"He says all that, so I won't sue for trademark infringement, " Ted deadpans.

"Seriously, though, Jaime, I can't take credit for that all by myself. I come from a technical background, so I look at things technically. Diagrams, charts, statistics and probabilities. Batman does the same - though I can just imagine him grimly re-sorting an Excel spreadsheet. I think what distinguishes the patented Blue Beetle brand of superheroics from the generic store Bat-brand is mainly attitude."

"And on that score, I lean more towards the big red 'S'. I believe that most people are fundamentally good, and will do good if given the opportunity. Yes, there are bad guys, but the good guys will win in the end, because somewhere, some cosmic entity has its thumb on the scale."

There's a shrug, and a little smile.

"Optimism, plus preparation for when that optimism is off the mark. It's worked for me most of the time."

With the one obvious fatal exception, but that seems to have worked out too, hasn't it?

"But c'mon, you're going to make me blush if you keep that talk up. I'm proud to have been an influence on you, make no mistake, but if my head swells any more I'm going to have trouble fitting in my mask."