“Blue Beetle” (2023) is another instance of a comic-book character leaping onto the silver screen, featuring a predictable storyline that delves into identity, socio-economic disparity, and vengeance. Sandwiched between DC’s now-old and revamped universes, “Blue Beetle” presents us with the first Latino superhero, a character whose captivating appearance and genuine innocence I couldn’t help but admire.
I wouldn’t compare this film with the other entries in the latest DC universe, as none of them come close to providing anything worthwhile. However, due to its self-aware plotline, “Blue Beetle” did manage to evoke occasional smiles from me. Xolo Maridueña, known for his role in Netflix’s “Cobra Kai,” takes on the titular character, ensuring that his portrayal of Jaime Reyes, a.k.a. Blue Beetle, captures enough attention to remain a topic of discussion when dissecting the film.
The introduction of Blue Beetle’s powers is a fun fusion reminiscent of Miles Morales’ Spider-Man and Venom, featuring a staged light-hearted moment capturing the innocence of a superhero discovering his newfound powers. Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, the movie showcases impressive CG visuals and action sequences captured by Polish cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski making it enjoyable when patted against the latest DC ventures.
*Spoiler Alert*
Blue Beetle (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens in a frozen tundra at an undisclosed location, where Victoria Kord (of Kord Industries) and her lieutenant Conrad Carapax have found an artifact known as the Scarab. The scene then shifts to Palmera City, where Jaime Reyes returns to his hometown after graduating from Law College. Shortly after reuniting with his family, Jaime learns that during his time away for studies, his father survived a heart attack, the family-owned auto shop is gone, and soon they may lose their family house if Reyes cannot pay off the debts. Seeing his family struggle, Jaime and his sister, Milargo, get a housekeeping job at the Kord CEO’s mansion. However, they both lose their jobs when Jaime intervenes to stop a heated confrontation between Victoria and her niece, Jenny – who instructs him to meet her at Kord Tower the following day to discuss job prospects.
What is the Scarab?
The next day, Jenny finds out that Victoria has been using the Scarab to build a cyborg army known as the One Man Army Corps (OMAC). She hides the Scarab inside a to-go burger box; however, security is alerted before she can head out of the building. Meanwhile, Jaime, who is also in the building to meet Jenny for the interview, notices and follows her. With no other way to get the Scarab out of the building away from the bad guys, Jenny instructs Jaime to guard the box with his life. Upon getting home, his family pressurizes to check what is inside the box, and when he opens it, the Reyes’ are disappointed by a metal beetle-like artifact. Jaime’s touch triggers the Scarab leading to chaos when the relic fuses into Jaime, transforming him into an armored Blue Beetle.
Upon discovering that her niece is responsible for stealing the Scarab, Victoria deploys Carapax and a team of armed forces to retrieve the relic. On the other hand, Jaime learns from Jenny that the Scarab, an ancient sentient weapon, has selected him as its host. Removing the Scarab from him would lead to Jaime’s death. Rudy, Jaime’s ‘know-it-all’ uncle, offers to help them with his self-made generator capable of hacking into Kord Industries’ security system. With this, Jaime and Jenny plan to enter the building and steal a smartwatch that once belonged to Jenny’s father, Ted. This smartwatch is a crucial tool for leading them to a safe location where they can find answers about how to extract the sentient being from Jaime without killing him.
Why does Carapax want to kill Jaime?
However, their plans are disrupted when Carapax, who is infused with an OMAC prototype within his body, ambushes them. The Scarab, known as Khaji-da, takes control of Jaime’s body – whose primary job is to protect its host from harm. It leads to a one-on-one battle between Khaji-da and the unstoppable Carapax. During the fight, Jaime discovers that the Blue Beetle suit not only grants immense power to its host but also provides him with an array of tools and armor tailored to his circumstances and creativity.
Amidst the conflict, the Scarab tries to destroy Carapax. However, Jaime’s humane nature and innocence stop the relic from making life-threatening decisions on his behalf. On the other hand, consumed by his relentless mission to retrieve the Scarab from Jaime, Carapax attempts to kill him. In a fortunate intervention, Rudy and Jenny come to Jaime’s help, using their car to strike Carapax with full force and paralyze him. The trio then escapes to Jenny’s childhood home (Kord Estate), located in a remote area.
Who is Ted Kord?
Upon arriving at the Kord Estate, Jenny uses her father’s smartwatch to activate the secret laboratory. It turns out that Ted Kord was the original Blue Beetle devoting his entire life to studying Khaji-da before his mysterious disappearance. A quick backstory: while Ted used the power of the Scarab as the Blue Beetle, he was never chosen by the sentient as Jaime is. Jenny also shares with Jaime that her grandfather founded Kord Industries, and before his passing, he named everything in the name of Ted Kord, despite making a biased decision. Victoria’s ego could not accept this, and when Ted disappeared, her evil intentions changed Kord Industries’ motives.
