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Post by adamwarlock2099 on May 17, 2023 15:31:43 GMT -5
I honesty haven't read a single Captain Marvel/Shazam story at all to know if I even would like the character. Maybe the kid who turns into a superhero shtick reminds me too much of the annoying but thankfully not permanent Captain Mar'vel/Rick Jones.
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Post by badwolf on May 17, 2023 17:37:51 GMT -5
I haven't read much of them but I liked the stories in World's Finest during the Dollar Comics era.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on May 17, 2023 18:15:48 GMT -5
There's just something about Shazam/Captain Marvel that has never appealed to me. Not as a 10-year-old, not as a 30-year-old, and not now. I think the whole little boy who turns into a superhero schtick is part of the problem, but it also even comes down to basic aesthetics: I just don't like his costume. There's literally nothing about any part of what I've seen or read about the character that makes me even slightly interested in reading his comics.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2023 20:00:34 GMT -5
I don't mind Shazam crossovers like this but have no interest in anything else.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2023 20:14:15 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2023 20:15:35 GMT -5
I honesty haven't read a single Captain Marvel/Shazam story at all to know if I even would like the character. Maybe the kid who turns into a superhero shtick reminds me too much of the annoying but thankfully not permanent Captain Mar'vel/Rick Jones.Cheap imitation! Accept No substitute! |
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Post by berkley on May 17, 2023 20:15:53 GMT -5
There's just something about Shazam/Captain Marvel that has never appealed to me. Not as a 10-year-old, not as a 30-year-old, and not now. I think the whole little boy who turns into a superhero schtick is part of the problem, but it also even comes down to basic aesthetics: I just don't like his costume. There's literally nothing about any part of what I've seen or read about the character that makes me even slightly interested in reading his comics.
I don't mind the costume - I think it's better than Superman's, though that isn't saying much in my book - but "little boy who turns into a superhero schtick " is definitely a big problem for me. I think the idea of a 12 year old with superpowers is pretty scary, like a child-soldier with a machine gun. Yeah, he's supposed to have the Wisdom of Solomon (and still the mentality of a 12-year old, somehow?), but that doesn't necessarily compensate for the emotional immaturity and erratic decision making that go with that young an age. The whole concept feels unhealthy to me.
But I find the attitude towards childhood on display in a lot of pop culture kind of creepy. All too often child characters in film and tv don't seem convincing to me, but rather more like miniature adults pretending to be children. I think what creates this effect is that what they actually are is of course child-actors mimicking the speech patterns and body language of adults - and not just any adults, but whatever happens to be trendy at the moment. I find the whole spectacle sickening, to be honest.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2023 20:25:58 GMT -5
Until Roy Thomas got his hands on him, Captain Marvel was not a child with super powers. He was an adult, manifested by Billy Batson, by saying "Shazam!" They were distinct characters. Roy added the idea of him retaining Billy's child mind, not Otto Binder, Bill Parker, William Woolfolk or anyone who wrote the Golden Age stories or E Nelson Bridwell. In the stories, he is the super powered genie, summoned by Billy, who trades places with him. Same with the British version, Marvelman, with Mick Anglo and Alan Moore.
You are welcome to the Geoff Johns and modern DC versions....I'll be over here with the classics, Bridwell & Don Newton and Jerry ordway & Peter Krause, thank you very much.
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2023 20:29:15 GMT -5
ps Best movie serial, too!
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Post by codystarbuck on May 17, 2023 20:39:34 GMT -5
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Post by Cei-U! on May 18, 2023 6:27:12 GMT -5
Until Roy Thomas got his hands on him, Captain Marvel was not a child with super powers. He was an adult, manifested by Billy Batson, by saying "Shazam!" They were distinct characters. Roy added the idea of him retaining Billy's child mind, not Otto Binder, Bill Parker, William Woolfolk or anyone who wrote the Golden Age stories or E Nelson Bridwell. In the stories, he is the super powered genie, summoned by Billy, who trades places with him. Same with the British version, Marvelman, with Mick Anglo and Alan Moore. You are welcome to the Geoff Johns and modern DC versions....I'll be over here with the classics, Bridwell & Don Newton and Jerry ordway & Peter Krause, thank you very much. Thank you for saying what I would've said, cody. I love the Marvels, especially the Golden Age material.They're the perfect antidote to all those comics that take the super-hero genre waaay too seriously.
Cei-U! I summon the lightning! (I'm always happy when I can use the original version of my catchphrase appropriately)
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 18, 2023 6:31:06 GMT -5
(...) I just don't like his costume. (...) Just out of curiosity, do you also dislike the Flash's costume? |
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Post by impulse on May 18, 2023 13:49:20 GMT -5
Just no capes.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on May 18, 2023 15:14:41 GMT -5
(...) I just don't like his costume. (...) Just out of curiosity, do you also dislike the Flash's costume? Actually, I kinda do, yes! Well, the Flash as he has been since the Silver Age anyway. I love the Golden Age outfit with the winged metal helmet. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 19, 2023 2:19:38 GMT -5
Just out of curiosity, do you also dislike the Flash's costume? Actually, I kinda do, yes! Well, the Flash as he has been since the Silver Age anyway. I love the Golden Age outfit with the winged metal helmet. Well, that's why I asked, since the Flash's redesigned Silver Age costume is not that different from Captain Marvel's (Infantino probably had the latter in the back of his mind somewhere when he created it). I find it puzzling that you like one and not the other. |
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