#shazam’s squadron of justice

[wonderjanga]

We Thought You Died?!

Billy became a hero in 1959, and he was a hit. He was extremely popular. Captain Marvel was a beloved hero. As for the Squadron of Justice? They were beloved too. They, plus Captain Marvel were the superheroes of that time. They were the flipping blueprint for being a hero, especially Captain Marvel. Then the bubble formed in 62, and they just disappeared off the face of the earth and everyone thought he died.

Then, out of nowhere, they just reappeared.

News channel: *showing a clip of Marvel*

Grandson: *tugs on Grandma’s sleeve* “Grandma, that looks like the hero guy the teacher are making us learn about.”

Grandma: “Amazing. He looks just like the real thing.”

Yeah… People didn’t really believe it at first. Though, to be fair, all the Fawcett heroes have been gone for over sixty years.

Old Man: “It’s disrespectful is it what is. Just because you have the same powers doesn’t mean you can dress up as a dead hero.”

Old Woman: “ I just feel bad for the families. To see someone dress up as your dead husband or wife and then go around pretending to be them? Disgraceful.”

It was then the Justice League got involved. They really couldn’t have these people running around like this. Not only that, but some of the imposters are lethal. Not to mention that there are people in the Justice League who used to know the Fawcett heroes. They were friends with them for Christ’s sake. So that’s why unanimously, they went and confronted these guys.

Supes: *hovering over Fawcett*

Marvel: *helps a cat out of a tree and sees him so he flies up*

Supes: *disapproving look* “I hope you know that if you’re trying to be a her—”

Marvel: “Oh my gods, your suit is awesome!”

Supes: “Thank you…?

Marvel: “Are you a new hero? What’s your name? Are you from Fawcett or are you gonna join us here?”

Supes: *computing, still stuck on the first question*

Meanwhile, Flash and Minuteman were arguing which then somehow spiraled into them getting tacos. Batman and Robin, and Mister Scarlet and Pinky are just fighting. And Bulletgirl and Wonder Woman had a civil conversation that actually got them a lot of information.

After sorting out the entire misunderstanding that they were all imposters, things thankfully got lighter.

Marvel: “Oh my gods, Jay, you’re an old man! What happened to your long luscious locks of beautiful brown hair?”

Barry: *holding back a laugh* “Long luscious locks?”

Jay: “Okay, it was not long, luscious, or beautiful. He just insists on calling it that to embarrass me.”

Marvel: “But it’s true! Or it was true.”

Jay: “No it wasn’t. I had perfectly average hair, thank you very much.”

Yeah, Billy met up with some of his old friends, and they were all ecstatic to see their eight feet tall, golden retriever who just wanted to make the world a better place.

Marvel: “So your not an hero anymore? Then what happened to the JSA?”

Alan Scott (First Green Lantern): “We disbanded…”

Marvel: “WHAT? Why?”

Alan: “Well, we were getting old. We needed to retire.”

Marvel: “Oh yeah.” *sounds a little bummed*

Alan: “I mean, there’s now this thing called the Justice League? Wildcat joined them. So did Mr. Terrific.”

Marvel: “That sounds like a ripoff of you guys!”

He joins anyways. So do the other Fawcett heroes cause they might as well. That’s when things go down hill once more because the JL are forced to remember that a couple Fawcett heroes, mostly Spy Smasher, kill people.

Batman and Spy Smasher: *tied up the Joker after beating up his goons*

Spy Smasher (SS): “Alright, let’s get out of here.” *pulls out a gun and puts it to the Joker’s forehead*

Batman: “What are you doing?”

SS: “I’m ending this��?” *cocks his gun*

Batman: *slaps the gun away* “No, you’re not. He’s going back to Arkham.”

SS: *pulls another gun out* “Yes, I am. Are you seriously telling me you don’t want to permanently end this guy? I’ve heard people call him a terrorist.”

The two then duked it out and the Joker still went back to Arkham anyways. Spy Smasher was so salty, not that literally anyone could blame him.

Marvel: “Wait, so people don’t kill villains anymore?”

SS: *sitting next to him, bandaged*

Wildcat: “Nope. Nowadays, you got to turn them into the police and let them break out again. I know it’s stupid.”

Marvel: “But what about the mass murderers? What about the Black Adams or the Captain Nazis? People who have done messed up stuff?”

Wildcat: “To jail they go. Why do you care anyways? It’s not like you killed any of your villains.”

Marvel: “Well, I didn’t, but I gotta ask because Smasher is trying so hard not to physically claw off his own skin at the thought of these guys just breaking back out.”

Safe to say, getting used to the modern world, took some getting used to for everyone. As for Billy, he chills with the gang at the old folks home, reminiscing about times as if he’s aged with them.

