| “ | Whatever happens, you tell him it's not his fault. You tell him it's not his fault, that I said so. And you tell him that I never had a better friend than him. | „ |
| ~ Blue Beetle (Ted Kord). |
| “ | Kid, I wasn't testing whether you were ready to be the Beetle. I mean, I knew something was gonna happen, sure. I wanted to teach you one last thing. Nothing to do with the Beetle. You can't save the world by yourself. You need other people to get by. To save your butt now and then. Lemme show you. | „ |
| ~ Prime Earth's Ted Kord to Jaime Reyes. |
Blue Beetle (real name Theodore Stephen "Ted" Kord) is a fictional character and superhero that originally appeared in Charlton Comics, and was later picked up by DC comics.
He is the second Blue Beetle, having taken over the mantle after the original, Dan Garrett, was severely wounded when they stopped Ted's uncle from taking over the world. A genius with the knack of making jokes, Ted wouldn't use the Blue Scarab to fight his enemies, but use his gadgets and resources in battle. Ted would go to become a close friend of Booster Gold, and be a member of the Justice League International, the Super Buddies, and the Suicide Squad.
He was created by the late Steve Ditko and Gary Friedrich, and first appeared in Captain Atom #83 in November of 1966.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Theodore Stephen "Ted" Kord is the son of Thomas M. Kord, a businessman who was the head of Kord Omniversal Research and Development, Inc, and an unnamed mother. Ted showed himself to be highly intelligent, being excellent in the field of science, but was aimless and had no sense of direction. When he was thirteen years old, Ted hacked into the United States Defense severs, but it's unknown if he was caught or reprimanded for doing so. Ted would go off to college and would become the student of professor Dan Garrett, who was secretly the superhero Blue Beetle.
Becoming Blue Beetle[]
When Ted learned that his uncle, Jarvis, wanted to take over the world, Ted decided that he had to be stopped, and went to Garrett for assistance. While they managed to stop Jarvis, Garrett was severely wounded, and asked Kord to carry on his legacy as the Blue Beetle. Garrett then passed on the scarab onto Ted, but the latter couldn't get it to work for him, and decided that he could be the Blue Beetle without it. Ted trained himself to be at his physical peak, and later created a vehicle which he nicknamed "The Bug", and made himself a costume who used his gadgets to stop his opponents. After his father neglected his company, Ted took over Kord Omniversal and rebuilt it from the ground, and it became one of the top companies in the United States.
During the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, Kord was recruited by the Monitor to stop the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons, and learned that he scarab could destroy the demons. However, Ted lost the scarab during the crisis, but was later confronted by a resurrected Dan Garrett. The scarab had taken a hold of its former host, and told Kord that it wanted a new one, but Ted refused. He then helped Garrett break free from the scarab's control, and had his final words with his predecessor before he died once again. After the crisis, Ted's father managed to retake his company, and Kord left the business to join the newly reformed Justice League International. On the team, Ted became the best friend of Booster Gold, but both of the foolishness would often get into trouble with their teammates.
Ted would then leave the league later on, and regained control of Kord Omniversal from his father, and helped it become a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. Kord then briefly retired from being a superhero, but would occasionally assist the Birds of Prey before becoming a member of the team. While on the team, Ted befriended Barbara Gordon, who was the vigilante Batgirl, and also the founder of the Birds of Prey. Ted would soon learn that he had a heart condition, but continued his heroics and later recovered the scarab when Hawkman discovered it.
Death and Legacy[]
Ted would later be killed by Maxwell Lord, while he was investigating a stolen shipment of Kryptonite from Kord Omniversal's warehouse. Ted had investigated deeply into the theft, and managed to learn that Lord was planning to rid Earth of all metahumans by using Brother Eye and the OMACs. After his death, he was mourned by his allies, and Barbara created memorial in his name for his service to Earth. Despite his death, the legacy of the Blue Beetle would go on, as a teenager by the name of Jaime Reyes become his successor and guardian of the scarab. Booster Gold would also try to save his friend from death, but it had be undone due to a shift in the time where Lord managed to launch OMAC.
Kord would become a Black Lantern during the "Blackest Night" storyline, and battled Jaime Reyes and Booster Gold in an attempt to murder them. Kord was then defeated when Booster Gold used a light blast from a gun he previously designed, and Booster then placed his remains at the fortress called Vanishing Point. When Lord was revived during the "Brightest Day" storyline, Lord erased everyone's memory of his existence, and influenced the community to believe Ted committed suicide. This angered Booster Gold, as he was one of the few to remember Lord's existence, and Power Girl would later regain her memories as well. Batman would then reveal that he remembered Lord's existence, which ended the investigation of Ted Kord's death for his former sidekick, Nightwing.
Prime Earth[]
On Prime Earth, Ted graduated from high by the time he was sixteen, and managed to develop insect-sized drones that were considered revolutionary by Lex Luthor. Ted's father, Thomas would be killed by the Crime Syndicate when they intended to Luthor at his company. Afterward, Ted became the Blue Beetle, and later became the benefactor of his successor, Jaime Reyes, who came to him for help on the Blue Scarab.
Portrayals[]
Television[]
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, he was voiced by Wil Wheaton, who also voiced Aqualad in Teen Titans, young Martin Brisby in The Secret of NIMH, and also played Gordie LaChance in Stand by Me.
- In Smallville, he was portrayed by Sebastian Spence.
- In Mad, he was voiced by Keith Ferguson, who also voiced Bloo in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Lightning McQueen in Cars media, and Basch fon Ronsenburg in Final Fantasy XII.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ranked 61st by IGN in the greatest comic book character of all time.
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