"Blue Beetle" is a throwback to the goofier era of superhero movies,
but there's still a lot going on at the end of the film. Here's everything
you need to know about the ending of "Blue Beetle." Warning: Spoilers ahead!
One of the main strengths of "Blue Beetle" is its pacing. Unlike a lot of blockbusters these days,
it doesn't overload viewers with exposition at the top. The first act moves pretty
slowly to its benefit, with Jaime Reyes returning home after graduating college
and discovering that his family is in crisis. His father is recovering from a heart attack,
the family business has gone under, and they're about to lose their house.
Jaime struggles to find a decent job to help his family financially,
but he catches a break when he encounters Jenny Kord, niece of Kord Industries leader
Victoria Kord. Victoria is trying to use an advanced piece of alien technology known as
the Scarab to create dangerous weapons for private policing and military purposes. Jenny
steals the Scarab to prevent this and gives it to Jaime for safekeeping, but it doesn't take
long for the artifact to bond with his body and mind, turning him into the Blue Beetle.
With the help of Uncle Rudy, Jaime and Jenny sneak into Kord Industries, battle Victoria's lieutenant
Carapax and steal a key to Jenny's father's old superhero lair. While the trio tries to
get the Scarab out of Jaime, Victoria sends her soldiers to the Reyes' house to draw him out,
leading to his capture and the death of his father. Undeterred, the Reyes family pulls
together and sets out to rescue Jaime from Victoria's heavily fortified island base.
The third act of "Blue Beetle" is a full-blown assault on Victoria Kord's island fortress. Jenny
leads the Reyes family back to her father's secret base, where they discover and power up the Bug,
a large, armored, scarab-shaped vehicle capable of flight. The Bug comes fully equipped with an
arsenal of gadgets and laser weapons, so the whole crew, even Nana, gears up to bring Jaime home.
With Rudy at the wheel, they crash the gates and start rampaging. The Bug proves to be more than a
match for Victoria's security forces. Jenny and Jaime's sister Milagro infiltrate the compound
to plant explosives and cut the power. Meanwhile, Victoria tries to transfer the Scarab's code from
Jaime into Carapax so that his O.M.A.C. suit can finally reach full power. This process completes,
but Jaime escapes and reunites with his family. After the Scarab reboots,
he re-enters the compound to save Jenny and his sister with a little help from Nana and Rudy.
It all comes down to a one-on-one duel between Jaime and Carapax, with our hero ultimately coming
out as the victor. At first, he wants to kill Carapax to avenge his father's death, but the
Scarab shows him his enemy's tragic backstory. It reveals how Carapax was taken by Victoria as
a child soldier in Guatemala and forced to do her bidding. Jaime lets Carapax live, and he returns
the favor by killing Victoria and destroying the compound. He sacrifices himself to wipe all
O.M.A.C. research from the planet. Back home, the family mourns Alberto, and Jenny and Jaime kiss.
One of the more confusing moments during the ending of "Blue Beetle" is the cosmic
dream sequence that Jaime has while strapped into Victoria's device. It's also one of the
film's most powerful and beautiful scenes. Knocked unconscious by the toll the procedure
takes on him, Jaime awakens in a technicolor version of his family home where he's greeted
by his father. Though Jaime couldn't have possibly known for sure that his dad was dead,
he realizes it here, and the two share a touching goodbye. Alberto tells his son
that it's his destiny to use his new powers for good. As he does, the house is stripped away,
revealing an open void around them and a giant avatar of the Blue Beetle.
Is this dream simply a hallucination from a man on the brink of death? Or is there
something more supernatural going on? At this point, the Scarab is bonded to Jaime's brain,
which could have some effect on his subconscious. Or maybe there's magic involved. In the comics,
the Scarab's original mission of conquering Earth is layered because it's changed by
magical forces. "Blue Beetle" does spend time explaining its version of Khaji-Da,
the sentience within the device, so a similar power could still be at play.
"It's called the Scarab. It was given to my dad when I was a kid.
It's some kind of a world destroying weapon."
Though Victoria Kord is the main villain of "Blue Beetle," Carapax is the muscle.
Known as Indestructible Man in the comics, he's the one who actually battles Jaime
throughout the movie. But by the end of "Blue Beetle," Carapax has had a change of heart.
