Black Beetle (comics)
Encyclopedia
Black Beetle is a fictional character
, a comic book
supervillain
published by DC Comics
.
) and was created by Geoff Johns
, Dan Jurgens
, Norm Rapmund
, Matthew Sturges
and Carlo Barberi. He was featured in the Blue Beetle backup stories in Booster Gold and in the Booster Gold stories themselves. Regarding the development and utilization of the character, creator Matthew Sturges commented:
from the future, the Black Beetle appears to Booster Gold
in a time sphere, and offers him a chance to go back in time and save his best friend, Ted Kord
, from death at the hands of Maxwell Lord
, despite Rip Hunter
's claims that Ted's death was a point of unalterable "solidified" time. Booster agrees to go with Black Beetle, who has also recruited the first Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett), and current Beetle (Jaime Reyes) for the mission. The group is successful in saving Ted. Upon their return to the present, however, they learn that the timeline has been altered, and that Max and his OMACs are policing the whole world. When Booster and Beetle, gathering some of their old Justice League International
teammates, attempt to fix the timeline, they are attacked by Black Beetle, who reveals his affiliation with the Time Stealers, a group consisting of Despero
, Per Degaton
, the Ultra-Humanite
, and Booster's father
(the latter under the control of Mr. Mind). As the battle rages, Ted realizes that the only way to fix things is to return to the past and allow himself to be murdered. Black Beetle attempts to stop him, revealing that he is "Jaime Reyes' greatest enemy", and that Jaime took away someone very close to him. He also reveals that he followed the Time Stealers' plan to prevent Ted's death so that Jaime would never have become the Blue Beetle and "she" would never have died. Both he and Ted enter the Time Stealers' time sphere, which then activates. In the next issue, Ted is revealed to have restored the timeline. The where (and when)-abouts of the Black Beetle, however, are unknown.
The "Origins and Omens" backup story in Booster Gold #17 hinted that Black Beetle would return and that his true identity would be revealed.
, Dick Grayson
, in the Batcave
. After a brief altercation, Black Beetle escapes into the past, changing events in a way that causes Dick to die during his days as Robin
. Booster follows the Black Beetle into the past, finding that he has allied himself with Grant Wilson
, attempting to change the outcome of his disastrous battle with the Teen Titans. He is also shown working with an unknown person who desires the destruction of the Justice League
(later revealed to be T.O. Morrow). He briefly appears in the present, revealing himself to Jaime and absconding with the body of a gynoid
the hero had just defeated. Black Beetle is then shown in a new future he created by killing the Teen Titans where Raven's father Trigon
is able to take over the world in the absence of both the Titans and Batman. It is then shown that his true purpose for creating this future is to use the distraction of Booster, Rip Hunter, and the resistance attacking to steal a Red Scarab from Trigon's trophy room. He claims the Red Scarab is more powerful than his own and bonds it to himself in addition to his current tech. Rip manages to track Black Beetle to his base, using one of his devices to overload the armor with chronal energy, seemingly destroying the Black Beetle. He is also shown in the present in El Paso, attempting to take Jamie's Blue Scarab. Jaime manages to stop him by blasting him with tachyon
particles, paralyzing him. However, due to wounds his little sister suffered at Black Beetle's hands, Jaime is forced to let the villain escape.
In the Time Masters: Vanishing Point limited series
, the Time Stealers learn that the Vanishing Point fortress was destroyed. Black Beetle notices someone is involved of Rip Hunter and find answers. Black Beetle takes his allies to the destroyed Vanishing Point and sees that Rip has locked the Linear Men
in a cell because never agreed about how to handle time. The four villains find the cell and tear it open, finding Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee. Black Beetle asks the Linear Men to help bring Waverider
back to life. But Supernova
prevents Black Beetle from dystopia and he sends the Time Stealers back to the present, although Black Beetle escapes and Linear Men choose to go with him since he freed them from imprisonment. After they find Waverider's corpse in the desolate wasteland of Earth's future, Black Beetle double-crosses the Linear Men and tries to use Waverider's power to become invulnerable. Black Beetle attempts to fuse Waverider's corpse power but is thwarted by Supernova, which allows Liri to fuse with Waverider's corpse to become Linear Woman. Black Beetle attacks Supernova but when Superman and the rest of the Time Masters arrive, he escapes, telling them they will see him again another time.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
Publication history
Black Beetle first appeared in Booster Gold vol. 2 #5, (December 20072007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
) and was created by Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
, Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
, Norm Rapmund
Norm Rapmund
-Image Comics and Marvel:Rapmund's career began with Image Comics' Brigade #1 in 1992. He worked on the series concurrently with Image titles Bloodstrike and Team Youngblood until 1994, when he moved from Brigade to Supreme...
, Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges
Matthew Sturges is an American writer of comics and fantasy novels.-Biography:Sturges is best known for the Eisner-award nominated Jack of Fables from DC/Vertigo...
and Carlo Barberi. He was featured in the Blue Beetle backup stories in Booster Gold and in the Booster Gold stories themselves. Regarding the development and utilization of the character, creator Matthew Sturges commented:
Fictional character biography
Originally posing as a Blue BeetleBlue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
from the future, the Black Beetle appears to Booster Gold
Booster Gold
Booster Gold is a fictional DC Comics superhero. Created by Dan Jurgens, he first appeared in Booster Gold #1 and has been a member of the Justice League, DC Comics' all-star team of heroes. The character is initially depicted as a glory-seeking showboat from the future, using knowledge of...
in a time sphere, and offers him a chance to go back in time and save his best friend, Ted Kord
Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
Blue Beetle is the second Blue Beetle, a superhero who was originally published by Charlton Comics and later picked up by DC Comics...
, from death at the hands of Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord
Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.-Before the League:...
, despite Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter is a DC Comics character who first appeared in Showcase #20 . Following three more appearances in Showcase , Rip Hunter was given his own series, which ran for 29 issues . He later starred in the six-issue Time Masters series , written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner...
's claims that Ted's death was a point of unalterable "solidified" time. Booster agrees to go with Black Beetle, who has also recruited the first Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett), and current Beetle (Jaime Reyes) for the mission. The group is successful in saving Ted. Upon their return to the present, however, they learn that the timeline has been altered, and that Max and his OMACs are policing the whole world. When Booster and Beetle, gathering some of their old Justice League International
Justice League International
Justice League International is a DC Comics superhero team written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, with art by Kevin Maguire, created in 1987.-Publication history:...
teammates, attempt to fix the timeline, they are attacked by Black Beetle, who reveals his affiliation with the Time Stealers, a group consisting of Despero
Despero
Despero is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Justice League of America #1 Despero is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Justice League of America #1 Despero...
, Per Degaton
Per Degaton
Per Degaton is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain who can travel through time. Per Degaton made his first appearance in All Star Comics #35 and was created by John Broome and Irwin Hasen...
, the Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...
, and Booster's father
Supernova (comics)
Supernova is an identity used by three characters in the , all related to the Carter bloodline. The first appearance of this character was in the weekly DC Comics series 52 where the mystery of his true identity and purpose was one of the recurring themes of the series.-52:The character of...
(the latter under the control of Mr. Mind). As the battle rages, Ted realizes that the only way to fix things is to return to the past and allow himself to be murdered. Black Beetle attempts to stop him, revealing that he is "Jaime Reyes' greatest enemy", and that Jaime took away someone very close to him. He also reveals that he followed the Time Stealers' plan to prevent Ted's death so that Jaime would never have become the Blue Beetle and "she" would never have died. Both he and Ted enter the Time Stealers' time sphere, which then activates. In the next issue, Ted is revealed to have restored the timeline. The where (and when)-abouts of the Black Beetle, however, are unknown.
The "Origins and Omens" backup story in Booster Gold #17 hinted that Black Beetle would return and that his true identity would be revealed.
