The week of the Blue Beetle movie release is finally upon us!
Much like Khaji Da, we’ll be hopping right on the Jaime train to celebrate! Great timing too, 'cuz it looks like he could really use some allies on his side.
Join us from Monday, August 14th – Monday, August 28th as we discuss the life and times of a young superhero doing his very best, following the events of the Blue Beetle (2006) series.
Knowing The Reach’s true intentions, why do you suppose they bothered to meet Jaime at all, if they only want to collect data via violence before the takeover? Why not just start by testing him outright, like they did with the mob?
Do you think it’s a wise decision for Jaime to keep his family in the loop with everything that goes on in his hero life? Why or why not?
At this point, do you think the scarab has some sentience of its own — i.e. when Jaime said it felt “nervous” about the mob — or that it’s playing off of Jaime’s own emotions a bit?
How do you figure Jaime was able to override the mobs’ scarabs? Do you think that each person’s individual conscience was somehow strong enough to overcome mind control with a simple pep talk, or that Jaime has some sort of other power that played a hand in their release here?
It’s clear that Jaime’s strength lies with his heart. How do you think he’ll face The Reach this way? Do you think there’s any way to combat an invading alien army with nonviolence?
Issues #14 Discussion Questions
Guy’s first appearance is a sequence of him attacking Jaime. Given that it’s later revealed that Guy was carrying around Ted’s old strategy book to give to Jaime, do you think he actually intended on taking him out in the beginning, or was it some sort of test?
We’ve discussed last week that Jaime is a hero who fights with his heart. When Guy says he needs to “start thinking like Blue Beetle”, would you say that Jaime should become more like Ted, or that Jaime should redefine what being Blue Beetle means to him specifically?
Jaime reflects a lot on how the other heroes won’t help him fight The Reach without hard evidence of their true intentions. Let’s say they did offer their help though — aside from Jaime, which three people would be on your dream roster to take on The Reach?
Despite his insistence on fighting first and thinking later, do you think Guy has become something of a good strategist in Ted’s absence?
What role do you think the Ultra Humanite plays in all this?
Issues #15 Discussion Questions
This issue opens with Jaime hitting us with the hard question: What would you do? In this case, what WOULD you do if you were in Jaime’s shoes — if you came upon this strange power and you knew Earth was in danger, but no one would listen to you?
There’s a lot of comparison between Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle and Jaime Reyes’s Blue Beetle — which is, of course, expected from Jaime taking over the BB mantle. What do you suppose Ted would think of Jaime? Additionally, are there any particular bits of advice you think Ted would have wanted to give to Jaime specifically?
Judging from Hector and Nadia’s vastly different takes on who Ted Kord was as a person, do you think the tabloids besmirched his reputation following his death?
Why do you think Livewire and Blue Beetle are connected in such a special way that even Superman can’t sense it?
Speaking of which, this incident with Livewire seems to be way more than a coincidence; especially considering that Jaime is having a hard time finding people to help him fight the Reach. Do you think Livewire could be some sort of “key” to their defeat?
As always, a DC Community Book Club isn’t complete without some great digital perks!
Being that Blue Beetle in-general pre-dates Spider-Man and Iron Man, one could say that they are a mix of Blue Beetle…despite the fact that Blue Beetle didn’t have an armored get-up until Jaime debuted it in Infinite Crisis #5 in 2006, but that’s beside the point.
I always saw Spider-Man as Marvel’s take on Robin. They just made him a teenager and gave him his own book. I think I even read somewhere where Stan Lee said he took inspiration from Robin.
I can see that, but I could also see some inspiration from Superboy/man. Sort of took the teenage kid part of Superboy and put him in the environment of Superman, not to mention all the other problems. Heck, Peter’s work environment feels like a pastiche of the Daily Planet, complete with a pretty girl for Peter to crush over.
Hey @staticshocks and @Jitsu, hope you like my new blue status, wish there was a Blue Beetle emoji, if there was, I would’ve use it instead of blue circle, but it’ll have to do.
