Although the character has been around for nearly a century, Blue Beetle doesn’t quite have the same level of fame as some of his fellow DC superheroes. Originally a former cop who gets his energy from a special vitamin (and later a sacred scarab) was once a Fox Comics creation named Dan Garrett, and not only had a long-running comic book, but also a weekly radio show.
DC took over the character in the eighties and transferred his powers to a genius inventor and brilliant athlete named Ted Kord. They had Kord jump over to DC in the famous crossover comic Crisis on Infinite Earths, written by legendary Fantastic Four writer and artist George Pérez. Kord as Blue Beetle had his own successful 24-issue comic, although he wasn’t a classical superhero, instead using his intelligence and scientific acumen to help him fight crime (in the vein of Batman or Iron Man).
He later became a member of the Justice League, before being killed off once more. The final Blue Beetle was named Jaime Reyes, who gained his powers by discovering the sacred scarab, which allowed him to morph into a battle suit so he could fight crime (and travel across space).
With all these iterations of the character and all this history, it’s no surprise that Blue Beetle also has battled a whole host of brilliant villains. And, as a Blue Beetle film is set to be released this summer, it’s the perfect time to find out who are the 10 strongest Blue Beetle villains!
10. The Coyote
Making his first appearance in the 2011 comic Blue Beetle (Vol. 8) #1, the Coyote was a were-coyote who was sent by La Dama to retrieve the sacred scarab, only for it to be discovered by Jaime Reyes first. While he has the appearance of the animal he’s named after, he can speak and understand English and Spanish. He was also known for his incredible strength and savage claws and fangs, which he used to rip opponents to shreds. Because of his failure to retrieve the scarab, he was killed by La Dama.
9. Mento
Also known as Steven Dayton, Mento was a powerful genius and former member of the Doom Patrol before he became evil and began leading the despotic organization, the Hybrid. With the help of his special helmet, he’s able to fly, control others, and read people’s minds. This also means he can cause amnesia in people, as well as give them intense visions and paralysis. He fought Blue Beetle via controlling Prometheus and kidnapping Changeling. His incredible mental abilities make him a powerful foe, and it takes the help of various other metahumans for Blue Beetle to get Changeling back and defeat Mento.
8. Jarvis Kord
The uncle of the second Blue Beetle Ted, Jarvis Kord was a talented engineer but also the family’s black sheep. He convinced Ted to work on a secret project with him to build hyper-strong, near-indestructible robots, while never revealing exactly what the point of the project was. Once the project was near completion, he faked his death and moved to a secret lab he had built on Pago Island. However, Ted and his former teacher (and original Blue Beetle) Dan Garrett discovered Jarvis’s plan and went to foil it, leading to Garrett’s death and Ted taking on the mantle of Blue Beetle.
Jarvis appeared again in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, where he pretended to be his nephew in order to trick Jaime Reyes and Batman into giving him the sacrad scarab, only to be foiled by the end of the episode. He’s also the uncle to the villain in the upcoming Blue Beetle film, Victoria Kord (who’ll be played by Susan Sarandon).
7. Overthrow
Overthrow, AKA Daniel Beck, was a former low-level employee at Kord Omniversal Research and Development who became angry at the Kords once he lost his job. Feeling embittered, he became convinced he was a victim of the military-industrial complex (of which the Kord company was an important cog), and decided to seek revenge. He was provided with a battle suit by the Manhunters that allowed him to fly, while also protecting him from energy and physical attacks. He could also hurl energy balls accurately and over long distances. Blue Beetle eventually vanquished him, saving his family’s company.
6. Carapax the Indestructible Man
Conrad Carapax was an archaeologist and rival to the original Blue Beetle, Daniel Garrett. After travelling to Pago Island, he discovered one of the indestructible robots that Jarvis Kord had been building, and attempted to activate it. However, his lack of experience meant the suit malfunctioned, electrocuting Carapax’s body to death while also infusing his mind with the indestructible robot. He later fought Blue Beetle and lost, sinking into the Atlantic Ocean. He survived the water and became a recurring enemy of the character. Carapax is set to be the secondary villain in the upcoming Blue Beetle movie.
5. Black Beetle
Black Beetle is a scarab user from the future, sent back by the Time Stealers to kill Jaime Reyes by pretending that he was really trying to save the life of the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord. The original Black Beetle wasn’t inherently evil, and agreed to work with the Time Stealers as they said if he followed their instructions, his sister’s life would be saved. Once sent back in time, Testas pretends to be an incarnation of the Blue Beetle, and convinces Reyes to jump further back in time where they manage to save Kord. This leads to a series of events that culminates in Black Beetle revealing his true masters, and becoming a villain in the Blue Beetle universe. His ability to alter the timeline is what makes him so powerful, although that is given to him by others.
4. La Dama
Although she doesn’t have the superhero powers of others on this list, La Dama’s real strength lies in who and what she controls, which makes her an incredibly formidable villain. The aunt of Jaime Reyes’s friend Brenda, La Dama (real name Amparo Cardenas) is the biggest crime boss in all of El Paso, running everything from drugs to weapons, and commanding a legion of violent loyal soldiers. She’s aware of Reyes’ dual identity, as he is of hers, although Brenda doesn’t know that her aunt is a powerful mob boss. A constant enemy of Blue Beetle, she makes it this high up on the list because of her longevity, smarts, and the empire she controls.
3. Doctor Polaris
Much like the Blue Beetle, there are multiple characters who take on the mantle of Doctor Polaris. In this case, the original identity of the villain was Neal Emerson, who was able to channel and manipulate magnetic fields, allowing him to fly, cause massive explosions, and control any metal that was magnetic. However, Emerson had a fragile psyche and was susceptible to mind control, as well as made powerless by extreme heat.
His successor, John Nichol, was much more powerful, able to create magnetic storms in peoples’ brains to kill them. He fought Blue Beetle and would have won, were it not for his daughter Mariposa shooting him in the shoulder, allowing the superhero to get away.
2. Doctor Alchemy
Originally introduced as an enemy of The Flash, Dr. Alchemy soon morphed into an antagonist for the Blue Beetle as he began targeting Kord Industries so he could gather more promethium. The villain was able to use the Philosopher’s Stone to change any element into another, which he used to great effect. Thanks to telekinesis, he’s also able to control the Stone from a distance, making him all the more powerful, and why he’s so high up on this list. He battles Blue Beetle many times, and as he can give himself the properties of ultra-strong promethium, he’s a formidable opponent who’s almost impossible to vanquish.
1. Maxwell Lord
As the killer of the second Blue Beetle Ted Kord, it’s only right that Maxwell Lord is number one on this list. Lord began life as a smart, ambitious, and powerful businessman, but later gained metahuman powers thanks to the Dominators invading earth. Although he was once an ally of the Justice League, he soon turned evil, and his powers grew so much that he could control beings as powerful as Superman. Lord is a genius tactician and excellent hand-to-hand combat fighter, as well as having the ability to control other beings and manipulate their memories. Despite that, he kills Kord in a very human way, by shooting him, albeit because Kord discovered the only way to fix the broken timeline he was in was to sacrifice himself.