Charlton Comics Ted Kord was a genius-level inventor and a gifted athlete, sharing much more in common with
Dan Garret, the
Fox Feature Syndicate original, than did Charlton's reimagining of the Garrett (a second "t" was added) / Blue Beetle character. Kord's signature equipment was his bug-shaped personal aircraft, which he entered and exited typically with a cable suspended from the cockpit. He also generally eschewed personal weaponry, except for a pistol that made a blinding flash of light and, additionally, a strong airblast to gain the advantage when he closed in for hand-to-hand combat. The character ran as a backup feature in
Captain Atom #83–86 (November 1966 – June 1967) before getting his own
Blue Beetle title, which ran for 5 issues between June 1967 and November 1968. A sixth issue was produced, but published in the
Charlton Portfolio by
CPL Gang. The
Question ran as a backup series, with the fifth issue featuring a quasi-team-up in which the Blue Beetle story continues in part in the
Question tale. An origin was given in
Secret Origins vol. 2, #2, linking him to the original Blue Beetle. Ted was a former student of
Dan Garrett, and they were investigating his uncle
Jarvis Kord, learning Jarvis was working to create an army of androids to take over Earth; Garrett fought Jarvis, but both were killed in the battle. Garrett died and passed on the responsibility of the alter-ego to Ted, but was not able to pass on the mystical Blue Beetle scarab (a convenient means for Ditko to explain his preference for a power-free character). There was a hint that one android was still left in stasis, but this would remain unresolved until the DC series of the late 1980s. In the early 1980s, the first issue of Charlton's anthology comic
Charlton Bullseye featured a team-up of the Blue Beetle and the Question. Later,
AC Comics would publish a story intended for
Charlton Bullseye in
Americomics #3, and a one-shot of a team-up of all the Charlton "Action Heroes" called the
Sentinels of Justice, as the company called its lineup. Upon losing Blue Beetle, AC Comics created a similar character called
Scarlet Scorpion.
DC Comics DC solo series DC Comics acquired the Charlton heroes in the mid-1980s and used the
Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event to integrate them all into the DC Universe. During this period, Ted Kord had his own
Blue Beetle series, written by
Len Wein, which ran for 24 issues from June 1986 to May 1988. Also published during this time was
Secret Origins #2 (cover illustrated by
Gil Kane), which explained the origins and careers of the Ted Kord and Dan Garrett Blue Beetles in post-
Crisis continuity. They would also follow up on the hinted android in stasis from the Charlton series, which would eventually become "
Carapax, the Indestructible Man". In his monthly, solo series, Kord was shown as an industrialist, the owner of KORD Industries, which he took over from his father Thomas Kord and transformed it from a small
R&D company to a scientific industry rivaling
S.T.A.R. Labs. Upon joining the newly formed Justice League (following the events in the
Legends) Ted was more often portrayed as a second string joke. He was short on money, leading to his entering "get-rich-quick" schemes with
Booster Gold. A brief appearance in
JLA: Year One showed the young Ted working in Kord Industries R&D, where he designed the JLA HQ security system. Upon meeting the heroes, he thought, "Screw the family business. I want to be one of those guys", possibly explaining the company's fluctuating status since he took over.
Joining the Justice League (pencils) and
Al Gordon (inks). Kord is probably best known as the wisecracking Blue Beetle of
Keith Giffen and
J. M. DeMatteis' lighthearted, five-year run on various
Justice League of America titles (notably
Justice League International), where he was memorably partnered with Booster Gold, and the two become best friends. Among fans, they are known collectively as the "Blue and Gold" team. After Giffen and DeMatteis left, the series continued to run until
Justice League America #113.
Dan Jurgens tied "
The Death of Superman" storyline into
JLA, in which
Doomsday left Kord in a coma during his murderous rampage, as well as a six-inch scar on the back of his skull. Kord and Booster Gold both subsequently joined the short-lived Justice League offshoot known as
Extreme Justice. Kord then entered a period of relative obscurity. The
miniseries LAW (Living Assault Weapons) reunited him and the other heroes acquired from Charlton, but the series met with critical disfavor.
Super Buddies In July 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and original
JLI artist
Kevin Maguire reunited for the six-issue miniseries
Formerly Known as the Justice League, where many of the original JLI characters re-teamed with a storefront office. Ted (who had grown in maturity) was an important member of this new team known as the "Super Buddies". The sequel
story arc ''
I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League was initially slated as a second miniseries, but instead ran delayed in JLA: Classified'' #4–9 (2005). Ted made several appearances in
Birds of Prey, at first as Oracle's internet friend and later in person. It was hinted in several issues that Ted had a crush on Oracle. Ted had gone back to his company, but still had many, many problems with it; problems Oracle tried to help resolve. During this time, it was revealed he had a heart condition (where he had actually experienced multiple heart attacks while in action without noticing), but this did not stop him from assisting when it was needed. After his death, the Birds of Prey visited a statue in
Valhalla Cemetery built in his honor;
Black Canary revealed that being in the JLA was only fun when Ted was there, and Oracle revealed having had a cyber crush on him.
