Blue Beetle #21 - DC

This issue was a little different. This issue Jamie crosses paths with the Spectre. For some reason he has set his sights on a local prison. The Las Tunas Federal Correctional Facility. It just seems strange to me because if this is what the Spectre wanted to do, he could've done it anywhere at any time. I mean, how many overflowing prisons do we have in this country? So if he wanted to do a little house-cleaning, he could've picked anywhere, anytime. Well, despite that little curiosity, he does pick this prison close to Jamie. And, I guess, he's attracted to it because of a recent riot. But he just swoops in like Judge and Jury. What I do like though, is it seems like all these "trials" are helping Jamie come to terms with what he is, and what he's capable of. Also each issue, he seems to be more and more in control of the armor and it's weapons. Of course people are going to think of him as the schizophrenic hero, because of the way he keeps talking to himself. However, while in the prison, Jamie comes face to face with Luis. He's the guy who got his dad shot. So he has no warm feeling towards him. But it raises a conflict within him. He talks to his dad, because he's conflicted over his feelings of wanting to make Luis pay for what he did. After seeing how the Spectre was handling things, he realizes that those may not be the best feelings. So in talking to his father, he realizes that the best thing he can do, to put this guys actions and punishment out of his mind, is to forgive him. Forgive him for what he's done, and realize that punishment will always meet the crime. With or without his participation. So it's best to put the things in the past, in the past, and keep his life moving forward. In that realization, Jamie ends up talking the Spectre down. He agrees to leave Luis alone, as long as the guard he attacked survives. But, " . . . if the guard dies, so too will Luis Rivas. But now you have gained the attention of righteous fury and divine retribution. You wield a power with a hideous will to do harm . . . a will that you do not fully control. Do not weaken, Jaime Reyes . . and know that if you do, the Spectre will come again!" However, despite that obvious threat, Jamie does feel good about the way things turned out. And the guard ends up living, so he knows that nothing will happen to Luis. As least from the Spectre. I'm still not thrilled with the artwork in this series. But, I think the stories have progressed tremendously.