Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Blue Beetle

The Big Picture

Ted Kord, the original Blue Beetle, had a significant impact on the DC Universe, joining the Justice League International and inspiring other heroes. Kord’s character was originally part of Charlton Comics before being integrated into the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Ted Kord’s presence looms large in the Blue Beetle film, despite being presumed dead, and his potential return sets the stage for future sequels and potential crossovers with other DC characters like Booster Gold.

The DC Universe is built on a number of themes, including legacy. From the Green Lantern to the Flash, plenty of heroes have established that their heroic deeds will live on through a number of individuals, and that same sense of legacy even extends to teams like the Justice Society and the Justice League. Even Batman and Superman have their own legacy in the form of their sons Damian Wayne and Jon Kent — better known to the world as the Super-Sons. That same sense of legacy extends to Blue Beetle — both in the feature film and the comics that inspired it. Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) is the Blue Beetle the film follows, but comic book fans will know that there was another character associated with the mantle: Ted Kord.

Blue Beetle An alien scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the recent college graduate with a suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle. Release Date August 18, 2023 Director Angel Manuel Soto Cast Xolo Mariduena, Susan Sarandon, Raoul Max Trujillo, Harvey Guillen, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo Genres Superhero, Action, Adventure

Ted Kord Is Not the Original Blue Beetle
Kord holds the distinction of being created by Steve Ditko, who is well-known for co-creating Spider-Man and Doctor Strange for Marvel. Ironically, though Kord is the most popular Blue Beetle next to Jaime, he’s only the second person to hold the mantle. The first ever Blue Beetle was archaeologist Dan Garrett, who gained superhuman powers after he discovered a mystical scarab during a dig in Egypt. Garrett ended up battling Kord’s uncle Jarvis to stop him from creating an army of androids to take over the world, which led to both men dying in the aftermath. Kord took up the mantle of Blue Beetle to honor Garrett, though he used weaponry of his own design. His most prominent gadgets were his sidearm, which could emit strong gusts of wind or blinding light, and the “Bug” — a hovercraft shaped like the scarab Garrett utilized. He’d fight evil by night, while he ran Kord Industries during the day.

Kord is best known for joining the Justice League International, which became a cult classic due to the work of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire; there he struck up a fast friendship with the time-traveling hero Booster Gold. He would later become embroiled in one of the most controversial decisions in DC Comics history when he was murdered by his former JLI teammate Maxwell Lord. The New 52 reboot saw Ted return to the land of the living as he fends off a corporate takeover from Lex Luthor; soon he’d work with Jaime Reyes to fight crime.

Ted Kord, Along With Other Heroes, Inspired the ‘Watchmen’ Comics
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Prior to his adventures in DC, Kord was part of Charlton Comics — an independent comic company that also published a line of superhero titles including heroes such as Captain Atom, The Question, and Peacemaker. However, by the 1980s, Charlton was on the decline and decided to sell its characters to DC. The Charlton characters were officially folded into the DC Universe during the epic Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, where it was revealed that they resided on Earth-4. Kord was even one of the heroes that was first summoned by the mysterious Monitor in order to stop all of existence from being wiped out. But the Charlton comic characters could have been the focus of one of the biggest comic book stories ever told: Watchmen.

Alan Moore originally crafted the comic book epic around the Charlton heroes, with the original title “Who Killed the Peacemaker?” DC’s editor at the time, Dick Giordano, convinced him and Dave Gibbons to instead re-work the story to become original characters. Captain Atom became Doctor Manhattan. The Peacemaker became the Comedian. Finally, Kord’s Blue Beetle inspired Nite-Owl, down to the Owlship and owl-themed gadgets in lieu of beetle-themed ones. Moore actually said the change was for the better, as using original characters allowed him a greater deal of freedom. “If we had used the Charlton characters in Watchmen, after #12, even though the Captain Atom character would’ve still been alive, DC couldn’t really have done a comic book about that character without taking away from what became Watchmen,” he said in an interview. “Eventually, I realized that if I wrote the substitute characters well enough, so that they seemed familiar in certain ways, certain aspects of them brought back a kind of generic super-hero resonance or familiarity to the reader, then it might work.” The gambit worked, as Watchmen became a cult classic and was adapted numerous times, including an upcoming animated adaptation in 2024.

How Does Ted Kord Fit Into ‘Blue Beetle’?

Ted Kord’s shadow looms large over the Blue Beetle film, as he is presumed dead when the story begins. His sister Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) has slowly been turning Kord Industries into a factory to build weapons, while his daughter Jenny (Bruna Marquezine) opposes her at every turn. Jenny ends up stealing the Scarab from under Victoria’s nose, and passes it on to Jaime…unaware that the Scarab bonds with Jamie in the process. Jaime is eventually recaptured by Kord Industries’ forces, leaving Jenny and his family to save him by utilizing Ted’s old gadgets, including the Bug. Dan Garrett is also revealed to have played a part in the Blue Beetle’s legacy, as the start of the film reveals that he was the one who discovered the Scarab.

The mid-credits sequence returns to the Blue Beetle’s original lair, where his ancient computer switches on. A message comes through: “This is Ted Kord…and I’m alive!” Obviously, this sets the stage for a potential Blue Beetle sequel, but Kord has another potential entry into James Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DC Studios slate. The duo has revealed that a television series featuring Booster Gold is in the works, and one storyline could feature Kord in a significant capacity. During the Booster Gold comic written by Geoff Johns, Booster attempts to fix time so that Kord survives his fatal confrontation with Maxwell Lord. If Kord is lost in time, it could provide the perfect hook for the Booster Gold television series as well as any future Blue Beetle adventures.

Blue Beetle is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

Watch on Max