Blue Beetle busts out the Buster Sword
The first-ever trailer for Blue Beetle has dropped and it has fans of the DC superhero excited.
The upcoming live-adaptation film will feature Cobra Kai's Xolo Maridueña taking on the mantle of Jaime Reyes and the Blue Beetle.
The teaser trailer was released earlier today and featured Jaime as an underpaid fresh graduate who's looking to find some sense of purpose in his life. When he lands a new job that sees him having to protect something extremely valuable with his life whilst not opening the contents. This soon sees him coming into contact with an ancient relic of alien biotechnology, known as the Scarab.
He soon bonds with the Scarab in a rather humorous manner (for cinematic purposes) to fully don the Blue Beetle exosuit. Designed to protect its host at all costs, the Blue Beetle exosuit comes with the power of flight alongside the ability to create any sort of weapon the host wishes. In the trailer, the AI speaking with Jaime says "Whatever you can imagine, I can create." The exosuit soon starts to form a sword that materializes from Jaime's hands to create a broadsword that radiates blue energy.
What is a Buster Sword?
First off, the Buster Sword is an iconic weapon within the Final Fantasy Series, created by Japanese video games developer and publisher, Square Enix. It made its debut in Final Fantasy VII in the hands of one of the most popular protagonists in video game history, Cloud Strife. Of course, the history of the Buster Sword goes beyond just Cloud, as hardcore fans will know from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion.
The Buster Sword itself sports a sort of timeless look that in itself had become iconic. It's five-to-six feet long from tip to handle with a single-edged large blade approximately one foot wide. There are also two circular sockets where one would usually fit 'materia' or for Cloud to stow his sword on his back. It's characterized as an enormous broadsword, due to its length and size of it as compared to its wielder.
Image credit: Final Fantasy Wiki
This is how a Buster Sword is supposed to look in terms of size and design.
What makes the look iconic for Cloud is his rather slim and toned stature while wielding a sword that was essentially the same height as him. This was evident during his victory celebration after each battle where Cloud would spin the sword above him effortlessly before resting it on the back of his shoulder or storing it on his back.
It is one of the most iconic pop culture references in modern history. It's made cameo appearances in various shapes and forms, whether it be in other video games or even on the silver screen. It was featured in titles outside of Square Enix like Monster Hunter as well as the popular Cartoon Network animated series, Adventure Time.
What's the big deal?
Ever since the release of the trailer, many entertainment websites and the like have picked up the news with some of the more prominent sites confidently coining the broadsword that Jaime is wielding as a 'Buster Sword'. Now, this is why it's incorrect. Firstly, its design is nowhere near what the Buster Sword looks like. It is also not even wide enough to be considered an enormous broadsword. The design of the handguard is also nothing near to what the Buster Sword is like, given the original wide design to support its enormous size.
If at all, the closest resemblance one can find for the sword the Blue Beetle wields in the trailer would be a gunblade, which is the main weapon for the protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall Leonhart. Judging by the positioning of the handguard and how bends to an angle, it very much resembles the gunblade.
Now, to call the sword that Jaime wields to be a Buster Sword is disrespectful to the original wielders of said weapon like Cloud and to an extent, Zack Fair and Angeal Hewley. It's also distasteful to the Final Fantasy series and its creators by trying to categorize a nice CGI cinematic shot of Blue Beetle creating a weapon and putting it together with something as iconic as the Buster Sword.
It's also distasteful to the Final Fantasy series and its creators by trying to turn one of video games' most iconic weapons into a cheap Hollywood trick. What was supposed to be a nice CGI cinematic shot to close out the teaser trailer has since been turned into some sites trying to gain clicks and views by grossly misnaming the weapon and bringing in a popular name instead.
In no way shape or form am I discrediting the film or anyone related to it at all. In fact, I for one am hyped for the movie because of how good it looks. But for the people who have said that it was a Buster Sword when it clearly wasn't, do better.