REVIEW: ‘Blue Beetle,’ Issue #5

Blue Beetle #5 is published by DC Comics, written by Josh Trujillo, art by Adrián Gutiérrez, colors by Wil Quintana, and letters by Lucas Gattoni. Blue Beetle gathers a plan and a team capable of defeating the Blood Scarab, who has already begun a final spell…

The plot of this issue comes with emotion and the power that it deserves. The pacing may take its time, but it is all worth it. Like the penultimate episode of a season, there is a lot to accomplish and a huge event to build up to. Blue Beetle has just about come around to the fact he might have to kill the Blood Scarab in order to stop him, and that turmoil is still burning within him.

As the final preparations are made, Victoria Kord and the Blood Scarab have their own plans, both serving as potential death knells for Jaime Reyes. The final moments between Blue Beetle and his team feature the fire and family that the comic has become well known for. And even if suspicions of how the book will end are made during the earlier conversations, all of the different variables meeting at the same time means many will have a surprise twist.

The characters are fantastic, with Blue Beetle #5 featuring some of the best dialogue so far. Jaime is not a prominent hero with the ability to lead just yet, but this chapter brilliantly shows how he can be. He has Starfire by his side, though she is kind and supportive enough to let this be his fight to take charge of. It’s his plan that he drills up with his tactics.

Starfire may have been the perfect fit for an older guest star, as she is so unoppressive as a personality. She will let the young man make the decisions he wants and needs, as this is his city and his fight. He now has a big gang of heroes alongside him, including two scarabs, but this is Jaime’s series. One of the longest scenes features Blue Beetle talking to the scarab on his back, who has also aided the two generations before him, Dan Garratt and Blue Beetle. It’s weirdly touching, considering the emotionless alien machine.

The art is glorious. It’s not the most conventional when it comes to gangs of heroes, but their designs are all amazing. Blue Beetle is small and skinny, but the ability for his armor to transform and for his face to be so expressive makes it delightful to read his adventures. He can be so intensely dramatic. Starfire is just as expressive. In fact, Gutiérrez ensures that every character involved in the comic is. The Blood Scarba is menacing, and the power he has at his disposal starts unfolding. Even with little motion at the beginning of the battle, how he is spreading his true plan has turned somewhat demonic and further elevates the comic. This is just the tempting beginning of the final battle, yet those opening punches terrifically hint at how magnificent it will be.

The colors are, again, tremendous. The Scarabs are all given individual, vibrant colors to make them easily identifiable, but the backgrounds are just as pretty, with unnatural shades filling the pages. There are huge bursts of powers and energy blasts, and there are just striking and brilliant brush strokes to determine them. There can either be solid, blocky colors or textures, and both work wonders. The lettering only has slight issues when the custom word balloons appear because of the custom font and the color of the word balloons themselves.

Blue Beetle #5 is so much fun. The book is filled with personality and passion, with the action and colors of a Power Rangers episode. As a single-hero series, the excitement and the storytelling put Jaime up there with Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan, and many other senior heroes. And unlike those older characters, Jaime is being forcefully dragged into maturity and decisions that could change him forever. The dialogue and the art are simultaneously stunning, and the slow inclusion of Starfire was a stroke of genius.

Blue Beetle #5 is available where comics are sold.