Before I get onto the main story you need to hear me out on the teaser, which features "The Challengers of the Unknown". I wasn't sure who came first as I always call these guys the poor man's version of Marvel's Fantastic Four, but truth be told they came first in 1957 (Showcase #6). Anyway I digress... the episode starts off like a DC Superhero cartoon highlighting each character's powers, which I thought was awesome. The team are investigating a meteor, which has crashed into Dinosaur island. Batman makes an appearance, but quickly leave as the Challengers have the situation under control. Here's the cool bit, the meteor cracks open to reveal mini Staro creatures who attach themselves to all four members of the team and all of a sudden we get a "to be continued" moment... If this season gives us a new spin on the teasers and creates a full mini story I'm going to be well happy.

Right on with the actual story, we see Jaime trying to tackle his own solo mission (without Batman's permission), fighting Evil Star. This is one aspect of the story that annoyed me first off, Jaime contacts Paco to ask him how to defeat Evil Star instead of thinking for himself. During the battle Batman is actually watching and tells Beetle to back off, but after Paco gives Jaime the solution manages to defeat the villain and transport him to Oa!

Here's where the real trouble begins, the Green Lantern Corp attacks Blue Beetle revealing he is part of an evil alien race called the "Reach". Suddenly their fears are realised, when Beetle suddenly turns against Batman and the rest of the Corp. A nice scene here as we see Jaime talk to the suits inner voice. Unfortunately the suit is to powerful for Jaime to control and takes down all of Oa's defences, while the rest of the Reach approach.

The rest of the episode consists mainly of battles between morphing beetles and Lanterns. During these scenes we see Batman trying to call through to Jaime and fight for control. This eventually happens and Jaime saves the day. Another issue here is how inadequate the Green Lantern Corp are against the Reach but I understand this was needed to make Blue Beetle the hero of the episode.

Overall the story was great, mainly with the Challengers of the Unknown at the beginning and this episode focusing on Blue Beetle and him becoming more of a hero instead of the sidekick. I enjoyed this a lot and can't wait for my kids to watch properly.

SCORE: 3.5/5