Best DCnU Interview To-Date: Tony Bedard on Blue Beetle

Newsarama interview with Tony Bedard on Blue Beetle

Now this is a great interview. A writer who respects and understands the character and his history, respects the original creators, and plans to continue what made the character popular in the first place. Unlike most of the writers interviewed so far, Tony Bedard does not appear to want to radically change the character or “reinvision” him and his cast. The book also does not seem to be affected by any editorial dictates. That’s a huge relief. This continues to be the number one book I’m interested in out of the entire relaunch. This interview reassured me about the book’s direction and put my concerns about unwelcome changes to rest, which is what I’m looking for in all these interviews.

Here are some choice portions of the interview.

Newsarama: [...] What do you like about Jaime Reyes as a character? He definitely seems like one of DC’s most successful new character launches in recent years, having crossed over to both Smallville and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Tony Bedard: Jaime is unique in the DC lineup of heroes. There’s nobody else quite like him. In a way, you can describe him as Spider-Man meets Green Lantern. I mean, he’s the kinda nerdy high-school kid with a wicked sense of humor and a penchant for getting in trouble who receives the ultimate cosmic weapon. But then the comparisons fall by the wayside since he’s presented with a unique problem. Jaime’s weapon, the scarab armor, was intended to conquer the world for an alien empire. So the thing that empowers him to do good is potentially the greatest threat to the planet. It’s a great irony that presents all sorts of dramatic possibilities and conflict on every level. As a writer, Blue Beetle is an irresistible premise.

Newsarama: And while some characters appear to have undergone pretty significant revamps post-Flashpoint, it looks like Blue Beetle, aside from some visual tweaks, remains pretty much untouched. Is that an accurate guess or are things not quite so simple?

Bedard: Jaime’s keeping his same basic look and same basic cast. I recognize that there’s a lot we want to keep about this character, especially since in its heyday Giffen & Rogers’ Blue Beetle was my favorite series DC produced. Seriously, I’m intimidated by the thought of following that combo. But there are also other things we want to play up that weren’t as salient in the first Blue Beetle series. I think we kind of made it too easy on him the first time around. He had a great support system since all his friends and family knew his secret, and the armor probably became too friendly too quickly. This relaunch will intensify the threat posed by the Reach (the alien empire that created the armor) and make things considerably tougher on Jaime. That doesn’t mean we’ll lose the humor and fun that made the first series such a joy to read, but being the Blue Beetle shouldn’t be a cakewalk, either. Finally, the first series had a fairly convoluted origin (in the midst of Infinite Crisis, is the armor magic or not?, having to explain the two Blue Beetles before him, etc). This time, we’ll have a more streamlined origin so new readers don’t need a scorecard to join in the fun.

Streamlining his origin re: Infinite Crisis and the magic/not magic question sounds a pretty good idea actually. (Not being able to acknowledge the Blue Beetle legacy…not so good).

Newsarama: Of course, an important aspect of Blue Beetle’s character is the fact that he’s of Latin descent. One of the stated objectives of the DC revamp is to bring more diversity, so is special kind of responsibility handling a character like Jaime?

Bedard: I suspect one of the reasons I got the gig is because I’m Puerto Rican and I have something to say from my own personal experience about being Latino — the first point being that it’s not a single monolithic community. I’m not Mexican-American like Jaime, but my sister-in-law is Mexican and we’ve talked and laughed about the differences in the Spanish we speak and the other little cultural differences between us. Now, I know I’m pretty darn whitebread, but Spanish was actually my first language and I didn’t live in the U.S. until I was ten years old. I know what it’s like to feel torn between two cultures and to try to find a balance between them. I know the shame of forgetting my mother tongue and then re-learning it years later when I waited tables at a place with Mexican dishwashers. I know the struggles my mother faced as the state director of the League of United Latin-American Citizens in Georgia, and so on. So, basically, I’m pretty sure I have a lot to say on the Latino front, but that’s not the be-all end-all of this book. It’s going to be a fun, fast-paced, accessible adventure regardless of your background.

I am so happy about Jaime being written by a Latino writer. I really didn’t want to read another character of colour being written by a white writer. DC has too many dominant culture writers telling the stories of characters from marginalized groups already.

What about Jaime’s connection to the JLI?

Bedard: Jaime’s going to operate on his own at first. We’re reestablishing his connection to the DCU heroic community, and not everyone knows his secret as we kick things off.

Jaime’s trademark sense of humor will still be around.

Newsarama: The character Blue Beetle is often associated with a more humorous take, with Jaime Reyes in particular having a sarcastic bent. What kind of tone are you looking to establish in this book?

Bedard: I want to keep Jaime’s snarky sense of humor and the fun banter between him, Paco and Brenda. Jaime’s sense of humor is his most endearing attribute. It’s also his main defense mechanism (at least, until he gets the armor). But we’ll also raise the conflict level, the sense of real danger, and the obstacles Jaime faces. Gaining the armor means that everyone around him is in danger and that if he isn’t careful, Jaime might wind up effectively ending the human race. With great power comes one crazy, dangerous situation after another. This book will be fun with serious consequences.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Sign me up!

Related posts:

• Full reaction to Newsarama’s Dan Didio/Jim Lee Interview
• New Supergirl Creative Team: Tony Bedard and Renato Guedes