My understanding is that they first wanted to see if they could make Jaime an ally despite his malfunctioning scarab. When that failed, they had to test him to see how powerful of an enemy he’ll be.
Keeping certain details to himself (and other heroes) is probably wise, but literally no good ever comes from keeping big secrets from loved ones.
Interesting question. I think the scarab relfecting Jaime’s own emotions or Jaime reading emotions into the signals he gets from it are reasonable interpretations. On a similar note, I think it’s interesting that in the Young Justice cartoon, Eric Lopez voices both Jaime and the scarab, implying that the scarab’s coniousness is a reflection of Jaime.
The Reach decided the test was over and recalled the scarabs, whose bond with these other hosts was weak to begin with. I’m not missing something here am I?
If Doctor Who has taught me one thing, it’s that there is always a way to combat an invading alien army with nonviolence. You just have to be cleverer than them. However Jaime defeats the reach, however, $20 says he doesn’t do it alone.
Hey @Jitsu & @staticshocks,
I’ve read the comic, as I was reading, I was thinking of trying to make a Blue Beetle out of Minecraft after this, so here’s hoping it’ll turn out good.
Anyway here’s the answers to your questions…
When reading, it felt like I just jump in the middle of a story. Like Lex Luthor did with Superman over 80 years ago, villains seem to like to put their hero to the test, to see how good they are. They probably want to find a easy way to make Jaime fail as a hero.
If he wanted too, guess it’s ok if he doesn’t want them to worry, being a hero and not telling a family member can be tough, just ask Terry McGinnis, he can’t even tell his mother he’s Batman while she’s mad at him for being late.
So I think that’s interesting that Jaime’s family know, hope it doesn’t put them in serious danger!
Good question, in my opinion I think he’s seeing things, again that way the villain can test him just to see how he react to the people being those bug things.
That’s a tough question, I really don’t have the answer for that one, probably cause he had Peacemaker their to help him.
By having a Justice League on his side, just guessing, anyway I’m looking forward to the next issue.
My first exposure to Jaime’s Blue Beetle was watching the first episode of Batman: The Brave & The Bold, I really like the character and thought he was cool, I even had a toy of him and Green Arrow from the series.
That IS pretty interesting, actually. I mean, once you’re fused at all the central nerves in one’s body, you gotta start sharing some sort of conscience, right?
Knowing The Reach’s true intentions, why do you suppose they bothered to meet Jaime at all, if they only want to collect data via violence before the takeover? Why not just start by testing him outright, like they did with the mob?
Probably meeting him was a test. To see what kind of person he is. Can he be controlled? How bonded he is with the scarab etc.
Do you think it’s a wise decision for Jaime to keep his family in the loop with everything that goes on in his hero life? Why or why not?
Maybe. There’s always the danger of more who know could lead to danger but he’s a kid and sometimes you just need that support so I think if he feels it was good for than it’s good.
At this point, do you think the scarab has some sentience of its own — i.e. when Jaime said it felt “nervous” about the mob — or that it’s playing off of Jaime’s own emotions a bit?
Maybe both. They’re connected to it may feel what he feels but also it’s own sentient being so it could feel stuff to. A complex symbiotic relationship.
How do you figure Jaime was able to override the mobs’ scarabs? Do you think that each person’s individual conscience was somehow strong enough to overcome mind control with a simple pep talk, or that Jaime has some sort of other power that played a hand in their release here?
I think the scarabs and people weren’t perfect matches. They weren’t worthy making them easier to dispose of mostly due to a match that is.
It’s clear that Jaime’s strength lies with his heart. How do you think he’ll face The Reach this way? Do you think there’s any way to combat an invading alien army with nonviolence?
Yes. Many Heroes have done such before and I believe he can just needs the right strategy.
. Haven’t read these so sounds fun.
That’s a tough question, I really don’t have the answer for that one, probably cause he had Peacemaker their to help him.