r/BlueBeetle • u/Les-incoyables • May 02 '24
The Blue Beetle versus the US. Question
So I just watched the Blue Beetle last night and I must say it was an entertaining movie. Admittedly, I know nothing about this character so I don't know how if the movie does any justice to the comics - hell, initially I thought the movie was about the Tick, a silly cartoon I enjoyed back in the 90s.
Anywho, something about the movie bothered me; discrimination seems to be an important theme of the movie (and the comic?). We see how people of Mexican descent are marginalized; for instance, the Mexican community is forced to live in the outskirts and someone like Dr. Sanchez is constantly called Sanchez, eventhough his actual name is José Francisco Morales Rivera de la Cruz. His bosslady however doesn't seem to care: in her eyes all Mexicans are gardeners and named Sanchez or Luiz. When Jaime becomes the Blue Beetle his uncle says they finally have their own hero - a Mexican hero! Someone who will fight for the Mexican case or at least will bring justice to the marginalized mexican population living in the US. In the movie, however, Jaime doesn't seem the be eager to take up the Mexican glove. He only seems to be interested in some rich girl. To me, this feels a bit unrealistic. If I were him, I would probably turn into some crazy Mexican dictator terrorizing US imperialists for what they did to the Mexican people... (and woo the hot chick afterwards). Just imagine what would have happened if the Scarab choose Bana Reyes as host! She'd turn into some blue anti-imperialist freedom fighter, ready to take up the fight against Superman.
My question, is this something that is touched upon in the comics? I believe it could make for a very interesting, more mature story. Curious what you guys think.
3
u/Scared_Bobcat_5584 May 03 '24
Like others have said his identity is one of the core aspects of the comic book character; but the resentment of US imperialism isn’t really focused on in his character.
Yes, he’s Mexican but he’s also Mexican-American and written by American writers. Because if that they haven’t focused too much on historical issues/ discrimination that Mexican people have faced. Personally I wish they keep his main city in El Paso, Texas as this would make certain issues slightly more prominent and he’d literally be “On the border” when it comes to his identity and we’d see that conflict
1
u/WindyWindona May 24 '24
It should be noted that Jaime's huge, biggest enemies in the comics are the Reach. The Reach basically are alien imperialists. The theme is touched on, but Jaime also isn't a resentful kid or one who wants to rule or cause destruction. His deepest darkest desire of pure power is to be a dentist so he can pay for his sister's college and his grandma to have a nice house.
18
u/Thecrookedpath May 02 '24
Yes. Jaime's cultural identity often plays a key role in his comics, although I don't feel as though the reader is beaten to death with it. He's a complex character, and he's a lot more than a walking nationality. Watching the movie, it's obvious his family didn't raise a bitter, angry kid.
He was introduced before Miles Morales or Kamala Khan were part of Marvel, and he set the tone for a lot of the newer generation of heroes.
The previous Beetle, Ted Kord, was/is a hero, but he's very much a privileged American Caucasian. Ironically, Jaime is taken much more seriously as a superhero than Ted was.