Len Wein brings us the strangest take on the homeless epidemic I’ve ever read
99. Blue Beetle #16 by Len Wein and Ross Andru
As excited as I am to see the upcoming Blue Beetle film from Warner Bros, I’m just a little saddened that the Ted Kord version of the character has fallen so far by the wayside. He was a great character with an interesting conceit: a normal guy trying to fill in for a super-powered being. Now he’s arguably an afterthought with the Jaime Reyes version of the character taking center stage.
Blue Beetle #16 has all the trappings of a fill-in issue with Ross Andru and Danny Bulanadi stepping in for Paris Cullins and his rotating cast of inkers. Most of the subplots have fallen by the wayside as the story focuses on Ted Kord and his search for a specific homeless man while someone else is viciously murdering the homeless of Chicago.
It all starts with a chase through a darkened street. A masked man trips over a homeless man while he’s carrying a strange vial. He drops it and it gets mixed with the man’s possessions. He doesn’t have time to find it before Blue Beetle is on him. The masked man runs and Beetle gives pursuit, but the masked thug manages to lose Beetle in the L train system.
We learn the vial contains an experimental treatment for leukemia. We also learn…