Meanwhile, Rudy does his research on the Scarab and discovers that it is attempting to synchronize with Jaime, aiming to become one with him. At this point, the film establishes that Jaime, a young boy who has barely experienced life, is clearly overwhelmed by the idea of leading a dual life as an ordinary individual and a part superhero. He suggests to his uncle that they should seek a method to remove it from his system – however, the solution always seems to point toward his death.
What happens to the Reyes?
When Jaime, Jenny, and Rudy notice Victoria’s helicopter heading towards Jaime’s house, Jaime summons Khaji-da, transforming into the Blue Beetle to protect his family. While armed forces surround the Reyes family, who try to escape Victoria’s henchmen, Jaime’s father, Alberto, dies of a heart attack. Jaime becomes distracted upon seeing his sister’s desperate cries due to their father’s demise, leading to his capture by Victoria and Carapax to a remote location. The Reyes family and Jenny vow not to let their grief show, prepare themselves to confront Victoria, and rescue Jaime. Using Ted’s bugship, a spacecraft shaped like a beetle and well-equipped with an arsenal, Jaime’s nana devises a plan to storm the Cuban island where Victoria has taken her grandson.
Meanwhile, Victoria oversees the Scarab code transfer from Jaime’s body, strapped to a circular machine extracting information from Khaji-Da, transferring it to the OMAC prototype embedded within Carapax that will help build an OMAC army. Dr. Sanchez, Victoria’s scientist, notices the Scarab is trying to merge with Jaime, who is currently unconscious and dying. During an unconscious flashback, we witness Jaime encountering his father in the immortal realm. His father tells him he has been chosen to use this incredible power to save his family, and his journey in the mortal world has yet to begin, and he must embrace his new identity as the Blue Beetle. This scene beautifully implies a scene from the Mexican film “Macario” (1960), symbolizing that the protagonist will encounter death much later in life.
Blue Beetle (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:
Is Jaime able to avenge his father’s death?
Meanwhile, the Reyes family and Jenny create chaos among Victoria’s henchmen as they launch an invasion on the island, courtesy of the bugship. Jenny and Milagro infiltrate the laboratory, discovering Victoria’s method of harnessing the Scarab’s power to assemble an army. Jenny strategically places various bug explosives throughout the lab to stop Victoria from accomplishing her evil plans. Simultaneously, Nana engages in combat, firing explosive guns. Back at the lab, upon seeing a vision of the Scarab becoming one with Jaime’s mind, he wakes up and manages to free himself from the machine that held him captive. Realizing Victoria’s true intentions, Dr. Sanchez helps Jaime escape the lab; however, he dies at the hands of Carapax, who has also been infused with Scarab codes, making him more powerful than ever.
Jaime and Carapax engage in a battle, and Jaime comes close to ending Carapax’s life. However, Khaji-Da intervenes, preventing Jaime from delivering the fatal blow. Khaji-Da shows Carapax’s memories, revealing how Victoria exploited him as a young child in a sinister OMAC experiment. This narrative emphasizes how powerful authorities intrude upon indigenous islands, seizing the lives of the islanders’ for their personal gain, devoid of compassion or humanity. Carapax becomes a victim of this exploitation, losing his mother during the invasion of the arsenal industry on the island. Orphaned children like him were used as experimental subjects, trained in the use of weaponry, and ultimately manipulated into a life driven by the selfish agenda of these industries.
This poignant flashback prompts Jaime to spare Carapax. As a result, Carapax undergoes a change of heart, rebelling against Victoria. He uses his OMAC suit to trigger an explosive event, bringing down Victoria and the island that served as her primary base for creating more cyborgs like him.
What happens at the end of Blue Beetle?
Jaime reunites with his family, and together with Jenny, the family finally allows themselves to shed tears for the loss of Arthur Reyes. The film concludes with Jenny taking over Kord Industries and discontinuing all projects associated with artillery inventions. Furthermore, she offers a special role to Rudy to deepen their understanding of the Scarab. Meanwhile, the Reyes family chooses to move forward, focusing on rebuilding their family home with the expenses covered by Kord Industries. Amid these changes, Jaime has embraced his identity as the Blue Beetle. The film ends with a scene hinting at a potential romantic relationship between him and Jenny.
What does the post-credit/mid-credit scene of Blue Beetle mean?
During a mid-credits scene, a distorted recording from Ted Kord is transmitted within his laboratory, and in the recording, he tries to convey to Jenny that he is alive.
