Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

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Full history

Development and inspirations

After the success of National Comics' new superhero characters Superman and Batman, Fawcett Publications decided in 1939 to start its own comics division. Writer Bill Parker was recruited to create several hero characters for the first title in Fawcett's line, then to be called Flash Comics. Besides penning stories featuring Ibis the Invincible, Spy Smasher, Golden Arrow, Lance O'Casey, Scoop Smith, and Dan Dare for the new book, Parker also wrote a story about a team of six superheroes, each possessing a special power granted to them by a mythological figure. Fawcett Comics' executive director Ralph Daigh decided it would be best to combine the team of six into one hero who would embody all six powers, and Parker responded by creating a character he called "Captain Thunder" {{ref|JohnnyShazam}}. Staff artist Clarence Charles "C.C." Beck was recruited to design and illustrate Parker's story, rendering it in a direct, somewhat cartoony style that became his trademark.

Related Topics:
National Comics - Batman - Ibis the Invincible - Spy Smasher - Golden Arrow - Lance O'Casey - Scoop Smith - Dan Dare - Cartoon

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The first issue, printed as both Flash Comics no. 1 and Thrill Comics no. 1, had a low-print run in the fall of 1939 as an ashcan copy created for advertising purposes. Shortly after its printing, however, Fawcett found it could not trademark "Captain Thunder", "Flash Comics", or "Thrill Comics", because they were already in use. Consequently, the book was renamed Whiz Comics, and the word balloons were re-lettered to label the hero of the book's main story as "Captain Marvel". Whiz Comics no. 2 was published in late 1939 and dated February 1940. Since it was the first of that title to actually be published, the issue is sometimes referred to as Whiz Comics no. 1, despite the issue number printed on it.

Related Topics:
Ashcan copy - Word balloon

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Inspirations for Captain Marvel came from a number of sources. His visual appearance was modeled after that of Fred MacMurray, a popular American actor of the period. Fawcett Publications' founder, Wilford H. Fawcett, was nicknamed "Captain Billy", which inspired the name "Billy Batson" and Marvel's title as well. Fawcett's earliest magazine was titled Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, which probably inspired the title Whiz Comics.

Related Topics:
Fred MacMurray - American - Actor

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Marvel wore a bright red costume, inspired by both military uniforms and ancient Egyptian and Persian costumes, with gold trim and a lightning bolt insignia on the chest. The body suit originally included a buttoned lapel, but was changed to a skintight suit within a year at the insistence of the editors (the current DC costume of the character has the lapel restored to it, presumably to differentiate from Superman's outfit). The costume also included a white collared cape trimmed with gold fleur-de-lis symbols, usually asymmetrically thrown over the left shoulder and held around his neck by a gold cord. The cape came from the ceremonial cape worn by the British nobility, photographs of which appeared in newspapers in the 1930s.

Related Topics:
Ancient Egyptian - Persian - Lapel - Cape - Fleur-de-lis - British nobility - 1930s

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Whiz Comics no. 2: origin story

Captain Marvel's origin story finds the homeless and orphaned Billy Batson making a meager living selling newspapers near an old subway station, sleeping in the doorway of the station. Billy had been living with his uncle after the deaths of his parents, but the cruel old man threw the boy out into the streets and stole his inheritance. While selling papers one rainy night, a dark clothed stranger comes to the boy, and asks him to follow him down into the subway station. There, a strange subway train with no visible driver appears, which carries the pair to the secret lair of the wizard Shazam. There, the ancient wizard reveals that he has selected Billy to be his champion to fight for good as the "strongest and mightiest man in the world--Captain Marvel!".

Related Topics:
Newspaper - Subway - Shazam

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To that end, Shazam orders the boy to speak his name, which was actually an acronym for various legendary figures who have agreed to grant aspects of themselves to a willing subject:

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Billy complies and is immediately struck by a magic lightning bolt, which turns him into Captain Marvel, an adult superhero. He then learns that he only has to speak the word again to be instantly changed back into Billy.

