Ted Kord


Theodore Stephen "Ted" Kord is a superhero who was the second incarnation of Blue Beetle, originally published by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. He was created by Steve Ditko and first appeared as a back-up feature in Captain Atom #83, with Gary Friedrich scripting from Ditko's conception and plot.
Since his debut in the comics, Kord has made appearances in numerous media. He is voiced by Wil Wheaton in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Matt Lanter in the Tomorrowverse.

Publication history and fictional character biography

Charlton Comics

Ted Kord was a genius-level inventor and a gifted athlete, sharing much more in common with Dan Garret, the Fox Feature Syndicate original, than did Charlton's reimagining of the Garrett / Blue Beetle character. Kord's signature equipment was his bug-shaped personal aircraft, which he entered and exited typically with a cable suspended from the cockpit. He also generally eschewed personal weaponry, except for a pistol that made a blinding flash of light and, additionally, a strong airblast to gain the advantage when he closed in for hand-to-hand combat.
The character ran as a backup feature in Captain Atom #83–86 before getting his own Blue Beetle title, which ran for 5 issues between June 1967 and November 1968. A sixth issue was produced, but published in the Charlton Portfolio by CPL Gang. The Question ran as a backup series, with the fifth issue featuring a quasi-team-up in which the Blue Beetle story continues in part in the Question tale.
An origin was given in Secret Origins vol. 2, #2, linking him to the original Blue Beetle. Ted was a former student of Dan Garrett, and they were investigating his uncle Jarvis Kord, learning Jarvis was working to create an army of androids to take over Earth; Garrett fought Jarvis, but both were killed in the battle. Garrett died and passed on the responsibility of the alter-ego to Ted, but was not able to pass on the mystical Blue Beetle scarab. There was a hint that one android was still left in stasis, but this would remain unresolved until the DC series of the late 1980s.
In the early 1980s, the first issue of Charlton's anthology comic Charlton Bullseye featured a team-up of the Blue Beetle and the Question. Later, AC Comics would publish a story intended for Charlton Bullseye in Americomics #3, and a one-shot of a team-up of all the Charlton "Action Heroes" called the Sentinels of Justice, as the company called its lineup. Upon losing Blue Beetle, AC Comics created a similar character called Scarlet Scorpion.

DC Comics

DC solo series

DC Comics acquired the Charlton heroes in the mid-1980s and used the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event to integrate them all into the DC Universe. During this period, Ted Kord had his own Blue Beetle series, written by Len Wein, which ran for 24 issues from June 1986 to May 1988. Also published during this time was Secret Origins #2, which explained the origins and careers of the Ted Kord and Dan Garrett Blue Beetles in post-Crisis continuity. They would also follow up on the hinted android in stasis from the Charlton series, which would eventually become "Carapax, the Indestructible Man".
In his monthly, solo series, Kord was shown as an industrialist, the owner of KORD Industries, which he took over from his father Thomas Kord and transformed it from a small R&D company to a scientific industry rivaling S.T.A.R. Labs. Upon joining the newly formed Justice League Ted was more often portrayed as a second string joke. He was short on money, leading to his entering "get-rich-quick" schemes with Booster Gold. A brief appearance in JLA: Year One showed the young Ted working in Kord Industries R&D, where he designed the JLA HQ security system. Upon meeting the heroes, he thought, "Screw the family business. I want to be one of those guys", possibly explaining the company's fluctuating status since he took over.

Joining the Justice League

Kord is probably best known as the wisecracking Blue Beetle of Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis' lighthearted, five-year run on various Justice League of America titles, where he was memorably partnered with Booster Gold, and the two become best friends. Among fans, they are known collectively as the "Blue and Gold" team. After Giffen and DeMatteis left, the series continued to run until Justice League America #113. Dan Jurgens tied "The Death of Superman" storyline into JLA, in which Doomsday left Kord in a coma during his murderous rampage, as well as a six-inch scar on the back of his skull. Kord and Booster Gold both subsequently joined the short-lived Justice League offshoot known as Extreme Justice.
Kord then entered a period of relative obscurity. The miniseries LAW reunited him and the other heroes acquired from Charlton, but the series met with critical disfavor.

