Justice League: Generation Lost #19

By / / Comics

justice-league-generation-lost-19-coverPower Girl finally knows the truth about Maxwell Lord, but is it too late for the JLI to save the Blue Beetle from a fate all to similar to that of Ted Kord? The cover might give you a clue.

The team sets out to save Blue Beetle from Max Lord who lets a little more about his plan slip to Jaime and how he’s used the former Justice League International members to seize control of Checkmate.

The story unfolds with the team mounting their rescue operation as Lord tortures Jaime in hope of learning more about the Scarab and how to use its technology to further his plans. Once Jaime escapes there’s a big throwdown between the Beetle and Lord (with the help of Checkmate defenses) which ends with the shocking death (even given the the foreshadowing of the cover) of an immensely popular DC character.

Perhaps its my nostalgia for Keith Giffen‘s Justice League, but I’ve always preferred Ted Kord to Jaime Reyes. I also think the best of the current run of Booster Gold centered around the issues which featured the return of one of the greatest duos in DC history.

That said, over time I’ve come to appreciate what Jaime brings to the table as a character and how he’s managed to carve out his own little niche in the DCU without coming off like a bastardized douchey shadow of the character he replaced (*cough*Kyle Rayner*cough*).

Judd Winick at company allow Jaime to go out swinging, and his death certainly helps drive home how dangerous a character Maxwell Lord is, but I’m just not sure his death necessary (or even a good idea). And what does this mean for the future? Does Jaime return? Ted Kord? Or are we in line for an all-new Blue Beetle? If I was betting I’d say we haven’t seen the last of Jaime quite yet.

We’ll have to wait and see how permanent the fallout of this issue becomes and what his death means to Booster Gold and the Justice League, but for now the DCU is again left without a Blue Beetle. Must-read.

[DC $2.99]