Also, like, genuinely, their disappearance would show up in top ten unsolved mysteries vids because genuinely, they just disappeared with no trace.

Billy also doesn’t know what to think of the many memorials he finds of himself and the other Fawcett heroes around the country.

[puppetwoman17]

I want to read more comics and fanfics about Cap/Billy being a respected member of the hero community.

But at the SAME TIME, I want to read something where his attempts to make friends is seen as too eager or boyish and he’s ostracized, so as he grows up he understands that he needs to dial it down. He begins backing off and letting people do their own thing. He doesn’t try to hang out with the younger hero teams, but makes it clear that he’s always there if they need him, because he’s a sweetie. He talks less with JL members, not significantly, but just so he’s not talking way more than he has to.

Everyone’s noticed. They are worried.

Billy grows up, gets reunited with his sister, connects more with his Whiz Radio coworkers, gets along with the Bromfields, meets and connects with other Fawcett heroes and finally gets his own apartment(with illegal means but shush I guarantee you someone else has done much worse). He’s getting his life together day by day and he’s more sure of himself.

Heavy on Fawcett heroes btw. They clock him being CC’s kid immediately. What do you mean the JL doesn’t like him? What’s their problem with our boy😡?

Little subtleties with other heroes… Because why is Cap not talking to me anymore? Why do I have to steer the conversation?

Did I do something wrong?

Did I fuck up?

Was I too mean?

He just wants to hang out. Isn’t that what being part of a team is?

He just wants to be friends like the rest of us are.

Cue young and older heroes alike trying their damn hardest to get Cap to join them for a game night or gossip session or joint mission where there doesn’t need to be a joint mission and Billy is just confuzzled.

He’s busy, sorry! (He’s cleaning up the radio station for a birthday party)

Something came up, you know how schedules can be. (Mary wants him to see his first opera. Billy is a yes man)

A friend of mine needs some help! Really sorry, I wish I could! (Ebenezer is about to die. He wants to watch the moment the light leaves his eyes. No, Mary, he doesn’t need therapy. No Freddy, he doesn’t need a hug right—fuck it, give him a hug)

Because even without knowing, the her community watched him grow up. And, like adult figures and parents in a child’s life, they miss the way things used to be. It confuses them, especially the younger heroes.

Oh, then an identity reveal happens and everything makes so much sense and they all feel so so so bad but Billy’s like “Hey, it’s no big deal! Everyone gets busy! And I’ve got lots of other friends to confide in!”

He says this with a smile on his face but it sounds like an insult. Now the JL and younger heroes are grappling with the fact that this whole time they’ve just been parental figures who miss when their kid was clingy🥺

…

…

…

LOL, TOO BAD. Freddy’s taking him to a game tonight. He’s got front row seats and extra cotton candy coupons! Suck on that!

[aroace-madness]

Comfortable

Captain Marvel was a wonderful guy, friendly, caring, loyal to a fault and always cheery

Everyone loved him or at least respected him

The Justice League especially

So it's not a surprise when the Captain hasn't answered their calls and messages for a few days, they decided to visit him in his home city, Fawcett

Fawcett is a nice city, weird as hell and concerning at times but it had its own beauty

So in all honestly no one was shocked when a big piece of metal came hurling at the league the very second they stepped a foot in the borders of the city

Clark didn't have a chance to take off the ground before a woman in a silver helmet caught it, beside the helmet from which they could see her long Brown hair, she wore a red shirt, a blue belt, and gloves boots and a yellow bottom of a bodysuit that showed off her legs

She putted the piece of metal down on the ground and landed in front of them

“Hello, I’m Bulletgirl” the woman- Bulletgirl extended her hand for a handshake and Diana, who was the closest to her, accepted it

“Nice to meet another sister in arms, I’m Wonder Woman and this” she gestured at her friends “is the Justice League”

“Oh the Justice League, we heard so much about you” Bulletgirl smiled brightly “it's so nice to finally meet you properly, I apologise for the welcome you got but we’ve been having a bit of a problem for the last few day”

“Which includes flying pieces of metal?” Barry cocked his eyebrow, not that she could see

Bulletgirl didn't say anything, just pointed behind her

There was a gigantic robot walking through the city, it seemed to try and swat away whatever was flying around it, probably Captain

“Yeesh” that was Hal

“Yeah, Dr Sivanna started wreaking havoc in that robot a few days ago and we're trying to get him out without damaging the city and hurting people” Bulletgirl rubbed the back of her neck “we’re herding him to a less populated area and evacuating people from there to lessen the risks of anything happening”

Before anyone from the league could say anything, red blurr hitted the ground in front of them

“Ugh” the blur turned out the be a man

“Hi sweetheart” Bulletgirl waved at the man who was apparently her love “i see your ‘i can handle it’ is doing well”

