“Behold, my costume is lamer than yours!”
Blue Beetle #52
Charlton Comics Group (October, 1965)
“Magno: The Man Who Shakes The World”
WRITER: Joe Gill
ARTIST: Tony Tallarico
credits according to Comic Book+
After exposing a scientist’s faulty evidence of man’s ancestry as men living beneath the Earth, Dan Garrett becomes the enemy of Magno-Man. The villain knows Dan’s identity as Blue Beetle, and attacks cities from beneath to lure him into a trap. Also investigating is a pretty young French spelunker who will proceed to do absolutely nothing of story value. Despite near-successful attempts by Magno-Man to defeat our hero, Blue Beetle eventually stops him and saves the surface world…but has the villain escaped death?
What they got right: Believe it or not, if you read along, I do have some stuff to list here. The art was okay. The idea of a villain who operates underground is probably an obligation for superhero worlds at this point. In theory, Magno-Man could have been a decent villain.
What they got wrong: Execution is another story, though. How did Magno-Man learn Dan’s secret identity? Never explained. The pretty girl, who looks like another girl Dan was talking with at the college but I don’t think she’s the same one, is just there for the eye candy. Blue Beetle doesn’t even really save her because she’s not in any real danger. Magno-Man was already planning to wipe her mind of everything after killing Blue Beetle, who can now absorb and send electricity back out of him. And Blue Beetle’s weakness? Ultraviolet light because it means he isn’t blue anymore. Just in case you thought Green Lantern’s old yellow impurity wasn’t lame enough (I never had a problem with it).
What I think overall: Blue Beetle’s powers seem to be whatever the writer came up with an hour ago, the villain doesn’t live up to potential, and the eye candy does nothing else for the story, not even the damsel in distress. Good ideas seems to die with this series.
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