Captain Marvel / Shazam Appreciaton

[Nix Uotan]

One thing from Darkseid War I'd like to see is Billy meeting other deities like H'ronmeer again.

[Ares]

So, to get back to the appreciation part of this thread, I'd like to mention some of my favorite takes on the character.

JUSTICE: By Alex Ross and Jim Kreuger. A sort or modern combination of the Satelite Era-Justice League and the old Challenge of the Super Friends cartoon, just was a lot of well drawn fun for me, and it had a very solid portrayal of Cap as a competent, compassionate and effective hero. To me it's a perfect counter for the people that say Billy and the Marvel Family don't belong on the DC Earth or need to be on their own world. They were integrated into the DCU just fine and effectively here, as they always had the potential to be.

Shazam: Power of Hope: By Alex Ross and Paul Dini. A really good take on Cap that really gets to the core of the character, his ability to connect with people, especially children, and doing what he can to make their lives better. The scene where Cap is there to help comfort a girl as her illness claims her life is heartbreaking, but showcases the kind of hero Billy ultimately is, staying by her side the entire time and making her last moments happy. The idea of Billy being a source of hope for those around him is natural, and I like that it shows how Billy can do this with and without his powers.

Superman/Shazam: First Thunder: I really liked this take on Cap and Superman's first meeting, the idea that Cap was the third hero of the modern age of superheroics after Batman and Superman, and that Cap and Superman got to have an entire team up where they didn't fight each other. While Cap is one of the few heroes who can fight Superman as a true equal, I've always preferred stories where they can work together as friends, where their differences as heroes and characters are highlighted, etc. I've always wished the duo could just be on a Justice League roster at the same time and show them having a very brotherly kind of relationship, friendly but competitive. When an alien invasion happens, the duo have Legolas/Gimli counting competition on who can destroy the most alien ships, that kind of thing.

World's Finest/Adventure Comics : For a little while, right before Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Marvel Family were showcased in World's Finest, then Adventure Comics once World's Finest became just about Batman and Superman again. Don Newton handled art chores, and the Marvel Family have rarely looked better. The adventures were fun and varied, and you'd get everything from Techno-Wizards from another dimension invading to Cap helping some creatures from mythology adapt to modern living. It was both a classic superhero setting, an urban fantasy world, and while the adventures could have some grim moments, they had a pretty fun tone. They weren't perfect, but they were a really solid example of the kind of Captain Marvel stories I liked.

[colonyofcells]

My favorite Captain Marvel story was in World's finest comics when the whole captain marvel family (included the lieutenant marvels) fought the monster society of evil (included black adam and ibac).
https://babblingsaboutdccomics3.file.../wf267_014.png

[dswynne]

Well, he lost these powers by the end of DW. So, yeah, I can't see them being relevant in Billy's future.

Billy only list his godhood status, as the "God of Gods", in that he had the power of a thousand gods. His primary sextet had to remain, otherwise Billy would have been completely deported. But, we'll see...

[Ares]

My favorite Captain Marvel story was in World's finest comics when the whole captain marvel family (included the lieutenant marvels) fought the monster society of evil (included black adam and ibac).
https://babblingsaboutdccomics3.file.../wf267_014.png

Definitely one of my favorite moments as well. That Monster Society was a power-house line up, requiring no less than 6 people with Captain Marvel's powers to take down. In a standard DCU, a Monster Society of Evil should be a Justice League level threat, requiring Cap to be clever (face them one at a time, get them to fight each other) or get some back up even beyond Mary and Freddy (such as the other Fawcett heroes, the Justice League, the JSA, etc.).

[Dr. Banner]

Billy only list his godhood status, as the "God of Gods", in that he had the power of a thousand gods. His primary sextet had to remain, otherwise Billy would have been completely deported. But, we'll see...

Well, that's what I said. He lost these powers, the ones from the new sextet of gods ( I don't know where the power of a thousand gods you mentioned came from). Surely he still has his original powers.

[Mutant God]

I think it would be cool to see Billy Batson on the show Supergirl as some unknown optimistic kid who is a fan of Supergirl but after some villains try to pick on him he transforms into a being called ''The Hero" (because of you know the name) and takes them out lol. Really cool if Shazam/The Hero is played by Tom Welling

[dswynne]

Well, since we are in appreciation mode, I have my own picks as a good depiction of "classic" Captain Marvel:







;-)

[dswynne]

Well, that's what I said. He lost these powers, the ones from the new sextet of gods ( I don't know where the power of a thousand gods you mentioned came from). Surely he still has his original powers.

I got the gist of my original statement from this, on the main DC website:

http://www.dccomics.com/comics/justi...d-war-shazam-1

A boy becomes an army of Gods! No longer does Billy Batson have access to the powers of the Old Gods. Now, he commands the combined might of Highfather, Mantis and other New Gods. But these Gods are not passive. And they will sooner destroy Billy than give up control of their power.

To be fair, a promo for an upcoming release can change...

