Shazam/Captain Marvel: do you prefer a more childlike or more adult personality?

[Buried Alien]

When it comes to Shazam/Captain Marvel, do you prefer him to be depicted with a more childlike, goofy personality or a more adult, serious personality? By "serious," I don't mean that he becomes Batman grim and gritty, but more like his Bronze Age incarnation and 1970s live-action TV series.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[jb681131]

When it comes to Shazam/Captain Marvel, do you prefer him to be depicted with a more childlike, goofy personality or a more adult, serious personality? By "serious," I don't mean that he becomes Batman grim and gritty, but more like his Bronze Age incarnation and 1970s live-action TV series.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Well he shouldn't become a Superman-like we've already got.
He is a child, of course not a stupid child because he was chosen by the wizard. But he stays a child. So he shouldn't be too serious.
But having him stupide or too goofy wouldn't fit. The movie was at the limit of being too gooffy.

[Riv86672]

He should be Billy in a bigger body.

[WillieMorgan]

I don't know about goofy but Shazam should always be a well meaning child in an adults body, with all that entails.

[John Venus]

Somewhere in between would be my preference. Child like innocence but adult maturity. The wisdom of Solomon has to be there somewhere.

I remember in New Frontier, Cook showed a child Billy Batson munching down food like an overly excited kid but at the same time displayed adult like maturity and knowledge in his dialogue.

[mathew101281]

a smart kid in an adult's body. To me the whole wish fulfillment element is lessoned if the hero and the kid are two separate entities.

[Tzigone]

In between. I won't go with "child like innocence" like John Venus because Billy was already 12 when he originally became Captain Marvel - that's generally past the innocent state (even if one hasn't been kicked out to live on the streets, as he originally was). I like how in the golden age, Billy was a smart, savvy kid. And not very immature or naive. I do agree with mathew101281 that they should be the same entity for wish fulfillment, but also think that entity should not act like a 7 year old (animated media seems to have a tendency to make him younger than he ever was as Cap in the comics and more "pure sweet angelic naive innocence" which I'm not keen on (oddly, I see some do this with young Dick Grayson, too and am not a fan there, either)*. And if Billy is in the same universe as the DC characters, he has to age as they do, which will mean he becomes less and less a child (and I know that presents an issue given the premise of the character, even if seemingly reached 14 back in the golden age).

*Actually, Fawcett also gets remade as very pure and idyllic, which it also was not.


Edit: When I think about it, and the wish fulfillment, I wonder if originally part of the wish fulfillment is that Billy was on his own, had slick radio show job, didn't have to go to school, and got to do what he wanted in a way kids generally don't actually get to do. He very much functioned as adult back then in many ways.

[Riv86672]

a smart kid in an adult's body. To me the whole wish fulfillment element is lessoned if the hero and the kid are two separate entities.

Agreed.

Also not keen on the term child like. Billy isn’t a child he’s a smart kid, like you said.
He should have sense of fun but not be all “oh gosh gee willickers” or anything.

[Stanlos]

When he's Billy, he is child like but when he is Cap he is epic and awesome and NOT child like in the way he's depicted these days. He's happy go lucky and charming--basically like the old Filmation He-Man.

I also don't see Billy as a TEEN. He's a smart kid with heart and grit

[qwertyuiop1998]

I agreed about Shazam should be like Billy in an adult body. But I thinking he should be acting a little more adult than he was a kid, I mean when he became Shazam, He also getting the wisdom of Solomon right? So when he was Shazam he would sometimes do childlike things but he still awesome and epic

[Midnight_v]

More like his Bronze Age incarnation and 1970s live-action TV series.

This way, but then I'm a fan of the character.

He's written in a way that the wisdom of solomon means nothing, and it irks me to the point that sometimes I almost want him out of the main continuity.

The flashpoint losses really were vomit inducing. The Outsider, turning off Black Adams powers with durlan tech via mimickery of his voice... Diana forcing him to say "Shazam" via magic rope and turning him into a group of kids.

He's a lot better off like the old TV show, instead of a goof ball kid fawing over cyborg as his football hero. SMH

[dswynne]

I think Sean Astin's version is the way to go.



An adult with youthful exuberance. You know, Chris Pratt's Starlord.

[Midnight_v]

I think Sean Astin's version is the way to go.



An adult with youthful exuberance. You know, Chris Pratt's Starlord.

I didn't get a jist of him in fact like alway black adam said more than shazam did.

Also this film... no cyborg but no Jon Stewart either. duly noted lego, duly noted.

[Adekis]

In my experience, when the Big Red Cheese is just Billy but Tom Hanks Big, Kid Billy becomes a more serious character than his alter ego, who is portrayed more as a goofball. I hate that.

I'm kind of a Golden Age purist when it comes to this character in many ways.

Billy should be a gee-whiz Pollyanna who would never do something cruel, and Captain Marvel should be a grown man with a sense of great wisdom - but who still has a childlike sense of righteousness, and a sincere love for things like dinosaurs.

On the other hand regarding the contemporary Shazam, I love his friendship with Cyborg. So that's nice at least.

[Tzigone]

I'm kind of a Golden Age purist when it comes to this character in many ways.

Billy should be a gee-whiz Pollyanna who would never do something cruel,

I would not have called Golden Age Billy a "gee-whiz Pollyanna" at all.