Comic book fans – as well as those who don’t adhere to the source material but devote themselves to the live-action adaptations – can often be a little precious over who says what about who in which project, and very rarely has that proven to be truer than in the case of Blue Beetle.
A throwaway line in the trailer used to sign off on the footage with a quick gag ended up causing widespread outrage in certain corners of the internet, with George Lopez’s Rudy Reyes making a point of calling Batman a fascist.
Of course, given that the origin story has confirmed it takes place in a DC universe without confirming which one, there’s every chance it was a reference to whoever ends up playing the part in The Brave and the Bold. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, but star Raoul Max Trujillo still offered his two cents when asked about the storm in a teacup by ScreenRant.
“Okay, well, first of all, what did you think he meant when he said Batman’s a fascist? Because that line to me, as I heard it, I was like, “What is he referring to exactly?” I wasn’t quite sure of it, but I think if anything else he was just writing him off. I think it was kind of, to me, it was a hidden message. Basically, f*ck Batman, Blue Beetle! …Because he comes from the elite. The elite will always protect the elite. In that regard, I guess I could see it. But either way, it’s just a very funny line.”
The whole thing will be entirely forgotten soon enough anyway, but it just goes to show that even making reference to a widely-beloved superhero in a negative light is enough to generate harsh and scathing reactions.