BEACH BUM COMICS : BLUE BEETLE FACES THE DESTROYER OF HEROES !!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

BLUE BEETLE FACES THE DESTROYER OF HEROES !!!

It was a sad day for me when the Charlton Comics Blue Beetle series came to an end with issue #5.

DC Who's Who on the Blue Beetle by Steve "The Dude" Rude.

Ted Kord became the Blue Beetle after his former mentor and original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, was killed in battle with androids created by Ted Kord's Uncle Jarvis in order to take over Earth. As Dan died, he passed on the responsibility of being Blue Beetle to Ted, but was not able to pass on the mystical scarab which gave Garrett his powers. The lab then collapsed and Dan's body was buried under tons of rubble, but Ted managed to escape through a cavern and was discovered by some fishermen who returned him to the mainland. Upon his return he was questioned by the police about what had happened on Pago Island, but Ted decided it was best to keep those events a secret.

Detail from Blue Beetle #1.

Ted then spent months physically training and practicing with his equipment, which he built using unfinished experiments left by his father, in order to fulfill his promise to his mentor and become the new Blue Beetle.
His enemies included his Uncle Jarvis and his androids, the Masked Marauder, the Men of the Mask, Destroyer of Heroes, the Squid Gang, and the Madmen.

Blue Beetle #5 BB Faces the "Destroyer of Heroes"
"Faces the Destroyer of Heroes"
When a disgruntled artist costumed as “Our Man”, a statue of defeatism, seeks to destroy heroic art, the Blue Beetle and Vic Sage team up to counter his actions.
Story continues in the Question story in this issue.
Written (as D.C. Glanzman) & illustrated by Steve Ditko.
Reprinted in DC Comics Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2.

Ted Kord was a genius-level inventor and a gifted athlete who did not possess superpowers like the previous versions of the Blue Beetle such as Dan Garrett. Kord's signature equipment was his bug-shaped personal aircraft and a pistol that could create a blinding flash of light or a strong airblast.

Ironically, in the DC Comics Blue Beetle #5, the Question returns. They are both tracking down a street gang called The Wild Ones. When they realize they are both after the same gang they decide to team up.

The Charlton Portfolio contained the unpublished Blue Beetle #6.

However, this was not to be the last Charlton appearance of Blue Beetle, just in this particular series. I've got a previous post covering that story on the following post:
http://beachbumcomics.blogspot.com/2015/12/charlton-porfolio-unpublished-blue.html

Merry Christmas to All!