The following contains spoilers for Blue Beetle, now playing in theaters.
For some time, comic book movies and superhero TV shows struggled with diversity and equality. Thankfully, properties such as Black Panther, Black Lightning, Batwoman and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have helped change the perspective and moved the needle. They're all proof studios can course-correct and help ensure the entertainment industry doesn't remain completely white, as it has been for decades.
Now, Ángel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle places the spotlight on the Latine community, detailing the story of a young hero who's hurt by how his people are being treated in the present. Just as important, the movie doesn't just treat tradition and culture as afterthoughts. In the process, it ends up producing the best representation of Latine characters by genuinely incorporating heart, soul and their natural footprint into the narrative.
Blue Beetle Doesn't Shy Away From Heritage
Heritage is a major aspect of what makes these stories tick. Reservation Dogs, for example, is massively authentic in its diversity regarding Native Americans. This is the kind of connection Soto, a Puerto Rican director, previously showed in Charm City Kings, which dove into Baltimore bike culture. Given his spiritual connection to Black art, this then HBO Max film resonated, which made Soto the perfect director for Blue Beetle. It's all about embracing a community's truth, their identity and not trivializing the everyday lives of people of color.
Blue Beetle is chock-full of these character arcs, with Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) and his family being unapologetically Latine. From their food, to how they speak, to the music they listen to, and even the shows they watch, they never downplay their own identity. It doesn't matter if it's the older generation or younger, Soto wants to ensure everyone keeps wearing their Mexican flag on their metaphorical sleeves. This is something the Scarab connects with after it bonds with Jaime. In time, it speaks Spanish too, realizing the Reyes family -- as immigrants -- struggled the way it did when it landed on Earth.
Soto gets sociopolitical and socioeconomical too, pointing out how things like gentrification of Palmera City, capitalism, racism and appropriation hurt such communities mentally and physically. The Scarab feels Jaime's plight as it watches his community get barred from the elite housing developments. Jobs aren't readily available, plus families like Jaime's sacrifice everything to educate their children. These all form a vehicle for Soto to highlight the Latine community's woes in the US, as well as their resilient spirit when it comes to remembering their heritage and overcoming. It helps the Scarab and Jaime relate, perfecting their relationship.
Blue Beetle Scrubs the Token Energy
Soto did admit he didn't want to make a "Brownwash Spider-Man" movie by having Jaime retread the themes of power and responsibility in his own story, complete with Latine stereotypes. Instead, he leans on the strength of a Latine family: everyone has a role to play. In fact, all the family members, including Uncle Rudy (George Lopez), get their time in the limelight. The film smartly has Victoria Kord imprison Jaime, allowing the rest to arm up and rescue him in Blue Beetle's finale.
This speaks to the quirky characters in Latine families, how they bridge generational gaps, and how, despite being different personalities, they come together in times of tragedy. Jaime's family stick to their roots as well, remembering their religion, the journey they took sneaking to America, and the fact that when they're together, they're stronger. It subverts the lone wolf trope smartly, with Jaime telling the Winter Soldier-like Carapax, that family is indeed the key to victory. It helps that Soto has a remarkable ensemble cast, pouring on the nuance.
Blue Beetle also finds a way to mix in style with all this substance, using classic Mexican music and mariachis, while evolving the score to hip hop and synth wave to remind audiences these cultures can assimilate and evolve. It's why Rudy's fashioned himself as a genius scientist, and Jaime opts to protect the world as this alien hybrid and not a lawyer (yet). This is Soto's way of illustrating no member of the Reyes clan should be underestimated, least of all the gun-toting grandmother who fought wars back in Mexico in the name of democracy. Such an approach bucks the token trend where characters feel ancillary. Instead, Soto affirms the various human pillars of Jaime's life and why he's filled with such fire.
Blue Beetle Prides Itself on Latine Comedy
As much as Blue Beetle is an action film, it's remarkable at comedy. Many of these movies fail to balance humor and violence. But Soto doesn't waver from the jokes in a clever blend of timing. His cast doesn't overdo it at all, reflecting the laid back humor of the Latine segment. This is something seen in What We Do in the Shadows with Guillermo's clan, and in This Fool with Julio and Luis.
Fans of Latine standup (such as Gabriel Iglesias) would perfectly relate to this. Blue Beetle's approach does highlight how immigrants and refugees, in their private confines, use comedy to deflect. It might be caustic and harsh, but as Rudy says to Jenny Kord, it's part of their innate fabric and working past immense tragedies of old. They hold this suffering in their genetics, so a laugh or two, or being a bit brash is their way of tough love. What accentuates this is how the film doesn't even harp on the lines.
Blue Beetle lets the camerawork and pace flow in an essence that comedic actors like John Leguizamo would fit right into. It's not about stereotypes or punchlines or clichés -- it's about Jaime's family ensuring they never leave the fun out of this new hardship-filled life they're forging, flaws and all. Ultimately, it's a major positive for a Warner Bros. Discovery that canceled the Batgirl movie and hasn't elaborated on the future of Sasha Calle's Supergirl. Let's hope this Latine visibility and progression on the whole for POC takes precedent in the future, and that it ultimately feels as organic and enjoyable as Blue Beetle is.
Blue Beetle is currently in theaters.