Blue Beetle – Batman’s a Fascist

Blue Beetle is the type of superhero film that seems to be in increasingly rare supply these days. It places character firmly over spectacle, and in doing so, gives us one of the most heartfelt comic book films of recent memory.

If you're not familiar with the character, Blue Beetle is sort of extraterrestrial Ironman. The character, Jaime Reyes, is human, but the tech, Khaji Da, is alien. The two form a symbiosis, one where the suit is able to conjure whatever Jaime can imagine. In that way, it is sort of also reminiscent of the Green Lantern's ring.

All that aside, Blue Beetle nails the vibe of someone trying to acclimate to the insane circumstance he finds himself. And it does so without sacrificing the beating heart of its story—Jaime's family.

Sadly, despite being one of the strongest entries in DC's film catalogue, Blue Beetle flopped at the box office, earning a franchise low $130.8 million. Neither strong reviews or James Gunn's promise that the character would return in his soon-to-be rebooted DCU were enough to drum up interest. Truly a bummer.

Now, sit back, let Khaji Da manifest you a can of Blue from SweetWater Brewing, and fire up El Chapulín! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Bling Blake, and Chumpzilla are catching up on María la del Barrio!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – He's a superhero, whether he likes it or not! (00:00)
• Lingering Questions – Is Susan Sarandon confused by the film she's in or just bored by it? (31:23)
• The "Khaji Da" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (54:25)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue Super-Heroic Flops with what David Zaslav proclaimed to be the greatest comic movie of all-time, The Flash! (1:07:13)

And, as always, hit us up on Threads, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Vurbl, Amazon Music, and more!