Hector
In the final issue of Blue Beetle (vol. 2), Nadia, one of Jaime Reyes' tech supports, is killed by the Kahji Dha Revolutionary Army, a subversive group of Reach Infiltrators inspired by Jaime's Scarab. Hector, Nadia's brother, angrily blames Jaime and leaves the country. It is revealed that Hector has bonded with Reach technology taken from the invaders, potentially granting him the same powers as Jaime, and that he has taken the alias "Joshua" based on "Djo Zha" the previous owner of his scarab, and a member of the KDRA. Joshua is the name used by the Black Beetle in his earliest appearances. The use of Hector is intended to cause speculation regarding the Black Beetle character, as future storylines evolve regarding the character. When Black Beetle finally confronts Jamie, he claims that he is indeed Hector, blaming Jamie for Nadia's death, but instantly retracts this statement, instead stating that he in fact killed Hector and stole his technology. In the following issue, he claims to be Jaime's future self, driven mad after being attacked by a brain-damaged Milagro.Current status
The Black Beetle returns in the present day, attacking Booster and the new BatmanBatman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
, in the Batcave
Batcave
The Batcave is the secret headquarters of fictional DC Comics superhero Batman, the alternate identity of playboy Bruce Wayne, consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath his residence, Wayne Manor.-Publication history:...
. After a brief altercation, Black Beetle escapes into the past, changing events in a way that causes Dick to die during his days as Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
. Booster follows the Black Beetle into the past, finding that he has allied himself with Grant Wilson
Ravager (comics)
Ravager is the name of five fictional comic book characters in the DC Universe. All five are villains, and four have appeared in series featuring the Titans and have a connection the villain Deathstroke, Slade Wilson.-Grant Wilson:...
, attempting to change the outcome of his disastrous battle with the Teen Titans. He is also shown working with an unknown person who desires the destruction of the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
(later revealed to be T.O. Morrow). He briefly appears in the present, revealing himself to Jaime and absconding with the body of a gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
the hero had just defeated. Black Beetle is then shown in a new future he created by killing the Teen Titans where Raven's father Trigon
Trigon (comics)
Trigon is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. Trigon first appeared in New Teen Titans #2 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
is able to take over the world in the absence of both the Titans and Batman. It is then shown that his true purpose for creating this future is to use the distraction of Booster, Rip Hunter, and the resistance attacking to steal a Red Scarab from Trigon's trophy room. He claims the Red Scarab is more powerful than his own and bonds it to himself in addition to his current tech. Rip manages to track Black Beetle to his base, using one of his devices to overload the armor with chronal energy, seemingly destroying the Black Beetle. He is also shown in the present in El Paso, attempting to take Jamie's Blue Scarab. Jaime manages to stop him by blasting him with tachyon
Tachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
particles, paralyzing him. However, due to wounds his little sister suffered at Black Beetle's hands, Jaime is forced to let the villain escape.
In the Time Masters: Vanishing Point limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, the Time Stealers learn that the Vanishing Point fortress was destroyed. Black Beetle notices someone is involved of Rip Hunter and find answers. Black Beetle takes his allies to the destroyed Vanishing Point and sees that Rip has locked the Linear Men
Linear Men
The Linear Men are fictional characters, a fictional superhero team in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Adventures of Superman #476 .-Fictional history:...
in a cell because never agreed about how to handle time. The four villains find the cell and tear it open, finding Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee. Black Beetle asks the Linear Men to help bring Waverider
Waverider (comics)
Waverider is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe, a time traveler who was merged with the time stream. Waverider first appeared in Armageddon 2001 #1 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Dan Jurgens....
back to life. But Supernova
Supernova (comics)
Supernova is an identity used by three characters in the , all related to the Carter bloodline. The first appearance of this character was in the weekly DC Comics series 52 where the mystery of his true identity and purpose was one of the recurring themes of the series.-52:The character of...
prevents Black Beetle from dystopia and he sends the Time Stealers back to the present, although Black Beetle escapes and Linear Men choose to go with him since he freed them from imprisonment. After they find Waverider's corpse in the desolate wasteland of Earth's future, Black Beetle double-crosses the Linear Men and tries to use Waverider's power to become invulnerable. Black Beetle attempts to fuse Waverider's corpse power but is thwarted by Supernova, which allows Liri to fuse with Waverider's corpse to become Linear Woman. Black Beetle attacks Supernova but when Superman and the rest of the Time Masters arrive, he escapes, telling them they will see him again another time.
Powers and abilities
- The Black Beetle wears what appears to be a black version of Jaime Reyes' scarab suit. Black Beetle has so far only been seen utilizing energy blasts and flight abilities. It also allows him to travel through time, and protects from the effects of the time portals.
- Recently he has also obtained a Red Scarab, although it is currently unknown what extra powers it endows him.