Blue Beetle (12A, 127 mins)
Verdict: Different – until it’s not
Strays (15, 93 mins)
Verdict: New dogs, old tricks
They’ve done Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Even Aquaman and Shazam. But now, in DC Comics’ ongoing struggle to have a cinematic universe to rival Marvel’s, it is finally the turn of Blue Beetle. You know, the one who’s blue. And a beetle.
Who am I kidding? Being one of those cool, attractive, literary sorts who reads a lot of comics, I know perfectly well who Blue Beetle is. But I imagine others might be in a different position, so here’s an explainer.
In this incarnation of the character, Blue Beetle is a 20-something guy called Jaime Reyes who’s been bonded with an alien artefact, the scarab, that gives him terrific strength, dexterity, durability, weaponry, the power of flight … all the usual. And, yes, when dressed in his amazo-suit, he is blue. And he does look rather like a beetle.
Now, in DC Comics’ ongoing struggle to have a…
