THE SOURCE: What do you love about writing this character? TONY BEDARD: For starters, Jaime Reyes, the new Blue Beetle, is funny and imperfect and realistic. He's a character that is easy to identify with. Plus, as a Puerto Rican who grew up in the States I relate very directly to him culturally. Yes, Puerto Rican and Mexican-American are very different in a lot of ways, but much of the Latino experience is universal. And I adore writing science-fiction, so the alien armor aspect of Blue Beetle is fun to flesh out. When you're writing a book that some describe as "Green Lantern meets Spider-Man," it's basically a dream job. What is your favorite thing about your part in the new 52? I get to launch two very different new series -- GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS which explores the ever-expanding Green Lantern mythos, and BLUE BEETLE which has "sleeper hit" written all over it. It's like starring in a summer blockbuster and a really cool Indy Film at the same time! Can you tease the villains he will be fighting?/What villains would you like to write? Jaime will go up against a combination of new and established villains. Early on he faces the Brotherhood of Evil, who have often been seen taking on the Teen Titans and Doom Patrol. We'll also see him run afoul of the Green Lantern Corps, since the Blue Beetle's living armor was actually designed as an alien weapon of mass destruction. And we'll build up Blue Beetles own rogues gallery, including the queen of the El Paso drug cartel La Dama, and the warriors from the interstellar empire known as The Reach, who want to ensure that Blue Beetle carries out his assigned mission to conquer planet Earth. What new things are you doing with this character? Since we get to re-tell his origin in September, I am making it less convoluted, easier for new readers to enjoy. Also, in the past it seemed almost too easy for Jaime to become Blue Beetle. This time around he will have a much harder time controlling the armor and he won't get to tell everyone close to him his big secret. We're basically upping the conflict for this poor kid and making sure he doesn't catch a break so there's never a dull moment. How will you shock readers? I think readers will be shocked by how great artist Ig Guara is! We've also got a few crazy twists in the opening issues, though I don't want to give them away. Suffice to say, if you want shock, DO NOT miss BLUE BEETLE #4! What is your favorite page in this first issue and why? I think it's the splash page where we finally see Jaime in the Blue Beetle armor for the first time. Ig really gave it some visual punch, and the build-up to that moment is so cool (and gross) that I think it really sets the hook for issue 2!