u/Sleeps_Gato

Thought I would post since the character of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle turned 20 years old this year and has accumulated quite a bit of outside media and solo comic appearances! I think he’s an example of diversity done right (ie DC never stopped pushing forward with him, even when fans complained loudly in those early years).

LIVE ACTION

1. Blue Beetle (2023)- Xolo Mariduena

2. DC Nation Short (2012)- Garrett Plotkin

3. Smallville (2011)- Jaren Brandt

ANIMATION

1. Batman: Brave & The Bold (2008)- Will Friedle

2. Young Justice (2012)- Eric Lopez

3. JL vs TT (2016)- Jake T Austin

4. Justice League Action (2016)- Jake T. Austin

5. TT: Judas Contract (2017)- Jake T. Austin

6. DC Heroes United (2024)- Kevin Rivera

7. DC Metal Force (2024)- Arnie Pantoja

VIDEO GAMES

1. Batman: Brave & The Bold Video Game (2010)- Will Friedle

2. DCUO (2011)

3. Young Justice Legacy (2013)- Eric Lopez

4. Scribblenauts Unmasked (2013)

5. Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014)

6. Infinite Crisis (2015)- Eric Lopez

7. Teeny Titans (2016)

8. DC Legends (2016)

9. Injustice 2 (2017)- Anthony Del Rio

10. Teeny Titans 2 (2018)

11. Lego DC Supervillains (2018)

12. DC Heroes & Villains (2022)

13. DC Worlds Collide (2025)

14. DC Dark Legion (2025)

COMICS

1. Blue Beetle Vol 7- Keith Griffen, John Rogers & Keith Giffen

2. Blue Beetle Vol 8- Tony Bedard & Ig Guara

3. Blue Beetle Vol 9- Keith Giffen, Scott Collin’s & Christopher Sebela

4. Blue Beetle Vol 10- Josh Trujillo & Adrian Gutierrez

5. A Blue Beetle Story- Julio Anta & Jacoby Salcedo

Which is your favorite appearance? Which is your favorite comic run? Where will Jaime pop up next? I know he has an animated series in development but hopefully another DCU appearance is on the horizon as well as being playable in the rumored Injustice 3. For the comics, I’d like to see Jaime make his Absolute Universe debut

Now that we’ve gone over the core characters (3/3 games) and tier two characters (2/3) that have appeared in DC fighting games, it’s only fair that we now look into the tier three characters (1/3games). This tier is by far the most numerous, doubling the count of the first two tiers combined, especially if you include the premier skins (9 in total).

DC fighting games by NRS have featured a total of 50 playable characters (59 if you include the premier skins from Injustice 2).

From this tier I feel Hawkgirl, Lobo, Nightwing, Sinestro, Blue Beetle, Red Hood, Starfire and Supergirl have the highest odds of returning due to synergy with DCU and Elesworlds projects. All these characters have projects in development. Thoughts? Who do you see returning?

PS: I hope Black Lighting and Vixen get in as their own characters though I’m doubtful of that happening since Static and Beast Boy have similar power sets and they’re both highly requested.

So back in the early 2000’s DC chose to pass some of their B-list superhero mantles onto new legacy characters in an effort to diversify their universe. Jason Rusch, Jaime Reyes and Ryan Choi were introduced to the fans and the DCU in that order (it can be argued that Batwoman/Kate also counts since she brought LGBT representation).

Jason Rusch was introduced in Firestorm #1 (Vol 3), 2004, assuming the mantle of Firestorm after the death of the original, Ronnie Raymond. Introduced as a 17-year-old brilliant but troubled Detroit teenager who gains the ability to bond with the Firestorm Matrix. His book ran for 35 issues before being cancelled. He then went on to join the Dwayne McDuffie run of Justice League and eventually got another solo title during the New 52, sharing the mantle with Ronnie Raymond this time. That title ran 21 issues. He has since been MIA, appearing sporadically. Firestorm has finally received another solo title recently but it stars Ronnie Raymond and Jason seems to be all but forgotten. He’s led a total of 56 solo comics.

Jaime Reyes was the second to be introduced, making his debut in Infinite Crisis #3, 2006, a major DC event at the time. He claimed the role of Blue Beetle after the death of his predecessor and was then spun off into his own title, Blue Beetle Vol 6 which ran for 36 issues and concluded as a backup in Booster Gold Vol 2. Around this time he also joined both the Teen Titans (Vol 3) and JLI (Generation Lost). Jaime has led solo titles during the New 52, Rebirth and Dawn of DC eras respectively. Currently he showed up in the JLU book and shares the mantle with his predecessor, Ted Kord who has since been resurrected. He’s led a total of 90 solo comics

Ryan Choi was introduced in DCU: Brave New World #1, 2006, then spun off into his own self titled book, All New Atom, which lasted 25 issues. He took over the mantle of the Atom after the disappearance of Ray Palmer. Ironically he too would disappear and was unceremoniously killed off in Titans: Villains For Hire by Deathstroke just 4 years after making his debut. Ryan wouldn’t return to the DCU until the Rebirth era where he joined the newly formed JLA. He recently led a mini series with Ray Palmer and Captain Atom and makes appearances in the pages of JLU. He’s led 25 (31 if you count the trio book) solo comics.

