Saturday, June 9, 2012

Superhero Week-Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle)

                 ((Please note this is all about the character pre-52 reboot. I have read the first couple issues of his new series, and to say it depresses me is an understatement. I might review it later.))

                  Jaime Reyes was a pretty normal high school student living in El Paso, Texas. One day while walking with his best friends Paco and Brenda, he found a strange scarab-shaped artifact. While sleeping it imbedded itself in his spine, giving him a super-suit while incredible powers, while the scarab itself has an AI only he can hear, who is very kill-happy. Jaime decides to use these powers to be a Superhero, the third Blue Beetle.

                  So why is he my favorite superhero? First off, he's very funny, incredibly relatable (more than any other hero I've seen), and has a really good heart. Second, the storylines for his series were amazing, and some of my favorites in any comic ever. But the third and probably biggest factor was that from the get-go, he told his parents, little sister, and two best friends about his secret identity. The whole 'Hiding your secret from your loved ones to protect them' shtick has really gotten old for me, and ultimately it makes far less sense than actually informing them. Not only that, but it really only serves as a tool so the writers can add drama of their friends/family almost discovering the secret. Those plotlines are the worst for me, and take away from good character interaction and actual storytelling. By removing this lame idea from the process, the comic runs a lot smoother, and is easily my favorite series of all time. If you have not read any, I'd recommend to start with issue #14 It's a Guy Thing, which is a great test to see if you'll enjoy the series. Laters.

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