“Oh yeah kick the lying one” the man managed to sit up with a grunt, he was wearing the same helmet as Bulletgirl

“I have the honor to introducing my dunce of a husband Bulletman” the woman said as she helped her husband stand up, his costume was very similar to his wifes, the only difference really were pants and a lack of gloves

“Nice to meet you” he turned to Bulletgirl “Do you have to call me that?” Bulletman grimaced a which made his wife laugh and kiss his cheek

“Now don't be dramatic dear i've called you far worse”

“True” Bulletman shrugged and dusted his clothes off “so, you're the infamous Justice League we’ve been hearing so much about”

“That's us” Clark smiled

“You do look like a bunch of well meaning people, even that shadow guy over there” he pointed at Bruce “dressed in black, cowl, long cape, gloomy demeanor, you must be Batman”

Batman just grunted in acknowledgament

“How are things going back there?” Bulletgirl asked her husband

“Oh, Voltage and Mary are evacuating people from a neighbourhood that Captain, Mr Scarlet and Ibis are herding Sivanna to”

“That's good” She patted his shoulder and turned back to the Justice League “so what brings you to Fawcett anyways?”

“Oh” Barry perked up “we wanted to see how Cap is doing since he hasn't been answering his comms for the past few days but we see why”

“Yeah” there was a silence for a moment “sooooo, do you guys want to help us out with that?”

Everyone agreed

Clark flew over to where the machine was and created a makeshift corridor from ice

Hal started herding the robot with his projections alongside Captain Marvel who waved at him and a man in a red turban

Shayera, Bulletgirl and Bulletman were flying around the robots head to try and confuse Sivana and IT seemed to work

Sivanas machine was slowly stepped towards a big, circular housing estate while Barry was quickly evacuating the last of civilians from the dangered area

When he was finally in a right position, Diana wrapped her lasso around the robots legs, Bruce did the same with his grappling hook

Shayera, Hal and Bullegirl started pushing at the shoulders of the robot while Captain Marvel and Bulletman were pulling them

The robot lost its footing and started to lose its balance. Clark made a giant ice wall to cushion the fall

The machines upper body fell on the ice and shattered it to about a half of it's height before stopping (Barry made sure to catch and put away the pieces of ice, before any of them landed on any building)

Bulletgirl opened the hatch of the machines head and took Sivana out, holding him by the scruff of his kilt while he was kicking and screaming, flailing his arms around

“I’ll take him to the police, Mister Scarlet is already with them making sure that there aren't any any injured or god forbid casualties” Bulletgirl said as she flew away from Sivana in her hand

The rest of the two groups gathered on the ground by the robot

“That was awesome guys” Barry smiled as he joined the group

“It sure was” Bulletman nodded his hand and putted his hands on his hips, seconds before he got tackled and putted in a one arm headlock by Marvel

“You guys were great!” Captain smiled in his typical fashion as he held the Bulletman

The man didn't seem too bothered by his current situation

“Do you have to do that every time?” The man in a red turban asked, tilting his head a bit

“You know I do, Ibis” Marvel grinned at the man, Ibis apparently “you guys were great too” Captain directed his attention to them, completely shifting his attitude

Before any of the League members could say anything else they got interrupted by two blurs, red and blue, flying straight into the Captain

The man didn't budge and just caught the two into his other arm

The red blur was a girl, looked almost identical to Captain, Mary Marvel

The blue blur was a guy, Voltage

Captain didn't say anything, just dropped them as they kept laughing and cheering

“Alright Cap, I think it's time for you to let go of Bulletman” Mr Scarlet said, leaning a bit on Ibis

Marvel sticked his tongue out at Mr Scarlet and eased his arm, letting the other man slip out of his grasp

Bulletman took advantage of his freedom and slapped Captain in the arm. Captain was about to slap back when Bulletgirl landed next to them

“Alright, Sivana is taken care of” she dusted her hands off and looked at the mess

“Yeah this is going to be a bitch to clean up” Ibis sighed

“Yeah, how about you guys start and I’ll escort our guests” Bulletgirl smiled

“Yeah yeah, you do you” Voltage rolled his eyes as he was already starting the clean-up

Bulletgirl motioned to the league to follow her, and they did

“Did Captain Marvel seem, different to you guys?” Clark his friends in a shushed voice as they walked trough the streets of the city

“He did seem much more relaxed around the other guys” Barry rubbed his chin

“He also called them by their names, without all these “Misses” and “Misters” he always uses when addressing one of us” Shayera pointed out

“Hmm” Bruce hummed, thinking

They arrived at the city borders and stopped in front of Bulletgirl

“It was really nice meeting all of you and thank you for your help” she smiled at them brightly

“It was nice meeting you and your friends too” Clark smiled back

“Uhh” Hal interjected “I got a question, you see, Captain Marvel seemed much more relaxed around you guys, how did you get him to let loose?”

