I am a humongous Steve Ditko fan. He intrigues me. No other creator I know puts so much of themselves in their characters except for possibly Kirby. Couple that with his famous (or infamous) reclusiveness and general outlook on life, it’s hard to deny that the man is fascinating. Of course, his most lasting legacy is the wealth of characters he’s created over the years. Aside from Spider-Man, today’s Secret Origin subject is probably my favorite creation of Ditko’s. So let’s get on with the show and the Secret Origin of the Blue Beetle!
Our story starts out a bit suspiciously, as police lieutenant Fisher visits the laboratory of Ted Kord. Fisher suspects Kord in the disappearance of one Dan Garret on the mysterious Pago Island. Ted has nothing to say about the matter, and the lieutenant having no real evidence, leaves. Ted is fed up with the accusations and when all is clear, he jumps into his specialized flying vehicle, The Bug, and switches to his secret identity of The Blue Beetle to blow off steam. Unfortunately for him, the city is pretty quiet, so he decides to take a joyride before calling it a night. As he flies by Pago Island, he sees a light shining on the supposedly deserted archipelago, and decides to investigate.
Landing on the island, Ted finds none other than his girlfriend Tracey. She explains to the Beetle that she’s looking for evidence to clear her boyfriend, Ted Kord, of the aforementioned suspicion of murder. It’s obvious Tracey is at the end of her rope, since even before this, she knew something has been eating at her beau. Touched by her devotion and plight, the Beetle does the only thing he can…
“OK. The truth is, I’m really the Martian Manhunter!”
So, with that, Ted decides to tell Tracey (and in turn, us) the whole story. It all started when Ted’s uncle Jarvis asked him to help with certain experiments. Ted was never actually privy to what he was working on, always given just a part of a job, never seeing the whole. Ted really thought nothing of it, just being happy to help his uncle. Still, scientists are naturally curious, so Ted persists and Jarvis finally capitulates, saying all will be revealed the next morning. Unfortunately when Ted arrives at his uncle’s lab the next day, there is a massive explosion and a body is burned beyond recognition. It is assumed this is the remains of Jarvis. In mourning, Ted finds a metal box that somehow survived the blast, and when he inspects its contents, he rightly freaks the heck out…
“Now no one will be able to tell the difference between regular and diet Dr. Pepper!”
In desperation, Ted seeks out his college friend, Dan Garret, who he knows to be trustworthy and happens to have a background in archaeology. They review the film together and see a behemoth of an automaton, wrecking everything in its path. Then Ted reveals this is the old model. With the unknowing enhancements Ted added, they could now be very well unstoppable. Dan tries to assure Ted that there’s nothing to worry about, what with Jarvis being “dead”. Regardless, Ted convinces Dan to investigate Pago Island, and insists on accompanying him. No sooner do they arrive than they are abducted by multiple models of those fearsome robots. They are brought to the inner sanctum of Uncle Jarvis very much alive and “well”. In the great villain tradition, he then explains his master plan…
“Unless you stop monologuing and kill us, that is!”
Of course, Jarvis has to continue to humiliate Ted, and show him that the fruits of his labor actually have made his robot minions pretty invincible. Ted is very distraught, as you may understand. Not only has he seemingly doomed the world, but he also dragged his dear friend Dan along for the ride. Old Dan Garret however, tells him not to fret when he reveals a mysterious blue scarab he’s been concealing, and quicker than you can say “Khaji-Da!” a spectacular transformation takes place!
“Yes! I’ll stop him by running in the opposite direction! I’m a &^%$# genius!”
Dan, the original Blue Beetle, is holding his own against the robotic horde, so Jarvis unleashes them all to take down the Cobalt Crime-fighter. Dan is still faring relatively well, but he knows the he’ll be overwhelmed soon. Ted meanwhile is looking for an escape route for the both of them. Just then, Jarvis shows just how far gone he is, saying he’ll stop the Beetle even is he has to destroy all of his robots to do it! Now, since his whole evil plan is based on these self-same robots, you’d think he’d have thought this through a bit better. I guess he thought he could just build more later. Anyway, he issues the command to overload all of the robots at once. Ted tries to warn Dan of the danger, but…
Even depicting death, Ditko is spectacular
While the resulting explosion also seemingly destroyed Jarvis’ lab (again), Ted’s most immediate concern is seeing to Dan’s well-being. Dan is a crumpled mess, and knows that his time is short. He asks Ted to attend him, and asks a dying favor that will change Ted’s life forever…
“Dan! Quick! Who’s your tailor?!”
In the aftermath, Ted somehow finds his way to the shore of the island, but he soon collapses from the strain of the day’s activities. Soon, he is rescued by a fisherman passerby who heard the explosions and decides to make up a story as the truth is too unbelievable. The police are obviously not buying Ted’s tale of not remembering anything. Really Ted? You’re a brilliant scientist who unwittingly made a nigh-unstoppable robot army, but you can’t come up with a convincing story? Oh well. So now, the police are trying to pin Dan’s murder on Ted, because as far as anyone knows, Jarvis already was dead! Ted can’t dwell on it though, foremost in his mind is how he’s going to carry on Dan’s legacy. Honestly, he has no idea how to do it, since the mystic scarab Dan used to become the Beetle seems to have been lost along with Dan. Eventually though…
“It’s like an omen! I shall become a beetle!”
So with his technical skill combined with months of practice and training, the new Blue Beetle is born! Ted has more story to tell Tracey, but as luck (or the plot) would have it, it seems that Uncle Jarvis’ robot brigade isn’t quite as finished as previously thought! Ted quickly gets Tracey into the Bug and valiantly tries to fight the invincible androids. Ted is not faring well, and Tracey looks on helplessly, not able to operate any of the Bug’s systems. As he’s getting pummeled, Ted stumbles upon an idea. There is a gigantic crevice between them, seemingly bottomless. He manages to donkey kick one of the monstrosities to its seeming end, but in response, the remaining robot steps up its game, not letting the Beetle catch his breath. It looks like the second Blue Beetle’s career will be prematurely shortened, when Ted finds that he has a slight advantage if he keeps the monster off-balance. He finally manages to get the upper hand, but the robot will not go quietly!
“I really wish I had the proportionate agility of a spider right about now!”
Ted manages to right himself, and rejoins Tracey in the Bug. He then uses the arms of the Bug to fill the crevice and any other means of egress, hopefully ending the threat of Pago Island forever. Now that the immediate threat is over, Ted asks Tracey how she feels about him being the Blue Beetle. She assures him that, to her, he was a hero long before he donned a mask. Tracey also promises that no matter what trials face Ted she wants to meet them head on with him, no matter what. That’s love and devotion, right there. So all is well, right? Well, maybe not…
Dun dun duuuuuun!
This story first appeared in Blue Beetle Vol. 4 #2 August 1967. It has been reprinted in The Action Heroes Archives Volume 2.
