Captain Marvel / Shazam Appreciaton

[Restingvoice]

And what was that?

All the complaining I heard about New 52 Shazam! Is how Billy doesn't start out as the innocent, pure, kind kid that is the classic, but more of a jerk, unsmiling, and drawn with a lot of annoying looking scowl.

I heard no complaint about the plot.

[Marvelman]

I loved the trailer. There was just one scene that bugged me.

It was the scene in which Shazam tries to fly but ends up falling back to Earth. It was cute, but should a tiny fall like that be able to hurt the world's mightiest mortal? What happened to the Captain Marvel who was kicking Superman's ass in Kingdom Come?

[Marvelman]

Appreciate the recommendations. Yeah, I keep hearing that the New 52 comic is trash.

It was not trash. It had its flaws. But it was overall an excellent effort. Jeff Smith's Monster Society of Evil is also worth looking at.

But the one Shazam story I would recommend above all others is Shazam: Convergence. Doc Shaners take on Captain Marvel rivals, IMO, Alex Ross'.

[Restingvoice]

Okay, I watched Grace Randolph video and she mentioned something that made me realize what bugs me about the adult Shazam!
She said that Zachary Levi acts more like the other kid than Billy Batson. Super excited and stuff.
I do think it's simply because of the trailer cut though. While he was depressed before, he became excited after becoming a superhero, so we see a side of him we haven't seen, but the trailer never show him as a kid acting excited, so just watching it the first time there's a disconnect between depressed Billy and fun adult Billy.

[Robotman]

All the complaining I heard about New 52 Shazam! Is how Billy doesn't start out as the innocent, pure, kind kid that is the classic, but more of a jerk, unsmiling, and drawn with a lot of annoying looking scowl.

I heard no complaint about the plot.

Yeah but Billy’s attitude was done for a reason. The point was that the Wizard’s criterion for finding his champion was flawed. He was looking for a perfect candidate. Shockingly he couldn’t find a perfect person because no one is perfect. Even though Billy acted out, he still had a good heart.

[Rod G]

Second the recommendation. And the whole bitter fans thing; I wouldn't take Kurt's word as gospel, because he's biased against the New 52 book to an unreasonable degree.



Billy starts out the story more anti-heroic, which makes sense in the story, before developing and progressing into the standard worthy good guy Shazam over the course of the it.

The bitter fans mentioned took that early anti-hero Billy and treated it as the only thing that happened. As mentioned, it makes sense to develop Billy that way, but because "that's not how his story was told before", they treated it as cardinal sin. More relevantly, those bitter fans haven't let it go and have become insufferable because of it over the past 6-7 years (a long time to have to deal with that).

I’ve had to deal with these sort of posters since the New 52 started who whined because of all that.

In any case, well put.

[Starter Set]

I loved the trailer. There was just one scene that bugged me.

It was the scene in which Shazam tries to fly but ends up falling back to Earth. It was cute, but should a tiny fall like that be able to hurt the world's mightiest mortal? What happened to the Captain Marvel who was kicking Superman's ass in Kingdom Come?

The guy's learning the ropes i guess. That and, well, comedy.

[Murrocko]

I'll give the new 52 run a read too. From places like reddit and various facebook groups, I've always seen comments how John's didn't get the character, skid new 52, etc. Never saw any details why they felt that way. Just finished reading The Power of Shazam by Ordway... That was some good ole fashioned wholesome fun... with the exception of the brutal murders of Billy's parents.

[KurtW95]

I'll give the new 52 run a read too. From places like reddit and various facebook groups, I've always seen comments how John's didn't get the character, skid new 52, etc. Never saw any details why they felt that way. Just finished reading The Power of Shazam by Ordway... That was some good ole fashioned wholesome fun... with the exception of the brutal murders of Billy's parents.

I definitely agree that the New 52 version botched the character. Mainly because they made Billy an a-hole, started calling him Shazam instead of Captain Marvel, reduced Mary's connection to Billy, and expanded new characters to be on par with Mary and Freddy. But I'd definitely go with something more traditional first. Like Thunderworld, some classic issues, and/or Convergence.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

Okay, I watched Grace Randolph video and she mentioned something that made me realize what bugs me about the adult Shazam!
She said that Zachary Levi acts more like the other kid than Billy Batson. Super excited and stuff.
I do think it's simply because of the trailer cut though. While he was depressed before, he became excited after becoming a superhero, so we see a side of him we haven't seen, but the trailer never show him as a kid acting excited, so just watching it the first time there's a disconnect between depressed Billy and fun adult Billy.

Well, depressed Billy saw no means of escaping his situation. Now, with powers, there's a newfound independence. He probably realizes there's nothing keeping him in the foster system when he can pretty much take flight and disappear. It seems like Freddy will be his tether to other people. After all, the reason Billy shares his power with Freddy is because the kid was seriously injured while out with Captain Marvel.
Watching the trailers it dawned on me that Freddy could end up being a casualty of Billy's new superhero life.

[andersonh1]

I liked the trailer, but we still don't know if the character is called Shazam or Captain Marvel!

[KurtW95]

I liked the trailer, but we still don't know if the character is called Shazam or Captain Marvel!

I don't know either. They might not give him a name. The trailer implied that the magic word is what transforms him, so that kind of makes it hard to call him Shazam without stupid fine print about meaning it like the New 52 version. Also, they made it clear that it's the wizard's name. Zachary Levi seems to be a fan of calling the character Captain Marvel, and in an interview he said they have fun with the name change, whatever that means. I absolutely hate it when they call him Shazam, so I'm hoping for the unlikelihood that they go with Captain Marvel, though something that might be more likely could be not giving him a superhero name at all, like I said before. That wouldn't be as good as calling him Captain Marvel, but far better than calling him Shazam.

[Marvelman]

I definitely agree that the New 52 version botched the character. Mainly because they made Billy an a-hole, started calling him Shazam instead of Captain Marvel, reduced Mary's connection to Billy, and expanded new characters to be on par with Mary and Freddy. But I'd definitely go with something more traditional first. Like Thunderworld, some classic issues, and/or Convergence.

I think it is possible that Billy and Mary are still related. Although I'm not sure how that would work. Wouldn't they remember each other?

[Güicho]

I think it is possible that Billy and Mary are still related. Although I'm not sure how that would work. Wouldn't they remember each other?

As per their classic origin, they were separated at birth.
Yes before:
Leto & Ghanima
Luke & Lia
Adam & Adora
Billy & Mary were orphans who later discover they are twins, it'd be a shame if they abandoned this great part of their whimsical tale.


....

[KurtW95]

As per their classic origin, they were separated at birth.
Yes before:
Leto & Ghanima
Luke & Lia
Adam & Adora
Billy & Mary were orphans who later discover they are twins, it'd be a shame if they abandoned this great part of their whimsical tale.


....

Even if they did have them be related, it seems as though she's older than him. And she's in a foster home going by the name Bromwell, kind of defeating the contrast of her growing up with rich and loving foster/adoptive parents to contrast Billy's tough time.