Who is Victoria Kord in ‘Blue Beetle?’ Susan Sarandon’s DC villain, explained

As of yesterday, we’ve finally gotten a closer look at Blue Beetle, the upcoming DCEU film that looks all but ready to defy the lackluster expectations that have latched onto the soon-to-be-finished franchise as of late. Indeed, armed with that specific breed of charm that any comic book movie needs, the distinction of being the first Latino-led superhero film, and one of DC’s most eye-catching heroes as its protagonist, everyone’s going to be cheering for Blue Beetle, including the new DC Universe gaffer James Gunn.

Beyond the usual plights that come with a young adult suddenly gaining superpowers, such as learning how to use them and fielding your family’s involvement in your newfound conundrum, young Jaime Reyes, the conduit of the Blue Beetle Scarab and the film’s protagonist, will also have to contend with a handful of villainous players, as is customary for a comic book film.

One of them is Carapax the Indestructible Man, a longtime enemy of previous Blue Beetle Ted Kord, but at the top of this particular food chain is Victoria Kord, the CEO of Kord Industries who, by the looks of the trailer, is willing to pry that Scarab out of Jaime’s back by any means necessary.

But who exactly is Victoria Kord? And why can she stake a claim as one of the most curious villains to ever appear in the DCEU? Here’s all you need to know about Blue Beetle villain Victoria Kord.

Who is Victoria Kord?

As one may piece together from the third paragraph, Victoria Kord is related to the aforementioned Ted Kord, who was the second person to take up the mantle of the Blue Beetle after the original holder Dan Garrett. She is the older sister of Ted, and, like in the film, she’s the current CEO of Kord Industries.

Victoria’s first appearance in DC Comics was Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #2, where she is introduced to Jaime through Ted, and the two appear to be on friendly terms. However, readers quickly learned her true nature in later issues. Specifically, her intention of collecting and imprisoning all Scarabs, from the Blue Beetle’s to the Yellow Beetle’s to the Green Beetle’s, studying them and using her findings to benefit mankind. Of course, we’re all aware by now that billionaires are grossly disconnected from reality, so we reckon that her idea of benefitting mankind isn’t quite as holistic as she thinks it is.

It’s safe to assume that she’ll be playing a similar role in the film, although, judging by the more personal connection she has to the Blue Beetle’s Scarab by way of her brother, as well as the lack of other Beetles in the trailer, it’s entirely possible that her motivations will be slightly different on the big screen.

And this is all mostly a safe bet due to the fact that Victoria made her DC Comics debut just a few months ago, making Graduation Day the one and only reference we have to go on.

The Graduation Day line launched its first issue in November 2022, with Victoria debuting a month later in December 2022 with the release of the second issue.

This means that Victoria Kord occupies the infinitely unique space of being a character who originated from a DC cinematic property, and was later adapted to the comic books. She was, after all, created for the film long before the second issue of Graduation Day. Susan Sarandon was even cast in the role back in April 2022, several months before Victoria made her comic book debut. Subsequently, this also means that we got to see the adapted version of the character before we got to see the original, all-in-all giving Victoria Kord some of the most curious, topsy-turvy canon nuances we may ever see from a comic book character.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the two versions of the character compare, and we’ll all get that chance when Blue Beetle releases in theaters on Aug. 18.