Blue Beetle

Real Name Ted Kord First Appearance Captain Atom (1965 series) #83 (1966) Original Publisher Charlton Created by Steve Ditko

Origin

Ted Kord became the Blue Beetle after his former mentor and original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, was killed in battle with androids created by Ted Kord's Uncle Jarvis in order to take over Earth. As Dan died, he passed on the responsibility of being Blue Beetle to Ted, but was not able to pass on the mystical scarab which gave Garrett his powers.

The lab then collapsed and Dan's body was buried under tons of rubble, but Ted managed to escape through a cavern and was discovered by some fishermen who returned him to the mainland. Upon his return he was questioned by the police about what had happened on Pago Island, but Ted decided it was best to keep those events a secret.

Ted then spent months physically training and practicing with his equipment, which he built using unfinished experiments left by his father, in order to fulfill his promise to his mentor and become the new Blue Beetle.

His enemies included his Uncle Jarvis and his androids, the Masked Marauder, the Men of the Mask, Destroyer of Heroes, the Squid Gang, and the Madmen.

Powers and Abilities

Ted Kord was a genius-level inventor and a gifted athlete who did not possess superpowers like the previous versions of the Blue Beetle such as Dan Garrett.

Kord's signature equipment was his bug-shaped personal aircraft and a pistol that could create a blinding flash of light or a strong airblast.

Public Domain Appearances

Captain Atom (1965 series) #83-86

Blue Beetle (1967 series) #1-5

Notes

Like many Charlton Characters such as Tyro Team, Spookman, and Shape, Ted Kord is in the public domain thanks to a lack of a proper copyright notice. This is because any work published without a proper copyright notice between 1923 and 1977 are in the public domain.

Blue Beetle was Alan Moore's inspiration for his Watchmen character, Nite Owl.