Blue Beetle #16

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you all thought I was going to go with Sinestro Corps. And I will. I just want to let it simmer for a while. In the meantime, I'm going with Jaime, because I just love him to death.

We begin, with Jean/Eclipso beating up on some people and trying to steal their baby. It is Eclipso's theory that he/she needs an innocent body, one without the emotional baggage that most of his/her bodies have had in the past. So baby-stealing seems like a very good idea. Until Traci Thirteen shows up.

Now I must admit that I am only a little familiar with the lovely Traci, and that is mostly from reading about Dr. Thirteen's adventures in that gawdawful Spectre book a while back. But she is quite awesome, and apparently has been hanging out with the Croatoans, which is possibly a fun thing to do.

Anyway, Jean/Eclipso is NOT amused and tries to roast Traci, who manages to teleport into Jaime's family business. He and Paco had just been hanging out, and Jaime was trying to figure out how to find a girlfriend. And lo and behold, a hot teenage shows up out of the blue!

Paco of course starts yelling that Jaime has to wish for a Porsche...before it wears off! In the meantime, Traci gives Jaime her credentials, and then they are off with Paco trying to find the Posse. Traci and Jaime are in the back seat, and she's filling them in, and even makes a little reference to Ralph that made me choke up a bit. It's obvious that the two of them have hit it off pretty well, which is rather fun.

Unfortunately, the Posse isn't doing so well, as Jean/Eclipso has put a whammy-jammy on them. Jaime armors up, and disrupts the magic, which knocks him out, but saves them. That's when they realize why Jean/Eclipso is after the baby, and they need to find the nearest consecrated ground, which turns out very handily, to be an old deserted church.

Jean/Eclipso is just about to rip the little mite's heart out, when in busts Jaime, complete with sword and shield, and just looking baddass. Jean/Eclipso isn't too impressed, and they engage in some witty banter, or at least what passes for banter, which according to Jaime, just "...banter. Sucks. So much!"

Traci is trying to get the baby, but the magical circle that Jean/Eclipso has placed around the child keeps her out. Paco of course steps up to the plate, and goes in for the kid. He can't get out however, unless, due to a lot of magical mumbo-jumbo he fights Blue Beetle. Jean/Eclipso gets ready to lose the deepest, darkest fantasies of Ultimate Power, housed in the body of Jaime, and warns Paco that he's about to die at the hands of his Dearest Friend!

Witness the Monster within the Blue Beetle!!!



Seriously, it was at this point that I completely lost it and almost fell off of the couch laughing. God I LOVE this book.

Yes, Jaime's deepest, darkest desire...is to become a dentist. The total look of bafflement on Jean/Eclipso's face just fills me with delight. Paco then clocks Jaime, and gets out of the magic circle WITH the baby. Jean/Eclipso is just about beside himself/herself, but then Traci steps up with her cool stolen Staff of Arion, not to mention some of Jaime's hero's blood and goes to town on Jean/Eclipso's ass.

Jean/Eclipso just can't quite figure out why he/she is having so much trouble with these meddlesome kids, nor why this seems so personal for Traci.

Well, it turns out that she used to hang out with not only Ralph, but Sue Dibny, and that she loved them...very much.

Go Dibnys!

The upside, is that Jean/Eclipse is defeated, at least for the moment, and Paco has the baby, and Traci and Jaime discover that they really like each other. Really. A whole lot.

I love a happy ending.