The premise of the television series was the same as the comic. Its not a movie about one kid superhero, its about six kid superheroes. It wasnt long after that the wizard began extending his powers to other people in batsons life, making them superheroes as well. Captain marvel, also known as shazam is a fictional. An attempt is made to inject much needed levity and fun to the franchise. When billy batson speaks the name of an agesold wizard, he is transformed into the worlds mightiest mortalshazam. The classic versions of captain marvel and billy batson. How to tell the difference between captain marvel, marvell.
Eventually, dc worked out a deal with fawcett to license the character from fawcett and so, in 1973, the characters returned to comics of course, since marvel had since released their own captain marvel comic book and trademarked the name, dc had to call this new series shazam. Mar 31, 2019 even today, whether in comics, animation or the upcoming shazam. Dawn of justice and suicide squad, but wonder woman it is not. Captain marvels first appearance in the modern age of comic books was in.
Who punches harder thor, hulk, superman, or shazam. But dc comics reckoned that captain marvel was a little too close to superman, and fired a infringement lawsuit at fawcett comics. In billy batsons case, by shouting out one word shazam. When the shazam character along with the entire dc comics line was rebooted in 2011, his roster of villains also got a new paint job. Feb 20, 2019 thus, dc published the comic under the name shazam.
In this episode, tim puts shazam the wizard in the spotlight with a look at his modern origin. Seeing the similarities between the characters, national comics. The marvel family, also known as the shazam family, or simply the shazamily, are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by fawcett comics. Every childs dream becomes a reality for one downonhisluck foster kid in shazam. What that means is that you can publish captain marvel and the marvel family, but only under and based on the concepts that fawcett established. The most famous canine character in the world and space. Dc, which had acquired the rights to the character, relaunched him in the comics in 1973.
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. This character never had strong comic book sales and while other marvel characters like spiderman, captain america, the incredible hulk and. Comicbook history is full of wild stories, much like its host of largerthanlife superheroes. No stars when mark strong, djimon hounsou and john glover are your biggest names, you arent going to make much money. This wizard bestowed powers on the child billy batson. A troubled kid with embers of good in his heart, shazam. Dc comics sued another company that originally owned shazam, who was called captain marvel at the.
However, during captain marvels long hiatus, dc rival marvel comics launched its own, unrelated captain marvel character, which prevented dc and the producers of this series from using captain marvel as a title. Even today, whether in comics, animation or the upcoming shazam. So any books dc comics published with their character now became titled shazam. Mar 11, 2019 shazam is an acronym for solomon, hercules, atlas, zeus, achilles, and mercury. To sum it up, the films story didnt feel like a comic book story should feel, at least for me.
Shazam is an acronym for solomon, hercules, atlas, zeus, achilles, and mercury. Batson simply had to speak the wizards name, and he would transform into the adult captain marvel. When referring to the marvel family on comic book covers or various merchandise, they are by this legal necessity called the shazam family. Officially licensed dc comics merchandise, exclusively designed for character us. It will be written by henry gayden and darren lemke and produced by peter safran, with christopher godsick, jeffery chernov, dwayne johnson, hiram garcia, and. Sandberg and stars zachary levi as shazam, mark strong as dr. The two characters are forever entangled, and have. Only, in the television show, billy speaks directly to the animated character giving him the specific power e. The character now called shazam was born 80 years ago when comics were the wild west. If you were confused by the talking caterpillar that showed up in the credits of shazam, we can explain what the little guys deal is. But one day, he was guided to the rock of eternity, where the ancient wizard shazam waited. Captain marvel dc comics, also known as shazam, a fawcett comics and, later, dc comics superhero shazam, a wizard character from the shazam. Whats the strongest version of shazam in the comics. When superhero comics became popular again in the mid1960s in.
Jun 22, 2012 there, he met an old egyptian wizard who entrusted him with magical powers and the task of defending the earth, all he had to do was call out the name shazam. Were talking about the classic comic book character who can transform from a young. When did shazam and billy batson become the same person. The marvel family the black marvel family villains other characters gods note hercules, atlas, zeus, achilles. Magic and monsters will teach billy batson the virtues of trust as the hero fights off mr.
The world of carlitos is a microcosm, a small human comedy valid for both the innocent reader and the sophisticated. The ancient wizard who gave billy batson his powers was called shazam. Shazam is a comic book character created by bill parker and c. Shazam formerly known as captain marvel is a superhero in the dc comics. Since 1972, dc has instead used the trademark shazam. May 14, 2018 thing is, during that time of inactivity marvel comics had ed the name captain marvel for marvell, so dc could use the character but couldnt actually call the book or the character. Shazam may never again overtake superman in popularity, but the box office and. Why didnt the movie shazam become a hit like it was expected. Diehard comic fans may be rejoicing that johns is bringing the character of shazam back to the page after such a long hiatus. Shazam was originally conceived as captain marvel, and during the 1940s, was an incredibly popular comic book character even more popular than superman. Yes, as a matter of fact, most of the original fawcett material is in the public domain.
Jul 11, 2018 despite the films placement in the dc schedule, it is undoubtedly the most obscure offering so far. Its a funny quirk of history that 2019 will see the big screen debuts of both marvel and dcs captain marvel characters. If the shazam comic history seems convoluted and strange, thats because it is. Getting rid of the captain marvel name in an official. He was at first a oneshot character, but was revived in shazam. Little billy batson is a homeless orphan who is led by a mysterious stranger into a deserted train. I can very highly recommend this as an inexpensive way to recapture the captain marvel shazam memories. Not just for fans of the original captain marvel, this book is sure to delight all comics fans. It was late in 1939 when the original captain marvel arrived in a comicbook thunderbolt, and already the. Sivana uses a handheld ray gun, travels in a retro rocket spaceship, dives a raygun gothic flying car, communicates with a video phone, and leads an army of nazis equipped with hover tanks and missiles. See more ideas about captain marvel shazam, captain marvel and comic character. Beck and writer bill parker created the character in 1939.