Super Buddies

In July 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and original JLI artist Kevin Maguire reunited for the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League, where many of the original JLI characters re-teamed with a storefront office. Ted was an important member of this new team known as the "Super Buddies". The sequel story arc I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League was initially slated as a second miniseries, but instead ran delayed in JLA: Classified #4–9.
Ted made several appearances in Birds of Prey, at first as Oracle's internet friend and later in person. It was hinted in several issues that Ted had a crush on Oracle. Ted had gone back to his company, but still had many, many problems with it; problems Oracle tried to help resolve. During this time, it was revealed he had a heart condition, but this did not stop him from assisting when it was needed. After his death, the Birds of Prey visited a statue in Valhalla Cemetery built in his honor; Black Canary revealed that being in the JLA was only fun when Ted was there, and Oracle revealed having had a cyber crush on him.

Death and return

In Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Kord discovers a revived Checkmate organization headquartered in a Belgian castle fortress where Kord is captured. Maxwell Lord, former bankroller of the JLA, reveals to Blue Beetle a plan to use Checkmate to ensure that metahumans, including superheroes, will be kept under human's surveillance and control. Blue Beetle is then given an ultimatum to join Lord's organization, but refuses with the reply "Rot in hell, Max" to which Lord murders him with a bullet to the head.
That same story had earlier reiterated that Kord had thought the scarab was destroyed back in Blue Beetle vol. 6. #18 ; however, it had been rediscovered, untouched, in a temple in Egypt and handed over to Kord. It is unclear as to whether or not this is the same scarab created from a piece of future technology magically infused by Nabu in the Time Masters miniseries. Shazam took the scarab upon encountering Kord, fueling speculation about the possibility of the character's return in Infinite Crisis. At the Wizard World convention, writer Greg Rucka stated that Kord would not be resurrected.

One Year Later

During Infinite Crisis, Jaime Reyes obtains Kord's scarab and becomes the new Blue Beetle. A statue of Kord is displayed in a memorial to fallen Justice League members. When recruiting members for the new Justice League, Superman suggests Booster Gold to which Batman responds: "There are better ways to honor Ted".
In Geoff Johns' 2007/2008 ongoing Booster Gold series, Booster Gold agrees to help Rip Hunter set right the timeline, but at a cost: Rip must help Booster travel back in time and save Ted Kord. Hunter tries to shock Booster into acknowledging the inability to change the past. As Booster prepares to accept this fate, a futuristic Blue Beetle appears with Dan Garrett and Jaime Reyes in tow to show how to turn the time around Kord's death into "malleable time". Booster betrays Hunter and rescues Kord from death. The story arc "Blue and Gold" reveals that this act has altered the present, creating a timeline where Maxwell Lord rules over Earth as a police state. The future Blue Beetle is revealed to be the supervillain Black Beetle. Facing the defeat of his former JLI teammates, Kord returns to the past and allows himself to die to restore the timeline.

Blackest Night

During the "Blackest Night" event, Kord is revived as a Black Lantern and lures Booster Gold into the open by targeting Daniel Carter and Rose Levin, Booster's 21st-century ancestor. He is able to successfully pierce the Supernova costume shields with his gun, and holds Supernova in place while beating Blue Beetle and staving off Skeets' attack until Booster arrives. He then moves in for the kill, hoping to rip out Booster's heart.
Kord battles all of the heroes, but is unsuccessful in killing anyone except a neighbor who complained about the noise from the fight. Jaime and Booster Gold remove Rose and Daniel from the scene and head to a KORD Industries warehouse where one of Kord's hidden bases is located to collect special equipment to fight the Black Lantern. Booster discovers that even though the doors were genetically coded, someone had accessed Kord's hidden base a few months before his remains were reanimated. However to Booster's knowledge, only two people, had authorization to access it: Booster Gold and Kord himself. Kord corpse battles Booster until he is attacked by a light blast from a gun designed by Kord to access the emotional spectrum. Kord is separated from the ring, leaving his body inanimate. Booster seizes his remains before the ring can reanimate them, takes them into the Time Sphere, and deposits them in a small grave at the Vanishing Point.