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Whill
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 Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 5:12 pm Post subject: Shazam/Captain Marvel |
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Right now, there are two Captain Marvel movies in the theaters.
Being the biggest nerd a lot of people know, I am constantly bombarded with questions and review requests by more casual fans of nerd genre stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, and superheroes/comic books, etc. I recently spent a lot of time creating this numbered image collection with a write-up about it (below it), so I thought I would share it here too.
A lot of people have been asking me about this so here it is. There are two "Captain Marvel" movies out now: A Warner Brothers DC Comics film called Shazam! based on the original Captain Marvel, and a Marvel Studios film called Captain Marvel based on the original Ms. Marvel. Overall, they were both good movies, but I personally enjoyed Shazam! more. I have a lot of nostalgia for the original Captain Marvel, but I had no personal history or expectations for the movie about the current Captain Marvel. Those factors probably worked out for the best in both cases. Below is a key to the images to help explain this with a selected visual history of the Captain Marvels, and this includes my recommendations for both films…
(1.) When the original Captain Marvel first appeared in December 1939 (published by Fawcett Comics), the superhero genre (started by the company that would later become DC Comics) was brand new. Captain Marvel is literally one of the first few superheroes ever created. He is often compared to Superman, but Captain Marvel is an orphan boy who says a magic word to become an adult superhero with the powers of mythological beings, instead of an alien adult journalist who grew up on a farm in Kansas.
(2.) Captain Marvel was actually the best-selling comic book character of the Golden Age of comics (1938-1953ish). Yes, more than Superman, more than Batman, more than Wonder Woman, more than the Justice Society, and more than Captain America. That success spawned the very first superhero movie serial and a Marvel Family of comic book characters in the early 1940s, including a blue-and-red-suited Marvel hero and a female Marvel hero.
(3.) After a 20-year hiatus from being published (early 50s to early 70s), DC Comics licensed the original Captain Marvel and began publishing him again, which lead to my personal first experience with Captain Marvel in the mostly live-action Shazam! TV show from 1974-77. I was a wee lad when it started and memories of it are faint, but I remember loving it.
(4.) In my childhood I was also a fan of the Super Friends cartoon TV show featuring the classic DC heroes, and upon reaching junior high I graduated to comic books where I found Captain Marvel, who had been outright bought by DC Comics in the 80s.
(5.) The original Captain Marvel has evolved in the comics over the years (in mostly good ways).
(6.) The premise of the Shazam! film takes a lot from the modern mythology, but some of the spirit of the nearly 80 years-old Marvel Family still shines through.
(7.) The "Captain Marvel" trademark expired during the hiatus of the original Captain Marvel not being published, so in the late 60s Marvel Comics jumped on it by creating their own Captain Marvel comic featuring their own Captain Marvel character, a male alien whose real name is Mar-Vell. This Captain Marvel originally had a lame white and green costume but soon got revamped with a much better red and blue suit, and more similarities to the original Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel. I was only ever peripherally aware of this character. A version of this character is in Marvel’s current Captain Marvel movie but changed into a woman.
(8.) Carol Danvers was at first a normal human in Marvel’s Captain Marvel comics but gained powers and became a superhero herself, Ms. Marvel, in 1977. I was only ever peripherally aware of this character in my childhood. (I can remember knowing her as the hero that Rogue from the X-Men had absorbed powers and memories from.) The main character of Marvel’s Captain Marvel movie is Carol Danvers, based on this comic character.
(9.) After the Marvel Comics’ original Captain Marvel character died in the early 80s, Monica Rambeau became the next Captain Marvel. She was the first female superhero to go by the name of Captain Marvel (and the first black woman in the Avengers). Monica Rambeau was the Marvel Captain Marvel from my childhood. I remember liking this character as a kid, and I’m a bit disappointed that Marvel Studios didn’t base the MCU film Captain Marvel on her. However, the film is set in 1995 and Monica Rambeau does appear in it as a child, which means that she would be an adult in the present timeframe of the films, so I’m assuming that she will still be a character in future Captain Marvel sequels. Perhaps she will even gain powers and become a superhero (if so, probably named Photon).
(10.) Marvel Studio’s Captain Marvel is currently in theaters. It’s certainly not one of my favorite MCU movies, but overall it works. Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige said that Captain Marvel will become the lead character of the MCU. Well, her first movie certainly has an appropriate name for that role! Captain Marvel will not be out on home video when Avengers: Endgame comes out. If you plan on seeing Endgame in the theater and haven’t seen Captain Marvel yet, I would suggest going to see it sometime before Endgame.
