The latest D.C. superhero movie is not another grim Batman sequel, or yet another Superman reboot. It’s a colorful introduction to a new hero, Blue Beetle, and the family that supports him, from job interviews to superhero-level fights. Unless you’re a fan of his comics or an avid watcher of “Teen Titans,” you might be wondering who is “Blue Beetle?” It’s a challenge director Angel Manuel Soto (“Charm City Kings“) has taken on with a heartfelt love for the Mexican American character and his family, a sense of humor, and a shared passion of Latin music and ‘80s playlists.
Before he becomes a superhero, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) is a source of pride for his family, and their closeness is apparent from the moment they gather to welcome him back to colorful Palmera City. He’s a recent college graduate who returns to find his family is losing their home and auto shop in their working-class neighborhood of Edge Keys as gentrification approaches. Jaime gets a break when billionaire heiress Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) gives Jaime a chance to interview for a job downtown, but on the big day, she gives him an even bigger assignment: guard whatever’s in a burger box, sight unseen. After some teasing from his family, he opens the cardboard Pandora’s Box. He unleashes an iridescent blue scarab that fuses with his body, making Jaime a superhero with the ability to fly and create weapons and shields from his hands. But Jaime will need a lot more than a new exo-super suit to take on Jenny’s power-hungry aunt, Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), and her plot to create an army of Robo-cop-like troops led by her creation, Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo).
In some respects, “Blue Beetle” follows the well-worn superhero formula cemented over the past decade: an average person gets incredible power and a nemesis and now must deal with both. However, writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer adds a little more backstory to the characters and incorporates issues far more serious than your average superhero movie to the narrative, like gentrification, the Mexican Revolution, and the role the U.S. played in destabilizing Latin American countries. Their mentions may be brief, but they’re effective and maybe will prompt some meaningful web searches after the movie. Soto and Dunnet-Alcocer stick with their hero’s origins, not hiding his Mexican American identity but emphasizing it, building up supporting characters that feel a part of Jaime’s journey, creating a vibrant setting we haven’t seen in most recent super movies, and what many whiz-bang-pow superhero movies are missing these days: jokes. Blue Beetle isn’t a brooding caped crusader but feels more like the animated Spider-Man Miles Morales, a young character coming into his own into a new superpowered world with a secretly super talented set of relatives who, despite their quirks, come in pretty handy when the time comes to save the day, not unlike Black Panther and his royal family and allies.
In the Reyes family, Jaime’s skeptical younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) and rascally Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) provide punchlines and support for Jaime. His unassuming Nana (Adriana Barraza) is a pitch-perfect presence, both kindly and surprisingly ready for action when duty calls. Jaime’s concerned mama Rocio Reyes (Elpidia Carrillo), and wise papa Alberto Reyes (Damián Alcázar) round out the dynamic in their warm household, which is lined with family photos, a portrait of La Virgen de Guadalupe, candles, and a table almost always ready to host a meal. Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo not only creates Jaime’s super persona with sleek elegance but gives each family member a style of their own, from Uncle Rudy’s well-worn metalhead gear to Nana’s flowery house dress.
That sense of identity extends to the film’s aesthetics, which boasts more color than any D.C. movie I can think of in recent memory. Soto and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski imagine Palmera City as a glowing Miami-esque waterfront with tall towers jutting out of the water and lit up by neon signs. In contrast, Edge Keys is much more humble but glows naturally from the Caribbean sun of one of its real-life locations, Puerto Rico. Inside the Reyes’ home, the house feels warm from the sun and the colors throughout the house, again in contrast to the coldly monochromatic, minimalist buildings that belong to the Kord family. The film then incorporates bits of old ‘80s technology and blue-violet lighting to play on previous versions of Blue Beetle and his secret lair, which, even in the ‘80s, never did the Batcave ever look as colorful. Visually, this playful use of color gives “Blue Beetle” an added sense of fun, throwing off the curtains of dour grayness that has plagued previous D.C. movies.
Joining Miles Morales from the animated Marvel side, Jaime Reyes is the first live-action Latino superhero to lead his own movie, and it’s about time. All the promises of better diversity initiatives have left us with single-digit representation numbers and shows canceled too soon. Even as studios walk away from supporting diversity as a cause célèbre, “Blue Beetle” feels like a reminder of what could be when creators from our communities are given the chance and resources to succeed. I haven’t heard an audience laugh this many times in a superhero movie since Robert Downey Jr. toned down the wisecracks and made Iron Man serious. There were audible gasps and boisterous laughter when Nana watched “Sábado Gigante” and “María la del Barrio” or when Uncle Rudy unleashed the power of an animated version of “El Chapulín Colorado” on building security. The family flows easily between Spanish to English and back, with the younger generation more often speaking in English than their elders, mimicking the multigenerational bilingual dynamics of many households. Not everything is translated on the big screen, but even if you don’t speak the language or recognize the old TV shows or the ‘80s Mexican pop song, the emotional impact remains effective and accessible, and if you do recognize the Soda Stereo song, know who voices Khaji-Da (Becky G), or know how it feels to be addressed as “mijo,” then the movie works on a different level, one most superhero movies have never acknowledged for Latino audiences.
Shallow representation is not enough. We shouldn’t have to settle for scraps or the occasional token best friend or sidekick for almost 20% of Americans to see ourselves on screen. It’s laughable it took this long for the powers-that-be to acknowledge us, but Soto and the talent in front of and behind the camera more than justify Blue Beetle’s belated move to the big screen. Hopefully, there is space for Jaime and the Reyes family in James Gunn’s future vision for D.C. movies, as “Blue Beetle” remains both faithful to the superhero format yet gives it new life with family, culture, and humor. As recent superhero box office fumbles go, it’s a subgenre that needs some shaking up, and I’m happy a relatively unknown like Blue Beetle could be the one to do it.