DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLUE BEETLE #25

EndGame, Part Four:  With A Little Help...

May 2008

Written by John Rogers

Pencils by Rafael Albuquerque

Inks by Rafael Albuquerque

Cover by Rafael Albuquerque

Synopsis

Just as the Negotiator of the Reach threatens to kill Jaime Reyes when he calls out “Khaji Da.”  The words activate the scarab and it returns to fuse with Jaime and he becomes the Blue Beetle once more.  Jaime then searches for a way to destroy the Reach’s ship.  On Earth, Jaime’s family and friends are battling the Reach when Guy Gardner comes to help.  He is then joined by former Justice League teammates, Ice and Fire.  Meanwhile, the scarab manages to hack into the Reach’s computer and sent to everywhere on Earth the Reach’s invasion plans.  In response, the Negotiator decides that if they cannot have Earth, they will destroy it.  Jaime finds the Negotiator just as he initiates the explosion sequence.  The only way to stop the explosion, however, is to remain on the ship when it explodes.  Just seconds before the explosion, Booster Gold appears and takes Jaime to safety.  Later, the Reach leaves Earth space and Jaime reflects back on his experiences and feels pride that he is a member of the Blue Beetle family. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is a part of me that wants to write a very simple two-word review (damn good) and just leave it at that.  There is not much more I can add because this issue was an enjoyable read with everything (humor, action, suspense, call-backs to previous issues) that I could want from a book.  Sometimes it has hard to talk about what is good about the book beyond simply saying:  it is damn good.  But another part of me realizes that Rogers just finished writing a two-year long story and as great as it has been up til now, the ending in this issue is just the absolute perfect capper to the entire thing.  It is rare in comic books when the payoff works and boy does the payoff in this issue work.  This is the type of long-term planning and execution that I wish more titles could accomplish.  From the beginning to the end, Rogers managed to introduce and resolve numerous plot points but more importantly, also managed to allow Jaime and his cast of characters to grow and mature organically and naturally.  They are all different people then when they began.  And to top it off, when the new writer comes on board, he will have a wealth of material to choose from to begin his own stories.  Simply put, this is a great stuff.  I will pick up the trade paperbacks at some point so that I have these stories on the shelf and can read them whenever I want. 

One of the best moments in this issue was the kiss between Brenda and Paco.  Since the beginning of this series, I have felt that these two were attracted to each other, in part because they were always fighting with each other.  And that moment, it was perfect.  Then Rogers (or the editors since Rogers is leaving the book) blows it by having them admit the kiss was a mistake.  Argh.  They belong together.  Get them together.  Please.