Spoilers! 'Blue Beetle' post-credit scene makes a big reveal about future of DC universe

Spoiler alert! The following post contains discussion of important plot points and the ending of “Blue Beetle” (in theaters now), so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.

Fans went into DC’s “Blue Beetle” expecting one Blue Beetle – it’s right there in the title – but maybe didn’t foresee the other guy.

Two Beetles for the price of one is a pretty good deal in the superhero movie, which debuts Xolo Maridueña's Latino do-gooder Jaime Reyes, who is given superhuman abilities and a cool armor suit by an alien scarab. And before the credits finish rolling, director Àngel Manuel Soto’s adventure teases the return of Jaime’s predecessor from the comic books, Ted Kord. 

Let's break down the climactic finale and what an intriguing end-credits scene says about Jaime's DC future:

What happens at the end of ‘Blue Beetle’?

Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), the movie's primary big bad and honcho of the global tech firm Kord Industries, orders a destructive attack on the Reyes house, leaving Jaime’s father (Damían Alcázar) dead of a heart attack and capturing our young Mexican American hero. She takes him to a remote Caribbean island, where the villainess plans on taking the scarab out (thereby killing him) to power an army of highly weaponized armored soldiers.

Alongside Victoria’s niece – and Jaime’s love interest – Jenny, who utilizes her missing father Ted's inventions, the Reyes family takes off in a bug-themed ship to rescue Jaime. He escapes and the good guys defeat Victoria, who gets blown up by her right-hand man Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo). Back home, Jenny takes over Kord Industries and comes to visit Jaime at a memorial for his dad. They kiss before Jaime suits up and flies off with her to Jenny's childhood home (which houses Ted's super-cool Beetle man cave).

Does ‘Blue Beetle’ have an end-credits scene?

Yep, it has two! One is Soto’s animated ode to “El Chapulín Colorado,” a 1970s Mexican superhero show the filmmaker grew up watching, though it’s the second that will interest comic-book lovers: Before Jenny and Jaime get to Kord manor, a crackling video message begins to come through on a computer console and a mystery man you can’t see through the interference relays a message to anyone who might be listening. “Tell my daughter that I love her,” he says. “And tell her Ted Kord is alive.” (A painting of the Kord family seen early in the movie has Ted looking a little like Jason Sudeikis but it's unclear which actor is doing his voice.)

Even though audiences never see Ted − who first appeared in the comics in 1966 but became a fan favorite in the ‘80s with his own solo series and the supergroup comic book “Justice League International” − he is talked about all through the film. Jaime’s Uncle Rudy is even a fan: “Batman is a fascist. Blue Beetle had a sense of humor,” he says, comparing superheroes.

In an interview with USA TODAY, Soto says he wanted the end-credits scene to “give closure” to that plot thread about Ted being missing and possibly dead.

“We wanted to not just answer the question but also let the world know that Jaime Reyes’ story is just starting,” Solo says. “By doing so, this opens the possibilities of not just new adventures (with) the Reyes family but also joining in with a different superhero if that’s what (DC Studios CEOs) James Gunn and Peter Safran want for them.”

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Is there going to be a 'Blue Beetle' sequel?

That likely depends on how the movie does opening weekend at the box office, but Jaime's not going anywhere. In an Instagram post this week, Gunn promised he'll "be an amazing part of the DCU going forward!"

With a reset of the DC universe on the horizon, time will tell if the new superhero will star in "Blue Beetle 2" or perhaps pop up in Gunn's "Superman: Legacy," set to hit theaters in 2025.

Contributing: Pamela Avila

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