After Khaji-Da shows Jaime Carapax's tragic past, he lets him go. Carapax then overheats his suit,
destroying Victoria's entire facility, all of her O.M.A.C. prototypes and research, her,
and himself. Without the montage of flashbacks that we get of Carapax's life, this twist might
feel a bit sudden. But "Blue Beetle" shows us exactly how much he's been made to sacrifice.
While just a child, his home was destroyed and his mother was killed in a bombing raid,
presumably part of the "anti-communist, counter-terrorist" operations Kord
Industries funded in Guatemala. He was made a child soldier in Victoria's private army and
sent to war against his own people, all so that she could establish a local mining operation.
We see these mines advertised in one of Victoria's corporate videos,
making it clear that any political agenda was just a ruse for corporate imperialism. His whole life,
Carapax has been a tool of that ambition, with Victoria slowly replacing his wounded body with
mechanical augmentations to keep him going. It's implied that these procedures suppressed
Carapax's memories, but his connection to the Scarab brings them back. His prior claim that
Jaime's love of family is a weakness is revealed to be a lie he was forced to tell himself.
"My family? That's what makes me strong."
Though its tone is often campy and goofy, evoking early 2000s superhero movies like
the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" trilogy, "Blue Beetle" also deals with some serious themes.
Beyond the core messages about family, bravery, and perseverance, there's an
underlying condemnation of corporate imperialism and the privatization of the military and police.
"It's like Batman's stuff."
"Batman's a fascist."
Carapax's backstory is a big part of that. His past demonstrates how Global North governments and
corporations have historically destabilized and decimated areas of the Global South for profit.
Victoria claims that her military operations in Guatemala were meant to stop dangerous terrorist
groups, but her company's mines tell the real story. This breed of corporate imperialism is
also visible in Jaime's neighborhood, where houses owned by Kord Industries have their
rent raised constantly to push out the local Latino community to gentrify the community.
Private police are a rising trend in the U.S. and in "Blue Beetle" they patrol and oppress
lower-income residents with impunity. They break down doors and intimidate people with
military-grade weapons, all with the mission of extorting them for money.
Above all, "Blue Beetle" is a fun action-adventure movie. It doesn't
spend much time zooming in on these larger social issues. But they're there if you look for them,
and the end of the movie is a cathartic bit of revenge. When Nana guns down a
whole platoon of Kord soldiers with a laser Gatling gun and shouts "Down
with the imperialists" in Spanish, she's speaking for far more than just herself.
It's obvious from the get-go that "Blue Beetle" is a film about family. Jaime is
the main character, but every member of the Reyes clan plays a big role. Without Rudy,
they never would have been able to get a Ted Watch from Kord Industries. Without
the guidance of his father, Jaime wouldn't be the hero he becomes. And without the
combined efforts of everyone else, he might never have escaped from Victoria.
Carapax has a great deal of disdain for Jaime because of his bonds with his family.
"The love you feel for your family makes you weak."
Of course, he proves that to be false. It's a story Carapax carries with him to endure
the pain of losing his own family, though he still carries around a picture of his mother in a locket
she used to wear. Only after his memories come back does Carapax fully become himself again.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto has said that centering the family
was important to him from the start. He didn't find it believable that a Latino
superhero could keep such a big secret from his family. He told Den of Geek,
"The experience that we wanted to show was that family is our
superpower to some extent. When we're in trouble, the first people we call
are our parents. It was about being able to hone into that and try something new."
With Victoria Kord presumably blown to smithereens at the end of "Blue Beetle," Jenny takes over as
the new head of Kord Industries. It's clear that she intends to make some major changes,
starting with an end to the company's long history of military weapons development. She also tells
the Reyes family that she intends to give the Keys back to the Latino community, ending the corporate
dictatorship and private policing practices that Victoria used to oppress the neighborhood.
Is this a bit of an oversimplification of how corporate oversight actually
works? Yes. The idea of Kord Industries becoming a "good" tech company overnight,
even with all of the larger implications of its business,
feels a bit like a fairy tale ending. But after everything that Jaime and his family go through,
maybe that's what they deserve. Regardless, Jenny will surely be a big improvement over her aunt.
