Power of Shazam #9
It's the World's Mightiest Super-Friends!
Creative Team: Jerry Ordway-writer, Peter Krause-pencils, Mike Manley-inks, John Costanza-letters, Glenn Whitmore-colors, Mike Carlin-editor
Synopsis: Captain Marvel Jr still wants blood and the Strength of Hercules seems to be combined with the brains of said lummox....
Captain and Mary Marvel try to talk sense into him; but, he ain't havin' it! CM has power restraints, from Crowley Prison, but are they for CMJ or Captain Nazi? The wizard, Shazam watches and contemplates what Mary told him, about her Mr Tawny doll coming to life and telling her to invoke the wizard's name, granting her powers. he s interrupted by Blaze, who crosses dimensional barriers into the Rock of Eternity. She also brought a friend...
During Blaze's monologuing, we learn that Shazam was responsible for the creeping of time, within Fawcett City. It was his magic keeping out her evil and the march of Time, itself. They haul of the wizard, but not before he is able to turn a page in a book, to leave a message for the Marvels. However, without his presence, the statues containing the Seven Enemies of Man burst open and release their prisoners.
Elsewhere, Muscles McGinnis learns that Sinclair Batson has no recorded history, before he turned up with Waynetech financng the construction of the new building, which Ibac destroyed. There is no record of himn at Yale, as Ebenezer Batson claimed. We then cut to Eb's house, where we see that Sinclair is more than he seems...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Marvels did, in fact, take down Captain Nazi and put the power restraints on him. They are bringing him back to stand trial, when Black Adam turns up and sucker punches CM, then tosses CN through the helicopter rotor coupling of a news chopper, leaving Mary & Jr to rescue a reporter and the crew....
Black Adam whoops on Captain Marvel, dislocating his shoulder and tossing him through a grain silo, while ranting about helping Shazam and Captain marvel, during the War of the Gods mini, with George Perez art and a plot that went all over. Captain Nazi uses the distraction to try to fly away and Jr chases after, while Mary tries to aid her brother, who is looking like a Mulkey Brother, against Black Adam's Road Warrior...
Mary is at a loss to help her brother, then realizes he will be more powerful if she changes back. She shouts the magic word, but nothing happens!
Jr is beating the tar out of the cuffed Captain Nazi and the crowd of onlookers thinks he isn't playing fair. One of those onlookers is Madame Libertine, but Mary spots her and gives her a shot. Mary removes her gloves, which transmit her powers and then uses a car to aid Freddy. She talks Freddy down and convinces him they need to change to boost Captain marvel's strength.
Black Adam fights CM over the old fairgrounds and bashes him into a hole, dupms rebar and i-beams on him, and then turns on a concrete mixer. he flies off, missing that CM escaped, since Mary and Freddy somehow switched. he heard BA say Shazam is in Hades, so he is going after him; but, we have to go to Underworld #2 to see that.
Thoughts: Lots of punching and a few revelations. The fighting is getting dragged out; but, it is the 90s. We also see the problems of the time, as we have to reference crossover events, whether we want to or not. The release of the Seven Enemies echoes Captain Marvel Adventures #137, where king Kull released them, to wreak havoc upon the Earth.. The main thrust is to show Freddy still trying to gain revenge, while Captain Marvel is getting his butt kicked by Black Adam, reinforcing the idea that the power is split three ways when all three Marvels are manifested, making Black Adam stronger, individually. Obviously, they should collectively be a match for him and weight of numbers should work in their favor; but, they are unable to do so.
We now know why Fawcett seems trapped in a bubble of the past: Shazam did it. the question is, why this city? Why not Metropolis or Gotham? Paris? Sheboygan? That may have to wait, as Shazam has been dragged to hell, I mean Hades (which is a person, not a place, people!) So, they will have to battle Blaze, in Hades, to rescue him. The page of Shazam's book is an obvious clue and we saw a glimpse of hieroglyphs, including a bird, which might be a clue.
Sinclair Batson has a pretty strong hold over Ebenezer and we saw him boil liquid, in a glass, which he was holding. Sounds like there is something paranormal about him.
The issue is engaging enough; but, Ordway is still kind of dropping subplots as he goes and he kind of skips some steps in the narrative. Captain Nazi being susceptible to modern germs got dispensed with quickly, in the prison infirmary. It seemed to just be a device to get Captain Nazi and Black Adam in the same room. It's understandable that he is green, as a writer, which suggests Mike Carlin isn't doing his job, as editor. Well, I know he isn't because he was pretty focused on the Superman books and Chris Duffy, assistant editor, is likely doing the main work. he probably isn't experienced enough to add much guidance and is mostly doing administrative stuff. Had this been edited by an Archie Goodwin, Ordway might have gotten more guidance and suggestions about how to construct a tighter narrative. It kind of illustrates a problem that DC developed, editorially, by the 90s, as the next generation of editors wasn't trained as well as they should have been and there are some stories about some pretty petty behavior, among some of them. Some of the better ones left, like Barb Kesel or moved on to other things.