Bulletgirl stared at Hal for a few moments

“Is he overly polite with you, is always respectful and seems like he would rather die than be mean to any of you?”

The League was left dumbfounded for a few seconds

“Uhh yeah” Barry nodded “how did you know?”

“Because he was the exact same way with us when he started out as a hero of Fawcett” Bulletgirl explained

“There is no way that's true” Hal shook his head

“Oh but it is, it took him about five years to finally let loose, you gotta give him some time. How long has he worked with you?”

“About a year and a half now” Diana answered

“Oh yeah, it’s much too soon for him” Bulletgirl laughed

“Maybe he does need time to get comfortable” Diana rubbed the back of her neck “how long have you been working together”

“Oh we’ve been fighting together since 1960”

“1960!?” Barrys eyes bulged out, same as the rest of the League really

“What do you mean 1960?” Clark asked in shock, he wasn't even on earth in 1960, he doubted that he was even in plans during that time

“Not to sound rude or anything but how old are you?” Hal asked

“Oh i’m 35” she answered, as if she’s not frying the justice leagues brains

“Wait, wait, wait” Shayera shook her head “ if you've been working with Cap since 1960, then how are you still 35?”

“That's because of the Suspendium” Bulletgirl said as if it explained anything. She must have noticed their confusion since she started talking again “Dr Sivana used a chemical he created, Suspendium, to trap Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Voltage in a force Field that would keep them suspended animation, something went wrong and instead of just capturing the three, the entire city got surrounded by the time bubble, as we call it, with Sivana in it. Captain managed to pop the bubble two years ago”

“Two years ago was when there were first sighting of Captain Marvel” Bruce pointed out

“Yes, the second the bubble popped, Captain started flying around the world”

“Wait” Clark shook his head “how come we never heard of something like that ever happening?”

“Oh” Bulletgirl rubbed the back of her neck “apparently everything and everyone that was trapped in the time bubble was completely erased from the maps and history books and only came back when the bubble was popped”

“That doesn't make any sense” Bruce sighed as he rubbed his temples

“Nothing makes sense, bat boy” Bulletgirl shrugged “now, as much as it's nice standing here and talking I really should help with cleaning” She said as she took of from the ground and bid them adieu

“God this is so weird” Barry sighed

“You're telling me?” Clark slumped a bit

“I think it's best if we don't think about it too much” Diana patted her friends shoulders

As they came back to the Watchtower they all agreed not to think too much about the whole Suspendium situation, it would only lead to a headache

They do like Captains friends tho, they seem nice and are good heroes

@puppetwoman17 @shazam-secret-santa

I hope you like it :D

[wanderingmind867]

I'm finally coming back to try and get all my notes about my Justice League Canada idea posted online. Because keeping it all just stuck in my notes probably isn't great, and at least this way i suppose i'll get to see what people think of my ideas.

Issue #39: The Justice League gets a call from CSIS regarding The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon). She's gone missing! She was infiltrating a terrorist cell in the prairies, but CSIS unexpectedly lost contact with her recently. And now the government needs the team to track her down.

But while juggling all of this, the league gets another call: the same terrorist cell is operating in the United States. They've infiltrated the border state of Minnesota, and they're trying to agitate people into wanting war! So the Justice League has to split in two: one team to go to Saskatchewan and save Samantha, another to go to Minnesota and prevent the propaganda campaign from setting in.

Also, Sam is conspicuously missing from these issues. He apparently left after the adventure in Nanda Parbat, needing time to meditate on his conversation with The Phantom Stranger. But in any case, Issue #39 focuses mainly on the team in Saskatchewan. But I'll cover all of that under Issue #40.

1. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

2. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

3. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

4. The Red Bee (Richard Raleigh)

5. The Geomancer (Emily Harrison)

6. Jean Boudreau

Issue #40: The team going off to Saskatchewan to try and rescue The Angel of Dawn consists of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and The Red Bee. These three manage to work into way into the ranks of a covert fascist terrorist cell based out of Saskatoon, and this leads them to the Angel of Dawn. Samantha reveals that the group eventually learned she was a CSIS agent, and then they did unspeakable things to her. She's in a very weak state now, but she's still capable of putting up a fight.

Now that they've found her, our trio of League members try to escape from the terrorist group's headquarters. They narrowly manage to escape, but little do they know that samantha's body has been stuck with a tracking chip… But for now, we'll leave this team. We'll conclude their storyline in Issue #41. But first, we have to cut to our second team in Minnesota.

1. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

2. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

3. The Red Bee (Richard Raleigh)

4. The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

Issue #40: Our second team of three (Captain Marvel, The Geomancer and Jean Boudreau) head down to Minnesota to investigate the claims of a terrorist group trying to spread division amongst society. While here, Captain Marvel says he needs to call in some favours. That's how we meet the Squadron of Justice, Captain Marvel's home state allies! Ibis the Invincible, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Mister Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid, and the whole Marvel family!

Together with the Squadron of Justice, our leaguers are easily able to pinpoint the hate group and their plans: they plan to blow up a monument in Fawcett City and blame the Canadians! And on the Canadian side, they plan to blow up the CN tower and blame the Americans! Total war! Knowing they need to stop this, our teams split up. Captain Marvel stays in the states to protect Fawcett City, but Bulletman and Bulletgirl accompany Jean and Emily back to Canada.

1. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

2. The Geomancer (Emily Harrison)

3. Jean Boudreau

4. Captain Marvel Jr. (Freddy Freeman)

5. Mary Marvel (Mary Bromfield)

6. Bulletman (Jim Barr)

7. Bulletgirl (Susan Kent)

8. Mr. Scarlet (Brian Butler)

9. Pinky the Whiz Kid (Pinkerton Butler)

10. Ibis the Invincible

Issue #41: It's a race against the clock as Emily, Jean, Bulletman and Bulletgirl race to intercept Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, The Red Bee and The Angel of Dawn. Somehow, they've gotta get that tracking chip off Samantha before the terrorists can blow the CN tower sky-high! Meanwhile, Captain Marvel and the Squadron of Justice are busy defending Fawcett City from bombs and terrorists themselves.

1. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

2. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

3. The Red Bee (Richard Raleigh)

4. The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

5. The Geomancer (Emily Harrison)

6. Jean Boudreau

7. Bulletman (Jim Barr)

8. Bulletgirl (Susan Kent)

9. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

10. Captain Marvel Jr. (Freddy Freeman)

11. Mary Marvel (Mary Bromfield)

12. Mr. Scarlet (Brian Butler)

13. Pinky the Whiz Kid (Pinkerton Butler)

14. Ibis the Invincible

Issue #42: After heroically saving both Toronto and Fawcett City from Calamity, the Canadian and US governments decide to honour the Justice League and the Squadron of Justice. Everyone on the Justice League receives the Order of Canada, and everyone on the Squadron of Justice receives the Presidential medal of Honour! But there's one person who received both: Captain Marvel/Shazam. For his services to both the Justice League Canada and The Squadron of Justice, Captain Marvel receives both honours.

Sadly, Captain Marvel uses this happy moment to tell the Justice League that he's returning to the states. Fawcett City and the Squadron of Justice need him, and he misses home. But if the League ever needs him, just call. He'd come back. But tearful goodbyes are made, as Captain Marvel leaves the Justice League Canada.

But this happy, very celebratory comic ends rather dramatically. It signifies that the book is going to (at least briefly) take a turn for the more dramatic and serious. Because as the justice league returns to their mansion headquarters in Ottawa, a bright flash of light stuns them in the entranceway. And a booming voice brags about how they've just entered into his trap…

1. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

2. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson) (leaves with this issue)

3. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

4. The Red Bee (Richard Raleigh)

5. The Geomancer (Emily Harrison)

6. Jean Boudreau

[chernobog13]

The Squadron of Justice of Earth-S by Kurt Schaffenberger:

Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, Mr. Scarley, Pinky, Spy Smasher, Ibis the Invincible, Taia, Bulletgirl, Bulletman.

This is the second version of the Squadron. The original appeared in the 1940s and consisted of Captain Marvel and his 3 Lieutenant Marvels.

The Squadron as shown above (also referred to as Shazam's Squadron of Justice), was formed by the god Mercury and made its first and only appearance in Justice League of America (vol. 1) #135-137 (1976). That was the annual summer crossover between the JLA of Earth-One and the Justice Society of America of Earth-Two. Because of shenanigans on Earth-S, Mercury summons the JLA and JSA to help the Squadron defeat the plans of the evil King Kull.

Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family were introduced in the Shazam! comic in 1973. The JLA/JSA crossover tale was the introduction of the rest of the superheroes from Fawcett, which DC Comics had licensed a few years prior (and would purchase outright a few years later), to the mainstream DC Universe.

However, DC seemed to have forgotten one Fawcett hero: Minute-Man.

Minute-Man has been written off as Fawcett's version of Captain America, but that is inaccurate and unfair. Minute-Man first appeared in Master Comics (vol. 1) #11, with a cover date of February, 1941 (which meant it was probably released around November, 1940). Captain America made the scene in Captain America Comics (vol. 1) #1, which was published in December, 1940, with a cover date of March, 1941. So Minute-Man arrived first, or at the very least at the same time, so there was no possibility of him copying Cap.

