Back Story
Blue Beetle may not be DC's best known superhero. Plus, he has not always been a DC character. The press notes refer to his first appearance being in "Mystery Men Comics #1" in 1939 as "Dan Garrett, an archaeologist who found a magic scarab in an Egyptian ruin." But the press notes do not mention that the comic was published by Fox, sold repeatedly and only later acquired by DC in the early '80s. It was at that point that the character took on some of the traits of Marvel's popular Spider-Man that was created in 1962. Both young men are unwilling superheroes with similar backstories. Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider to get his superpowers, while Jaime Reyes is transformed by a scarab (beetle). Both also lose a close family member in a way that emotionally transforms them.
The film story
The "Blue Beetle" film starts with a quick prologue hinting at the power of the blue scarab and Victoria Kord's ferocious desire to possess it. Then we jump to Jaime Reyes (engagingly played by "Cobra Kai's" Xolo Maridueña), who has just graduated from law school and is the first in his family to ever graduate from college. He returns home to Palmera City, where he discovers that his family is about to lose their home. Like many cities, it is a place where there's a divide between rich and poor, and where the poor get pushed out when the rich want to move in and redevelop.
Unable to put his degree to use, Jaime gets a menial job that introduces him to Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon doing her best to chew up scenery with evil corporate relish) and her niece Jenny (Bruna Marquezine). When Jenny steals the scarab in an attempt to prevent her aunt from creating a Robocop-like army, the blue beetle ends up in Jaime's hands where it literally latches onto him and chooses him as it's host. (There's a deliberate nod to Guillermo Del Toro's film "Cronos" here.) There's some minor David Cronenberg style body horror (nothing actually disturbing, so fine for kids) that transforms Jaime into the Blue Beetle with superpowers ranging from space flight to an arsenal of weapons.
But of course Victoria wants her bug back and this leads to a showdown that puts Jaime's family in jeopardy.
First (sort of) Latinx superhero
DC might have us believe Blue Beetle is the first Latinx superhero on the big screen, and it is sort of correct. I would argue that Miles Morales of the animated "Spider-Verse" counts as the first Latinx superhero to come from both comics and mainstream Hollywood.
My friend Gaby Moreno came to the press screening with me and had high expectations to see Latino representation on the screen. She was not disappointed. She felt it was the first time she had seen herself in a superhero (see her sidebar review). When I asked her if Miles Morales counted as the first, and she said, "That's true but I feel like it is a little bit different because it's animated. Seeing a live action film and actually seeing a brown person — it's a little bit different than an animation."
Gaby Moreno (AKA 7 Octoberz), 34-year-old Chicana artist and podcaster
I grew up in the Fox Kids era with “X-Men,” “Spider-Man,” “Batman.” And it would have been cool if “Blue Beetle” was even an animation back when I was growing up. So it's cool that I'm getting to live it now out. So I feel like a little grown kid excited. But yeah, I love superhero movies. I've always been a fan.
I loved “Blue Beetle.” I think it's the first time I've ever seen myself represented in a superhero, honestly. I think Namor [Marvel’s underwater ruler of Talokanin and played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta in “Wakanda Forever”] kind of opened the doors for that. But “Wakanda Forever” wasn't even his movie. It was the “Black Panther’s.” So to see Jamie Reyes -- and honestly, I didn't even know anything about the Blue Beetle. I knew it was a comic but then I started digging in as soon as I saw the trailer. But I loved the film because I can relate to the character. The fact that he was really close to his family, even the jokes, you could tell it actually came from a Mexican perspective because some of the jokes or even some of the words that they use, the language, it's something that I use in my household. So it's pretty cool. And just to see that represented. I'm close to my family and then my grandma -- it's already going on ten years that she passed away -- but to see the grandma in the film too, and stuff like that, and the relationship that they have and the fact that as he said in the film, his family, that's his power. Even though the villain tried to say it was was his weakness, but in reality, they were like the ones that had his back. And then the fact that your family always clowns on you, but they're also there to support you. Like when he tries to go and get the job or when he kisses the girl, they always try to make fun of you, but it's in good fun. So the whole family dynamic to me was a huge thing. And there was a couple of times where it was tearjerking moments. So all that stuff was cool. I loved everything about it.
