SHAZAM!

The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1

/ / Comics

The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1I’m far from Grant Morrison’s biggest fan, and the New 52 bastardization of Billy Batson into a teenage punk unworthy of the magic of Shazam still drives me crazy, so my expectations for The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 were pretty damn low. I was wrong.

As he did with All-Star Superman, Morrison shows off his love of Silver Age zaniness by crafting a classic Captain Marvel story that could easily fit into the pre-Crisis DCU. Complete with classic representations of all its characters, Morrison chooses not to wrongly remake Captain Marvel for a new age (as DC so thoroughly botched with the New 52) but instead remind us of the throwback hero who earned the nickname the Big Red Cheese.

The plot of the comic involves the latest scheme of Dr. Sivana to steal the magic of Rock of Eternity for himself and the Sivana Family who, once super-powered, square-off against Cap, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, and their supporting cast who include Tawky Tawny (although sadly not dressed in his plaid suit). And even the Monster Society of Evil gets in on the fun!

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Justice League: War

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Justice League: War
  • IMDB: link

Justice League: WarBased on DC Comics’ New 52 reboot and the first arc of the current Justice League series by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, Justice League: War isn’t as awful as I suspected. It’s not actually a good movie, but most of the issues here have to do with the source material itself rather than any mistakes in the adaptation into the film.

Replacing the missing Aquaman with Captain Marvel (Sean Astin), who I still refuse to call him Shazam, the storyline is basically intact as the various heroes of the Justice League come together to defeat Darkseid (Steve Blum) and the invading armies of Apokolips. As with Lee’s original designs, everything looks and feels too muted including the super-hero costumes, particularly those of Superman (Alan Tudyk) and Wonder Woman (Michelle Monaghan), that lack any pop. And although (thankfully) the film chooses to stay away from that awful yellow piping on the Flash‘s (Christopher Gorham) costume we saw at the end of The Flashpoint Paradox, Green Lantern (Justin Kirk) is still stuck with the unnecessary light-up pieces of his costume.

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Clash

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Justice League Unlimited – Clash
  • wiki: link

Justice League Unlimited - Clash

With a new Superman in now in theaters every now and then I’ll continue to take a look back at the hero’s more memorable moments on both the big and small screen. The Big Red Cheese vs. The Big Blue Boyscout. The only appearance Captain Marvel (Jerry O’Connell) would make on Justice League Unlimited certainly didn’t disappoint as the newest member of the Justice League finds himself immediately at odds with one of the founders due to Superman‘s (George Newbern) growing concerns about what Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) is really up to.

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Justice League #21

/ / Comics

Justice League #21DC Comics regrettable reboot of Captain Marvel‘s origin concludes her with the new dickish and rather dim (seriously, where’s the wisdom of Solomon when you need it?) Captain Marvel, I’m still not calling him Shazam, fighting it out with Black Adam and evil of the Seven Deadly Sins possessing a guy who was once mean to Billy (who, let’s face it, this a-hole version of the beloved character who defined purity, grace, honesty, and wonder for more than 70 years probably deserved it).

The issue is only really memorable for the introduction of the Marvel Family. Wait, are we supposed to call the the Shazam Family now? Can anyone really say Mary Shazam or Shazam Jr. with a straight face? Anyway, Black Adam (being the dullard that he is) teaches Billy to share his powers and give them to his adopted foster family and Tawky Tawny (sadly transforming him into the Battle Cat Flashpoint version (the alternate reality so gritty it had to be destroyed… insert your own ironic joke here), not the classic awesomeness of a talking tiger in a well-tailored suit). Also, no Hoppy. Sigh.

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