Besides, at the time every comic book publisher was coming up with at least patriotic superhero for their books. That was a trend started by The Shield from MLJ (now known as Archie Comics), who first appeared in Pep Comics #1, cover dated January 1940.

Minute Man was only nominally a superhero because he wore a costume. He had no super powers, but he had trained himself to the peak of human perfection. He was Private Jack Weston in the US Army whose secret identity was only known by his commanding officer, General Milton (as MM didn't wear a mask, shouldn't everyone have known who he was?). The general would send MM on missions behind enemy lines, but America was not at war at the time, so who were these enemies? Didn't matter. Minute-Man still managed to battle his share of spies, saboteurs, robots, vampires and assorted monsters, and even headhunters.

Anyhoo, for whatever reason, the folks at DC forgot Minute-Man when they put together the Squadron of Justice. And I'm sure someone pointed that out to him, because about a year later he finally appeared.

Minute-Man finally reappeared in Shazam! (vol. 1) #31 (October, 1977). Someone finally realized that a superhero who doesn't wear a mask while in costume, or some sort of disguise (eyeglasses, anyone?) when not, is not going to have a secret identity for very long. Artist Kurt Schaffenberger (himself a longtime artist for Fawcett back in the day) added a simple blue mask so Minute-Man could operate incognito.

Unfortunately, this would be Minute-Man's only appearance in a DC comic book before the whole multiverse went kablooey in Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Afterwards, he had sporadic appearances in The Power of Shazam!, before being killed off by agents of Vandal Savage in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #3 (April, 2007).

There is a new DC character currently using the Minute-Man moniker, but the less said of him the better.

[dirtyriver]

WORLD PREMIER: LES GHOULS - locked away in the vault of Roy Thomas, released for the first time in 65 years for your viewing pleasure!

Les Ghouls is a 12½-minute, mostly black-&-white film made circa 1958 by a group of six teenagers in Jackson, Missouri, including Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich, who went on in the 1960s to become writers and editors at Marvel Comics. It was intended as an homage to/ripoff of the 1948 movie classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, just filmed for a lark. It was filmed largely in black-&-white despite the relative difficulty of obtaining that kind of film even then. John Short, who owned the (new) movie camera, served as primary director; Roy Thomas scripted the movie (in synopsis form) and supplied all art and lettering appearing in the film. There were vague plans to eventually either record a soundtrack or to at least have the cast members accompany showings by narration and dialogue, but those plans never materialized.

CAST:

Slim--------------------------------------------------- Gary Friedrich

Slat ---------------------------------------------------- Ron Lowes

Dr. Sturdley ------------------------------------------ Andy Leonard

Melvin ------------------------------------------------ Lyle Hutteger

The Monster ------------------------------------------ John Short

Werewolf ---------------------------------------------- Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich went on to become major writers in the comicbook industry.

Roy Thomas was an editor of Marvel from 1965-80, and editor-in-chief from 1972-74. He also scripted runs on such series as X-Men, Avengers, Conan the Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan, Star Wars, Red Sonja, Kull the Conqueror, Daredevil, Captain Marvel, The Invaders, Incredible Hulk, Sub-Mariner, etc. He also co-created the likes of Wolverine, Carol Danvers (future Captain Marvel), The Vision, Ultron, The Squadron Supreme, The Invaders, Union Jack, Spitfire, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, Morbius the Living Vampire, Sunfire, Banshee, Valkyrie, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Doc Samson, Brother Voodoo, Warlock, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, Thundra, Captain 3D, What If, Not Brand Echh, and others. In the ’80s he defected to DC Comics, where he co-created, wrote, and often edited All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc., Arak – Son of Thunder, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!, Young All-Stars, and Jonni Thunder a.k.a. Thunderbolt, as well as writing the likes of Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, and Justice League of America. He has also written comics for Topps, Heroic, etc. He co-created both a super-hero comic and a comics-history magazine which were titled Alter Ego. His and wife Dann’s independent series Captain Thunder and Blue Bolt was optioned for a film in the ’90s. He has also written for films, TV animation, and live-action TV.

Gary Friedrich wrote several series runs for Marvel, including Sgt. Fury, Captain America, Nick Fury – Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Frankenstein, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, Daredevil, [the Western] Ghost Rider, Combat Kelly, Captain Savage, and Captain Marvel—and was the major creator of [the motorcycle-riding, supernatural] Ghost Rider and the co-creator and first writer of Son of Satan. He served as assistant editor at Marvel from late 1966 to 1968. He and Roy Thomas co-created the concept for the Marvel comicbook Not Brand Echh. Gary also wrote for Skywald, Topps, and other comics companies. He passed away in August 2018.

