They killed Blue Beetle!

Comics are so much fun right now. I have been a major fan of the DC Universe for years and it is all adding up and coming to a head with the current universe's storyline.

Blue Beetle has died, apparently acting as the catalyst for a larger chain of events, a sequel to 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths called Infinite Crisis. That's twenty years worth of DC history that I'm grateful I have "studied" for. Blue Beetle perished in this week's Countdown to Infinite Crisis, itself a sequel to this year's mini-series, Identity Crisis. That's twice now that DC has made me drop my comic out of shock (the other time being when I thought the Atom killed Sue Dibny, the Elongated Man's wife, in Identity Crisis). The last page of Countdown made me jump out of my chair as I turned to that final, fatal page.

In case you didn't know, DC is getting bolder, bringing grim realism into the comics yet still keeping them fun and interesting. They are basically telling us how they really act behind the scenes, how they literally changed the minds of villains (Dr. Light) and heroes (Batman) in order to supposedly make the world safer. The villains are getting NASTY, a really scary nasty where one sees true evil, not just ranting that they are going to take over the world. These aren't the villains that would leave Batman in a ten foot tall hourglass still with his utility belt and leave him to his fate. No, now they shoot the hero, just like our poor Blue Beetle.

While I am sad at one of my characters dying, I am also grateful for a fantastic story and promises of more to come in this universe. They got the reaction they wanted out of me: a sadness about a death of a hero that I have cared about for at least fifteen years, ever since his solo title in the 80s and his membership in Justice League. It came as a shock, much better than the media events that lead up to Superman's "death," making the story told before the last issue. This one snuck up on me, which makes it all the more shocking. And very cool.

RIP Ted Kord, aka Blue Beetle. You will not have died in vain. DC is taking your death seriously by rocking the entire universe. It is no less than your character deserved to a long-time fan.