15 Most Powerful Blue Beetle Villains, Ranked

Some huge shakeups hit the DC Extended Universe recently after James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad) took the reigns. We thought Henry Cavill was back as Superman, but after a meeting with Gunn, Henry shared on his Instagram that it’s not happening after all. On a happier note, though, another very popular DC hero is joining the DCEU very soon.

That hero is the Blue Beetle, aka Jaime Reyes, who was actually the third Blue Beetle in DC Comics. The movie is coming out in August 2023, but only a little about the plot is known. The Beetle fought some awesome villains in the comics, though, and there are many options for the writers to explore. 

So, without further ado, here’s a list of the 15 most powerful Blue Beetle villains that could fit right into the DCEU with him.

Honorable Mention: The Madmen

The Madmen are not a singular villain, per se, but rather a villainous group of colorful criminals that are usually small-time crooks and secondary henchmen, not really primary villains. The Madmen were primarily Ted Kord’s villains (the second Blue Beetle), as they first appeared in ‘Blue Beetle Vol. 6’ #23.

Despite not being that big themselves, the Madmen had some moments. For instance, they were once working for the infamous Darkseid, and their leader, Farley Fleeter, has some cool on-touch mind-control abilities. Obviously, they aren’t powerful enough to be higher on the list, but the Madmen are interesting enough to get a mention on the Blue Beetle’s villain list.

15. Dogpound

The Dogpound was a duo of small-time crooks that first appeared in ‘Blue Beetle Vol. 7’ #30. These two knuckleheads fought over the mantle of Hellhound. As Jaime intervened to arrest them, he sarcastically suggested that they should just both take a different name. They listened and took the mantles of Devil Dog and Anubis, (not) respectively.

They teamed up against Blue Beetle in a tandem called the Dogpound. We’ve seen and heard some silly stuff over the years, but these two take the cake as the worst duo nickname in the history of comics. Maybe.

14. The Masked Marauder

This guy might not look too dangerous – usually looking like a thug/cowboy with a rag over his face and blazing two guns. And that’s essentially true – but what made him dangerous for two Blue Beetles – Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes – is his desire to exact revenge on the alien bug – whoever the bug might be at the moment.

You see, Count von Steuben, aka the Mastek Marauder, was defeated handily by Ted Kord. Then, he spent years trying to perfect his strategy and have his moment of revenge against Jaime. He did a lot of nasty stuff, including kidnapping and hiring an entire army of Blue Beetle enemies, but he never seemed to get that elusive revenge he loathed for.

13. The Coyote

This deranged-looking supervillain is one of Jaime Reyes’ first enemies, and the premise behind the character is just as weird as his name. This fellow is, in fact, a were-coyote kind of like a werewolf but smaller and weirder.

La Dama (another character on this list) sends the Coyote to retrieve the scarab, but before the were-coyote can find it, Jaime already finds it first and becomes the Blue Beetle. That doesn’t really bode well for our shart-toothed villain, but you could’ve already figured that out.

I wanted him on the list because I found him just hilarious. He is not a slouch, though. The Coyote is strong, with sharp claws and fangs, and he also understands three languages – Spanish, English, and… coyotish?

12. Doctor Animus

The real name of this particular supervillain is Rose Beryl, and although she doesn’t have many appearances – she can’t be disregarded, as her cyborg physiology makes her quite dangerous. The human Rose Beryl died when a laboratory exploded, and she became an emotionless cyborg.

She first appeared way back in 1987 in ‘Blue Beetle Vol. 6’ #19 as Ted Kord’s villain, but despite having the potential to be a bit more serious, nothing ever came of the character later.

11. Khaji-Kai

While technically, Khaji-Kai turned out not to be a villain when he met Jaime Reyes; it was incredibly interesting to see what could’ve happened if Khaji-Da, the Blue Scarab to which Jaime was the host, was functioning properly.

Khaji-Kai had similar powers to Khaji-Da. Once he took a host of his own, they destroyed that host’s home planet together, and Khaji-Kai took over him completely, to the point where the poor fellow couldn’t even remember his name.

Later, however, the host managed to take over control, but he still didn’t remember his name, and after meeting Jaime on the Reach homeworld, he helped our Blue Beetle get off the planet. They never fought, but the thought of being completely taken over by an alien like that had to be scary for Jaime.

10. La Dama

La Dama could be the highest or the lowest on this list, depending on which version of the character you take. After the Flashpoint, La Dama was also named Amparo Cardenas but was actually a primordial being that was older than space and time and as powerful as any other DC character you could think so.

On the other hand, the initial version of La Dama was a serious but much more realistic threat. She was a drug lord from Texas, making Blue Beetle’s life a living hell sometimes, not just by her own hand but through her corrupted network of associates. This version makes much more sense to appear in the Blue Beetle movie.

Especially after the rumors that Susan Sarandon will portray Victoria Kord in the movie Ted Kord’s mother, that’ll serve as an adaptation of La Dama.

9. Black Beetle

The Black Beetle could be an incredibly interesting character to introduce in the new Blue Beetle movie, and you’ll see why in a moment. The story goes that Black Beetle came from the future, where Mister Mind and the Time Stealers convinced him to work for them in order to save his sister.

Essentially, he came back in time to convince Dan Garrett and Jaime Reyes (first and third Blue Beetle, respectively) that he’s the Blue Beetle from the future and that he’s here to help them save Ted Kord (the second Blue Beetle). In reality, it was all a ploy to prevent Jaime Reyes from becoming the Blue Beetle.