(via Bleeding Cool)

[daydreamerdrew]

ok, catching up on Shazam! (2023):

issue #5:

I liked the opening with Mary rescuing Billy, but I didn’t like that she didn’t immediately realize how serious his condition was. even though this book isn’t using the Pre-Crisis bit of characterization that Captain Marvel can’t fight women, the scenes where he was fighting the gorillas and robots while Mary was fighting Queen Bee reminded me of Golden Age scenes, like in “Pin-Up Boy” in Whiz Comics (1940) #48, where Mary has to fight a female villain when Cap can’t. also, even though I like Mary and I like her intelligence being emphasized, her figuring out that the gods were manipulating Billy didn’t really work for me. I think it would have made more sense for Billy to have pieced that together because of how strange their different influences felt. anyway, at this point I’m remembering that when this book started I was hopeful that this plotline with the gods wouldn’t last very long.

issue #6:

I liked that the various items the kids used to become the new Squadron of Justice, like Bulletman’s helmet and Ibis the Invincible’s Ibis-Stick, have an actual history and aren’t just random items, i.e. Bulletman and Ibis the Invincible were previously heroes in this continuity. that there was already “a growing divide between your dual identities, each beginning to refer to the other as ‘ he’ rather than ‘I,’” and it’s going to get more dramatic appeals to me. I noted that this was happening back when the first issue came out, and I figured then that Mark Waid wasn’t going to go this far and that language was a compromise, like calling Billy “the Captain” instead of “Captain Marvel.” this moment is actually immediately followed by the Captain addressing Billy’s siblings as “kids.” I know that many fans have soured by now on emphasizing the age difference, but I think there’s an interesting way to do it- there was legitimately an age difference between Billy and Captain Marvel in the original comics- and I wonder if that’ll be an element in how this division is made more dramatic.

issue #7:

I don’t enjoy this book’s attempts at being absurd, like with these dinosaur accountants. I really like that Billy is in his school’s A/V club! I had liked the part of the story in the Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie that the Vasquezes were struggling financially, we’ll see how this house crisis works for me.

issue #8:

I think what made the financial situation in the movie compelling was the intense personal stakes of Billy being afraid that the Vasquezes won’t be able to afford having everyone and will kick him out when he turns 18. which was helped along by Asher Angel’s performance. I think I lack the prior investment in this comic era’s version of Billy to get really into this. I do like that this issue ends with Billy and Zeus on more positive terms, because I don’t really like the concept of Billy being in conflict with his empowering gods.

Issue #9:

I like Billy’s podcast getting more focused. he seems a little unprepared for his interview on Jack Ryder’s show, which isn’t much like the uber-competent radio reporter of the Pre-Crisis continuity that I know and love. regardless, I like that this issue focused on Billy as a broadcaster, and put that in the modern context of “content providers” and the idea what “sincerity is a plague” in the news profession. similarly, that “Your transformation dazzles people enough so they won’t catch you, but cameras aren’t so easy to confuse” also worked well along those lense, as the ‘dazzle’ thing is how Billy’s transformation worked Pre-Crisis. and I particularly really liked that this issue paralleled performing on TV with that Billy could “act like someone else entirely if [he] wanted to,” with the reality that as the Captain he’s Billy “Less so every day lately.”

[strato-viper-raven-blog]

Thinking about New Champion of Shazam AU headcanons and feeling that Rosa and Victor would not only help out foster kids but also provide resources and a sympathetic ear to homeless people and they end up being friends with the other Fawcett heroes and manage to help them escape the lab by providing a distraction when they end up getting kidnapped too. Which leads the Squadron of Justice to vow to save the Vasquez kid's parents.

[mister-e-filman]

Intermission: Bailey and Peter's List of Characters with Multiversal Counterparts

DC Marvel

Adam Strange Star Lord

Alfred Jarvis

Amazo Adaptoid

Anti-Monitor, Imperiex Prime Galactus

Aquaman Namor the Submariner

A.R.G.U.S. S.H.I.E.L.D.

