The Reach are a villainous race of cybernetic insectoid aliens in the
DC Comics universe. They are unintentionally responsible for the
creation of the dynasty of super heroes known as the Blue Beetles.The
Reach first appeared in Blue Beetle vol. 7 #12 and were created by
John Rogers and Guy Major.The Reach were a race of world conquerors.
Their actions eventually brought them into conflict with the Green
Lantern Corps, the two sides eventually fighting to a stalemate. The
Corps' leaders, the Guardians of the Universe forced The Reach into a
truce, making them promise never to invade any other planets. The
Reach agreed to this, and then devised a new method of conquest:
infiltration. By sending an Infiltrator scarab to the targeted world,
and having it bond with and overwhelm the mind of one of its native
lifeforms, The Reach could use it as a faux ambassador, pretending
that they sent the scarab to help the people of the targeted world, as
a gesture of friendship and goodwill, while the Infiltrator gathered
information on that world's defenses. Once enough information had been
gathered, The Reach would then cease their pretense, having the
Infiltrator turn on the race it once defended. Other varieties of
Scarabs included Enforcer, intended as physical coersion, and
Negotiator, whose function was to lull targeted worlds into false
senses of security.The Reach sent an Infiltrator to Earth, some time
in the era of the Pharaohs. However, a sorcerer, believing the scarab
to be a mystical implement, attempted to use it to revive a fallen
Pharaoh. The attempt was stopped by a time-traveling Booster Gold,
though the Scarab remained infused with mystical energies. In the 20th
century, an archeologist Dan Garret located the Scarab. The Scarab,
only half activated, granted Garret enhanced strength and speed, which
Garret used to become the first Blue Beetle. When Garret died in
battle, he passed the Scarab on to his student, Ted Kord. Kord, unable
to access the Scarab's power, eventually passed it on to the wizard
Shazam, who kept it within the Rock of Eternity. When the rock was
destroyed, the scarab fell to Earth, and was found by Jaime Reyes,
whom the Scarab proceeded to bond with soon after. However, by that
time the Scarab's AI had been affected by the mystical energies it had
been infused with, causing it to gain its own intelligence and
personality. Instead of overwhelming Jaime's mind, it instead worked
with it, allowing Jaime to use its powers to become a superhero. When
The Reach became aware of this development, they changed their
tactics, attempting to destroy the world via subterfuge. When Jaime
undid these plans, The Reach captured him, removed the Scarab, and
began a full-scale assault of Earth. However, the Scarab had given its
knowledge to Jaime, allowing him to reclaim it, and cripple The
Reach's ships. The remaining Reach were repelled by Earth's heroes,
forcing them to retreat. The Scarab had also interfaced with several
other Infiltrators, instilling within them their own independent
personalities, creating the possibility that further Reach
infiltrations would turn out the same as they did on Earth.
DC Comics universe. They are unintentionally responsible for the
creation of the dynasty of super heroes known as the Blue Beetles.The
Reach first appeared in Blue Beetle vol. 7 #12 and were created by
John Rogers and Guy Major.The Reach were a race of world conquerors.
Their actions eventually brought them into conflict with the Green
Lantern Corps, the two sides eventually fighting to a stalemate. The
Corps' leaders, the Guardians of the Universe forced The Reach into a
truce, making them promise never to invade any other planets. The
Reach agreed to this, and then devised a new method of conquest:
infiltration. By sending an Infiltrator scarab to the targeted world,
and having it bond with and overwhelm the mind of one of its native
lifeforms, The Reach could use it as a faux ambassador, pretending
that they sent the scarab to help the people of the targeted world, as
a gesture of friendship and goodwill, while the Infiltrator gathered
information on that world's defenses. Once enough information had been
gathered, The Reach would then cease their pretense, having the
Infiltrator turn on the race it once defended. Other varieties of
Scarabs included Enforcer, intended as physical coersion, and
Negotiator, whose function was to lull targeted worlds into false
senses of security.The Reach sent an Infiltrator to Earth, some time
in the era of the Pharaohs. However, a sorcerer, believing the scarab
to be a mystical implement, attempted to use it to revive a fallen
Pharaoh. The attempt was stopped by a time-traveling Booster Gold,
though the Scarab remained infused with mystical energies. In the 20th
century, an archeologist Dan Garret located the Scarab. The Scarab,
only half activated, granted Garret enhanced strength and speed, which
Garret used to become the first Blue Beetle. When Garret died in
battle, he passed the Scarab on to his student, Ted Kord. Kord, unable
to access the Scarab's power, eventually passed it on to the wizard
Shazam, who kept it within the Rock of Eternity. When the rock was
destroyed, the scarab fell to Earth, and was found by Jaime Reyes,
whom the Scarab proceeded to bond with soon after. However, by that
time the Scarab's AI had been affected by the mystical energies it had
been infused with, causing it to gain its own intelligence and
personality. Instead of overwhelming Jaime's mind, it instead worked
with it, allowing Jaime to use its powers to become a superhero. When
The Reach became aware of this development, they changed their
tactics, attempting to destroy the world via subterfuge. When Jaime
undid these plans, The Reach captured him, removed the Scarab, and
began a full-scale assault of Earth. However, the Scarab had given its
knowledge to Jaime, allowing him to reclaim it, and cripple The
Reach's ships. The remaining Reach were repelled by Earth's heroes,
forcing them to retreat. The Scarab had also interfaced with several
other Infiltrators, instilling within them their own independent
personalities, creating the possibility that further Reach
infiltrations would turn out the same as they did on Earth.
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