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Review
Not being familiar with the cult-classic hero known as
Blue Beetle, I wasn’t sure how well this episode would turn out. In a pleasant surprise, however, it turned out very well. Starting off with the more well-known version of Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, voiced by the infamous (amongst sci-fi fans) Wil Wheaton. Teamed up with
Batman, they infiltrate a compound while exchanging some fun gadget-geek banter. This was a pretty nice introduction to an extremely underrated character and nicely sets up the episode for more Blue Beetle excursions.
The main part of the episode starts off with a fun poke at Hal Jordan’s origin between two kids, one being the young and confused current Blue
Beetle we’ve seen in the show already. To solve his confusion he decides to join Batman as the Dark Knight battles Dr. Polaris – who is sporting some very nicely designed armor. Best yet, we get the fun visual of
Batman being lead around by his utility belt. Unable to get nothing but vague answers from Batman, his suit finally chimes in with some help to track down the long lost Beetle lair. Fortunately, despite the use of vehicles and robotic creations, CGI is next to non-existent, meaning no distractions from the fun story.
After the new Beetle lands on an island, a mysterious lab-coated person introduces himself as Ted
Kord and perhaps a little too easily manages to talk the current Beetle into helping him save the world. Or, so the Beetle thinks. While wandering conveniently unguarded around Kord’s lair, he stumbles – literally – across a robot that is equipped with some serious firepower and soon discovers the isolated scientist is now a mad one. D’oh. In yet another twist, it’s discovered that it’s actually Kord’s uncle, still determined after so many years to control the power of the Scarab. This unfortunately, dramatically and shockingly resulted in the death of Ted Kord, making the episode truly unique with showing the death of a hero.
Overall a surprising and exciting romp into the mythos of the Blue Beetle, as well as some of the most fun jokes out of this season’s episodes.
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