Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

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Cultural influences

Captain Marvel's adventures have contributed a number of elements to both comic book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of these is the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries in Modern Age comic book stories. The Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in a popular comics story in MAD Magazine no4 from 1953, entitled "Superduperman", which was inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles. In the story, Superduperman (an obvious Superman doppelganger) does battle with the Captain Marvel-esque Captain Marbles. Marbles' magic word was not "SHAZAM", but "SHAZOOM", which stood for Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another, and Money. After DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, they followed MAD's cue and often pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters' long battles in court; they are otherwise staunch allies who get along very well with each other. Notable Superman/Captain Marvel battles in DC Comics stores include All-New Collectors' Edition no. C-58 (1979), All-Star Squadron no. 37 (1984), Superman no. 102 (1995), the final issue of the Kingdom Come miniseries (1996), and, most recently, Superman no. 216 (2005). The "Clash" episode of Justice League Unlimited, which included Captain Marvel as a guest character, featured a Superman/Captain Marvel fight as its centerpiece.

Related Topics:
Comic book - Pop culture - Modern Age - MAD Magazine - All-Star Squadron - Justice League Unlimited

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Captain Marvel was the first major comic book hero to have a young alter ego. Although kid superheroes had generally been neglected before Marvel's introduction, kid sidekicks soon became commonplace shortly after Marvel's success: Robin was paired with Batman in May 1940, and Captain America was introduced with sidekick Bucky in March 1941. The idea of a young boy who transformed into a superhero proved popular enough to inspire a number of superheroes who undergo similar transformations, including Marvel Comics' Darkhawk, Malibu Comics' Prime, and animated/action figure superheroes such as Hanna-Barbera's Mighty Mightor and Young Samson, and Mattel/Filmation's He-Man. Other heroes, including Marvel Comics' Thor, undergo similarly magical transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form.

Related Topics:
Robin - Batman - Captain America - Bucky - Marvel Comics - Darkhawk - Malibu Comics - Prime - Action figure - Hanna-Barbera - Mighty Mightor - Young Samson - Mattel - Filmation - He-Man - Thor

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In pop culture, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel's magic word, "Shazam!", became a popular exclamation from the 1940s on, often used in place of an expletive. The most notable user of the word "Shazam!" in this form was Gomer Pyle from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Elvis Presley was a fan of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child, and later styled his hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Junior's costume and lightning-bolt insignia.

Related Topics:
Exclamation - Expletive - Gomer Pyle - Sitcom - The Andy Griffith Show - Elvis Presley

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Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the superhero was still used for jokes, such as in The Monkees when Peter Tork tried to escape the ropes he was tied up in by yelling "Shazam!", only to magically break a mirror and sheepishly note that it's seven years bad luck for Captain Marvel. Several other episodes of The Monkees had Captain Marvel references, including using the name "Freddy Freeman" in dialogue. Captain Marvel also made a cameo in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill". Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his trademark exclamation, ""

Related Topics:
The Monkees - Peter Tork - The Beatles

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In the Fox Network animated series American Dad!, Steve's favorite t-shirt has Captain Marvel's signature lightning bolt insignia on it (although he repeatedly refers to it as a "Shazam" shirt, which is technically incorrect).

Related Topics:
Fox Network - Animated series - American Dad! - Shazam

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