Blue Scarab (The Scarab Lives!)

"The Blue Scarab" redirects here. For the comic, see The Blue Scarab (comic book).

Blue Scarab (The Scarab Lives!)
Vital Statistics
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Eye color	Black
Other Statistics
Identity	Howard Gruger
Reason	He was sick of being an assistant
Powers and abilities	Scarab's sting; smokescreen
Production Details
First appearance	SD&SD (1st series): The Scarab Lives!
Played by	Pat Fraley

The Blue Scarab is a comic book character created by Jerry Sloan. Howard Gruger was sick of being Sloan's unknown assistant so he disguised himself as the Blue Scarab and committed crimes.

Physical appearance

The Blue Scarab hid the top half of his head with a light-blue mask, resembling an upside-down scarab, forming around his mouth, leaving his ears and the rest of his peach-coloured skin exposed; the eye holes had black outlining. He wore a dark blue cape and a blue outfit, with a black and blue emblem of a scarab on his chest.

Personality

He seemed to have a grudge against his creator, demanding that he stop creating his comics and turning to crime to destroy his reputation.

Powers and abilities

• "Scarab's sting": He could produce a knockback-inducing shock that emanated from his chest.
• Smokescreen: He could create a cloud of blue smoke, allowing for an easy getaway.

History

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (first series)

Jerry Sloan was visited by his creation while he was in his studio at night. He threatened Sloan to stop drawing his comic books, created a smokescreen, and left. The gang heard about the menace in Jerry Sloan's studio and decided to help, since The Blue Scarab was Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo's favorite comic book.

After they spoke to him, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy-Doo stayed at the studio, while the rest went to talk to Jerry Sloan's publisher, Mr. Hardy. Mr. Hardy told the gang that if Sloan didn't keep writing comics, he'd be fired! Meanwhile, at the studio, the Blue Scarab returned and informed Sloan that he was going turn to a life of crime, forever destroying both his name and Sloan's. He created a smokescreen and proceeded to escape. Scrappy chased the Blue Scarab as he was leaving and tried to catch him, but instead, he accidentally caught Mr. Sloan's assistant, Howard Gruger, who quit because of the Scarab business.

Shaggy discovered that the Blue Scarab was doing the same thing that the character was doing in an unpublished comic book of Sloan's, turning to a life of crime, almost as if the real-life Scarab was acting out the unpublished comic. Sloan told the gang that the only person who had read the unpublished comic was Mr. Hardy. The Blue Scarab began a crime spree across town, first robbing a jewelry store, then a bank, just like in the comic.

Since he seemed to be acting out the comic, the gang headed to the museum, which was the Blue Scarab's next target in the comic. When they got there, the Scarab pushed a statue off the roof which nearly landed on Scrappy, but Scooby saved him. The gang entered the museum and rode the elevator to the roof in pursuit of the Scarab while Scrappy stayed out and set a trap. By the time they reached the roof, the Scarab had gotten away with a stolen crown. They returned to ground level and split up to search for the Scarab. The Scarab threw a sheet over Scooby, causing him to panic and blindly run into Scrappy's trap.

The gang then tried to figure out where the Scarab could have been heading next, after hearing that Sloan had quit until the Scarab was captured. Velma deduced that the Scarab would be at the newspaper printing factory, and they followed him there to capture him. Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy climbed onto a conveyor belt to get a better view of the area, but the Blue Scarab started it up, causing the three to head toward a machine with a sharp blade coming at them. Shaggy cried for help, and the rest of the gang rushed to save them, only for them to be confronted by the Blue Scarab. Scooby jumped and grabbed onto a hook while grabbing Shaggy and Scrappy, saving them from the blade. Shaggy and Scooby dropped onto some rolls of unprinted paper, accidentally unraveling one of them, which rolled right into the Blue Scarab, capturing him.

Howard Gruger unmasked.

Back at the studio, the Blue Scarab was unmasked as Howard Gruger. He padded his suit and loaded it with gadgets like Sloan created in his comic. Gruger was sick and tired of being Sloan's unknown assistant, so he dressed up like the Blue Scarab and went on a crime spree to destroy the Scarab so he could create his own character.

Appearances

• Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (first series)
  • 101. The Scarab Lives!