The following contains spoilers for Blue Beetle, now playing in theaters.
One of the things fans can always count on is for superhero films to have an abundance of Easter eggs. It's been seen across many Marvel and DC movies, helping pay homage to the past, as well as modern arcs and characters. In the case of Ángel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle, it's no different.
There are many references to DC comics and movies, though it's kept vague as to which DC cinematic universe Blue Beetle is tipping its hat to. That's because it's uncertain what role Xolo Maridueña's Jaime Reyes will play in James Gunn's DCU. Still, the deep cuts are a DC fan's delight. Here's a dive into what Soto's movie winked at.
10 Batman & Gotham Get Shout-Outs
Batman's presence is felt in a few key scenes. Firstly, Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) calls Batman a fascist when Jaime's crew finds Ted Kord's lab. It plays into Rudy's rebellious nature, and his belief that superheroes need to lighten up.
Secondly, Jaime pokes fun of Ted's utility belt in front of Ted's daughter, Jenny, as he calls it a Batman ripoff. In addition, a news flash on Jaime's TV at home reveals Bruce Wayne bought a dating app, suggesting Wayne Industries is into modern romance and dating. Lastly, Jaime has a Gotham Law hoodie in the opening act, affirming where he studied before returning home.
9 Ted Kord Is Confirmed as the Second Blue Beetle
The opening sequence of the film dives quickly into Ted going missing. Newspaper clips show he was indeed the second Blue Beetle. His lab would later reveal his lore-faithful suit and other weapons, which ties into the character's legacy.
The DC lore shaped Ted as a Beetle after he was created by Steve Ditko in 1966. When DC acquired Charlton Comics, Ted would become a Justice League International hero, hop to various worlds and timelines. In time, he would mentor Jaime -- something the cartoons have detailed, too.
8 Dan Garrett Is Revealed as the First Blue Beetle
The lab also has a bigger bombshell. The first Blue Beetle is actually Dan Garrett. He worked with Ted, but after he died, Ted couldn't figure out how to bond with the Scarab Dan left behind. Ted, however, would create deadly technology off of it, which is why he wanted to ensure his company wouldn't cross moral lines in this movie -- something Victoria does once Ted disappears.
This arc reflects the source material with Dan, a character created by Charles Wojtkoski in 1939. He would become Ted's mentor, with DC acquiring rights and eventually having Dan die. He handed off the dynasty to Ted, which is the narrative that Jenny tells Jaime about on the big screen. Dan's iconic blue and red suit is seen next to Ted's for good measure.
7 Superman Has Key Homages
When Jaime first bonds with the Scarab, he flies out of Palmera City. He ends up in Earth's orbit, watching the beautiful blue orb glow. This pays tribute to when Henry Cavill's Superman took flight in Man of Steel and hovered over the planet. In addition, when Jaime later taps into more power, his fists on the ground mess with the gravity field and cause the dirt to float.
It's Jaime's rage acting up as he wants to kill the OMAC villain, Carapax. This nods to when Cavill's Superman rested his fist to the ground and first took flight in Snyder's movie. To top it off, a LexCorp digital billboard is seen in Palmera City when Jaime visits, teasing Lex Luthor loves marketing.
6 Uncle Rudy Talks About Big Brother
When Jaime and Rudy meet up in the city, a paranoid Rudy keeps prattling on about conspiracy theories and deep-state nonsense. He calls the cameras "big brother" and insists there's a hive mind connected and watching everyone. It nods to the Brother Eye global satellite system Batman would use in the comics to spy on humans and metahumans.
Ironically, Max Lord would hijack this system, and use that and the OMACs to cause chaos. Luckily, this paranoia doesn't rub off on Jaime. But Rudy is sort of right, as Susan Sarandon's Victoria Kord uses her military ops team to track camera feeds and find Jaime's family.
5 The Flash Has Some Special Nods
When Jaime and Co. are in Ted's lab, they mention how Superman saves Metropolis, and this is what Jaime can be for his people: a savior. Rudy quickly adds Central City has the Flash. This is Barry Allen's iconic home from the comics and other media. In fact, it was recently seen in The Flash movie.
Another DC Easter egg, Big Belly Burger, is also spotted when Jenny hides the Scarab in this box to give Jaime at the start of the story. It's the iconic burger joint from Central City, which has even appeared in the Arrowverse. Superman is a fan of it in the comics as well.
4 The Bug Is a Brutal Snyder Homage
Jaime's family uses Ted's ship, the Bug, to raid Victoria's compound in Blue Beetle's finale. It ends up scaling the fortress, before jumping down and squashing the soldiers. It's a very brutal sequence as Jaime's family admits there will be casualties in the rescue mission.
The way it crawls and moves around is similar to the Knightcrawler Ben Affleck's Batman piloted in Justice League. He'd use it in the Gotham sewers to scale walls and stomp Parademons. Both machines have a fluid dynamic, confirming Warner Bros.' CGI team knows how to create off-terrain assault vehicles.
3 Promethium Mining is Happening
When Victoria's work is mentioned, Blue Beetle divulges how she's overseen many promethium mining operations. They seem to have cornered the market on it at Kord Industries. Promethium is actually DC's version of Marvel's adamantium.
In the comics, the metal was used to make Cyborg's body after Victor Stone's injury. Deathstroke also used composites of promethium to forge his armor. Apart from his suit, he used the metal to make his iconic swords as well, teasing maybe Jaime will have more dangerous villains to fight in a BlueBeetle sequel.
2 Carapax's Design Honors the Past
In DC Comics lore, Carapax was actually the Indestructible Man, created by Len Wein and Paris Cullins in 1986. He ended up finding a robotic shell, dying and transferring his mind into it. He hated Dan and the Beetle legacy on the whole, so he'd keep waging war on them.
In Blue Beetle, Carapax only has the Indestructible Man's design. He's not a scientist like in the comics, as he's changed to a soldier. The way his body adjusts to create weapons is the OMAC soldier Victoria wants to sell to governments. Her main goal is to fuse the OMAC with the Scarab code, making her own killer Beetle. This direction mixes both concepts, but it's still appreciated that Caparax's original design is kept.
1 Pago Island Is In the Spotlight
Pago Island is where Victoria's fortress is and where she wants to perfect the OMAC project. In the comics, this location debuted in the Blue Beetle comic in the 1960s. It's where Dan died and is the location for Ted's origin story where he'd take over from his mentor.
Bitter against Dan, Carapax would explore this island and get electrocuted, leading to him being transferred into his robot form. The movie condenses all this, however, leaving out the drama. Instead, it keeps Pago Island as a castle with a dungeon, building to Jaime's family in the Bug raiding to save him.
Blue Beetle is currently in theaters.