Following the events of “Blue Beetle: Graduation Day,” Jaime Reyes’ adventures continue. Over the past five issues, he’s dealt with the possible loss of a mentor, having to rise as a leader for several similarly-empowered heroes-to-be, and facing an enemy strong and fierce enough to make him consider crossing the line into killing his foes. So what’s next for Jaime, and is it any good? Let’s take a look, with a bit of spoilers to be wary of.
Written by Josh Trujillo
Illustrated by Adrián Gutiérrez
Colored by Wil Quintana
Lettered by Lucas GattoniBlue Beetle’s final showdown with the Blood Scarab begins! Only one scarab wielder will be left standing!
Josh Trujillo’s run on “Blue Beetle” has, to this point, been building up to the showdown between Jaime and the Blood Scarab, whose roots were revealed to be connected to the Pharaoh Kha-Ef-Re – a callback to the original Dan Garrett Blue Beetle. This issue builds on that, gives us their showdown, and continues the story on to bring us to the next arc.
In order to make this climactic showdown all the more impactful, Trujillo begins this issue by giving us Blood Scarab’s backstory. This helps further add to the legacy that Dan Garrett left behind, while giving us a more sympathetic look at the man behind the scarab – a man who we quickly learn is as much a victim as anyone else.
This new information re-contextualizes the conflict by changing the stakes. While Kha-Ef-Re is still an enemy in need of defeating, there’s also the victim being used as his host, who Jaime will either have to save or sacrifice.
That gives way for the rest of the issue, which is primarily a lengthy fight against Blood Scarab, after their attempts to incapacitate him last issue only resulted in powering him up while leaving Jaime and his scarab weakened. That sets our protagonist in a clear underdog situation, while giving his supporting cast opportunities to show off their abilities. (Sure, most of them get trounced by Blood Scarab pretty quickly, but the fact that they fight him anyways is still a good show of heroic fortitude, which is a nice step forward for these characters.)
Trujillo uses the action to propel the story, but also gives the characters a chance to react to demonstrate their fears, uncertainty, and development. While that does take a backseat to the fighting, there’s enough there to move them forward, which balances out the action and gives us time to breathe.
However, the real climax of the story comes from Jaime’s fight, and the way “Blue Beetle” #6 parallels the Blue Beetle and Blood Scarab, as well as their hosts. It sets up more internal conflict for Jaime as he sees that he and Khaji Da aren’t as in-agreement on all things and he’s not as in control as he thought, so there will be new challenges between him and the scarab as the story develops.
Finally, this chapter brings the question of whether or not Jaime could or should kill his enemies to a close. While I won’t spoil that part, it does create an effective emotional impact that we’ll be seeing ramifications for in future chapters.
However, an issue as action-driven as this one needs artwork that can carry it. So are artist Adrián Gutiérrez and colorist Wil Quintana up to the task?
I’ve both praised and critiqued Gutiérrez’s work in the past. His suit designs, scenery, and action pieces are all excellent, but his characters’ faces can sometimes feel flat or lean too much into anime-esque expressions. However, the latter is not an issue in “Blue Beetle” #6, which gives us plenty of expressiveness while keeping things grounded.
There are some absolutely stunning panels and pages across this issue, like the use of shadows and silhouettes over a large “KRAK!” sound effect as a character’s arm gets broken, or a massive upwards angled panel taking up a good 4/5 of the page to illustrate how giant a character has grown. The way the suit eclipses the sun, keeping the character half shadowed while glowing eyes add illumination is absolutely stunning.
Continued belowIn fact, a lot of the issue makes great use of silhouettes against colored backgrounds to enhance the action and add to the impact of each strike. It’s a very effective technique, especially when the Blue Beetle and Blood Scarab have their final showdown. This is illustrated across a two-page spread, where the panels flow in neat rows, growing longer with each column to show the growing intensity of the fight. It’s a great effect.
The dynamic posing, fluid action, and dramatic panels all add to the intensity of the scene. And there are some moments, such as the Blood Scarab appearing against a white background of energy, or the massive shockwave of two scarab-powered suits clashing, that feel very anime-inspired, that’s to the comic’s credit, as the dramatic effect they provide hits just the right note.
As for Wil Quintana’s colors, the best way I can describe it is “bright.” But that’s not a bad thing. Nearly every panel is absolutely popping with bright shades of red, yellow, or blue, with the occasional white background to make the characters and their equally bright colorations stand out more. But the backgrounds often accentuate the darker silhouettes, and the glowing tones add to the energy levels and intensity of the lasers, fire, and explosions abound.
Some of Quintana’s best work comes from the moments where the colors shift for added effect. When a character clashes with the Blood Scarab, the entire panel turns shades of red to emphasize the danger and anger alike. When Starfire appears, the skies around her turn a red that matches her flaming hair, making her appearance all the more impressive. It’s all very good uses of the colors for artistic effect, and as bright as it can get, I can’t imagine the comic having the same effect if the colors were toned down.
All in all, “Blue Beetle” #6 brings an appropriately epic and dramatic end to Jaime’s battle with the Blood Scarab, while introducing new dilemmas and conflicts to carry through the next part of the story. It shows that Trujillo, Gutiérrez, and Quintana are only getting better after their work on “Blue Beetle: Graduation Day” and the character is in good hands as the story progresses.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A very solid issue, with great action, dilemmas, character development, and suitably epic artwork.
