Though your initial appearance may be marked Feb '40, you really hit the scene in Dec '39 per Fawcett's Whiz Comics and creators Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, becoming a lightning hit, enough to give the great Man of Steel some hardy competition.
With Billy Batson as your conduit, you swept forth to save the day time and again, often engaging in intrepid, wartime endeavors.
Sometimes your scenarios were comical, other times serious, but through it all, you injected humanity into your super sprees, which featured a holy-moly family that combined individuality with devoted camaraderie.
Alas, you've been cheated, Captain, your name stolen by others, but you're the main Marvel who'll ever be conjured by the magic word, "Shazam!"
Indeed, no matter what those obnoxious naysayers may say, the veritable Captain Marvel is here to stay. Shazam!!!
The reluctance (or legal inability) of DC/WB to call the hero of "Shazam!" by his proper name irks me.
I blame DC primarily for this, and it all goes back to the lawsuit aimed at Fawcett/Whiz Comics in the '50s, which may or may not have been justified, depending on one's perspective. Captain Marvel does owe lots to Superman, to the point where one might claim that the original Captain Marvel is Superman with a modified outfit and Fred MacMurray face.
I also blame Marvel Comics for stealing the name and general concept during the '60s. As such, the adventures of the veritable Captain Marvel went under the "Shazam!" title for decades once DC got the character rights, but that exotic, associated term was never more than an incantation, culled from a sorcerer's name. On this basis, I must say that any version that uses Shazam for any other propose should lose a pivotal point, but no worries. The Earth's Mightiest Mortal now goes by no name in particular, more or less.
The new "Shazam!", produced by horror-flick veteran, Peter Safran, directed by David "Annabelle: Creation" Sandberg and scripted by Henry "Earth to Echo" Gayden, does stick to the mythology's traditional form, with Asher Angel's Billy Batson turning into a colorful, cheerful superhero, portrayed by Zachary "Thor 2 & 3" Levi (looking every ounce the part). However, this edition manifests its powerful protagonist via a contemporary boy's perpetual perspective, in what becomes a Dickens-esque overlap of "Big" and "Man of Steel". (In all honesty, I'm more in sync with the '40s movie serial and '70s live-action, Filmation television series, where Batson and Captain Marvel merge with the sole sensibility of a mature man in order to right wrongs. So be it...)
At any rate, with Batson struggling to understand the extent of his powers, "Shazam!" sometimes mirrors more "The Greatest American Hero" than what's influenced previous adaptations, and again, I guess that's well and good. Batson at least climbs the ranks as he should: a Jack Armstrong-ish, wayward kid with a decent heart, who defends his foster brother, Freddy Freeman, played by Jack Dylan Grazer and in the process gains the blessing of the Rock of Eternity wizard, Shazam (an anagram of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury), played by regal Djimon Hounsou. In a snap, Batson becomes more than mere boy, adapting amazing abilities and a red, costumed frame to match, again only hindered by an ironing out of the kinks.
A bad guy emerges (introduced in a harrowing prologue) in the form of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, played by Mark "Sherlock Holmes" Strong. The sinful Sivana is one of comic lore's most seasoned villains, who's more formidable here than he ever was on the page, but for conflict's sake, that's okay, too. He stands as a symbolic, conglomerate force to overcome for our morphing crusader once the amusing warm-ups are through.
Though the film is designed as a blithe, reality-tripper on Philly turf, it reminds one to believe in oneself, for it's one's inner strength--and not necessarily one's supernatural bulk--that makes one great. Batson matures in this respect as the plot progresses, becoming less the "Big Red Cheese" and more the marvel he was meant to be. Freeman (the en-route Captain Marvel Jr) and foster sister, Mary Bromfield (the en-route Mary Marvel), played by Grace Fulton, offer essential support, guiding Batson toward his pious perch as much as the esteemed wizard. (In fact, Batson's entire foster family does more than right by him, as one will see.)
Ah, if kids today only cared to view movies like "Shazam!", they might learn a thing or two about decency and responsibility. Alas, unlike kids of the past who were grateful to applaud Captain Marvel (whether through comics or as performed by Tom Tyler, Jackson Bostwick or John Davey), the current crop seems more inclined to poke one another with plastic wands and then whine about how much it smarts.
