You might find yourself confused over which superhero or villain belongs to which of the two franchises. In this case, where does Blue Beetle belong, really, in Marvel or DC?
Marvel and DC are the two biggest superhero franchises that continue to put up against each other over the years. While both contain different heroes, it’s undeniable that there are some similarities between their line-ups of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains.
Well, this article expands more on what you have to know about Blue Beetle’s origins and backstory to prepare before seeing the film come alive on August 18th.
Marvel vs. DC: What’s the Difference?
As you might be able to tell, there are plenty of similarities between the two superhero franchises, not only in terms of character design and superhero origins of falling into vats of chemicals to produce the heroes we know today, but even in some of the abilities these heroes possess that strangely resemble one another.
However, the sheer difference between Marvel and DC is the tone they set for their superhero stories.
While Marvel stories tend to have a lighter tone meant for entertainment and even so far as to cater to younger viewers in general, DC heroes are often known for darker and brooding thematic films (take Batman, for example).
While there is obvious competition between the two, one of the bigger pictures here on how to determine if a superhero or villain belongs in either franchise is also checking their background stories.
The scarab artifact from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Moon Knight) is a different device from DC Universe’s ‘symbiotic’ Scarab (Blue Beetle).
The MCU has arguably reached darker storylines, but not as dark as the DCU has long been portraying their stories in animation, cinema, and of course, their comic book series, and Blue Beetle is no different.
ALSO READ: Is Blue Beetle a Villain?
Blue Beetle Belongs in the DC Franchise
Apart from Blue Beetle being created under the DC franchise, he has quite notably contributed much more to the DC Universe than one might think.
While the Blue Beetle solo film is the first we’ll be seeing another cinematic debut for another DC hero, he has long been popular in the animated and comics side of things.
He has made great contributions as a part of the Justice League team, specifically when he first joined Young Justice back in the 2012 animated series of the same name.
Since then, the Scarab hero has had a long history within various Justice League teams, the closest to consider his cinematic debuts were portrayed in plenty of the animated Justice League series.
Blue Beetle Soon To Make Cinematic Debut on the Big Screens
The DC Universe is far from over in introducing more superheroes, anti-heroes, and villains on the big screens.
Coming this August 18th, James Gunn adds Blue Beetle to the roster of the franchise, to be played by Cobra Kai star, Xolo Maridueña.
Blue Beetle is not entirely uncharted territory in the cinematic world, considering he has already been featured in plenty of DC’s animated films and series such as 2016’s Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Young Justice (Season 2), and Justice League Action (Episode 9).
Not to mention, Blue Beetle managed to get his first live-action debut on Warner Bros.’s Smallville (Season 2, Episode 18: ‘Booster’), portrayed by Jaren Brandt Bartlett.
Now, Maridueña’s Blue Beetle will prove to be historic, especially since he is not only the first ever Latino superhero in the DCU, but will also be a part of Gunn’s ever growing rebuilt DCU.
As a matter of fact, Maridueña recently told in an interview what exactly sets Blue Beetle apart from the older superheroes that came before him:
“It’s kind of funny: We see some of these other superheroes who are able to hide the fact that they’re a superhero from their family. But as you just saw in the trailer, his family is right there on that first transformation. So good luck keeping that secret! Coming through this journey together is something that we haven’t seen before in superhero movies, and that really is the beating heart of this movie. It transcends ethnicity and it transcends color of skin — because that’s something we can all relate to.”
The official synopsis of Blue Beetle reads:
Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Superhero, Blue Beetle.
You can watch the trailer for Blue Beetle below:
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