Who Is Carapax in ‘Blue Beetle’? Origin, Powers, and Abilities

The Blue Beetle movie is set to hit the theaters on August 18th, and now that the first trailer has dropped, we have better insight into what to expect. We’ve seen that Jaime Reyes will have a different origin story, and Jenny Kord plays a significant role in it. We have likewise seen one of the upcoming villains, a character known to the fans of Blue Beetle’s comics – Carapax. Raoul Max Trujillo will play Carapax, but there is little information about him and why exactly he poses a threat to Blue Beetle. Due to this, we’ve decided to explain who exactly Carapax is, his origin story, and his powers. 

Carapax is a Blue Beetle villain. He was born under the name of Conrad Carapax and was, at first, a rival of the first Blue Beetle, Dan Garret. Conrad got his superpowers during a terrible accident when his mind became fused with a robotic body. In terms of powers and abilities, Carapax never posed any significant threat to Blue Beetle, but that will certainly change with the upcoming Blue Beetle movie, where Carapax will likewise be playing the role of a villain, portrayed by Raoul Trujillo. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics, it’s time to dive into Carapax’s history in a bit more detail. Carapax, Dan Garret, Scarab, there is a lot of history to cover, so if you’re interested, stay with us! 

Carapax was originally a rival of Dan Garret

When we’re talking about Blue Beetle villains, Carapax doesn’t exactly make the cut when it comes to the “top 5.” He is an older character that debuted in 1986’s Blue Beetle Vol 6 #1 as a rival to the Golden Age Blue Beetle, Dan Garret. Before we can explain Carapax’s origin story, we need to explain how Dan Garret stopped being a Blue Beetle, and the circumstances are tragic. 

Dan Garret and Conrad Carapax were, as we’ve mentioned, rivals. Both were at the time working as archeologists, and Carapax was always trying to crack the secrets of Dan Garret, a seemingly much more successful archaeologist. 

Dan Garret and the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, traveled to Pago Island one day because of a crisis caused by Javis Kord, Ted’s uncle. They managed to stop the would-be villain but at the cost of Dan’s life. Dan’s body was trapped in a cave-in, lost forever, surrounded by Jarvis’ sinister technology. 

Carapax was interested in the mystery that took Dan’s life. He decided to travel to Pago Island alone to check out what Dan was working on at the time of his death. He managed to discover the laboratory of Jarvis Cord and the hidden technology day within it. Jarvis’ laboratory already took one life away, and it was soon about to take another one. 

Carapax gained powers when his mind fused with the robotic body 

In the ruined laboratory, Carapax found a fully intact indestructible robot. This was a great find. Conrad attempted to activate the robot only to be executed by it because it malfunctioned, from not being activated for a long time and being left in horrid conditions.

Carapax wasn’t killed by this accident; however, I mean, his body was gone, but his mind fused with the robotic body, so he became virtually trapped inside this robot, and he took on the identity of Carapax – the Indestructible Man due to his newfound durability. 

A long time will pass, with Carapax hiding on the island and setting up his base of operations there. At one point, an opportunity to escape presented itself when Maxwell Fisher started investigating one of the cold cases he came across, the mysterious disappearance and death of Dan Garret.

With Max Fisher arriving on the ship, Carapax decided to slaughter everyone on the ship in order to hijack it and leave the island. The rest of the police force was murdered. Max Fisher survived but only thanks to the efforts of the second Blue Beetle. After a brief fight, Blue Beetle dropped Carapax to the bottom of the ocean, and he was seemingly, for a time, defeated. 

What Blue Beetle was unaware of at the time was that Carapax managed to find his way around the ocean floor. Since he was practically a robot, he managed to survive underwater and walk until he entered the St. Lawrence Seaway and came across Blue Beetle’s secret lair in Lake Michigan just outside of Chicago. 

During the second battle, Blue Beetle had to destroy his Bug command center by crashing it into Carapax. This defeated him but once again, only temporarily.

How strong is Carapax? 

At the core of Carapax’s powers and abilities is the fact that his mind inhabits a robotic body. Due to this, Carapax has all powers and abilities that pretty much any robot has. 

He is incredibly durable and capable of sustaining incredible amounts of damage, and this is, in part, where his moniker, “The Indestructible Man,” comes from. Besides being incredibly durable, his robotic body provided him enhanced stamina as well, as he doesn’t need rest and food to replenish his energy. He is incredibly strong, his metal body providing him with superhuman strength impossible for an average human to achieve. 

Besides his superhuman strength and durability, Carapax likewise has his weaknesses as well, he seems to be weak to technological strikes, and he was forced to “upgrade” his body numerous times over the course of his existence. 

Carapax, like Blue Beetle, is set to debut in DCEU on August 18th when Blue Beetle arrives at cinemas around the world. Raoul Max Trujillo will portray Carapax, and it seems that he won’t be the only villain in town sharing the spot with Susan Sarandon’s Victoria Kord.