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With that, Shazam is immediately killed by a large granite block that falls from above his throne, and Billy vows to fulfill his bestowed role. Whenever he needed advice, Billy could light a brazier near Shazam's throne, which would summon the wizard's ghost.

Related Topics:
Granite - Brazier - Throne - Ghost

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Marvel's first call to duty was saving the world from the evil mad scientist Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, who threatened to silence radio forever unless he was paid a large sum of money. Resuming his regular form, Billy tells WHIZ radio mogul Sterling Morris that he can stop the Radio Silencer and Sivana; a disbelieving Morris offers Billy a job on the air if he can do so.

Related Topics:
Mad scientist - Thaddeus Bodog Sivana

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Finding the crooks' hideout, Billy transforms into Captain Marvel and destroys Sivana's radio silencing machine and apprehends his henchmen. Sivana escapes, however, setting the stage for a long line of future confrontations. Marvel transforms back into Billy, who presents the captured criminals and destroyed Radio Silencer to Sterling Morris. True to his word, Sterling Morris makes Billy an on-air news reporter for WHIZ radio.

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Captain Marvel was an instant success, with Whiz Comics no. 2 selling over 500,000 copies {{ref|ComicSuccessMuseum2}}. By 1941, he had his own solo series, Captain Marvel Adventures, while continuing to appear in Whiz Comics as well. He also made periodic appearances in other Fawcett books, including Master Comics.

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Fawcett years: the Marvel Family, allies, and enemies

Through his adventures, he soon gained a host of enemies, including Adolf Hitler's champion Captain Nazi, an older Egyptian renegade Marvel called Black Adam, an evil magic-powered brute named Ibac, and an artificially intelligent nuclear powered robot called Mister Atom. The most notorious Captain Marvel villains, however, were the nefarious Mister Mind and his Monster Society Of Evil, which recruited several of Marvel's previous adversaries. The "Monster Society of Evil" storyline ran as two-year story-arc in Captain Marvel Adventures no. 22–46 (March 1943–May 1945), with Mister Mind eventually revealed to be a highly intelligent yet tiny worm from the planet Venus.

Related Topics:
Adolf Hitler - Captain Nazi - Black Adam - Ibac - Nuclear powered - Robot - Mister Mind - Monster Society Of Evil - 1943 - 1945 - Worm - Venus

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In the early 1940s, Captain Marvel also gained allies in The Marvel Family, a collective of superheroes with similar powers and/or costumes to Captain Marvel's. (By comparison, Superman spin-off character Superboy first appeared in 1944, while Supergirl first appeared in 1959). Whiz Comics no. 21 (September 1941) marked the debut of the Lieutenant Marvels, the alter egos of three other boys who found that, by saying "Shazam!" in unison, they too could become Marvels. In Whiz Comics no. 25 (December 1941), a friend named Freddy Freeman, mortally wounded by an attack from Captain Nazi, was given the power to become teenage boy superhero Captain Marvel, Jr.. The next year in Captain Marvel Adventures no. 18 (December 1942), Billy and Freddy met Billy's long-lost twin sister Mary Bromfield, who discovered she could, by saying the magic word "Shazam", become teenage girl superheroine Mary Marvel.

Related Topics:
Marvel Family - Superboy - 1944 - Supergirl - 1959 - Lieutenant Marvels - Captain Marvel, Jr. - 1942 - Twin - Mary Marvel

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Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel, Jr. were featured as a team in a new comic series entitled The Marvel Family, published alongside the other Marvel-related titles, which now included Wow Comics featuring Mary, Master Comics featuring Junior, and both Mary Marvel Comics and Captain Marvel, Jr. Comics. Non-super-powered Marvels such as the "lovable con artist" Uncle Marvel and his niece Freckles Marvel also sometimes joined the other Marvels on their adventures. A funny animal character, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, was created in 1942 and later given a spin-off series of his own.

Related Topics:
Con artist - Uncle Marvel - Funny animal - Hoppy the Marvel Bunny

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The members of the Marvel Family often teamed up with the other Fawcett superheroes, who included Ibis the Invincible, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Spy Smasher, Minute-Man, and Mr. Scarlet and Pinky. Among the many artists and writers who worked on the Marvel Family stories alongside C.C. Beck and main writer Otto Binder were Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, Mac Raboy, Pete Costanza, Kurt Shaffenberger, and Marc Swayze.

