Blue Beetle Post-Credits Scenes Explained

As a modern superhero movie, "Blue Beetle" is contractually obligated to have multiple post-credits scenes. The first teases the return of Ted Kord — father of Jenny (Bruna Marquezine), sister of Victoria (Susan Sarandon), and the former Blue Beetle before Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña). The second credits scene is more of a joke, calling back to an earlier part of the movie while also paying tribute to a classic Mexican superhero TV show.

Fans hoping for some clues to the larger future of the DCU may be a bit disappointed. James Gunn has stated that Maridueña's Blue Beetle will be a character in the new, rebooted DC film franchise, and director Ángel Manuel Soto says that he has a vision for a full trilogy. However, since the DCU proper doesn't kick off until Gunn's "Superman: Legacy" comes out, "Blue Beetle" stops short of setting up any major crossovers or overarching storylines. There are no big comic book cameos in the post-credits scenes, aside from the staticky Ted. There are, however, some teases of what could be coming in the hypothetical "Blue Beetle 2."

Ted Kord doesn't appear in "Blue Beetle," but his absence plays a huge role in the story. It's because of his supposed death that his evil sister Victoria takes over Kord Industries, and his daughter Jenny mourns his absence. The Reyes family even uses a bunch of Ted's superhero gear to free Jaime from Victoria's clutches. Though he's not present, Ted's penchant for quirky gadgets helps them save the day.

The "Blue Beetle" mid-credits scene reveals that Ted may not be dead after all. We see his secret superhero lair dark and empty, with Jaime, Jenny, and the Reyes family presumably all elsewhere. Out of the blue, the base's main computer screen lights up, presenting the staticky shape of a man. Through garbled speech, he declares that he is Ted Kord, that he's still alive, and that his daughter needs to be told. No indication is given of where Ted might have been all this time, and it's possible that the entire message is some sort of elaborate ruse.

Clearly, this is setting up a main storyline for a potential "Blue Beetle" sequel. Seeing multiple generations of the hero interact onscreen would be fun, and it would be interesting for Jaime to have something of a superhero mentor — even one without powers. How exactly Ted's return could play out, however, remains to be seen. For now, it's not even confirmed that this is the real Ted.

The second credits scene in "Blue Beetle" doesn't really add any new wrinkles to the story. Instead, it's a continuation of a gag from the first half of the film. When Jenny and Jaime break into Kord Industries to steal a key to Ted's secret lair, Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) helps them out. Using a homemade electronic disruption device, Rudy deactivates all security cameras within the building and replaces the footage with claymation clips of "El Chapulín Colorado," a superhero parody TV comedy that aired in Mexico in the 1970s.

Translated in English to either "The Red Grasshopper" or "The Cherry Cricket," the series was a send-up of superhero TV shows of the day, and it's remained active since with an animated series in 2015. Given the similarities in the two characters' names, it makes sense that the "Blue Beetle" crew would want to work in some kind of homage. The post-credits scene is just a montage of more "El Chapulín Colorado" claymation clips, sending the film out on a fun and silly note.