However, it was exposed, and the two Beetles kept fighting several times after that. Rumors have it that the Black Beetle will be introduced in the post-credit scenes of the ‘Blue Beetle’ movie, which could be very beneficial for the DCEU, as it would explain the ‘clean slate’ that Gunn is expected to make. You know, time travel and multiverse. It explains just about anything.

8. Carapax

I was thinking about whether to include Carapax on the list or not, but seeing that the character will appear in the new movie (portrayed by Raoul Max Trujillo), I think he deserved a spot. Essentially, Conrad Carapax first appeared in ‘Blue Beetle Vol. 6’ #1 in 1986 and was primarily a Ted Kord villain.

He was an archaeologist who found the villain Jarvis Kord’s old secret lab. There, Carapax discovered a fantastic, indestructible robot, but it malfunctioned, electrocuting Carapax. It killed his body but somehow got his mind to survive within the robot. 

He became Carapax the Indestructible Man, with a robotic body, giving him superhuman strength, durability, and mild forms of energy absorption. I honestly can’t wait to see what they come up with for Carapax in the movie.

7. Mento

You know how Batman is one of the richest superheroes in the DC world? Well, Mento, aka Steve Dayton, is one of the richest supervillains. Essentially, all his powers come from money, as he used it to develop a helmet with incredibly powerful telepathic powers. 

It gives Mento powers such as mind reading, telekinesis, mind control, etc. You can see how that could prove to be incredibly dangerous. Not to mention that Mento actually started as a good guy who was married to Elasti-Girl, but went crazy and evil after her demise.

If the DCEU decides to bring in the Teen Titans, Mento could work as a great choice to be the villain that connects Blue Beetle and the young superhero team we all love.

6. Jarvis Kord

In the new Blue Beetle movie, Victoria Kord will be a villain related to Ted Kord, the former Blue Beetle. In the comics, it was Jarvis Kord, Ted’s uncle and an insanely brilliant scientist, who manipulated Ted into giving him the scarab.

Ted eventually defeated his uncle, but Jarvis also returned to battle Jaime Reyes, who used Bruce Wayne’s help to finally end the supervillain. There’s nothing on Jarvis appearing in the Blue Beetle movie, though, so I guess that Victoria Kord will serve as sort of an amalgamation between Jarvis Kord and La Dama.

5. Doctor Alchemy

This is an incredibly interesting and even more incredibly powerful character that I’d like to see in the DCEU. Doctor Alchemy is basically only one of the personalities of Albert Desmond, a guy who suffers from a severe personality disorder. 

Essentially, he can manipulate matter and elements to a certain degree using the almighty philosopher’s stone, dating back to Merlin the Wizard. That’d be a nice MacGuffin to revolve a movie plot around, especially considering the complexity of Albert Desmond as a character.

4. Overthrow

On the surface, Arnold D. Beck was just an ordinary, highly intelligent guy. He worked for Ted Kord in his company, but after he was fired, Beck decided to do everything in his power to destroy Kord and the company where he once worked. 

The means came from a group called the Manhunters, who gave him an epic suit of armor, allowing Beck to go from a smart, regular guy, to a flying, super-durable, super strong, energy ball-shooting supervillain. It might not sound like much, but the personal nature of his beef with the Blue Beetle made him that much more dangerous.

3. Dr. Polaris

If you think Marvel is the only one with a lord of magnetism, think again. Dr. Polaris’ real name was Neal Emmerson. He was a scientist that was exposed to incredible amounts of heat. For some reason, however, instead of burning up, he gained the ability to control and manipulate magnetic fields, all metals, and their alloys. 

One could argue that his powers were greater than Magneto’s, as he could levitate by using nothing but magnetism and even explode the metals he controls at will. Seeing that Blue Beetle’s suit is actually made of metal, you can imagine how interesting the battles between the two are.

2. Max Lord

If the name sounds familiar to you, it’s because Maxwell Lord already appeared in the DCEU – namely, as the main villain in the Wonder Woman sequel, portrayed by Pedro Pascal. He is another mind controller in the comics (combined with exceptional combat skills), but he is set apart as an insanely powerful mind controller, capable of controlling even the likes of Superman.

But, the biggest reason why Max Lord is so high on this list? Well, because he’s the reason why Jaime Reyes became Blue Beetle in the first place. You see, Max Lord actually killed Jaime’s predecessor, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. I’d love to see Pedro return in this movie, but somehow I doubt that’ll happen.

1. Chronos

Last but not least, this guy might be the best fit for the Blue Beetle movie and for the future of the DCEU in general. Don’t be fooled by his silly looks and clock-based weapons like pointy clock handles. David Clinton might have started as a petty criminal but later became one of the most powerful humans ever.

Essentially, Clinton was caught in a robbery, and he attributed it to his lack of timing. He became obsessed with the concept of time and started studying it to a tee, developing innate time-based skills. Later, he even developed countless gadgets that manipulate time (slow it down, trap enemies in hourglasses, etc.), but none were more epic than real-life time machines.

And that wasn’t even the end of it. Clinton eventually sold his soul to an all-powerful being that granted him the ability to move through time freely and manipulate its flow entirely to his will. Seeing that the DCEU is essentially getting blown out, Chronos could be an easy explanation of how it happened – or at least a part of the explanation.

Who is your favorite Blue Beetle villain? Let us know in the comments!

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