DC’s Blue Beetle Reveals Deadly New Villain

Jaime Reyes truly came into his own during Blue Beetle: Graduation Day, and now he’s taking on new responsibilities as mentor and leader in his new ongoing series. While Blue Beetle #1 introduced fans to the new status quo and Jaime’s evolving relationship with Nitida and Dynastes, things weren’t so great for the previous Blue Beetle Ted Kord, who was brutally attacked by DC’s newest addition to the Blue Beetle mythos. That new addition is known as the Blood Scarab, and as fans saw in issue #1, they are as lethal as they come. You can check out the new villain in the image below, and here’s what we know so far.

The first look at Blood Scarab happens at the end of Blue Beetle #1, and despite Kord’s extensive defenses, the Blood Scarab moves through them with ease. Lord asks whether or not they are from The Horizon, but before he can ask any more questions, he is sliced open across the chest by their claws.

Kord has an ace up his sleeve though and locks up the villain in a Temporal Lock. While this seems to temporarily halt his forward progress, it doesn’t last long. An explosive wave radiates from Blood Scarab, destroying much of Kord’s surrounding tech. Luckily the Bug is always up for a fight, but even that can’t stop the mysterious villain. Unfortunately, Kord is out of tricks at this point, and that leads to Kord getting impaled by Blood Scarab’s blade.

Blood Scarab doesn’t explicitly reveal why he’s attacking Kord, but they leave some clues. When Blood Scarab first approaches, they call Kord an imposter. Then they take shots at Kord’s tech and gadgets multiple times, at one point calling them worthless toys. Then they ask “Ted Kord, who do you think you are?” When Kord responds “I’m the Blue Beetle”, Blood Scarab says “No. You aren’t You are just in the way.”

If you follow the breadcrumbs, there does seem to be a possibility that Blood Scarab is the original Blue Beetle Dan Garrett. Garrett was able to bond with Khaji Da, and therefore had access to the powers and abilities of the Scarab. Before Garrett died he passed the Scarab to Ted Kord, but Kord wasn’t ever able to bond with the Scarab. That’s why he has always utilized gadgets and technology during his superhero career.

Now Jaime has taken up the mantle and has bonded with the Scarab like Garrett did. Is this a resurrected Garrett coming to take back the power he once handed over, or is someone trying to collect that power in his name? There are several possibilities, but the imposter insult does seem to suggest it is someone who looks down on Kord of not being able to bond with the Scarab. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but you can find the official description for Blue Beetle #2 below.

“FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE BLOOD SCARAB! Someone is out there hunting Beetles, and after the attack on Ted Kord lands him in the hospital, Jaime is on high alert and ready for a fight. But will he be ready when he comes face-to-face with the Blood Scarab?!”

Blue Beetle #2 hits comic stores on October 3rd.

What do you think of Beetle’s new villain? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things comics with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!