I highly recommend seeing Shazam! if you are interested in a fun superhero adventure film with heart. Especially if you are still in touch with your inner 13-year-old. This movie was made in the spirit of 80s movies such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Goonies, and Big. Movie critics, which often bash some of my favorite movies, are raving about how great this movie is. I saw an early access screening of Shazam! two weeks ago and saw it again on Thursday. My 9-year-old son and I both enjoyed the movie even more the second time. It's difficult for me to describe my feelings for the Shazam! movie. All 13-year-old boys want to be superheroes, and somehow this movie about a boy who can say a magic word and take the form of an adult superhero made this adult feel like a kid again. Shazam!
Questions? Comments? Feel free to reply here about these films and characters but please use White Font Colour spoiler tagging when warranted for either movie. Thanks.
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Pel
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| Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 11:49 am Post subject: |
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My favorite is the cardboard box power exploration scene. That would have been me and my brothers.
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Whill
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| Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Pel wrote: | | My favorite is the cardboard box power exploration scene. That would have been me and my brothers. |
Nice. The movie is well paced and flows through the set-up and power exploration scenes. But I'm all about the action-oriented third act. If I had to pick a favorite moment, it would probably have to be the third act "Say my name" part.
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MrNexx
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| Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OFwmiRptwI
Check out this short video from "Star-Lord" himself (Guardians of the Galaxy/Avengers star Chris Pratt) urging everyone to go see Shazam this week before Endgame comes out. Shazam really "raises the bar".
Marvel vs. DC is a false dichotomy. |
I tend to agree. While I haven't liked most of the DC movies, it's not because they're DC... it's because they've been bad. It's because they've been badly written, frequently don't understand the characters, and are very unfun. Wonder Woman? A good movie that got the character. Aquaman? A little rough in parts, but pretty fun.
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Pel
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| Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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I really enjoyed Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam because as you said, they are good movies. DC is finally upping its game and I really hope we see the Legion of Doom as hinted at the end of Justice League. If they do that, then at least one transition MUST begin with "Later, at the Hall of Justice...". 8)
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Whill
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| Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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https://www.facebook.com/ShazamUniverse/photos/a.2232867480067433/2350077298346450/
| Pel wrote: | | I really enjoyed Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam because as you said, they are good movies. DC is finally upping its game and I really hope we see the Legion of Doom as hinted at the end of Justice League. If they do that, then at least one transition MUST begin with "Later, at the Hall of Justice...". 8) |
I think these three are great movies too.
As far as the Legion of Doom I don't get into "villain movies" so I would much rather see them in another Justice League movie, which at this point is still not coming any time soon. If so, then yes there must absolutely must refer to the Super Friends more.
The real purpose of the Justice League stinger with Lex Luthor was to introduce Deathstroke, who has long be stated to be the main villain of the next solo Batman movie.
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MrNexx
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:10 am Post subject: |
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I haven't seen Shazam, though I've heard good things, for the most part. With the kids and no cheap babysitting, we ration which movies we get to see, and when.
I think one of the places where DC went wrong in building their universe is that they didn't build it as Marvel did... they did a Superman movie, then went straight to Batman v. Superman, without giving us a chance to get to know the rest of the cast. Marvel had two Iron Mans, a Thor, a Hulk, and a Captain America movie before they put out their ensemble; Hawkeye and Black Widow both had cameos enough to somewhat establish them (though Hawkeye has been way under-used, IMO).
As mentioned, DC had one Superman movie, then relied on everyone knowing the characters to introduce them. The Batman of BvS was not the Batman of the Nolan movies; there was a lot of history that made him different, to say nothing of the ending of Nolan trilogy implying Batman had disappeared and retired to be prince-consort of Genovia. Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern... all were characters who people knew (thanks to DCs successful cartoon properties, if nothing else), but not in their current incarnation. They didn't EARN their appearance in the movie... and that's aside from the other problems of the movie.
(I think BvS would've been improved by changing the name of the villain from Lex Luthor to Edward Nigma; save Lex for a bigger role)
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Pel
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:17 am Post subject: |
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I liked that Bats v Supes didn't retell the origin story of Batman. Seriously, if people don't know who Batman is or why he's Batman, then they're probably not going to see the movie anyway. Both DC (Batman) and Marvel (Spider-Man) had origin-itis for a while and now that we have a mostly stable universe for each hopefully the retelling will be kept to a minimum.
There were many mistakes in BvS, but enough people liked it that DC and Warner Brothers are still making more. To me the highlights were Jeremy Irons as a snarky Alfred and Michael Shannon as Dead Zod. That dude can play a corpse like nobody's business. I was actually surprised to learn the actor was still alive. Oscar worthy, folks! 
