Superman vs. Captain Marvel
There was once a time when the Captain Marvel comics outsold Superman comics by maybe two million copies per issue. This Captain Marvel is more popularly known as SHAZAM, who is also appearing on the screen this year, less than a month after Captain Marvel premieres. If one counts the 1941 serial along with the Saturday morning T.V. show of the seventies, this will be the third time we’ll hear a boy shout the magic word which grants him power.
With such a perfect formula for the power-fantasy within most comics, it’s no wonder D.C. comics sued the publisher of Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures, Fawcett Comics. The battle of copyright protection lasted a brutal twelve years. It ended just before the 1954 publication of Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent, where-in a mishap with an invisibility potion was described as decapitation for Captain Marvel. That same year the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency lead by Senator Robert Hendrickson (R New Jersey) turned a baleful eye on comic-book publishing. This one-two punch spelled the end of Fawcett Comics, among other publishers, and the lapse of ownership for the Captain Marvel trademark.
The comics publishing industry was radically different post-Wertham and Subcommittee. D.C. comics would sweep up dozens of characters from failed publishers, many would not see print for years. Most comics that were published needed approval from The Comics Code Authority, the equivalent to a G rating from the MPAA. It was in this environment Stanley Leiber began the work to rebrand himself as Stan Lee and transform Atlas Comics into MARVEL.
After the successes of titles like The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and others, Marvel Comics established itself as the super-powered publisher of the early sixties. Midway through that decade someone must have pointed out that the Captain Marvel trademark was available. Perhaps it was the publication and subsequent failure of M.F. Enterprises’ 1966 comic of the same name. This Captain Marvel was a red-haired robot with the usual assortment of super-powers including detachable limbs; when he threw a punch, he really Threw… A… Punch…
Stan’s version was more THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) meets LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962). While more buff than Peter O’Toole ever was, Lee’s Mar-Vel was another blonde-haired and blue-eyed leading man; an alien solider/spy who “goes native” while on earth - think AVATAR (2009). There is a very different Mar-Vel in Disney’s movie, but plot elements from this original story still make their way onto the screen. This Captain Marvel would adopt a sci-fi version of the “Shazam!” trope and is also notable for introducing Marvel’s big baddie Thanos. This version would remain intermittently in print through the 70’s and reach a ground-breaking conclusion in 1982. Marvel featured Captain Marvel in their very first graphic novel, a 8.5" x 11" perfect bound cardstock comic of about 60-78 pages; the format of your typical French comics album. Written and illustration by Jim Starlin (the creator of Thanos) it was titled The Death of Captain Marvel, and focused on the final days of our protagonist’s death from cancer.
Man vs. Ms.
Comics’ greatest battleground is not Gotham or New York or outer-space; it’s the U.S. Copyright office. To this day lawsuits are filed and settlements sought on the basis of who actually owns a given comic character. The case of Superman vs. Captain Marvel is just one example. A side effect is the publisher’s tendency to create female versions of a potentially successful property. This is the secret, secret origin of Supergirl, Batwoman, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman and others.
Following Captain Marvel’s premier in issue 12 of Marvel Super-Heroes (December 1967), Carol Danvers was introduced as a supporting character in the next issue. There she functioned as a militaristic version Lois Lane for several years. Come 1972, the premier issue of Ms. magazine featured Wonder Woman on its cover, with a banner reading “Wonder Woman for President.” While it’s doubtful Lee read Gloria Steinem’s publication, it’s safe to say it was read by writer Chris Claremont who penned most Ms. Marvel comics from 1977 to 1979. Despite a rare midriff revealing costume, Ms. Marvel was meant to appeal to those hip new feminists. Marvel of the 70’s had a hero for each social phenomenon, Luke Cage: Hero for Hire (1972-1978) courted blaxploitation while Master of Kung Fu (1974-1983) and Iron Fist (1974-1977 which also featured some Claremont writing) won the attention of many a martial arts student.
Claremont built a career on writing strong women and is most well known for his decades long work on the X-men comics. It’s his work that provided the source material most of the X-Men movies and THE WOLVERINE (2013). Perennial X-Movie femme-fatale Mystique (played by Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence) first appeared as a Ms. Marvel antagonist and it was Claremont’s writing that added some complexity to Carol Danvers’ relationship to The Avengers. While you can thank Claremont for the movie’s underlying gaslighting themes it's comic writer Kelly Sue Deconnick, who just earned her brown belt and is deservedly thanked for CAPTAIN MARVEL with a brief walk-on role in the movie.
