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| DC's Blue Beetle. Photo courtesy of DC Comics. |
In DC Comics’ latest cinematic venture, they’ve hit their
own Beetlemania in the case of the lead superhero being Jaime Reyes in Blue
Beetle. Xolo Maridueña was able to shed and share some of his Cobra Kai skin playing Reyes in an adrenaline-filled, high-flying superhero escapade,
with a doting, embarrassing family behind him.
Blue Beetle tells their version of In the Heights with
Reyes returning to Palmera City after college graduation. Family problems arise
that Reyes is determined to take care of, even if he ends up in a collision
course with an alien scarab and the ruthless Victoria Kord, played by Susan
Sarandon, on his tail. But when all hope seems lost, Reyes takes up the mantle
of Blue Beetle, armed with wings, gauntlets, and swords.
As I said, Maridueña’s character of Jaime Reyes was similar to his
role as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai. They are both undaunted at wanting to
make a better life in this world, and becoming an excellent fighter and a hit
with the ladies. Unfortunately, with his future lady being Victoria’s niece
Jenny Kord, played by Bruna Marquezine, Reyes’ awkward attempts at wooing her
are exacerbated by his no-boundaries-established family, including his
wisecracking Uncle Rudy, played by George Lopez. Regardless of those setbacks,
and that the Blue Beetle scarab drove him crazy and around the city and space,
when the time came, Jaime was ready to step up and take down psychotic cyborg
assassins.
The film was similar to In the Heights in that so
many Latinx people are struggling to make a living, and no help is coming from
some corrupt rich people, such as Victoria Kord. Even though Sarandon didn’t do
much combat, I found her character similar to Lex Luthor, with the whole belief
in profiting from alien resources and no humanity. I hadn’t seen her this cruel
since Rugrats in Paris.
Jenny was not the bad type of ruthless like her aunt.
Actually, she was like Nakia from the Black Panther films, wanting to
give others of her race the hope and finances to get better in life. As for the
rest of the Reyes family, Lopez as Rudy was a wisecracking eccentric like Doc
Brown from Back to the Future. He was pretty silly and childish, but
you’d be amazed to see him piloting a warplane. And just like in Cobra Kai, Marideuna’s
grandmother, this time played by Adrianna Barraza, was another wisecrack, and it was unbelievable how well she could
hold her own in the final battle with some heavy machine artillery.
Other than the characters and the acting, there were the
beautiful parts of Palmera City. From the Wakanda-type metropolitan buildings
to the humble neighborhood of the Reyes family, it showed a beautiful
landscape. Though it showed some Latinx stereotypes of auto garage owners or
cooks, for example, it did show that these people were relentless at making a
great place in this world, even if the rich overlook them. Most of the film
reminded me of Marvel Cinematic Universe stories and landscapes, but it was
still well-executed. I haven’t seen many people of color get to be the good guy
in the DC Universe as of late, so I’m glad they went with this one.
If Cobra Kai can kick villain butt and show that love and
family can get you far in life, there’s hope for other great colored heroes in
the DC world. Overall, Blue Beetle was a fierce, humorous, and
astonishing DC move. I look forward to whatever is next for Blue Beetle and
similar superheroes.
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