Related Topics:
Ibis the Invincible - Bulletman and Bulletgirl - Spy Smasher - Minute-Man - Mr. Scarlet and Pinky - Otto Binder - Joe Simon - Jack Kirby - Mac Raboy - Pete Costanza - Kurt Shaffenberger - Marc Swayze

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Captain Marvel vs. Superman

Main entry: National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications

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Through much of the Golden age of comic books, Captain Marvel proved to be the most popular superhero character of the medium with his comics outselling all others, including those featuring Superman. Part of the reason for this popularity included the inherent wish fulfillment appeal of the character to children, as well as the humorous and surreal quality of the stories. In fact, Captain Marvel Adventures sold fourteen million copies in 1944 {{ref|ComicBooksinLibraries}}, and was at one point being published weekly with a circulation of 1.3 million copies an issue (proclaimed on the cover of issue no. 19 as being the "Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine") {{ref|ComicSuccessMuseum2}}.

Related Topics:
Golden age of comic books - Humor - Surreal

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Due to the alleged similarity of Captain Marvel to Superman, National Comics Publications (now DC Comics) sued Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement of intellectual property in 1941. After seven years of litigation, the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications case went to trials court in 1948. The initial 1951 verdict was decided in Fawcett's favor: although the judge decided that Captain Marvel was an infringement, DC was found to be negligent in copyrighting several of their Superman daily newspaper strips, and it was decided that DC had abandoned the Superman copyright{{ref|IngersollLawisAss}}. DC appealed this decision, and Judge Learned Hand declared in 1952 that DC's Superman copyright was in fact valid. Judge Hand maintained that Captain Marvel was an infringement {{ref|IngersollLawisAss2}}.

Related Topics:
Copyright infringement - Intellectual property - National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications - 1948 - 1951 - Learned Hand - 1952

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Before damage assessment could be carried out, Fawcett decided to settle with DC out of court instead of re-appealing, feeling that a decline in the popularity of superhero comics meant that it was no longer worth continuing the fight {{ref|Marvelman}}. Fawcett shut down its comics division in the autumn of 1953, laid off its comic-creating staff, and paid DC $400,000 in damages {{ref|MightyRedCheese}}. Whiz Comics had ended with issue no. 146 in June 1952, with Captain Marvel Adventures folding with no. 150 (November 1953), and The Marvel Family ending its run with no. 89 (January 1954).

Related Topics:
Laid off - 1954

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In the 1950s, a small British publisher, L. Miller and Son, published a number of black and white reprints of American comic books, including the Captain Marvel series. In 1954, their supply of Captain Marvel material was abruptly cut off because of the lawsuit, and they requested the help of a British comic writer, Mick Anglo, who created a British copy of the superhero called Marvelman.

Related Topics:
1950s - British - Mick Anglo - Marvelman

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The Shazam! revival

When superhero comics became popular again in the mid-1960s (in what is now called the Silver Age of comics), Fawcett was unable to revive Captain Marvel because of its earlier concession. Eventually, they licensed the characters to DC Comics in 1972, and DC began planning a revival. Because Marvel Comics had by this time established its own claim to the use of Captain Marvel as a comic book title, DC published their book under the name Shazam!. Since then, that title has become so linked to Captain Marvel that the general public has taken to identifying the character as "Shazam" instead of his actual name, Captain Marvel.

Related Topics:
1960s - Silver Age of comics - Marvel Comics

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The Shazam! comics series began with issue no. 1 in February 1973. It contained both new stories and reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. The first story attempted to explain the Marvel Family's absence by stating that they, the Sivanas, and most of their supporting cast had been accidentally trapped in suspended animation for 20 years until finally breaking free.

Related Topics:
1973 - Suspended animation

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Dennis O'Neil was the book's primary writer. C.C. Beck drew stories for the first ten issues of the book before he quit because of differences with DC Comics; Kurt Shaffenberger and Don Newton were among the later artists of the title.

