The future is looking very bright for Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1 provides Jaime Reyes with the perfect opportunity to celebrate a major milestone. This limited series may prove to be game-changing for the character.
While Jaime Reyes has been the Blue Beetle since his debut in 2006, he has predominantly been depicted as a teen hero attending El Paso High. He fights to protect the planet, but his home base has always been El Paso, Texas. Now, he's not only being sent away, he's being grounded – literally – by the Justice League. This series could make or break Jaime's chance to be an adult hero within DC's current universe.
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day is a Fresh Story About Growing Pains
Currently, the DC Universe is at an important place for its next generation of heroes. Numerous teen sidekicks have gone on to take up their mentors' mantles or become independent heroes in their own right. Wally West is The Flash once again, while Jackson Hyde has proven himself to be an Aquaman in his own right, while Dick Grayson's Nightwing has never been more popular. However, Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle has predominantly been portrayed as a teenager. Now, Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1 poses a chance for the young hero to step away from his heroic duties - or prove that he is a fully capable hero regardless of his potential personal involvement in the coming conflict. This first issue successfully presents a clear picture of what challenges Jaime has faced thus far, while also introducing all new ones for him to tackle. It poses him as a typical teen hero and simultaneously grants him the chance to move beyond this stage of his life. The question will not only be if he can, but also if DC will allow this to be an official and entirely different kind of graduation.
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1 is a very effective paradigm shift, representing Jaime's home life and hometown very well, while simultaneously beginning to tear him away from it all. It shows a struggle that other step into DC's higher ranks.
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1 is available now from DC Comics.
