Marvel Family
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The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C.C. Beck, Mac Rayboy, Ed Herron and Marc Swayze, the team is an extension of Fawcett's Captain Marvel franchise, and includes Marvel's sister Mary Marvel, their friend Captain Marvel, Jr., and, at various times, a number of other characters as well.
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[edit] History
The Marvel Family was established in 1942 after the introductions of Captain Marvel's partners the Lieutenant Marvels (Whiz Comics #21, September 1941), Captain Marvel, Jr. (Whiz Comics #25, December 1941) and Mary Marvel (Captain Marvel Adventures #18, December 1942). With Junior and Mary's additions to his adventures, Captain Marvel became the first superhero to have a team of sidekicks who share his powers, abilities, and appearance; a concept later adapted for heroes such as Superman and Aquaman, among others.
The members of the Marvel Family appeared both separately and together in many of Fawcett's comic book series, including Whiz Comics, Wow Comics, Master Comics, Captain Marvel Adventures, Captain Marvel, Jr, Mary Marvel, and The Marvel Family. By the late 1940s, Marvel Family comics were among the most popular in the industry, and the Marvel Family had expanded to include both non-superpowered characters (Uncle Marvel and Freckles Marvel) and even funny animals (Hoppy the Marvel Bunny). By 1953, all of these books had ceased publication, due to Superman publisher DC Comics' lawsuit against Fawcett.
In 1972, DC licensed the rights to the Marvel Family characters, and began publishing them in a comic series titled Shazam!. Fawcett sold DC the rights to the characters in 1980, by which time Shazam! had been cancelled, and the Marvels had been relegated the back-up feature of World's Finest Comics, and, later, Adventure Comics. DC retconned Captain Marvel in 1986 with their Legends miniseries, establishing him as a solo hero without a team. Writer/artist Jerry Ordway resurrected the Marvel Family in 1995 with his Power of Shazam! series, establishing the team as being made up solely of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr.
[edit] Marvel Family members
[edit] Current members
- Captain Marvel. The World's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel is the superpowered alter-ego of young Billy Batson, who speaks the name of the wizard Shazam to become a red-and-gold clad adult superhero. Marvel has the powers of Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage), and Mercury (speed); and served as the wizard Shazam's champion and herald. Marvel shares his powers with the rest of the Marvel Family and is currently the Wizard's successor as the caretaker of the Rock of Eternity.
- Mary Marvel. Billy's once-lost twin sister Mary Batson (adopted as Mary Bromfield), who found she could say the magic word "SHAZAM!" and become a female Marvel. The classic-era Mary Marvel remained a teenager after saying her magic word, with a yellow on red short sleeve and skirt costume, while the modern version is transformed into an adult like her brother, with a yellow on white costume. During the run of the series The Power of Shazam!, Mary shared the title of "Captain Marvel" with Billy. In the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries, Mary became part of the "Super Buddies," a group consisting largely of former Justice League members, after Captain Marvel turned down his invitation. The classic-era Mary Marvel had a different set of patrons from Captain Marvel, who contributed to her powers. They were: Selene (grace), Hippolyte (strength), Ariadne (skill), Zephyrus (swiftness), Aurora (beauty) and Minerva (wisdom).
- Captain Marvel, Jr. Attacked and left for dead by Captain Nazi, Freddy Freeman was given the power to become a Marvel to save his life. Whenever he speaks Captain Marvel's name, Freddy becomes a teenage version of Captain Marvel with a sharply contrasting yellow on blue costume. This created the odd problem that he could not identify himself without changing back to his regular form. The modern-day Junior at one time went by the alias CM3 (short for "Captain Marvel Three", "CM1" being Billy and "CM2" being Mary) so that he could identify himself without transforming. He was a member of the Teen Titans during the late 1990s and later the Outsiders. In the current Trials of Shazam! limited series, Freddy Freeman is undergoing twelve trials in order to earn the powers of Shazam and be the new champion and herald.
