3 Reasons Captain Marvel Needs a Solo Series

The following article contains some spoilers for the New 52’s Shazam, recently released as a graphic novel.

DC’s Captain Marvel is my absolute favorite superhero and I want to see more of him – I want to see him have his own solo comic again, something the character hasn’t had in quite a few years. Of course, DC’s Marvel is not to be confused with Marvel’s Captain Marvel (currently Carol Danvers) who has her own solo series. This confusion and the legal battles surrounding it have finally pushed DC to permanently rename their Captain Marvel into “Shazam,” which was previously the word of power he used to transform as well as the name of the wizard who gave him those powers.

While I don’t think the distinction between Captains matters much to most comic book fans who already knew the difference, the nice thing about this change is that “Shazam” is finally a regular player in the DCU again. A short series detailing his origin (written by Geoff Johns with art by Gary Frank) was published as back-ups in Justice League, resulting in the really excellent trade paperback simply titled Shazam, released last October. All that being said, Shazam is the name of the wizard, not the hero, so we’re just going to call him Captain Marvel forever, like good fanboys and fangirls (and by we I mean me, and by good, I mean slightly obsessive).

With a good response from the Justice League back-ups from both fans and critics and the fact that Captain Marvel has been a reoccurring character in recent DC events, I’m really hoping that the publisher feels fit to give him a solo book in 2014. “The Big Red Cheese” is an iconic character who may greatly resemble many other Man-of-Steel style heroes, but he has a unique mythos and elements of his story and character really make him deserving of his own book. Here’s a few of them.

3. Villains!

Captain Marvel has a long print history, older than a lot of heroes. He was created in 1939 as a Superman expy and ran for 13 years in the original, hilariously Golden Age-y comics. After DC acquired the character, the Marvel family has been in print off and on (more on than off) since 1973. My point here is that Captain Marvel has a pretty good and expansive history of villains and DC could really use some new ones showing up. Especially lately – I’ve personally found the Forever Evil event pretty unimpressive. Oh joy, the Injustice Society again.

Namor the Submariner or Black Adam? You decide.

Shazam villains are a little ridiculous – besides Black Adam and Dr. Silvana, Captain Marvel’s greatest enemy was the mind-controlling worm Mr. Mind. But it’s not like in this new age of comics these concepts can’t be retooled to be actual threats – Mr. Mind was a pretty big part of the 52 event, even eventually metamorphosing into his big, gross, terrifying Hyperfly form, which would be such a great name for a breakdancer.

Black Adam shows the awesome potential of Captain Marvel’s rogue’s gallery – Adam is one of the most well-used villains in the DCU, having been at one point probably more notable than his heroic counterpart. Mr. Mind’s Monster Society of Evil (don’t laugh too hard, how long has there been an Evil Brotherhood of Mutants?) has had a pretty huge roster over the years with a lot of characters that haven’t been used in ages.

2. Diversity!

When The Flash encounters an alternative version of Captain Marvel called Captain Thunder,  during Flashpoint (2011), it’s revealed that instead of his alter-ego only being young Billy Batson, Billy is just one of the six kids that each possess one of the powers of S.H.A.Z.A.M. and all become the singular super powered being. This was pretty wacky, but it did introduce a diverse cast of kids into the Shazam mythos, a very cool way of handling the classic ‘Marvel family’ that has always been an important part of Captain Marvel stories.

The New Marvel Family

With the New 52 relaunch, these kids are essentially reintroduced, this time as the adopted children of the couple that takes in the orphaned Billy. At the end of the trade, Billy is able to share his power with his adopted siblings, giving us a cast of actually diverse heroes.

While Captain Marvel is one of the most iconic to the point of being stereotypical heroes of comic books, this Marvel family was anything but typical. Two girls! Minorities! The disabled! As supporting characters they were great, as heroes they were amazing. Sure, the cast looks a little bit like an afterschool special, but the writing was good, giving them legitimate characterization. A solo series could really make this cast shine. Please, DC?

1. Billy goddamn Batson!

Captain Marvel is my favorite superhero for a couple of reasons, but the biggest isn’t the Captain himself – it’s his alter-ego, his secret identity: 12 year old Billy Batson. I absolutely adore the idea of an otherwise pretty normal young boy getting these spectacular powers – it’s completely adolescent wish fulfillment and even as an adult I just eat that up.

Billy is a good kid who has had a hard life. Even in the 1940s original stories he’s homeless when he first meets the Wizard Shazam – in Jerry Ordway’s gorgeous The Power of Shazam! revival this was illustrated with heartbreaking clarity. After he’s gifted with such great power, he’s that ideal of the Golden Age – a good kid who wants to be a hero, who wants to do good things and fight for justice.

Many Billies: Golden Age, DCUA, New 52

I was originally peeved when they reworked Billy in the New 52 relaunch; the New 52’s Billy is a little jerkface. They even parody his wide-eyed Golden/Silver Age self before the reveal that he’s really more of a delinquent than a hero. He gives his adopted family hell until one of them is being picked on by local bullies. That’s when he hauls off and punches one of the bullies and I started to see where Geoff Johns was going here. Billy isn’t a Gold Age kid any more, but he is a kid with a heart of gold. Seeing him struggle between childishly abusing the power to suddenly become an adult and becoming a real hero was entertaining, rewarding and heartwarming, which is exactly what Captain Marvel comics should be.

Billy’s a great character in his modern incarnations, from the New 52 to Young Justice, and I want to see more of his character development, something that’s really been lacking in Captain Marvel properties. Also, DC, just throwing this out there – but what if he actually matured and grew up in somewhat real time? What if he wasn’t just eternally 12 years old? What kind of man does a boy who spends his preteen years being Earth’s Mightiest Mortal grow up to be? I want this explored and I really don’t want to write fanfiction, so get on it.

Further Reading:

Kingdom Come

If you’re interested in Captain Marvel and the Shazam mythos, I suggest:

• Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross – An iconic Elseworlds classic, wherein Billy Batson grows up and the world races towards Armageddon.
• The Power of Shazam! by Jerry Ordway – A 1994 graphic novel that tells the revamped version of Captain Marvel’s origin after DC was finally able to purchase the rights for all Fawcett characters.
• Justice League Unlimited  – “Clash” – The 20th episode of the animated series features an excellent fight between Superman and Captain Marvel that really demonstrates how good of a guy Captain Marvel is when he calls out the Justice League.
• Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam –  A DC animated short that tells a modern version of Captain Marvel’s origin story. It also includes a fantastic fight with Black Adam and a team up with Superman.