Captain Marvel is considered to be a poor man’s imitation of Superman with his powers of flight, invulnerability and strength. But that’s where the similarities stop. Created in 1939 by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker for Fawcett Comics (with a cover date of February 1940 on Whiz Comics #2), Captain Marvel tapped into the adolescent fantasy of a boy becoming a man overnight. This character actually became even more popular than Superman at the time. And not surprisingly, Captain Marvel made it onto the big screen before the Big Blue Boy Scout.

Adventures of Captain Marvel is a black-and-white, twelve-episode movie serial that made its debut in 1941, based on the heroic adventures of… you guessed it… Captain Marvel.


With One Magic Word…

Radio broadcaster Billy Batson is accompanying an archaeological expedition, led by Professor John Malcom, in the Valley of the Tombs in Siam. There they uncover the tomb of the Golden Scorpion. Unlike the rest, Billy heeds the warnings against all those who enter the tomb but gets trapped regardless. The ancient wizard Shazam appears to Billy in the trapped crypt and rewards him with powers because of his respect to the warnings. By saying the wizard’s name, Billy is transformed into the mighty Captain Marvel, protector of the weak, and granted with wisdom from Solomon, strength from Hercules, stamina from Atlas, power from Zeus, courage from Achilles, and speed from Mercury. His job is to prevent the Golden Scorpion from falling into the wrong hands, as it is a disguised optical weapon of immense power.

Unfortunately, the lenses of the Golden Scorpion have been split between several people. One of these people, however, happens to be a criminal mastermind named The Scorpion. Captain Marvel needs to discover his identity before The Scorpion retrieves the remaining pieces and causing ultimate destruction.


Magical Restoration

Without a doubt, Adventures of Captain Marvel has to be one of the best superhero serials that showcases the most superheroics. The amazing special effects for the time, especially the flying scenes, could not be topped until, perhaps, Superman: The Movie in 1978 dazzled all audience members. That’s a good 37 years before anyone ever did it better. The Superman serials that came out in 1948, starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill, used crude animated sequences to portray Superman flying.

Ironically, Republic Pictures originally wanted to make a Superman serial, but the brass at DC Comics (known as National Periodical Publications at the time) said “no thanks”. Big mistake. The offer went to Fawcett Comics and they didn’t refuse. Part of the reason Captain Marvel became popular was due to this serial.

Tom Tyler has the dubious honour of playing Captain Marvel while Frank Coghlan, Jr. plays his alter ego, Billy Batson. Billy is portrayed a bit differently as he is a young adult rather than a young boy. Still, Coghlan does his best, even though he makes Billy a bit more geekish than necessary. Tyler, however, has great presence as Captain Marvel, convincingly playing the superhero to a tee.

Most people don’t know who Captain Marvel is, or confuse him with the Marvel Comics version. But if you mention Shazam!, then it’s a different story. When Fawcett and DC Comics were engaged in a long lawsuit, the name Captain Marvel was picked up by Marvel Comics. After the lawsuit was settled and DC bought out the Captain Marvel character, they couldn’t legally use the name as a title; hence, Shazam! became the way to identify the character. But since this movie came out before all of that, this is probably the only time when the name Captain Marvel will be on the masthead featuring the Big Red Cheese.

The success of this serial led to others such as Batman and Superman. Captain Marvel would later appear in a live-action television series called The Shazam/Isis Hour in 1974-76. But it’s this movie serial that made it all happen. The digital translation to DVD is quite impressive making the experience much more pleasant. The only quibble I have, besides having an older Billy Batson, is Captain Marvel’s portrayal towards criminals. The good Captain is usually portrayed as a light-hearted character in the comic books, as underneath it all he is still a young kid. But in the movie, he starts throwing criminals off rooftops and cliffs, which doesn’t seem right for the character. Wouldn’t he do his best to preserve life, regardless if they are bad people?

Adventures of Captain Marvel is a delight. Great special effects, wonderful cliffhangers and continuous action help make this one of the best superhero serials of all time. It is just plain fun. Somehow I never get tired of it.


Chapter Breakdowns
Curse of the Scorpion || The Guillotine || Time Bomb || Death Takes the Wheel || The Scorpion Strikes || Lens of Death || Human Targets || Boomerang || Dead Man's Trap || Doom Ship || Valley of Death || Captain Marvel's Secret



Other Comic Book Movies
DC Comics
Batman (1943) || Batman: The Movie (1966) || Batman (1989) || Batman Returns || Batman Forever || Batman & Robin || Batman Begins || Batman: Mask of the Phantasm || Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero || Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman || The Batman Superman Movie || Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker || Catwoman || Constantine || Superman: The Movie || Superman II || Superman II: The Donner Cut || Superman III || Superman IV: The Quest for Peace || Superman Returns || Superman: Brainiac Attacks

Marvel Comics
Daredevil || Fantastic Four (2005) || The Invincible Iron Man (2007) || The Punisher (2004) || Spider-Man || Spider-Man 2 || Spider-Man 3 || Ultimate Avengers: The Movie || Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther || X-Men || X2: X-Men United || X-Men: The Last Stand

Independent Comic Books
Men in Black || Popeye || Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles || Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12