[edit] Past members
- The Lieutenant Marvels. Three other boys named "Billy Batson" (nicknamed "Tall Billy", "Fat Billy", and "Hill Billy"—the latter because he was from Appalachia-to differentiate themselves from "Real Billy", Captain Marvel) who learned that, because they also were named Billy Batson, they could draw on the power of Shazam. They vowed only to use their power if asked by Captain Marvel, and only if all three were to say the magic word, "SHAZAM!", in unison. They have not appeared in Marvel Family stories since Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, except for a scene in The Trials of Shazam! #2 where they briefly appeared only to lose their powers.
- Hoppy the Marvel Bunny. A spin-off character generally confined to his own series, the pink funny animal rabbit version of Captain Marvel periodically assisted the human Marvels in their adventures.
[edit] Future members
These Marvels appear in DC Comics stories set in the future.
- Thunder. The star of the The Power of Shazam! 1996 Annual, Thunder is the super-powered alter-ego of a young girl from the planet Binderaan, circa 9,000 A.D. (when she finds herself in the 30th century, she exclaims that she's 6,000 years in the past), named CeCe Beck (or Beck for short). An aged Captain Marvel serves as a mentor to the girl the same way Shazam served as his mentor. Whenever Beck speaks the magic words "Captain Marvel", she is transformed into Thunder, an adult super-heroine. After being lost in the timestream, Thunder briefly teamed up with the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th Century.
- Tanist. A teenaged male Marvel who appeared in The Power of Shazam! #1,000,000 (November 1998, part of the DC One Million event). A poor native of the planet Mercury in the 853rd century, young Tanist and his mother find something that they think will make them rich, only to have it stolen by a wealthier claim-jumper. His mother is killed and the crippled Tanist finds that he has discovered a passage to the Rock of Eternity, where he meets the aged Captain Marvel, who grants the boy super-powers to save his life as he had done for Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel, Jr.
[edit] Black Marvel Family members
The Black Marvel Family, a variant of the Marvel Family concept with Captain Marvel's former archvillian Black Adam as the central focus, was introduced in the pages of the weekly DC comic book 52
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
- Black Adam. An older Egyptian renegade protégé of the wizard Shazam, who was the first to be granted superpowers by the wizard. Adam eventually grew to abuse his power, and became a tyrant. Shazam returned to punish Adam with either exile (in the Fawcett comics) or death (in the modern DC Comics). He returns to Earth (or life) after Shazam appoints Captain Marvel his new successor, and was soon established as Captain Marvel's most powerful foe in physical abilities. In later DCU continuity, Black Adam joined the Justice Society of America, claiming to have reformed. Adam eventually turned on the JSA, wanting to be a hero on his own terms. He later forcefully overthrew the tyrannous government of his old homeland of Khandaq, appointing himself ruler. Adam is one of the main characters in DC's current 52 comic book series, which follows his attempts to establish himself as a hero and create a "Marvel Family" of his own, which includes his superpowered wife Isis and his own "Captain Marvel Jr.", Osiris, the crippled brother of Isis with whom he shared his divine powers.
- Isis. The superheroine Isis was originally created for live-action television to star in Filmation's The Secret of Isis TV show, a sister series for Filmation's adaptation of Shazam!. Isis teamed up with Captain Marvel upon occasion in both television and comics, and briefly starred in a licensed DC comic book in the late 1970s. In 2006, DC Comics created a new, unrelated Isis and introduced her into the DC Universe. This Isis is the alter-ego of Adrianna Tomaz, originally a slave offered to Black Adam by the terrorist group Intergang as a token to curry his favor. Although Adam dealt harshly with the slavers, Adrianna becomes Adam's love interest, and was granted a special amulet that allows her to become the avatar of the Egyptian goddess. In Week 44 Isis is killed by disease(s) given to her by the Horseman Pestilence.
- Osiris. The teenaged Osiris is Amon Tomaz, Adrianna's lost brother who was enslaved by Intergang while his sister, with the help of her husband, Black Adam, and the Question and Renee Montoya, searched for him. Eventually, Amon was rescued, only to be found permanently crippled by a savage beating from his slavers for attempting to escape, and was beyond being healed by Isis' powers. In response, Black Adam attempted another solution, by transferring a portion of his powers to Amon and telling the boy to say his name. When Amon did, he was immediately struck with magic lightning to become Osiris, similar to how Captain Marvel Jr. was granted his power from Captain Marvel. After several months of adventuring, including a stint with the Teen Titans, Osiris is murdered by his trusted companion, Sobek.
