Jaime Reyes (New Earth)

Real Name: Jaime Reyes Nicknames: No known nicknames Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases

Status
Occupation: High school student Legal Status: Jaime is a legal United States citizen Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation Base of Operations: El Paso, Texas

Origin
High school student Jaime Reyes discovered the Blue Beetle Scarab half-buried in a disused lot, and took it home as a curiosity. That night, as Jaime slept, the Scarab came to life and bonded to his spine, selecting him as its guardian - the new Blue Beetle.

Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown (presumably El Paso) Known Relatives: Bianca Reyes (mother); Ernesto Reyes (father); Milagro Reyes (younger sister) First Appearance: Infinite Crisis 3 (2006)

History
Jaime Reyes was a relatively normal high school student from El Paso, Texas. His father ran a garage, his mother was a paramedic, and his little sister was a brat. Jaime hung out with his two best friends Brenda and Paco, the mediator between the hard-working Brenda and the laid-back Paco. By both Brenda and Paco's accounts, he was a good friend, the kind of person who could let them be themselves, and who could always make things better. Jaime aimed to help his father out at the garage, but Ernesto turned him down, not wanting to see his son grow up too fast.

Everything fell apart with the onset of the Infinite Crisis.

Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, had died at the hands of Maxwell Lord, Black King of Checkmate. Before his death, however, Ted had come into possession of the Blue Beetle Scarab, which had given Dan Garrett, the first Blue Beetle, his powers; it had been presumed destroyed early in Ted's superhero career, but was discovered intact in a temple in Egypt. Ted lost the Scarab on a visit to the Rock of Eternity, home of the wizard Shazam. The Rock of Eternity was later destroyed in mystical battle between Shazam and the Spectre, its contents blasted across the world. The Blue Beetle Scarab came down in El Paso, Texas, fire and portent in its wake.

Jaime discovered the Scarab on the way home from school with Paco and Brenda, half-buried in a disused lot. He took it home, curious as to what it might be. That night, the Scarab came alive, and grafted itself to the base of Jaime's spine, inducing strange dreams in Jaime.

Booster Gold sought Jaime out, and took him to meet Batman. Booster had been to the future, where he had learned that Batman would seek out Brother Eye and fail - but he had also learned the Blue Beetle Scarab was the one thing capable of seeing Brother Eye.

Jaime went into space with Batman and his team. The Scarab saw where Brother Eye was hidden, and pulled the rogue satellite back into reality. Once Batman's team had sent Eye plummeting Earthwards, the Scarab teleported Jaime off the spaceship, seeking to escape the Green Lanterns on board.

The next thing Jaime remembered, he had come down in the desert outside El Paso, and Guy Gardner was trying to kill him. Once Guy realised he was fighting a kid, he broke off the fight, but not without promising Jaime he would be back.

Jaime managed to find his way back home, only to find that he had been missing for a year. In that time, his father had been crippled, forcing him to walk with a cane, Paco had teamed up with a magical metahuman gang called the Posse, and Brenda had been taken in by her aunt after her abusive father died in a DUI.

Jaime's attempts to learn more about the Scarab led him to the Posse - and involved him in their battle against El Paso's resident crimelord, La Dama, as she sought to bring the magical metas of El Paso under her control.

Characteristics
Height: x'xx" Weight: xxx lbs (xxx kg) Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Unusual Features: No unusual features

Powers
Known Powers: The Blue Beetle Scarab is bonded to Jaime's spine. This unwilling symbiosis gives Jaime access to the Scarab's powers. The Scarab can, and will, use its powers of its own accord; Jaime, however, can override the Scarab if he so chooses. Should Jaime fall prey to a mind-altering power, the Scarab will take control, manifesting the armor.

The full extent of the Scarab's powers has yet to be revealed. The powers seen to date, however, can be grouped into various categories.

Magical Sight: The Scarab can track anyone Jaime met since it bonded with him. It can scan the people Jaime encounters, informing him of any major physical conditions (such as pregnancy). It can perceive magic, and see how a magical effect can be dispelled. It can see through magical concealment. It can also see extra-dimensional objects. This sight is apparently intended to give the scarab's user information on what they're facing, but Jaime is presently unable to understand the scarab's written language. The scarab is able to communicate with him in a more comprehensible fashion if need be. This power is available whether or not the scarab is dormant or active.

Communication: The Scarab has some form of sentience, albeit a distinctly alien form. It can communicate with Jaime as a voice in his mind (which sounds like Jaime's mother), primarily using this to inform Jaime of what it sees, what's going on, what it can do, and what it would do in a given situation. No-one else can hear it.

Armor: Under certain circumstances (including when Jaime is in danger), the scarab activates, crawling out on to Jaime's back and generating a high-tech suit. When the situation passes, the scarab deactivates, dissolving the costume and retracting back onto Jaime's spine, causing intense pain. The Scarab can create a distinctive suit of armor which gives Jaime superhuman strength and agility. It can survive impact from atmospheric re-entry without seeming damage.


 * Tools and Weapons: The armor can create a wide array of tools and weapons from itself, including energy cannons, blasters, shields, grappling hooks, claws, and more besides. The armor's energy blasts can penetrate a Green Lantern ring's shield.


 * Wing Shields: The armor can create a pair of wings, enabling Jaime to fly and hover. They can also double as shields, should the need arise.


 * Partial Manifestation: Jaime can manifest parts of the armor - like the energy blaster - without needing to manifest the whole suit.


 * Negation: The armor can negate various magical effects, though the Scarab may need to find where the effect originates. It can also negate the 'vibrational frequencies' of extra-dimensional objects, pulling them into this reality. The area of effect of this latter is unknown; it has been seen to affect objects at least the size of Brother Eye.

Miscellaneous: The Scarab can create clothes for Jaime, apparently from recycled waste and skin, which melt when he takes them off.

The Scarab is capable of concealing itself from 21st century technology (though Skeets, from the 25th century, was able to find it). It has blocked a magical attempt to probe it, lashing out at the person who tried.

The Scarab's 'pincers' have been seen to spark on occasion when the armor is in use.

The Scarab's bond with Jaime is vastly different from the previous Blue Beetles. When Dan Garrett spoke the magic phrase "Kaji Dha!", the Scarab would grant him the powers and costume of the Blue Beetle - albeit not Jaime's costume. Ted Kord was never able to use any of the Scarab's powers. The Scarab never physically bonded with either of them. Why it responds differently to different bearers has yet to be revealed.

Limitations/Weaknesses: The Scarab will not hurt nature, or the magical creatures thereof (beings who draw their power from the Green, for example), of its own volition.

The Scarab seems to fear Green Lantern rings, seeking to escape them if at all possible - and to fight them, if not. The Green Lantern rings seem to fear it, as well, responding in different ways depending on their wielders (e.g. John Stewart's sparks, as if afraid, while Guy Gardner's induces what can only be described as a 'super-migraine', along with an intense desire to kill the Scarab's bearer).

When the Scarab manifests the armor, it crawls out onto Jaime's back, where it grows to fit his whole back. When the Scarab dispels the armor, it retracts into Jaime's body, causing him intense pain.

Known Abilities: No known abilities.

Strength Level: Jaime normally has the strength level of a young teenage male who engages in moderate exercise. The armor gives him enough strength to move a small truck.

Miscellaneous
Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons.

Recommended Readings

 * Infinite Crisis #3
 * Infinite Crisis #6
 * Blue Beetle

Related Articles

 * Blue Beetle gallery
 * Dan Garrett
 * Ted Kord