Dc comics shazam arrives just a month after marvels billiondollar blockbuster captain marvel. How to tell the difference between captain marvel, mar. The tangled history behind a lost superhero the character now called shazam was born 80 years ago when comics were the wild west. Home comic books comic book history the history of shazam a look at the dc comics character s evolution a look at the dc comics character s evolution february 27, 2019 joshua winchester comic books, history, movies tv, spotlight 1. So even if youve seen the movie you have seen the movie, havent you. The only problem was that they couldnt use his original fawcett comics name captain marvel on the cover, due to legal issues with marvel comics, who had their own captain marvel. Which came first, shazam, the comic book character or the. Thus, dc published the comic under the name shazam. The characters real name was billy batson, a young boy who was given the power of the gods by the wizard shazam. The name originally belonged to an ancient wizard, who lived in the rock of eternity and guarded the seven deadly sins. Captain marvel comics who gives the superhero and his associates their powers. In 1985s crisis on infinite earths, the shazam family was introduced into main dc comics continuity. The orphaned child believed he had no one to rely on and had to fend for himself. Superstar dwayne the rock johnson is officially ready to play his first superpowered comic book character in black adam, announcing a release date for the film.
It is the seventh film in the dc extended universe. Shazam is a fictional character appearing in american comic books published by both fawcett comics and dc comics. Shazam is a name that has been used by captain marvel and other members of the marvel family. Whiz comics worlds finest wow comics marvel family member this character is or was a member of the marvel family in any of its various incarnations, and an ally of captain marvel and the wizard shazam. May 6, 2014 explore comiccons board shazam fan art. No, shaq isnt rebooting his iconic genie movie that would be kazaam. Deemed worthy of becoming the champion of the ancient wizard mamaragan, whenever he utters the word shazam, young billy batson is struck by a magical thunderbolt and gains vast divine powers and. The less people know about shazam could give the team more liberties to craft the definitive version of the character, instead of competing with years of comic book history and previous liveaction iterations. Noticing the success of superman at national comics dcs forerunner, fawcett publications decided to publish their own comic book stories.
Dec 05, 2018 shazam has returned, gomer pyle fans everywhere can rejoice. A brief history of shazam, one of dcs wildest characters. An awesome book that reprints the original stories from the comic book series of 1939. During a reboot in 1986, dc comics made a conscious choice to remove the splitpersonality aspect from shazam.
Djimon hounsou played the ancient wizard, shazam, in the theatrical film. Unfortunately, they couldnt actually call the series captain marvel, because marvel comics had snapped up the name in the meantime and created their own character, and eventually a string of characters, by that name, so they titled it shazam. The tale of two captain marvels is certain to cause confusion for the casual fans of the comic crusader. The monster society of evil, a 2007 limitededition dc comics series written and illustrated by jeff smith. Powered by the magic of shazam, these foster brothers and sisters join billy batson in battling the forces of evil.
Billy batsons parents died when he was still a baby. The comics history of all 9 captain marvels nerdist. Sean astin, but joining the worlds greatest team of superheroes is a lot harder when theyve all been turned into kids. Comic book history the history of shazam a look at the dc. Shop this awesome kids blue and black dc comics shazam short sleeve pajama set featuring your favourite superhero shazam. Dc comics has rebooted the shazam character more than a few times. And for several years, this version of the character was the only one on shelves until 1972, when national, now rechristened dc comics, licensed the original captain marvel from fawcetts. Strips published between 1997 and 1998 by carlitos, charles ms masterpiece. Jul 27, 2018 the original captain marvel comic books chatter first appeared in 1940 or 41 in whiz comics, published by fawcett.
In his prime, he regularly outsold superman and batman. Never mind the justice league darkness this wacky, breezy take on the veteran dc comics character is absolutely. In the comics, sivana is frequently a member of the monster society, so its no surprise that in the postcredits scene for shazam. Apr 08, 2019 shazam was originally conceived as captain marvel, and during the 1940s, was an incredibly popular comic book character even more popular than superman. Oct 29, 20 justice league avoids doa status like batman v. I dont know when i last enjoyed a collection of comic books so much. By 1991, the company had acquired all of the shazam characters. These are the individuals whom captain marvels powers, from the fawcett series, are said to derive from. If i may venture into personal opinion here, i cant help but feel that the recent superman movie, man of steel, left me disappointed. In the golden age of comics, billy batson first proved himself worthy of the powers of the wizard shazam. The original captain marvel precrisis is the strongest version of the character there is. Its high time the justice league took notice of shazam.
Before the new movie comes out, heres everything you need to know. During his initial run at fawcett, billy was subsumed by captain marvel when he. It is the seventh installment in the dc comics extended universe. An adapted version of isis, the heroine of the secrets of isis, was introduced into dc comics in 2006 as black adams wife in the weekly comic book series 52.
1093 557 1273 257 625 325 240 11 585 1270 1137 28 1036 1555 777 161 541 889 408 1225 362 1415 1357 79 291 648 711 676 324 1456 601 419 242 4 1482 766 247 1445 268 629 1142 119 1176