- Sobek. Sobek is an intelligent humanoid crocodile created and abandoned by the Sivanas who befriends the Black Marvel family during the 52 storyline. Despite his monstrous appearance, the character is portrayed as timid, meek, and good-natured. However, his appearance doesn't help the PR of the Black Marvel family as the media assumes a talking crocodile must be an evil monster. In many ways the fear and misundertanding surrounding him, not to mention the more obvious talking animal aspect of his character, make him the Black Marvel Family's reversal of Tawky Tawny; Who was a talking animal friend of the original marvels who, despite his appearence, was widely beloved and accepted. Sobek reveals a more horrifying side in 52 Week 43, when he convinces a distraught Osiris to change into his mortal form, then suddenly kills and devours him. Sobek is revealed in Week 44 to be the Fourth Horseman, Famine.
Spoilers end here.
[edit] Marvel Family allies
- The Wizard Shazam. Although he is killed, as prophesied, after giving Billy the power to become Captain Marvel, Shazam's spirit remains as the vigilant caretaker of the Rock of Eternity. In current continuity, Shazam does not die after granting Billy his powers, and was a much more active character than he was during the classic Marvel Family adventures. He attained godhood after the 1998 Genesis crossover, and was ultimately defeated and murdered by the Spectre in the 2005 Day of Vengeance miniseries.
- Uncle Dudley/Uncle Marvel. During the classic era, an old man named Dudley (who was clearly modeled after W. C. Fields) claimed that he was not only a relative of the Marvels but also a Marvel himself, although neither was true. The Marvels took a liking to him and decided to humor him, and "Uncle" Dudley became Uncle Marvel, the Marvel Family's manager. He'd make his "transformation" along with one or more of the others, but not by magic; rather, by quickly removing his break-away garments (under the cover of lightning that the real Marvel(s) called down) to reveal his homemade Marvel costume underneath. He explains his lack of super-powers by claiming he suffers from "shazambago" in the TV series. His niece Freckles Marvel was an irregular companion of Mary Marvel's in her classic-era solo adventures. In modern continuity, Dudley H. Dudley is simply a janitor at Billy's school who finds himself involved in Marvel Family adventures, although in one story he was temporarily given the Shazam powers to help round up the escaped Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.
- Mister Tawky Tawny. A humanoid sapient tiger who, in classic-era continuity, wishes to live among the humans in civilization instead of in the wild or the zoo. As such, he is typically dressed in a tweed business suit and usually carries himself in a formal dignified manner. [1] The modern-day Tawky Tawny was a stuffed tiger doll who was animated by Lord Satanus to assist the Marvel Family in their battle against Satanus's sister Blaze. He only appeared as an animate being to Billy, Mary, and later Dudley, (much in the same way that Hobbes only appears sentient to Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes). Mister Tawky Tawny was made permanently real by the power of Ibis the Invincible.
- Beautia and Magnificus Sivana. Dr. Sivana's beautiful adult daughter Beautia shared her father's passion for world domination until meeting, and falling for, Captain Marvel. She has an unrequited crush on the shy Captain, not realizing that he is actually only a young boy. Her brother Magnificus is also generally depicted as a Marvel Family ally, although in his only Golden Age appearance, Magnificus had super powers and fought Captain Marvel hand-to-hand.
- Mr. Sterling Morris. The president of WHIZ radio and Billy's employer.
- Miss Wormwood. In modern-era comics, Billy's schoolteacher (and later principal), presented as the typical "mean teacher" stereotype. Her name is referenced in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, where Calvin's schoolteacher was also named Miss Wormwood.
- Cissie Sommerly. Billy's girlfriend in classic-era continuity.
- Nick and Nora Bromfield. In modern continuity, Mary Batson's adoptive parents, who adopted her through illegal means after their maid, Sarah Primm, brought the child to them (Primm saved Mary from her kidnapper, Primm's brother Theo Adam). Nora Bromfield was a cousin of Billy and Mary's mother, but chose not to tell Mary about her real family. The Bromfields would eventually gain the rights to legally adopt both Mary and Billy, giving the children a traditional family structure again. The couple was named after Nick and Nora Charles of the Thin Man film series.
