Ted Kord

Ted Kord is a fictional superhero adventurer featured in comics books published by DC Comics. He is known in the costumed identity of Blue Beetle and is the main main character in several related titles, as well as issues of Justice League International. Ted Kord is the second man to adopt the identity of Blue Beetle, and is the successor to Dan Garret, the original Blue Beetle, who made his debut in the pages of Mystery Men Comics #1 back in August, 1939. Ted Kord was introduced as the second Blue Beetle in the second story in Captain Atom, Volume 3 #83 in November, 1966, which was published by Charlton Comics. He made four appearances as a back-up feature in that title until branching off into his own short-lived series, Blue Beetle, which only ran for five issues from June 1967 to November 1968. Issues #1 and #3 were reprinted by Modern Comics in 1977, but afterward, all of the previous Charlton heroes were then sold to DC Comics. DC allocated the Charlton Universe to the reality designation of Earth-Four, and Ted made his first DC appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 in 1985. The following year, Ted received his own Blue Beetle ongoing series as part of the greater DC Universe. The series ran from June 1986 to May 1988, spanning a total of twenty-four issues. Afterward, Blue Beetle became one of the founding members of the revamped Justice League title, which became Justice League International with issue #7. He later became a regular character in the Extreme Justice series, appearing in all eighteen regular issues, plus the zero issue. Blue Beetle made recurring appearances in the Birds of Prey ongoing comic book series between 1999 and 2005. Ted reunited with his old JLI pals, otherwise known as the "Super Buddies", in the 2003-2004 limited series Formerly Known as the Justice League. By May of 2005, things took a very dark turn for Ted Kord. He was brutally murdered by Maxwell Lord in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one-shot special. A time-displaced version of Ted emerged during the second Booster Gold series, which ran from 2007 to 2011.

Abilities

 * Acrobatics: Ted Kord was very physically limber and was a master at acrobatics.
 * Aviation: Although Ted never had any formal training as a pilot, he was able to deftly operate, navigate and repair his hover-ship, The Bug.
 * Business management: Ted Kord could effectively manage the day-to-day operations of Kord Industries.
 * Martial arts: Ted was trained in several different martial arts forms, though it is unclear whether he had mastered any particular discipline.


 * Genius-level intellect: Although he rarely acted like it, Ted Kord actually possessed a genius-level intellect. When he was a teenager, he assisted the recently formed Justice League of America in putting together some o
 * Computer operation: A sub-set of Ted's intelligence, this ability enabled him to suss out the identity of Maxwell Lord, which ultimately led to Ted's own demise.


 * Mechanical engineering: The sophistication of The Bug as well as his flare gun demonstrates a keen ability at mechanical engineering. This is also presented whenever Ted had to affect repairs on these devices.

Equipment

 * Beetle Gun: The Beetle Gun was a tool & weapon utilized by Ted Kord during his career as the Blue Beetle. The Beetle Gun emitted a blast of solar energy that was ideal for distracting, blinding or otherwise disorientating opponents.


 * The Bug: The Bug was developed by Kord Industries and was a hover-ship capable of atmospheric flight. It also had marine adaptability, enabling it to travel underwater. The Bug was 80% solar-powered and was also equipped with a mobile lab. It possessed various other tools including articulating claw arms, magnetic manipulators, defensive shielding and offensive electro-blast capabilities. The Bug had an auto-hover feature as well as a grappling line that the pilot could rappel down whenever they needed to exit the vehicle. It was utilized by Ted Kord during his career as Blue Beetle. The Bug also served as an auxiliary craft for the Justice League International during Ted's time with the team. In most cases, only Ted himself ever piloted the Bug.

Notes & Trivia



 * Ted Kord was originally part of the undesignated "Charlton" Universe, which was retroactively identified as Earth-Four. These adventures are no longer considered canon continuity. The revised origin of Ted Kord was presented in Secret Origins, Volume 2 #2 in 1986. All of his appearances since then, up until his death are considered part of Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint continuity.


 * Ted Kord had an "I ♥ NY" bumper sticker on the back of The Bug.