria Kord intends to use the Scarab’s technology for sinister purposes, including the creation of an army of super-soldiers known as OMAC (One Man Army Corps).
Soon, Victoria sends her henchman, the cyborg, Ignacio Carapax (Roul Max Trujillo, America: The Motion Picture) to hunt down Reyes and retrieve the technology, even if it means wiping the young man off the face of the earth; Susan Sarandon seems to be having fun in the role of the film’s main villain. Honestly, it would have been interesting to learn more about this character.
In Blue Beetle, the Reyes family is not on the sidelines of Jaime’s transformation; on the contrary, it is his loved ones who help him accept his destiny as a superhero.
In general terms, Blue Beetle explores themes such as the vulnerability of immigrants, social class differences, racism, American colonialism, gentrification, economic inequality and the power of the family.
Xolo Maridueña, for his part, is so charming as Jaime that we are left wanting to see much more of this protagonist. It’s good to see the young Maridueña become an unlikely hero.
Latino DNA
The first film starring a Latino superhero is a beautiful reflection of Mexican culture, including the music, the food, and the focus on family first and foremost.
Filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Miss Bala) inject Blue Beetle with the perfect dose of Latino flavor. The entire feature is peppered with cultural nods, such as the resemblance of Blue Beetle’s costume to Mexican wrestler Blue Demon, the references to the telenovela María la del Barrio, and the small homage to Chapulín Colorado, the most important Latino superhero of all time.
In addition, iconic Latin music plays throughout the production. There are great hits by Los Tucanes De Tijuana, Calle 13, Luis Miguel, Los Saicos, Thalía, Vicente Fernandez, Chalino Sanchez, Soda Stereo, Los Panchos, among others.
Another highlight is the frequent dialogue in Spanish, sometimes subtitled and sometimes not, which preserves the authenticity of the characters; although this is a somewhat formulaic film, the emphasis on Mexican-American culture gives Blue Beetle its most appealing texture.
At one telling moment, uncle Rudy declares “Maybe it’s time we had our own hero”… How right Rudy is, it’s time for the big studios to embrace culturally diverse forms of the genre.
About Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is a beloved DC Comics character known for his daring powers, acrobatic abilities and heroic spirit. He has been a part of the DC Universe for more than 80 years, and finally made his big screen debut.
The DC Comics hero was created in 1939 by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski, and was later reimagined and given new identities several times.
The original Blue Beetle first appeared in issue #1 of Fox Comics’ Mystery Men Comics. The character was Dan Garret, a rookie cop who donned a special bulletproof suit and consumed a substance called Vitamin 2X, which gave him super-energy and strength.
Later, in 1986, DC Comics launched its first Blue Beetle series, starring Ted Kord. In this version, Kord was a billionaire industrialist; a year later, Blue Beetle joined the Justice League.
In 2006, DC introduced Jaime Reyes as the new Blue Beetle in Infinite Crisis #3. The character, a Latino teenager from El Paso, Texas, assumed the mantle of Blue Beetle after encountering the Beetle formerly owned by Ted Kord. It was Keith Giffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner who redefined him as a Mexican-American kid.
It should be noted that one of the great successes of the film’s screenwriter, Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, is that he respects the origins of the new Blue Beetle as much as possible and connects Reyes’ story with the two previous incarnations.
Verdict: Is Blue Beetle worth watching?
Blue Beetle is an old-fashioned origin story. It’s a witty, funny, and self-concluding take on the comic book character.
Although it is not impeccable, it is a significant step in the right direction. Ángel Manuel Soto’s feature film is a good reminder that there is always room for small stories that touch the heartstrings of human beings.
Considering that the last few DC superhero movies have been full of cameos and intricate connections, Blue Beetle is a breath of fresh air because of its independence, lightness and heart.
Blue Beetle is still playing worldwide and will be released digitally later this month.