Unlike the previous Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, Ted was really not much more than a well-trained athlete, though he did have an exceptional mind. He was, thus, a somewhat redundant character in the DCU, given the greater prominence of the similar Batman and Mr. Terrific. His distinction was that he was possessed of a much lighter personality than these DC-created characters, and so tended to attract a unique following of his own, despite the sameness of his "powers". He was a more realistic version of the character archetype, struggling with weight gain as he got older, and poking fun at his own lack of super powers when in the company of "greater" heroes like Superman.

He and Booster Gold formed an alliance while in JLA service that was used, with varying degrees of fan reception, to illustrate what the JLA was like to those who were a little lower on the roster than Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and the Flash.

DC, new outright owner of both Blue Beetle II and Blue Beetle III, would eventually show that there was a relationship between the two men. Ted was shown to be a student of the archaeologist Dan Garrett. When a crisis struck, caused by Ted's uncle and his army of androids, Ted and Dan went to battle against them. Dan was killed by the threat, but, ostensibly impressed by Ted's willingness to do what was right even against the wishes of a close family member, Dan entrusted Ted with the legacy of the Blue Beetle. Unfortunately, Garrett was unable to pass his empowering scarab onto Ted, so Kord was forced to find another way to uphold the mantle.

Eventually, though, Kord did come into possession of the scarab, but the wizard Shazam took it from him in the 80-page story, Countdown to Infinite Crisis, just prior to Kord's now-famous death at the hands of Maxwell Lord.

When Shazam himself was killed by The Spectre in Day of Vengeance many of his "mystical trinkets" were shown to be scattered in the "real" plane of existence. The Garrett/Kord scarab landed in El Paso, Texas, opening the door for a future Blue Beetle IV.

Notes:


First Appearance: Captain Atom (1965) #83

Other Identities:
Bumblebeeb
Stupendous Silverfish

Favorite Characters:
Blue Beetle (DC) (02 - Ted Kord) is a favorite character of 71 users

View a chronological listing of this character's appearances

Issue Appearances:
100% DC (2005)