Death and return . In
Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Kord discovers a revived
Checkmate organization headquartered in a
Belgian castle fortress where Kord is captured.
Maxwell Lord, former bankroller of the JLA, reveals to Blue Beetle a plan to use Checkmate to ensure that
metahumans, including superheroes, will be kept under human's surveillance and control. Blue Beetle is then given an ultimatum to join Lord's organization, but refuses with the reply "Rot in hell, Max" to which Lord murders him with a bullet to the head.
One Year Later During
Infinite Crisis,
Jaime Reyes obtains Kord's scarab and becomes the new Blue Beetle. A statue of Kord is displayed in a memorial to fallen Justice League members. When recruiting members for the new
Justice League, Superman suggests Booster Gold to which
Batman responds: "There are better ways to honor Ted". In
Geoff Johns' 2007/2008 ongoing
Booster Gold series, Booster Gold agrees to help
Rip Hunter set right the timeline, but at a cost: Rip must help Booster travel back in time and save Ted Kord. Hunter tries to shock Booster into acknowledging the inability to change the past. As Booster prepares to accept this fate, a futuristic Blue Beetle appears with Dan Garrett and Jaime Reyes in tow to show how to turn the time around Kord's death into "malleable time". Booster betrays Hunter and rescues Kord from death. The story arc "Blue and Gold" reveals that this act has altered the present, creating a timeline where Maxwell Lord rules over Earth as a
police state. The future Blue Beetle is revealed to be the supervillain
Black Beetle. Facing the defeat of his former
JLI teammates (the only free heroes in the new timeline), Kord returns to the past and allows himself to die to restore the timeline.
Blackest Night .During the "
Blackest Night" event, Kord is revived as a
Black Lantern and lures Booster Gold into the open by targeting
Daniel Carter (Supernova) and Rose Levin, Booster's 21st-century ancestor. He is able to successfully pierce the Supernova costume shields with his gun, and holds Supernova in place while beating Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) and staving off Skeets' attack until Booster arrives. He then moves in for the kill, hoping to rip out Booster's heart.
The New 52 Following DC's 2011 relaunch of its properties as part of its
The New 52 publishing event, Ted Kord is not mentioned in comics until 2014, when he is reintroduced in the final pages of
Forever Evil, DC's company-wide crossover event. At the beginning of the story,
Lex Luthor threatens the owner of Kord Industries, Thomas Kord, and his entire family and company, as part of a plan to acquire the company but the helicopter loses control, and crashes into the side of
LexCorp Tower. Lex later undergoes a change of heart after finding a message appearing on his phone's screen from the
Crime Syndicate: "THIS WORLD IS OURS". Lex looks up to see that Thomas Kord is still alive, but dangling precariously from the helicopter's wreckage over a sheer drop to the street. He tries to save him but
Ultraman accidentally causes Kord to fall to his death. Lex Luthor later promises Ted Kord (depicted as a grad student) that he will not be acquiring Kord Industries despite Ted's desire to sell it to him. Lex compliments Ted on his genius with nanotechnology and offers him his assistance should he ever need it again. Ted thanks Lex and praises him for living up to his reputation for benevolence.
DC Rebirth In
DC Universe: Rebirth, Ted Kord is the owner of Kord Industries, where he makes and designs technologies. After Jaime Reyes approaches Kord for help to get rid of the Scarab, Kord is trying to figure out what the Scarab can do and help as many people in the process. Kord is warned by
Doctor Fate that he does not know what he is dealing with, as the Scarab is magical in nature. Kord is established to have been Blue Beetle some time in the past, having worked alongside other heroes such as
Nightshade. During the
Dark Nights: Death Metal storyline, Blue Beetle is among the prisoners in
Apokolips after
The Batman Who Laughs and his Dark Knights take over Earth. They are freed when
Wonder Woman, Batman, and Harley Quinn freed Superman from the control of Darkfather. During the heroes' fight with Robin King, Blue Beetle accompanies
Red Tornado and Blue Beetle into battle against Robin King. Robin King summons a giant beetle which kills Blue Beetle. Batman later resurrects Blue Beetle using a Black Lantern ring. ==Hardcover collection==