Related Topics:
Dennis O'Neil - Don Newton

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With DC's Multiverse in effect during this time, it was stated that the revived Marvel Family and related characters lived on the parallel world of "Earth-S. While the series began with a great deal of fanfare, the book got lackluster reviews. Shazam! was cancelled with issue no. 35 (June 1978) and relegated to a back-up position in World's Finest Comics (from no. 254 in November 1979 to no. 282 in August 1982) and Adventure Comics (from no. 491 in September 1982 to no. 498 in April 1983). DC Comics bought the Fawcett line of characters outright in 1980, and with their 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, fully integrated the characters into the mainstream DC superhero setting.

Related Topics:
Multiverse - 1978 - World's Finest Comics - 1979 - 1982 - Adventure Comics - 1983 - 1980 - Miniseries - Crisis on Infinite Earths

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Shazam! The New Beginning

The first post-Crisis appearance of Captain Marvel was in the 1986 Legends miniseries. In 1987, Captain Marvel appeared as a member of the Justice League. That same year, he was also given his own miniseries, Shazam! The New Beginning. With the four-issue miniseries, writer Roy Thomas and artist Tom Mandrake attempted to re-launch the Captain Marvel mythos and bring the wizard Shazam, Dr. Sivana, Uncle Dudley, and Black Adam into the modern DC Universe with an altered origin story. In this miniseries, both Sivana and Dudley were Billy Batson's real uncles who fought over the custody for the boy after his parents were killed (by Sivana) in a car accident. Black Adam is also present in the story as Sivana's partner in crime.

Related Topics:
Post-Crisis - 1986 - Legends - 1987 - Justice League - Roy Thomas

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The most notable change that Thomas and Justice League writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis introduced into the Captain Marvel mythos was that the personality of young Billy Batson is retained when he transforms into the Captain (classic-era comics tended to treat Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities). This change would remain for all future uses of the character, as justification for his sunny, Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book world. (Captain Marvel's Justice League teammate Guy Gardner often jokingly referring to the innocent, pure-hearted Captain as "Captain Whitebread").

Related Topics:
Keith Giffen - J. M. DeMatteis - Guy Gardner

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The Power of Shazam!

Main entry: The Power of Shazam!

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In 1994, Captain Marvel was retconned yet again and given a revised origin in The Power of Shazam!, a painted graphic novel by Jerry Ordway. This version of Marvel's origin, now considered his official DCU origin story, more closely followed his Fawcett origins, with only slight additions and changes.

Related Topics:
1994 - Retcon - Graphic novel - Jerry Ordway

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In this version of the story, it is Black Adam who kills Billy Batson's parents (as his resurrected non-powered form of Theo Adam) while the Batsons and Adam are excavating an ancient tomb in Egypt. He also kidnaps Billy's sister Mary, who ends up missing.

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The wizard Shazam is made aware of all of these events, and (just as in the Fawcett origin) has Billy brought before him by the dark-clothed stranger, and grants the boy the power to become Captain Marvel. As Captain Marvel, Billy takes on the form of his late father, which is how Theo Adam guesses his identity, has a revelation about the power of Shazam, and becomes Black Adam using a scarab he stole from the tomb. After subduing Black Adam and his employer, the rich tycoon Dr. Sivana, Billy swears to find his sister as Captain Marvel.

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The graphic novel was a critically acclaimed success, leading to a Power of Shazam! ongoing series which ran from 1995 to 1999. The series reintroduced the Marvel Family and many of their allies and enemies into the modern-day DC Universe.

Related Topics:
1995 - 1999

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During the publication of the series, the Marvel Family also appeared in Mark Waid and Alex Ross's critically acclaimed miniseries Kingdom Come, with a brainwashed Captain Marvel playing a major role in the story. Captain Marvel also starred in an oversized special graphic novel, Shazam!: Power of Hope, in 1999, written by Paul Dini and painted by Alex Ross.

