With Ted Kord no longer under threat of cardiac arrest, he and Michael Carter can again become Blue Beetle and Booster Gold in a new adventure.
WARNING: the following contains spoilers for Blue & Gold #1, available now for DC.
Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are two of the DC Universe’s closest friends, with the former Justice League members having served in the team’s most hilarious roster. Since then, not even death has kept the two buddies apart, with their bond of friendship knowing no bounds. This is shown yet again in the recent Blue & Gold #1, by Dan Jurgens, Ryan Sook and Rob Leigh, which reunites the pair for an uproarious adventure.
Though he was officially brought back during DC Rebirth, Ted Kord has remained a relatively low-key character. This may have stemmed from a little-known health issue, though that may no longer be a factor anymore. With Ted Kord no longer under threat of cardiac arrest, he and Michael Carter can again become the stunning duo of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold in a new adventure.
Heart of Gold
The story has Booster Gold attempting to jumpstart his career as a livestreaming superhero by trying to save the Justice League from their current capture. Unfortunately for the golden showboat from the future, the battle doesn’t exactly go according to plans. This makes his helpful A.I. Skeets go off looking for help in a familiar face.
Ted Kord is found at a graveyard, still mourning the loss of his father Thomas from years ago. Ted feels that he failed to live up to his father’s dreams and ambitions for him. Skeets arrives and attempts to get Kord to come help Booster Gold, but Ted’s initially hesitant to do so. Skeets misreads Kord’s trepidation as a personal health concern. He confirms that Kord’s medical records are now clean, allowing him to again don the Blue Bettle costume. While this may be the case, Ted Kord’s heart problems have still been part of the comics for almost two decades now.
Ted Kord’s Heart Problems
Ted Kord’s heart issues aren’t merely a new situation for the hero. His cardiac health problems extend back to the early 2000s where it was revealed that he had a somewhat debilitating heart condition in the pages of Birds of Prey. His doctor told him that he had already suffered three heart attacks beforehand, some of which he may have even been unaware of. This would cause him to step down from the League and superheroics for quite a while after one final adventure when he tried to stop former friend, Maxwell Lord.
Ted’s heart health does make some sense, especially as both a powerless hero and as one of the more realistic “everyman” superheroes at DC. He once had a bit of a weight problem, which would not have helped any propensity for cardiac syndromes. Likewise, the unearthly beating that he received at the hands of Doomsday was likely another catalyst for his bum ticker. The heart condition would be brought back in the Blue Beetle series during DC Rebirth, with Ted Kord shown occasionally reeling from the pain. That seems to all be in the past, however, with whatever disease that kept him out of the action no longer being a factor. With the heart of a hero beating once again, Ted Kord is free to operate as the Blue Beetle evermore.
About The Author