Captain Marvel

I saw the movie Captain Marvel a couple of days ago.  My main interest was to try to stay current because I am led to believe that the character plays a major part in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, and I am very interested in that.  More in a moment.

Captain Marvel -- c. 1939

The Captain Marvel franchise has a bit of a checkered history.  The “original” appeared in 1939 in Whiz Comics, published by Fawcett.  Almost from the get-go there was tension between Fawcett and DC, which claimed that Captain Marvel was a rip-off of Superman (a charge not easily disputed).  The lawsuits and countersuits continued until Fawcett ceased publishing its character in 1959.  In 1972 Fawcett sold the rights to Captain Marvel to DC, and by 1992 Fawcett had sold rights to the entire Marvel family, which was quite large.  DC began publishing its own blander version of Captain Marvel in ‘72, but it was never a high-profile title.  There was a kid’s TV show (Shazam) that lasted a couple of years (There had been a Captain Marvel serial in 1941). and had multiple actors who portrayed the lead character.  I have read that the character in the series always went by “Shazam,” and never by “Captain Marvel,” but I can’t document that. (Shazam was the name of the character who endowed young Billy Batson with the Captain Marvel powers and persona.  Shazam is an acrostic for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, all of whose powers the newly-christened Marvel received.)

Captain Marvel -- c. 1071

While the DC character was in a kind of limbo, Marvel introduced its Captain Marvel in 1971.  The character never caught on in a big way, but Marvel continued to publish the character intermittently in order to maintain its copyright and force DC to publish its hero under the Shazam title.

A new Captain Marvel debuted in 1977, originally as Ms. Marvel.  Her story intertwined with the Captain Marvel character in the Marvel stable until that hero died.  Ms. Marvel inherited the Captain Marvel mantle at that time.  Her titles too have a sporadic publication history.  And, sadly, many of her stories, and the covers of her magazines in particular, have a pin-up quality that emphasizes her appearance rather than her power.

Captain Marvel -- 2019 film

That brings us to the recent film.  I want to say on the outset that I know little about the various incarnations of the Captain Marvel figures and virtually nothing about their story arcs.  But, having a nearly clean slate means that I went into the viewing with few expectations.  The movie is a lot of fun, moving well and only being a tad too long.

I want to commend it for two things in particular.  First, I applaud a strong female character, particularly in a lead or title role.  In this piece, she takes a back seat to no one.  Secondly – and this is a real biggie for me – there is no part of the story line that distracts Captain Marvel with a love interest, or in the mourning or regret of a love lost.  We get backstory, and it is interesting.  She is a very human character as she moves through this narrative.  But the obligatory guy with the chiseled chin is completely absent.  That puts this at such a step above other efforts that it is not even funny.

There are flaws, both in the character and in the plot.  But they are not major, and I can overlook them easily in light of the film’s strength.

I’m ready for Avengers: Endgame.