Related Topics:
Mark Waid - Alex Ross - Kingdom Come - Paul Dini

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Captain Marvel in the 2000s

Personality

Since 1999, the characters have made appearances in a number of other comic book series. Ironically, a typical use for Captain Marvel guest appearances in current comics is as a backup for Superman when an flight-enabled, super-strong being is needed, especially in situations where Superman's special weaknesses (which Captain Marvel does not share) are involved. Captain Marvel is usually depicted as pure-hearted and unwaveringly upstanding; since he is still a youth, it is harder for him to become corrupted (thus the wizard's reasoning for not choosing another adult like Black Adam as his champion). In the 1999 Underworld Unleashed miniseries, Captain Marvel's soul is treasured by the demon prince Neron, but Marvel's soul is so pure that Neron was unable to possess it. In addition, Captain Marvel is depicted as being (despite his wisdom) somewhat immature; since he is only a teenager, he tends to take many things for granted and is usually nervous about interacting with other superheroes.

Related Topics:
1999 - Underworld Unleashed - Neron

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JSA membership (2003–2004)

In 2003, Captain Marvel became a member of the revived Justice Society of America and was featured prominently in that series alongside his nemesis Black Adam. Captain Marvel had originally joined the team to keep an eye on Adam, who had joined the JSA claiming to have reformed. Black Adam eventually left the JSA to instigate a takeover of his home country of Khandaq; he had a fondess for the country, and wished to see the totalitarian regime done away in what he saw as justice. Captain Marvel remained with the team. During his tenure in the JSA, Marvel dated Courtney Whitmore, a.k.a. Stargirl, which put him in an unusual position: while he could legally date Courtney as Billy Batson, it looked very strange for the grown-up Captain Marvel to be with the teenaged Stargirl. The Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, another JSA member, confronted Marvel about the issue, but instead of telling Garrick and the team the truth about his age, Marvel chose to follow the Wisdom of Solomon and leave the team and Courtney.

Related Topics:
Justice Society of America - Stargirl - Flash

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Day of Vengeance

In Superman #216, Captain Marvel battled Eclipso, who had possessed the body of Superman. After failing to stop Eclipso, Marvel was rescued by the wizard Shazam, who called upon the Spectre to extract the demon from Superman's body. This action broke a covenant between Eclipso and the Spectre, and set Eclipso permanently at odds against not only Shazam, but Captain Marvel as well. Possessing the body of the Atom's ex-wife Jean Loring, Eclipso corrupted the confused Spectre into joining forces with her, and began a war against all magic-powered beings in the DC Universe.

Related Topics:
Eclipso - Spectre - Atom - Jean Loring

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Among Eclipso and the Spectre's primary targets for annihilation were Shazam and Black Adam. Captain Marvel returned to the JSA in JSA no. 73 (May 2005), to help the team deal with the threat of Eclipso and the Spectre in Black Adam's homeland of Khandaq. In the subsequent Day of Vengeance miniseries, Shazam enlisted Marvel to keep the Spectre at bay so that the wizard could prepare to battle him. Marvel therefore threw himself into a desperate battle versus the Spectre, assisted by the newly-formed Shadowpact band of magic-based heroes. The battle ended in a draw, but Spectre later directly confronted Shazam at the Rock of Eternity (transforming Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson to keep him out of the way). The Spectre defeated Shazam, stole his power, and killed him, causing the Rock of Eternity to crumble apart and fall out of the realm of eternity into the sky above Gotham City. There, the Rock exploded into "a billion pieces", sending Billy Batson falling into Gotham. The story will be continued in Infinite Crisis #1 and Gotham Central # 37.

Related Topics:
2005 - Day of Vengeance - Shadowpact - Gotham City - Infinite Crisis - Gotham Central

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A four-issue Captain Marvel/Superman miniseries, Superman/Shazam: First Thunder, is currently being published by DC, and began with issue no. 1 on September 7. The miniseries, written by Judd Winick with art by Josh Middleton, depicts the first meeting between the two heroes and officially establishes that Captain Marvel has the inate advantage of being far more resistant to magical attacks than the Kryptonian.{{ref|ShazamSuperman}}

Related Topics:
September 7 - Judd Winick - Josh Middleton

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