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Whill
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| Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:44 am Post subject: |
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| MrNexx wrote: | | DC had one Superman movie |
Despite being a Super Friends fan from the 70s, and having a lot of respect for the fact the Superman launched a genre, I didn't really got into the character of Superman after the classic '78 film (I was always a bigger Wonder Woman and Batman fan). Then came Man of Steel. At the time MoS was clearly the greatest Superman film ever made (still greatest Superman solo film). It took Superman to a whole new level. I'm still not a giant fan of Superman, but MoS is a very well made superhero film.
| Pel wrote: | | I liked that Bats v Supes didn't retell the origin story of Batman. Seriously, if people don't know who Batman is or why he's Batman, then they're probably not going to see the movie anyway. Both DC (Batman) and Marvel (Spider-Man) had origin-itis for a while and now that we have a mostly stable universe for each hopefully the retelling will be kept to a minimum. |
Batfleck's origin is present in BvS:DoJ, just enough of it that it needs. Spider-Man originitis was brought on by the abandoned Amazing trilogy. We never even got to find out who killed Uncle Ben! The MCU Spider-Man is better though, even without an origin.
| Pel wrote: | | There were many mistakes in BvS, but enough people liked it that DC and Warner Brothers are still making more. To me the highlights were Jeremy Irons as a snarky Alfred and Michael Shannon as Dead Zod. |
The first time I watched BvS in the theater, I thought it was ok. The second time I watched it, I enjoyed it more, I think because I let go of the Marvel formula and unlearned what I had learned. Then I saw the Ultimate Edition (director cut) and realized that the film is a cinematic masterpiece. It's a superhero opera. The director's original cut was 3 hours and Warner had said cut 30 minutes for the theater when in reality more showing times per day does not necessarily mean more people see the movie. The 2.5 hours theatrical version really lost a lot of what pulls the film altogether. Yeah people still liked the film (it grossed $873 million), but I strongly recommend watching the long version of the movie. Zack Snyder is genius. Highlights for me (of both versions) are Batman rescuing Martha and the first cinematic Wonder Woman.
| MrNexx wrote: | | The Batman of BvS was not the Batman of the Nolan movies; there was a lot of history that made him different, to say nothing of the ending of Nolan trilogy implying Batman had disappeared and retired |
I don't think very many people were confused and thought MoS and BvS were set in the same universe the TDK Trilogy.
| MrNexx wrote: | | I think one of the places where DC went wrong in building their universe is that they didn't build it as Marvel did... they did a Superman movie, then went straight to Batman v. Superman, without giving us a chance to get to know the rest of the cast. Marvel had two Iron Mans, a Thor, a Hulk, and a Captain America movie before they put out their ensemble; Hawkeye and Black Widow both had cameos enough to somewhat establish them (though Hawkeye has been way under-used, IMO). |
My brother keeps saying this. And a lot of other people. I disagree. DC should not have to follow in Marvel's footsteps and follow their formulas. As a fan of both, I grow tired of "Marvel v DC". There is no comparison.
| MrNexx wrote: | | As mentioned, DC had one Superman movie, then relied on everyone knowing the characters to introduce them... Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern... all were characters who people knew (thanks to DCs successful cartoon properties, if nothing else), but not in their current incarnation. They didn't EARN their appearance in the movie... and that's aside from the other problems of the movie. |
Justice League as originally conceived was very different from what we got. Wonder Woman had her solo/origin prequel but JL was originally going to be longer and had more fully developed stories for Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg. Zack Snyder was originally going to direct a four or five movie story (MoS/BvS/JL/JL 2/JL 3?) but the former CEO of Warner was disappointed that BvS didn't make over $1 billion and lost faith Snyder's vision during post-production, bringing Avengers director Joss Whedon in to rewrite the script for new scenes to film. Warner hoped to Marvelize JL because they wanted Avengers money, and Zack Snyder stepped down. When Snyder left, Warner brought in Whedon full-force. In their quest to make JL more like Marvel, they ended up with a somewhat disappointing film (which I still enjoyed, but not as much as I had hoped I would). If they would have stayed true to the course, JL very likely would have turned out much better.
#JusticeLeague #ReleaseTheSnyderCut
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Pel
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| Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:53 am Post subject: |
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All well-considered points. I didn't know about the extended cut of BvS (or maybe I did and forgot - that's happening more frequently now). Will have to check that out.
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Whill
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Pel
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| Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 10:01 am Post subject: |
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This article sort of clears up the name issue. Maybe she'll have an "I'm Batman" moment in her next film?
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Whill
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| Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Pel wrote: | | This article sort of clears up the name issue. Maybe she'll have an "I'm Batman" moment in her next film? |
Thanks, Pel. My OP was based on a post of mine on Facebook where I had already shared about the history of the name and trademark "Captain Marvel". I wasn't trying to gloss over the DC/Fawcett legal battle which lead to the hiatus of the original Captain Marvel.
In other news, I saw Shazam! for a third time yesterday and enjoyed it even more. Such a well-made movie.
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