The New York Post has released the first image of the new look for Shazam! and he now sports a hoodie in his costume.
Of all the ways to change a costume, that is certainly one of them. Instead of a cape, it looks like Shazam will now wear a cloak, which is always fashionable regardless the season.
It’s interesting to note that Clark Kent/Superman wore a hoodie in Superman: Earth One, so maybe the creators are thinking lightning will strike twice with this fashion redo (see what I did there? Of course you did, because you, Dear Reader, are awesome).
“With SHAZAM! Gary and I will be focusing on the magic hero instead of the super hero,” [Geoff] Johns told THE SOURCE. “For centuries, science has ruled the world, but now magic is returning. We’re telling the story of the hero’s young alter ego, Billy Batson, a foster kid at a crossroads in his life. The question is, how does the emotional journey of this troubled teenager collide with the fate of the world? The Rock of Eternity and the legacy of SHAZAM! will be explored in a different way as the extent of Billy’s connection to the magic world around him is greater than ever before. The story will have a profound impact on Justice League later in the year and you’ll see new characters, locations and creatures along with the classics from the SHAZAM! universe. Billy’s friends and enemies will be along for the ride.”
Shazam’s new look kicks off in Justice League #7 that is scheduled to arrive March 21, 2012.
16 Comments
So he found his hoodie in Ambush Bug’s vault in DCUO and decided to wear it instead?
I think it’s supposed to be more of a hood, giving him a classic Biblical/ancient culture motif. Hard to tell since we can’t see the rest of the costume
Still can’t call him Shazam, refuse to.
Just a ‘hood’, not a drastic change
OK. Between this and the Jay Garrick of Earth 2 look I am officially intrigued. I like the new boots and belt and having Captain Mar…..ummm….Shazam…. as more of a mystic character in the line of Justice League Dark is an interesting concept. I’m missing my old pals from “Earth-S” but I’m willing to give this a chance.
Oh. Oh dear.
I look like someone pulled his cape up over his head to try and distract him.
This is just not good.
DC, please. Please don’t print this. It’s gonna flop. It’s just gonna flop like most other solo treatments of Captain Marvel have flopped over the years. Just stop.
And some send a memo out to the Young Justice cartoon to tell ’em to quit calling him “Captain Marvel” since everyone thinks his name is SHAZAM! anyhow!
And, IIRC, didn’t E-One’s Superman only have the hoodie until he actually put on the costume (which, again IIRC, only really differed in the design of the tops of the boots)?
DC if you wanted me to forget how awful the new Jay Garrick costume was…well, mission accomplished
Captain Marvel meets the Spectre
Well, we have Hoppy the Marvel Bunny and Uncle Marvel, and the Captains Marvel (all three of them)…. Marvel Ghost would be the next logical progression~! ^_^
I agree that it gives him more of a Mythical look. The comics always had him as a “Mythical Superman”. It may be they take in in a Justice League: Dark angle. Where they (JL:D) go up against the Magical, Shazam may be tied into the Mythical side of things. Instead of First Strike dealing with him being introduced to the DCU by a Superman Team-Up, maybe the go with a Wonder Woman route?
Okay, Making Captain Marvel dark and gritty – and his name is Captain Marvel NOT Shazam, no matter what DC says – doesn’t that just make him into Marvel’s Captain Marvel only with no Jim Starlin goodness?
The whole appeal of Captain Marvel was his childish innocence. Take that away and he’s just another caped cretin.
I’m not sure I can take a “Dark” version of this character. Billy is/was always the “Hope springs eternal” kind of character…if they write him all dark and angsty I don’t care to read it this book at all.
So, take some of the least popular aspects of the last two Captain Marvel reboots (a hooded cape and a name change), sprinkle with a liberal dose of “Harry Potter,” throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks is DC’s game plan?
Not that an emphasis on the character’s magical background is a bad thing – I was calling for the Harry Potter-ization of the Marvel Family years ago. But I never thought they’d actually go so far as to just admit creative defeat and incorporate Harry himself into the Shazam mythology and jettison Billy. Which, of course, is what happened.
But I digress.
The most success re-introduction of the character was his mid-90s “Power of Shazam!” stint that took Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family closer to their roots than anything done since. DC should really pay attention and quit screwing around.
The colors make me think of Black Adam, not Captain Marvel!
FACEPALM.
(Shakes head and walks away depressed)
So many horrible hack writers and their inept bungling.
Superheroes represent teen power fantasies, but they also must linger as archetypes too. They all cannot go “dark, moody, and violent” because all humans are not “dark, moody, and violent” all the time.
And to be blunt, HOODIE ON CAPE?!?
(Facepalm)
Two words — WIND SOCK. (In action = Parachute)
Who wears hoodie + cape? Raven – she flies but teleports for fast travel. The Spectre — He flies, goes intangible, and also teleports. There’s a few other heroes / villains with hoodie + cape, but they don’t move at rapid flight speed.
(Adding another name to my “Comicbook staff I must punch in the gut when I meet them in Real Life list”).