InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Owls again!"

thanekos (thanekos) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-09-06 10:06:00

Current music:	Rush - Depeche Mode
Entry tags:	char: blue beetle/ted kord, creator: len wein, creator: paris cullins

The Blue Beetle's Enemies, Part the First: Firefist, the Incendiary Man!
Ted fought more than the comic results of his own actions and the Madmen. Who knew, eh?

And he fought some rather interesting enemies too.

an ecletic sort, at any rate.

but we know the rest of that story- Ted Kord, Pago Island, crazy uncle, death robots, BOOM, " You must carry on for me, Ted... ", the making of the Bug, and here we are.

with Ted's first enemy in his first 1986 issue:

The Incendiary Man! Well, it's a good name right out of the gate.

and not only has Firefist managed to fend off the Beetle right out of the gate, but he's also re-invented Greek fire.

after that, they have a fight:

and Firefist collapses the building on Ted in a cliffhanger.

(Shockingly enough, the Beetle lives.)

but before their next go-around, we get to see Firefist recount his " Wow, that sucks for you, man " origin:

" This really looks like newsprint... "

aheh.

wow, that really does suck.

but hell, he got to reinvent Greek fire.

no, seriously, that's what his powers amount to:

(meet two members of Ted's supporting cast. they'll turn up, again and again, along with other people...)

anyhow, Ted has at him at his next target, the newly made Chicago Museum of Firefighting.

yes, a museum of firefighting. government makes some weird choices, it does.

(Byrnes. Oy.)

so then they have a fight...

" You're handsome! You're normal! While I... I'm only... a monster... "

and an anguished Firefist throws himself into the flames.

R.I.P, Firefist. You reinvented Greek fire, man. That was totally awesome.

next indeterminate time: the madmen and doctor alchemy. (who gets the shit foreshadowed out of him in the first two issues. the series likes doing that.)

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	arilou_skiff 2009-09-06 04:06 pm UTC (link)
	So his Nemesis is the FIRE DEPARTMENT? Sadly, the only thing he makes me think of is "FIREFIST SMASH!" sigh i love Sacrifice :p (Reply to this)

zippthorn
2009-09-06 04:33 pm UTC (link)

That first image is of the first Blue Beetle. Or the second, depending on how you count these things (the first Blue Beetle was a patrolman named Dan Garrett, the second an archaeologist named . . . Dan Garrett). Although, some of those villains are ripe for a revamp (we can probably ignore the Praying Mantis Man unless something truly genius is done with him, or the camp value was played way way up. Mr. Thunderbolt also needs a huge visual overhaul--"Oh, a guy with a widow's peak, pencil mustache, and huge ears. I'm so afraid yawn"). I mean, the Red Knight? Mr. Crabbe and his Sinister Scorpion?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	thandrak 2009-09-06 06:48 pm UTC (link)
	Turn the Preying Mantis into a woman. Make her look a little like a nun, maybe. Keep the ecological angle, re-read his adventures, see if there's anything good there, ecology was unique back then. Or keep him as a man, make him attempt to be a martyr for the ecology. Like a real preying mantis. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	volksjager 2009-09-06 05:35 pm UTC (link)
	Personally I think DC messed this character up. Sure some of the "Blue and Gold" stuff with booster worked, but I don't think this was the same character without the airgun,and flying beetle. (Reply to this)

	retro_nouveau 2009-09-06 07:12 pm UTC (link)
	Looks like Ghostbusters International lost a future site for their Chicago branch. We used to roast Stay-Puft Marshmallows by the fire at Camp Waconda. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bariman1987 2009-09-07 05:39 am UTC (link)
	Looks like Ghostbusters International lost a future site for their Chicago branch. Well, there's always Los Angeles. Or Cincinnatti. Or Cleveland. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	madripoor_rose 2009-09-06 08:07 pm UTC (link)
	OMG so cool! Doctor Alchemy? Isn't that a Flash villain? Thanks for posting. I know nothing about Ted's early days other than the four JLI reprints. (Reply to this)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-09-06 08:40 pm UTC (link)
	No we don't all know the rest of the story... :( (Reply to this) (Thread)

zippthorn
2009-09-06 09:09 pm UTC (link)

Originally Ted Kord was a student/fanboy of Dan Garrett, adventurer archaeologist and mystery man Blue Beetle. Dan's last adventure involved him and Ted discovering that Ted's crazy uncle was making robots to take over the world, and after quick-changing into the Blue Beetle, Dan died in battle, but not before entrusting the legacy and title of Blue Beetle to Ted. Ted then went to kick his uncle's ass.

Slightly modified into the BTBATB ep "The Fall Of The Blue Beetle" where it's actually TED'S final adventure as Blue Beetle, and no Dan anywhere.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	icon_uk 2009-09-06 10:36 pm UTC (link)
	yes, a museum of firefighting. government makes some weird choices, it does. A google search shows at least three of those around. New York City, Denver and another in New York. I'm sure there are many more, and a worthy bunch of folk they would seem to be. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bluefall 2009-09-07 02:40 am UTC (link)
	Around here we have a firehouse that was made into a museum, but only the one small corner of it is actually about the firefighting (it's a science museum) so I guess that doesn't count. They don't even let you go down the firepole ;_; (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	aaron_bourque 2009-09-07 05:29 am UTC (link)
	New Orleans had a Science Museum (for kids) that had been converted from an old fire station. ~~I guess they figure, what with the flooding, the don't need as many firehouses~~ Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; I wish there was a double strike-out command . . . (Reply to this) (Parent)

	bariman1987 2009-09-07 05:40 am UTC (link)
	No pole? But everyone's got to try the pole! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-09-10 02:13 pm UTC (link)
	are you from Ann Arbor? My favorite part about that particular Firehouse/museum is that the model of the Internet circa 1990-something that is literally a series of tubes. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	salad_barbarian 2009-09-07 08:20 am UTC (link)
	Chicago actually has one too. I had no idea until this post made me look it up. It makes sense since we had a great fire and all. (Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-09-08 05:32 am UTC (link)

This is pretty cool. While Ted was very funny and all during the JLI period, it was NOT a good time for his image. Never mind the fact that he was a science genius who invented the Bug singlehandedly, or an agile and experienced fighter - no no, never mind all that, let's laugh at Blue and Gold's wacky hijinks. There was actually an issue of Animal Man where J'onn is asked just how the hell Ted managed to qualify for Justice League membership, and he's like 'Errr'. I personally find that an awful shame, since he's actually a very interesting hero when he's treated right - I think Ditko actually intended him to be a sort of a Batman figure (although probably leaning a bit more towards the lighter '60's version, rather than the whole 'Dark Knight' thing). The basics are there - he's the head of a corporation, he's got a distinctive themed vehicle, his career was sparked by the death of someone close to him...

(Reply to this)