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Saturday, June 03, 2006

Entomology is Fun?

You know, I liked Countdown to Infinite Crisis. I liked it a lot. Well, maybe not so much the ending. But it was nice to see Ted Kord being the hero of something not comedy-based for once.

It had the requisite intensity and sense of pacing. And gosh, there were scenes where Ted was drawn the hottest he's ever been. It was dark, figuratively and literally, but it was good at showing the strength and humanity of the Ted Kord character.

And well, there's one part that always makes me tear up, just a little:



It's the monologue. I'm such a sucker for a quiet "I am..." type monologue. The whole "I am Ted Kord, I am the second man to call himself the Blue Beetle. I tell myself that there will be a third. And I hope whoever he or she may be. They do better at it than I have." It just gets to me.

I've read the Secret Origins and the Blue Beetle series. I remember how much Ted loved and idolized Dan. And the pain of failure of these lines get to me every time. Because Ted was a good Blue Beetle. He was competent, funny and smart. He might have had very little at the end, but that wasn't his fault.

And his death wasn't his fault either. He didn't do anything wrong. And it hurts that his last real thoughts seem to indicate that he thought he did.

I don't mind Ted dying and I like Jaime a lot. He's a good kid, confused, but he's going to do the name proud, I think.

And I really really want Ted to see that. Whether through resurrection, ghostly visitation, time travel, or bizarre dream sequence, I want Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes to meet just once I want Jaime to see the man he's replacing, to understand the importance of the legacy he's inherited on a more emotional level than just Booster Gold giving him the name. I want Jaime to have a face to go with the name.

And I want Ted Kord to get a glimpse of the kid who's replacing him. The confused newbie who's in way over his head but doing the best he can to make sense of things. I think Ted would like him.

11 Comments:

  • At June 03, 2006 6:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The pessimist in me fears no one killed during that whole time other than Superboy will be mentioned or mourned as things move on.

    Maybe Sue, depending on how that whole resurrection cult thing goes.

    I'm really hoping I'm just being way too negative. :(

     
  • At June 03, 2006 1:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Great post. Ted always seemed like one of the only guy that actively loved being a hero. He wasn't born into it, it wasn't his life-long mission, or anything. He just enjoyed saving people, and Jamie seems like that kind of guy, too. Though, Jamie is a bit too busy with his personal hell at the moment.

    It'd be nice for Ted to see that legacy live on in a good way. Maybe he meets up with Shadowpact and magic hijinks allow Jamie to see Ted. Or some time travel occurs. How did Kyle end up meeting young Hal, again?

     
  • At June 03, 2006 4:17 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    JLG: I'm optimistic, it usually takes time, but eventually most downed characters do get some kind of recognition, if even years after the fact. (See, Emerald Knights or the Barry story)

    So I'm optimistic.

    Gus: Yeah, I'm willing to wait of course. Kyle and Hal didn't meet up (and it was time travel, first Kyle zoomed to Legion era, zoomed back to Hal, then got transported in the present...Hal fell in too, because he's a klutz) until Kyle's 50th issue or so.

    But I would like to see it somehow. I think Ted would be happy to see Jamie carrying on his and Dan's legacy.

     
  • At June 04, 2006 9:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Myself, I extra-hated those panels because they ring really false for me. He thinks he's been a crappy Blue Beetle, but there will be more to come after him? Why would he think that someone else would want to carry on his legacy? In his mind, his legacy sucks! Nobody else knows or cares about Dan, so it's unlikely that they'd be doing it to honor him--it's carrying on in Ted's footsteps, and Ted thinks his steps are unworthy of being taken.

    It's uncomfortably meta, and it's not how a suicidally depressed man would think. If he wants to die, then yeah, he doesn't have much in the way of hope left. Tell me he's sorry he failed Dan, tell me he's glad that the name is dying with him because he ruined it, but don't tell me he's thinking, "Gee, I suck. I sure can't wait for my hip new replacement!"

     
  • At June 04, 2006 9:43 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    I don't know. I think one needs to give a bit of allowance to the setting. Most of the Silver Age heroes took their names being inspired by the Golden Age for example. (At least Post-Crisis).

    I think maybe he has some hope that someone will find something worthy of continuing. A tiny bit of hope in the midst of despair. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I buy it. :-)

     
  • At June 05, 2006 4:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I disagree. IMHO, it's more "Well, I did the best I could, and hopefully, so will the person after me."

     
  • At June 05, 2006 4:35 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    That interpretation works for me too. In fact, rethinking it I didn't actually think Ted seemed terribly depressed at this point. He knew he was screwed, but more importantly, even Max Lord admitted it. He was *right*.

    He never seemed suicidal to me. If anything, the Ted Kord in Countdown seemed intent on going out fighting even with everything taken from him. So yeah, the idea of him hoping for a better successor doesn't bother me.

     
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  • At November 23, 2010 9:03 AM, Anonymous viagra online said…

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    By the way why the blue guy get killed, I didn't get It ?

    i never saw the show.

     
  • At February 06, 2012 8:36 AM, Anonymous viagra online said…

    What a sad moment! I quit from this comic since I read this sad issue.

     

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