[Ares]

Well, Justice League Action is set to start soon, with Billy being a part of the opening 4 parter. I'm naturally disappointed they went with the Nu-52 version of the character, but given the overall tone of the show I imagine this will probably be the classic Captain Marvel personality with the Nu-Shazam look and name. Which is unfortunate, but hopefully it won't be the Nu-Shazam we got from Justice League: War.

If we get some Brave and the Bold style fun with Billy being a big part of the victory, that could mitigate the Nu-Shazam aspects somewhat.

[dswynne]

Well, Justice League Action is set to start soon, with Billy being a part of the opening 4 parter. I'm naturally disappointed they went with the Nu-52 version of the character, but given the overall tone of the show I imagine this will probably be the classic Captain Marvel personality with the Nu-Shazam look and name. Which is unfortunate, but hopefully it won't be the Nu-Shazam we got from Justice League: War.

If we get some Brave and the Bold style fun with Billy being a big part of the victory, that could mitigate the Nu-Shazam aspects somewhat.

Cool. I am always up for some NuBilly. 😉

[Ares]

Well, I watched it, and it was . . . weird.

I can appreciate the energy, enthusiasm and some of the voice acting, but I can't really say I like this show. It feels akin to something like a Justice League version of Teen Titans Go!, just a little less silly and a little more action packed. But it comes off as a lot goofier and silly than even Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which is about as light as I like my superhero shows. Overall, I don't see myself following the show.

The plot of Black Adam taking control of the Rock of Eternity and freeing the evil entities imprisoned there is actually a good one, but . . . well, they never explain how Adam got that orb that contained Billy's powers, it was just a macguffin to move the plot along. Black Adam was in a mostly classic look, which was pretty cool, albeit throwing a lot more lightning around than I care for. Shazam needed to learn a lesson in humility from Batman, which was also weird since Shazam is usually in the mentor role, but a lot of it could be chalked up to Shazam being worried about Billy. It was nice that this was mostly the classic wizard Shazam, as it's made clear that Billy says his name to transform.

It's crazy how loose the show is with their own continuity, even in the first 40 minutes. When Black Adam is defeated, Shazam says he's exiled him to the furthest point in the universe to get rid of Adam for a few centuries. Then only two episodes/20 minutes later, Batman says that Shazam sent Adam back in time and burried him deep within the Earth . . . which just gave Adam time to master his control of his magic. This show seems built on "don't think about it".

Billy himself was . . . mixed. I liked the fact that it wasn't Shazam or Batman who ultimately freed Billy, but Billy's inner strength of will summoning his powers to him and transforming, albeit with a little pep talk from Shazam. Billy being the one to rally the Justice League around him later, and him and Superman defeating Black Adam with a combo uppercut was pretty cool.

The show also never actually calls Billy either Shazam or Captain Marvel. They just refer to Billy as "Billy" and most of the heroes referred to his superhero form as "kid". Billy himself is . . . like I said, I liked his willpower at summoning his power, I liked his enthusiasm, and I liked the parts where he tried to reign in his enthusiasm and act more mature. He definitely wasn't a jerk like NU-Billy or JL: War/Throne of Atlantis Billy . . . . but he does come off as someone who can't focus, and has a few moments like JL: War where he comes off as kind of a dumbass. Though this show pretty much plays everyone for comedy except Batman. And of course his superhero mode resembles his Nu-52 look, which I can't stand.

So an overall weird showing. Classic Shazam and Black Adam, a very exaggerated but not completely unlikable Billy, and an okay-ish unamed Shazam powered form. Overall probably the weakest Billy/Cap portrayal we've seen on TV, but that's less a bad portrayal of Billy and just more indicative of what kind of show this is. It was kind of cool that a Captain Marvel story sets off the series and is what kicks off the action. Still, 40 minutes / 4 episodes in and I don't see myself following the series.

[Teste]

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/...%2B001-023.jpg

Man, I wished they stuck with this costume design. One only wonders if Nu-Billy's newest power-set will remain...doubtful. But, one can only hope...

I enjoyed the new power set as well, as vague as some of it was (boldness? Source manipulation?).

But I didn't really enjoy the story itself. If felt basically like a repeat over and over of:

Deity: "I am a mighty god!"

Billy: "LOL shut up u n00bz!"

Deity: "Amazing! Such wisdom and strenght! You are more than you appear to be!"

Billy: "kekeke"

[dswynne]

I enjoyed the new power set as well, as vague as some of it was (boldness? Source manipulation?).

But I didn't really enjoy the story itself. If felt basically like a repeat over and over of:

Deity: "I am a mighty god!"

Billy: "LOL shut up u n00bz!"

Deity: "Amazing! Such wisdom and strenght! You are more than you appear to be!"

Billy: "kekeke"

Actually, this could work, depending upon the writer, like Keith Giffen or somebody who could do comic book humor. Then again, Captain Marvel has been treated tongue in check early on, while Junior was depicted more seriously in his solo book.

[Ares]

Given that Giffen is half of the writing team that portrayed Cap as pretty much a joke and a doormat, I wouldn't wish him on even Nu-Billy.