Or – “One Of The Most Brutal Origin Stories Of The Golden Age…”
Fawcett Comics had a number of super-hero first-stringers who weren’t Captain Marvel, but none had the star power of the Big Red Cheese, to the point where the creators clearly wondered if it was possible to once again catch lightning in a bottle. This time, however, the bottle was blue… Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “Sure, He’s Shazam Now, But Back In Nineteen-Forty?“
There has been some consternation amongst DC fans that the new 52 revival of the character formerly known as Captain Marvel has been redubbed ‘Shazam’ by the publisher, ostensibly because the character is better known by that name to the general public. Given the Golden Age origins of the character, though, it may be that it’s not just the NAME that needed the update. Your Major Spoilers (Retro) Review awaits!
Or – “Her SHAZAM Was Different…”
One of the great shames of the last decade of comics is the seeming compulsion to break all the traditional taboos. Resurrecting Bucky, getting Aunt May some action, even the fate of poor Sue Dibny are unpleasant examples of this phenomenon, but no one has been quite as a big a target as young Mary Marvel. The need to somehow corrupt Mary with evil and/or sexuality has led to no fewer than three instances of Dark Mary Marvel, each of which utterly failed to feel like much more than schoolyard bullying, picking on the sweetest girl just to make her cry. Of course, to know why I feel so strongly about what’s happened to Mary, you probably need to know what she used to be like…