This irrefutable, social downside is troubling. Considering the cutey-pie lay of the land, does "Shazam!" stand any sincere chance of appealing to mature folks who prefer their magically sprung icons resolute and brave? You got me.
I only know that this incarnation isn't all that it could be (i.e., it's not the film I'd have made), and yet it entertains with a giddy girth that modern, sissified sorcery evades. Take the good with the bad, I suppose.
Despite its hero not bearing the proper name, "Shazam!" could still be a hit, if old-timers like me rally around it. I sure hope there are enough of us to award this superheroic, coming-of-age tale the financial prosperity it deserves.
Unease has surrounded Marvel's "Captain Marvel", perhaps for good reason, considering the insinuating comments aimed at certain sectors of potential followers. Also, to perpetuate concern, "The Last Jedi", "The Shape of Water", CW's "Supergirl", the current "Doctor Who" and the more-fiction-than-fact "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" set the ugly pace by dishing degrees of "reversed discrimination" (bigotry by any other name, folks...), thus alienating those who by tradition have granted support to such endeavors, while making those on the fence wary to invest.
After viewing "Captain Marvel", I can say it's neither an utter turncoat to open-mindedness or a proponent of sugar-coated contempt, but as with "The Last Jedi'"s "Solo" aftermath, it takes a cold, bland turn to make its point.
And what is its point? Why, to castigate evil, and for the sake of this prequel, doing so during a give-or-take time when a divide between the factions played in all philosophical sectors of pop-cultural life. Hey, that righteous vibe caused the Berlin Wall to fall, right? Alas, though "Captain Marvel" may occupy the past, its conscientious sensibility has been reduced to meager decor.
At any rate, the film introduces us to Carol Danvers, played by Brie "Kong: Skull Island" Larson, an Air Force captain who gets transitioned into something more Kree than earthling, though it does appear she always had the right, alien stuff inside her. It only had to be unleashed.
This version of the character also skims a lot of her comic-book history. For the record, she was once known as Warbird, Binary and Ms. Marvel, performing as the protege of another called Captain Marvel, who's name was stolen from an apparition conjured by the incantation, "Shazam!". Jude Law (who was once considered to play Kal-El and Zod) acts as her charismatic mentor, Yon-Rogg, but he comes and goes, then comes and goes again...and again. That's that.
Once Danvers' Hal Jordan-knockoff origin is fixed, she crosses paths with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson: Larson's "Skull Island" costar) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who inadvertently join her crusade against a crafty Skrull who appears to be the movie's prime antagonist, Talos, played by Ben "Robin Hood" Mendelsohn, but not all is as it seems.
In fact, that's Danvers' dilemma and the film's subtle motif: Who can she trust, if she can't trust herself due to a muddled memory?
That's the gist of it, and that would be more than sufficient, if the movie only spurt some spirit. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are competent directors (the film flows at an even clip), and the mythic mix-match (thanks to too many screenwriters to mention here) is viable, but again, something is missing.
I do believe it's a lack of credible commitment to the cause. Danvers' screen embodiment is affable, but she requires more than she's dealt to hit the empathetic mark. I'm not talking physical prowess, but rather an expressed understanding of what she's doing and what she's fighting.
Perhaps that should have been better defined during the fleeting flashbacks and resulting revelations. Instead, there are times when Danvers' alternating attire appears more a part of her personality than what one can presume lies inside: good for flash, but not plot.
Talos' presence does help, but once his "secret" is revealed, he can't help but steal every scene he's in, which leaves out titular heroine looking lopsided in comparison.
Most vexing is that various episodes of "S.H.I.E.L.D.", "Agent Carter" and "Inhumans" are indisputably stronger than this venture. Maybe if the film had discarded its hallow, graphic gloss (in a vain attempt for "Doctor Strange" surrealism) and fell more in line with those old, unpretentious "Incredible Hulk" movie-of-the-week revivals, the set-up would've felt more sincere. In other words, through sentimental smallness, "Captain Marvel" could have made a huge statement, not merely on feminist derring-do, but humanity in general.
Though I'm relieved the movie didn't over-pander to those oversensitive SJWs, it still doesn't fly the way its comic-book counterpart does. For a chapter holding such promised importance (a prelude to "Endgame", no less), it should have landed more identifiable punch. What stands plays like a nervous test run and not the commanding submission it could have been.
Sorry, but tepid tries should never characterize the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they should certainly never define their tried-and-true icons.
