Blue Beetle #1

SPOILERS ahead

The Who: Jaime Reyes, a teenager who find a murderous alien scarab and is able to become a hero with the help of his awesome family and friends. We'll see if he's still the third Blue Beetle (the writer claims that it doesn't mean Ted never existed just that he wants to focus on Jaime.)

Why I chose this title: I wanted to start following Jaime from the beginning since I missed out the first time. I'm fond of the character and his supporting cast so getting this wasn't a hard choice.

What I expect from the book: I heard it's going to be harder this time around but I want the characters to remain true to who they are/were. And no, I mean NO deaths via the scarab that Jaime will guilt over. I will drop the book the moment I see that. I don't mind characters killing if it fits who they are or the story. Jaime has never been about killing and I don't want to see him suffer through something like that. 

Thoughts: We start off with an alien that was unlucky enough to get a scarab attached to it and was forced to help enslave his/her homeworld. A Green Lantern tried to stop Earths' scarab but it still fell onto the planet. That's the good part, the bad is now we have some jerks bothering our cast. Who within 5 panels hit Jaime in the face with a soccer ball, talk about Brenda meeting one of their gangs' "little Joey" and call Jaimes' best bud "Paco Taco." ...I have a feeling I'm not going to like the new direction.

Okay I smiled at the "translated from Spanglish" note but the random english/spanish is highly distracting. My grandmother speaks in another language and I can't recall her doing this even when she's talking to my mom on the phone. Is it just me or has Jaime and his supporting cast lost their charm? Jaime has a couple of crude lines I can't imagine him saying (seriously "a turd in the punch bowl?") and he disobeys his parents to go to the party anyway? Who is this kid and what has he done with Jaime?

Say What?: I can't recall but was Paco a high school drop out in the last series? I know that Brenda wasn't close to her dad so I can't really see her following his advise to not ask where the money comes from. Although it's kind of ironic considering how her aunt played a role in his death pre-relaunch. Apparently most people have an idea what she does as Mr. Reyes says no one's stupid enough to get on her bad side. 

Jaime has a thing for Brenda? No, not thrilled about that.

Did You Notice?: The scarab didn't fall to Egypt this time around. Not sure if this is to get rid of Dan from the Blue Beetle legacy or an attempt to stop the cliche of evil coming from ancient Egypt. 

We got a callout to the Brotherhood of Evil. 

Verdict: I wasn't impressed with this. I suppose it might appeal to new readers but it's not as good as the first run. The characters are flatter and seem...off. The humor and charm aren't there. Not terrible but not nearly as good as it should have been. Yeah the shorter origin makes sense but the rest? If it's not broke don't fix it.