Captain Marvel had vanished almost a decade before, and to
the young comic book readers of 1962 that might as well have been forever. So
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby decided it was time to revive the popular concept, with
interesting variations. Here's a caped, flying, super-strong hero with the
powers of the gods, transformed from his ordinary existence by a bolt of
magical lightning when danger threatens. Even disability, as a metaphor for weakness, was carried
over from Fawcett to Marvel. Both Freddy Freeman, the alter ego of Captain
Marvel Jr., and Dr. Don Blake, Thor's secret identity, were lame.
Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940), published by Fawcett Comics. |
Marvel Comics would repeat Fawcett's formula again with their own Captain Marvel with Rick Jones standing in for Billy Batson.
ReplyDelete