By the end of "Blue Beetle," Jaime Reyes is a bonafide hero. He's put a stop to an evil
corporate imperialist and prevented her from crafting dangerous weapons
that could further harm communities like his. By the end of the film,
it appears Jaime isn't really trying to hide his new superhero identity.
Though he doesn't mean to, he activates the Scarab's exoskeleton while chatting
with Jenny in broad daylight in front of his house. He then takes her with him for a little
flight around town. Since his whole family knows about the Scarab, and he's clearly not trying to
hide it from the neighbors, Jaime might not be a secret for long. Most of DC's biggest
heroes have secret identities, but Jaime appears to be taking the Tony Stark route.
"I am Iron Man."
Hopefully, Palmera City welcomes him. It's obvious that Jaime can do a lot of good for
his community and the city at large, and with Jenny now running Kord Industries,
the leading power in Palmera is on his side, as well. At one point in the movie,
Rudy compares the last Blue Beetle, Jenny's father Ted Kord, to Superman in Metropolis or the Flash
in Central City. Jaime seems destined to become that sort of protector for his own hometown.
The mid-credits scene at the end of "Blue Beetle" reveals that Ted
Kord may actually be alive. We're shown his Batcave-like secret lair, filled with his old
Blue Beetle suits and various gadgets, but no one's manning the tech. Then, out of nowhere,
a message starts to play over the speakers. A staticky voice declares that he is Ted Kord
and that he's still alive. He begs whoever receives the message to tell his daughter.
No clear picture of Ted appears on the screen, however, leaving the whole scene mysterious.
It's pretty clear that Ted's return is meant to set up a "Blue Beetle" sequel. But where
has he been all this time? Why is he only now reaching out to Jenny? And is it actually him,
or could it be some kind of ruse? It'll take another "Blue Beetle" movie to clear
it all up. It's definitely fun to imagine multiple generations of Blue Beetle teaming up in a sequel:
Jaime with his Scarab exoskeleton, and Ted with his treasure trove of goofy, retro gadgets.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto explained to Den of Geek that he didn't want
Jaime to be a Superman-level hero by the end of "Blue Beetle." Instead,
the story is more about him accepting the responsibility that comes with his
powersand growing with his family beside him. The director said,
"I didn't want it to be another story where 15 minutes in, something happens,
and 50 minutes later, he's dominating the experience, and by the end,
he's saving the world. He's not going to save the world yet; he doesn't deserve to yet."
Given the mid-credits cliffhanger, it's pretty clear that Soto has big plans
should the movie spawn a sequel. And thankfully,
star Xolo Maridueña is ready for that possibility, telling Entertainment Weekly,
"I want to do 12 more years of 'Blue Beetle.'"
He confirmed that he's spoken with DCU heads James Gunn and Peter Safran about where Jaime
and his family could go in the future as the larger franchise develops. The actor added,
"My heart is already so fulfilled with this movie. If we do 20 of these movies and 40 cameos or
if it's just this one, what's most exciting to me is the opportunity for people to see it and
have little kids everywhere saying, 'Oh my gosh, this guy looks like me. I can be a hero, too.'"
"Blue Beetle" is one of the best DC movies in years, so it's good to know that the characters
will likely be sticking around for a while. It's been a weird stretch for the studio, with the
DCEU timeline ending and the DCU kicking off under James Gunn. A lot of fans have been confused about
what characters and storylines are part of the new universe and which ones will be left behind. Some
of those questions still haven't gotten answers, but Gunn himself has confirmed that Blue Beetle
is part of the vision for the new DCU. He said on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum,
"The first DCU character for sure is Blue Beetle, and the first full DCU movie is 'Superman.'"
That's a bit of a cryptic sentiment, but what Gunn probably means is that even though "Blue Beetle"
was conceived before the DCU was official, it fits into the new plan. His wording also
implies that the studio isn't yet fully certain of how many past characters will come back.
Whatever role Jaime will end up playing in the future of the franchise,
director Ángel Manuel Soto is ready for it. He told Total Film,
"Our first movie, the way we wanted to do it, was always with the mentality
that we wanted to do two more, at least. And taking the traditional three-act structure
of a story, we wanted our first movie to practically be the first act of a saga."