There was the telenovella “Maria la del barrio and “El Chapulín Colorado” that George Lopez's character brings on the screen when he jams the system -- so stuff like that brings that culture into the movie, and I really love that.
And I was like, “Oh, wow! There's a lot of Latinos behind the scenes.” The key grip and all that stuff. That was interesting. And then the director, I think he's Puerto Rican. And then the cast -- a little bit of everything -- the main love interest, I think she's Brazilian, but everybody else is Latino or Mexican.
So I guess DC gets props for the first live action Latinx superhero. But I would also urge some acknowledgement to Robert Rodriguez for his "Machete" and "Spy Kids" films. They serve up comic book-style Mexican superheroes but they are not from mainstream Hollywood. And of course the granddaddy of Mexican superheroes that Americans might have an awareness of is the amazing El Santo.
And it's a fun DC film
But also important is how the film actually delivers a fun DC outing. James Gunn's recent "The Suicide Squad" and subsequent series "Peacemaker" were the only light in what had been a dark and gloomy Snyder-verse. So "Blue Beetle" has a refreshing zing and playfulness that is quite welcome after the slog of "The Flash" earlier this year.
"Blue Beetle," helmed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, is sometimes silly and derivative but it also displays genuine heart and soul. It takes its time in the beginning to develop the Reyes family in a way that does not feel like mere padding. Maybe because I'm getting old, but I appreciated how Nana (Adriana Barraza) got to blossom as a fierce warrior, hinting that she did some rebel fighting in her youth.
"Blue Beetle," as with Marvel's "Shang-Chi," tries to give a cultural context to the story. Sometimes the efforts feel a little forced, but mostly it comes across as sincere, authentic and eager to share things that we might not see in a lot of mainstream movies. Both films develop a sense of family amongst the characters. And both films give us superheroes who do not have to destroy whole cities or kill because not all their enemies are entirely evil.
It is also interesting to see this film so close to having seen "Barbie." Full disclosure: I am not on the "Barbie" pink band wagon (my review is on Letterboxd since I was covering Comic-Con when it opened). "Barbie" feels very much like a film made by privileged white creators who allow a Latinx character a bit of agency before returning focus to its perfect white Barbie. And in the end it still leaves its Latina characters on the outside. "Barbie" gives its title character an existential crisis involving thoughts of death (something you can do perhaps when you have no other real world issues to distract you) while "Blue Beetle's" Puerto Rican director highlights real world problems like rent hikes, not being able to find a job, and being evicted from your own home — in addition to fighting evil and preventing the creation of a weaponized security force. I know both films are just meant to be entertaining but I appreciated that "Blue Beetle" never preached at me but felt more genuine and meaningful in it's push for better representation.
Maridueña works well as Jaime and the actors (Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Belissa Escobedo) playing his family are well cast. Sarandon makes a good despicable corporate villain but Jenny, as played by Marquezine, looks like a model who got lost on her way to a photo shoot. "What We Do in the Shadows'" Harvey Guillén is wasted in subordinate role, and apologies to Raoul Max Trujillo who plays Carapax and just kept making me think how cool if Danny Trejo were in the role. Trujillo was not bad, but a bad guy with a tortured soul just feels like a role ripe for Trejo.
All in all, "Blue Beetle" was a good time. It just seems like Warner Bros. did not put much effort into promoting it, especially when compared to the onslaught of advertising it did for its "Barbie." The studio seems to have used the dual writers/actors strike as an excuse to do less. So without major studio support, I am not sure how easily "Blue Beetle" will find an audience. But hopefully the word will get out that it's an entertaining superhero film