20+ years since these three characters were introduced, how would you rate their success as characters? Did DC drop the ball? Do you think they’ve caught on and are no longer as controversial as when they were first introduced (those DC message boards were brutal back in the day)?

Blue Beetle by Cully Hammet

Firestorm by Yildiray Cinar

Atom by Ariel Olivetti

Animated appearances are from Batman: Brave & the Bold (2008-2011). Video game appearances are from Injustice 2 (2017).

The last post was showcasing the core characters, the 7 DC characters that have been in all three previous DC fighting games and are guaranteed to return for a fourth (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Joker and Catwoman).

This post if for the next tier of characters, the ones who have been in 2/3 previous DC fighting games and have a high chance of returning in the next. These are Shazam, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, Bane and Black Adam.

Next up with be the one hit wonders (characters who have been in only 1/3 DC fighting games).

PS: Forgot to add Darkseid to the last post, so I’m reposting

The last post was showcasing the core characters, the 7 DC characters that have been in all three previous DC fighting games and are guaranteed to return for a fourth (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Joker and Catwoman).

This post if for the next tier of characters, the ones who have been in 2/3 previous DC fighting games and have a high chance of returning in the next. These are Shazam, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, Bane and Black Adam.

Next up with be the one hit wonders (characters who have been in only 1/3 DC fighting games).

Can’t wait to see how they look for Injustice 3! I wonder if they’ll look more like the characters in modern comics! Which of the three games has your favorite look?

Characters with two appearances coming soon (Harley Quinn, Bane, Black Adam, Deathstroke, Lex Luthor, Shazam, Cyborg, Aquaman and Green Arrow).

If WB were actually competent and not so Batman focused, they would have given us an X-Men Legends style AAA video game starring the Titans already! Can’t believe we got a Suicide Squad game before Justice League or Teen Titans! Like come on WB, get your priorities straight!

Anyway, what do you think of my roster? I feel I took enough representation from each of their most popular eras (1960’s Fab 5, 1980’s NTT, 2000’s YJ era)without ignoring the less popular eras (70’s, 90’s, 2010’s). Can you name all the characters?

What would be your dream Titans game?

With INJ3 seemingly soft confirmed, I tried my hand at guessing what the roster will be. I predict a total of 36 characters or in between the first two games. 32 will be DC characters and 4 will be Guests, even ratio of heroes to villains/anti-heroes.

Core Roster (Guaranteed): Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Joker, Catwoman and Harley Quinn.

Every fighting game franchise has a set of core characters and those 8 are it for DC! Going all the way back to the first NRS DC fighter, MK vs DC, these characters have all been playable (Harley was a planned DLC character before Midway went bankrupt and the game shut down, so she still technically fits the criteria).

I’m confident in saying Aquaman, Cyborg, Bane, and Black Adam will return since they were playable in the last two games and I don’t see them missing the third.

Characters that have DCU projects in development but were absent in either game 1 or 2 will return in 3. This includes Hawkgirl, Supergirl, Nightwing, Blue Beetle, Deathstroke, Lex Luthor and Lobo.

Next up are new characters that have a DCU project in development. This includes Big Barda, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Clayface, GI Robot, Mr Terrific and Peacemaker.

In order to complete the villain/anti-heroes side, I think we’ll get a rep for each main JL member. Circe, Mirror Master, Star Sapphire and King Shark fulfill that criteria.

To complete the heroes side, are highly requested characters that don’t have a confirmed DCU project in development, Beast Boy and Constantine. 32 DC characters like DC:KO had!

For DLC, Invincible, Shredder, Lord Drakkon and an MK rep (my choice is a Kitana/Mileena/Jade trio that plays similar to the TMNT from INJ2, Tanya or Skarlet can be added if 4 are necessary).

What do you think? Can’t wait to see how close I get to the real roster lol

So it looks we have an answer on what NRS is currently working on, and it’s Injustice 3! I’m excited, I loved the second game!

What do you think the story will be about? Which characters would you like to see?

I’m hoping for Blue Beetle, Raven and Static

PS: this is now the 4th leak confirming INJ3 is next! We’ll probably get a reveal in June at the SGF or July at Comic Con