It was Deconnick who pitched a Carol Danvers promotion to Captain Marvel. She went so far as to enlist comic artist Jamie McKelvie to design the current costume outside of Marvel comics’ in-house design department. The gamble was a success, as was the 2012 publication of the new Captain Marvel comic. While not first female Captain Marvel (that was Monica Rambeau in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982)), this movie stars, for the first time, a superhero unburdened by a She-, -Girl, -Woman or Ms. attached to their heroic persona*.
Gender and comics have a storied history, sometimes sordid and occasionally gross. Stories of some gender-reversal ray, or pill or magic spell have been around for as long as Jimmy Olsen has been cross-dressing. There was even the comic Manta, published by Malibu comics (1993-1995) which included a gender swap in their “Shazam!” trope. In recent years, comic characters Green Lantern, Hawkeye, Ironman, Thor & Wolverine have been women characters. Long time reader may remember the female Robin from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Yet for some reason there has grown a vocal horde of internet trolls who are increasingly upset by these modern attempts at relevance. To them, this is another example of the wussification of man, and they’re fighting back with harassment campaigns and some sort of boycott. These are the alumni of the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club which, entertainer Bill Maher railed against this past winter. As a new sort of meta-villain set against actress Brie Larsen and the machine that is Disney boycotts and review bombing is likely doomed. Besides CAPTAIN MARVEL provides a significant bridge to AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019).
TKD vs. Gymnastics
For a movie that is heavily sci-fi and effect laden, it’s refreshing to encounter a sparring session almost immediately. Fight Coordinator Walter Garcia pits Brie Larson against Jude Law along with stunt doubles Renae Moneymaker, Joanna Bennett and Colin Follenweider. Most of them have worked together since ANT-MAN (2015). Garcia has made good use of his Taekwondo background and time doing stunt work in Korea, earning early acclaim for an independently produced Batman fan film nearly a decade ago. In contrast, both Moneymaker and Bennett are Bay Area Gymnasts turned stunt women.
Coincidentally, we covered Renae Moneymaker’s background in our review X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST: Nostalgic for a better tomorrow. She was key in the portrayal of the aforementioned Mystique. Joanna Bennett is more a D.C. gal, stunt-doubling for Gal Gadot in both WONDER WOMAN (2017) and JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) as well as playing double for both Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman in AQUAMAN (2018).
It’s a formidable team-up but directors Anna Boden and Ryan K. Fleck are not experienced with filming action. At times, their camera is too shaky, or their shots are framed from to far a distance, but the kicks are high. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) and BLACK PANTHER (2018) still define the high-water mark for MCU fisticuffs, while THOR: RAGNAROK (2018) remains the best example of super-fighting. It’s something that CAPTAIN MARVEL touches upon, but notions of strength vs. skill fall behind notions of identity and the perils of othering. Themes made most interesting by the film’s shape-shifting foreigners. The question of might making right is also posed and appropriate for a movie which positions Captain Marvel as the gender bent equivalent to the Man of Steel; a deft move considering their shared history.
Pulp Fiction vs. Sci-Fantasy
Set in the 90’s, CAPTAIN MARVEL serves as a prequel to much of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and answers questions fans may have forgotten to ask. Only CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011) and parts of ANT-MAN take place before it. The same is true for the enjoyable but forgotten AGENT CARTER (2015-2016) T.V. series. Along with the secret origin of Captain Marvel we are also treated to the young Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Samuel L. Jackson is at his most charismatic in this movie. Considering the timeline, we could imagine him as the pet loving** lost twin to the terribly furious Jules Winnfield. His easy charm in the company of Brie Larson makes this movie Marvel’s first buddy-comedy, and a superior to THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013) as a date-movie. There is also plenty of humor to be found in 90’s nostalgia and those classic stranger-in-a-strange-land tropes, plus there’s the occasional dig at those meta-villains mentioned above; how about a smile? The movie serves those laughs at a leisurely pace, between courses of self-reflection and epic alien espionage.
Off world, CAPTAIN MARVEL truly shines. Marvel’s cosmic universe has become the sort of lived-in environment George Lucas sought back when Ms. Marvel first saw print. The Kree Empire combines design work established in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) and transfuses elements from Disney’s other deep space property. So much so, fans may wonder of the movie’s Kree/Skrull war actually happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
*Is there an argument to be made for ELEKTRA (2005) who has no she-, -woman or Ms. in her name? She and her sai have been popular but a viewing of her more recent appearances in the Netflix DAREDEVIL (2015-2018) series show an anti-hero or villain instead. Honorable mention also goes to The Wasp for having seen publication in 1963 but suffers from second billing in ANT-MAN & THE WASP (2018).
**As if it needed to be said; be sure to stay well after the credits.
