With the departure of Ray Palmer from the Arrowverse, now more than ever is the perfect time for Ted Kord's Blue Beetle to finally be introduced. For better or for worse, DC's Legends of Tomorrow season 5 episode 7 "Romeo V. Juliet: Dawn of Justness" acted as a far well for Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer, a mainstay of the entire universe since his first appearance on season 3 of Arrow.
After a few seasons of Arrow, a handful of guest appearances on The Flash (including the annual crossover), and a leading role as one of the original members on Legends of Tomorrow, Routh's (and Ray's) departure from the show was a surprising one: Routh was apparently written out of the show against his own wishes, and as a result, the Arrowverse lost one of it's most charming characters.
However, every cloud has it's silver lining, and Ray Palmer's departure from Legends of Tomorrow and the Arrowverse as a whole could finally provide the opening for a much-anticipated character to join the Arrowverse in his stead. After years of hinting at Kord Industries, and with Ray gone, there's no reason that the Arrowverse shouldn't introduce its next hero: Ted Kord, aka the Blue Beetle.
The Arrowverse Has Hinted At Ted Kord Before
This may come as a surprise to some fans, but the Arrowverse has explicitly mentioned Ted Kord by name more than once, across several shows. The first Easter egg was all the way back in season one of Arrow — during a flashback, Kord was mentioned as hosting a fundraiser that was attended by Moira and Robert Queen. An interesting detail about this mention is that in the Arrow 2014 Comic-Con Panel, it was revealed that Ted Kord was initially planned to be the character played by Brandon Routh, but that DC allegedly had "other plans" for the character at the time.
After that initial mention, he wasn't referred to again — until just recently, on The Flash. In season 6 episode 3 "Dead Men Running," Barry Allen questions Dr. Ramsey Rosso (also known as Bloodwork) about how he was able to obtain dark matter. Ramsey lies and tells Barry that he got the dark matter from his "old friend" Ted Kord. It's an admittedly small mention, but given that it's the second time that Kord has been mentioned, it shows that the Arrowverse hasn't given up on exploring the introduction of Ted Kord on its shows.
Who is Ted Kord (Blue Beetle) In The Comics
He's been mentioned multiple times in the Arrowverse, but who is Ted Kord? In the comics, Ted Kord is actually the second incarnation of the superhero known as the Blue Beetle, although he doesn't have his abilities given to him through an ancient scarab like his predecessor, Dan Garrett. Instead, Ted is a genius-level inventor (with an IQ of 192 and a mind second only to J'onn J'onzz) and billionaire who owns and operates Kord Omniversal, an R&D company so successful it rivals S.T.A.R. Labs. For comic book fans, Blue Beetle is probably most well known for his partnership with Booster Gold in the comic run Blue and Gold.
Ted became the Blue Beetle when the first beetle (Dan Garrett, who also happened to be his archaeology teacher) was mortally wounded and asked him to continue upholding the Beetle's legacy. Ted agreed but was unable to get the scarab to work for him as it had for Garrett, so he instead opted to build his own technology to use for crime-fighting. As the Blue Beetle, Ted uses a number of gadgets (including his famous aerial vehicle called "Bug") to fight crime — his equipment includes flying drones called Baby Bugs and a Beetle Gun that fires a blinding light or air blast, as opposed to a more fatal projectile. Kord's genius-level intellect also made him a great hacker, and in addition to all of his technical abilities, he's skilled in acrobatics, martial arts, and hand-to-hand combat.
His skill set is another reason why Ted Kord/Blue Beetle is the perfect replacement for Ray Palmer/The ATOM: both have origin stories that rely on their own aptitude for science and technology rather than magic or fate, like the Flash. There's a reason that the Arrowverse considered using Ted Kord before bringing in Ray Palmer — the characters bear a strong resemblance, and quite a few of Blue Beetle's abilities and skills overlap with The ATOM's in a way that would make him fight right in on a team like the Legends.
How The Blue Beetle Could Fit Into The Arrowverse
But just how could Ted Kord's Blue Beetle fit into the Arrowverse? For a while, his character would've seemed far too similar to the Arrowverse's incarnation of the Atom, Ray Palmer, but now that Ray is gone, there's a perfect, Ted-Kord-shaped opening to fill the dynamic. While Ray Palmer is being literally replaced by Ryan Choi, Ryan is a vastly different take on the Atom, and isn't the charming billionaire that Ray was. Especially on a show like Legends of Tomorrow, Ray's presence will be sorely missed, because it brought a unique sense of levity and altruism that isn't present in any of the other characters currently on the show — but Ted Kord could definitely fit the bill.
With Arrow over and Ray seemingly gone for good, there's a distinct lack of charismatic billionaires who build their own super suits in the Arrowverse, which is where Blue Beetle would be a perfect choice as a replacement. Ted Kord has already been set up as an existing billionaire with his own tech company, and he has a reputation in the comics for being a lovable, wise-cracking crime-fighter who could help lighten the tone of wherever he shows up, be it Legends of Tomorrow or The Flash. Though he may have been passed over in previous years, now is the perfect time to finally bring Ted Kord's Blue Beetle to life in the Arrowverse.