Artemis Kate Bishop

Atomic Skull Ghost Rider

Bane Crossbones

Banshee Silver Banshee

Batman Moon Knight, Knight Thrasher

Beast Boy Reptil

Black Alice Rogue

Black Canary Mockingbird, Black Widow

Black Lightning, Bolt Electro

Black Mask Red Skull

Black Racer The Silver Surfer

Black Spider Spider-Man

Blue Beatle Beatle

Brainiac Ultron

Bumblebee The Wasp

Captain Boomerang Boomerang

Captain Cold Blizzard

Catwoman Black Cat

Cheetah Tiagra

Cinderblock The Thing

Clayface Sandman

Cyborg Deathlok, Machineman

Darkseid Thanos

DC's Enchantress Marvel's Enchantress

DC's Scarecrow Marvel's Scarecrow

Deadshot Bullseye

Deathstroke, Red Tool Deadpool

Dex-Starr Rocket Raccoon

Doom Patrol X-Men

Doomsday Abomination

Dr. Fate Dr. Strange

Dr. Polaris, Dr. Diehard Magneto

Dreamslayer Dormammu

Firestorm Human Torch

Gizmo, Gorgon Dr. Octopus

Godspeed Runner

Gorilla Grodd Gorilla-Man

Green Arrow Hawkeye

Green Lantern Quasar

Green Lantern Corps Nova Corps

Guardian, Cmd. Steele, Gnl. Glory, Shield Captain America

Hawkman Angel, Falcon

H.I.V.E. A.I.M.

Hourman, Calendar Man Father Time

Icicle, Killer Frost Iceman, Jack Jrost

John Constantine Peter Wisdom

Justice League The Avengers, Squadron Supreme

Kid Devil Nightcrawler

Killer Kroc The Lizard

King Shark Tiger Shark

Kismet Eternity

Kobra Hydra

Lobo The Wolverine

Lord Havoc Dr. Doom

Mr. Mxyzptlk Impossible Man

Mogo Ego

Multiplex Multiple Man

Niles Calder Professor X

Phantom Stranger Phantom Reporter

Plastic Man, Elongated Man Mr. Fantastic, Thin-Man

Raven Phoenix

Red Hood The Winter Soldier

Red Lion, Bronze Tiger Black Panther

Red Tornado The Vision

Richard Dragon Shang-Chi

Rocket Red, Steel Iron Man

Scandal Savage X-23

Shazam!, Power Girl Captain Marvel

Soloman Grundy, Damage Hulk

Star Sapphire Moonstone

Starfire Firestar

Stargirl Aurora

Suicide Squad Freedom Force

Superman Gladiator, Hyperion, Sentry, Kallark

Swamp Thing Man Thing

Teen Titans Young Allies

The Atom Ant-Man

The Black Spider Spider-Man

The Flash Quicksilver, the Whizzer

Tobias Whale Kingpin

Tracer, Mammoth Sabertooth

Trigon Marvel's Lucifer, Surtur

Wonder Woman Power Princess

Zatana The Scarlet Witch

Author's note: Sorry about the mess, I tried to keep everything as tidy as possible. I did the best that I could, oh well.

[docgold13]

365 DC Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

January 17th - Bulletman


Jim Barr had been the son of a police officer who was murdered in the line of duty. Barr decided to avenge his father by devoting his life to justice, ultimately entering into the field of ballistics. Barr would go on to develop a chemical compound that greatly enhanced his strength and durability. He later created a gravity regulatory helmet that enabled flight and super speed. He used his new abilities to become a costumed crime-fighter. The bullet-like shape of Barr’s helmet resulted in his being referred to as the ‘Bulletman.’ He had numerous adventures as Bulletman, joining up with Captain Marvel on some of these escapades. The hero would ultimately become a member of Captain Marvel’s Squadron of Justice. Bulletman first appeared in the pages of Nickel Comics #1 (1940).

[panels-of-interest]

Spectre vs. Black Adam.

[from JSA (1999) #74]

[thecomicsnexus]

ALL-STAR SQUADRON #51-53 NOVEMBER 1985 - JANUARY 1986 BY ROY THOMAS, DANN THOMAS, MIKE CLARK, ARVELL JONES, ALFREDO ALCALA, VINCE COLLETTA, TONY DEZUÑIGA AND CARL GAFFORD

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

Dr. Fate and Hourman, trying to enlist the Justice Society's help in finding the vanished Firebrand, come upon a group of four villains in the JSA headquarters plus a flying microphone broadcasting the voice of one "Mister Mind".

The Crisis has reached 1942 Earth-S, and Green Lantern, Johnny Quick, and Liberty Belle join Captain Marvel in his battle against the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons. Later, Captain Marvel takes the heroes to the wizard Shazam, who is apparently aware of the Crisis and sends the three to present-day Earth-One via the Rock of Eternity.

The All-Stars continue their battle with the Monster Society of Evil. Mr. Mind escapes, only to be thrown across the dimensions once more, landing on Earth-S, where he will, months later, encounter Captain Marvel for the first time. Meanwhile, Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle are absorbed by a burst of white light and deposited aboard the Monitor's satellite, leaving Green Lantern to return to 1942 Earth-Two. Quick and Belle join their teammates "Tarantula and Amazing-Man: then, in events paralleling segments shown in Crisis, the Earth-Two heroes combat the Red Tornado, who has been sent on a mad rampage by the Anti-Monitor. Finally, Harbinger dispatches Liberty Belle, the present-day Green Lantern of Earth-Two, Power Girl, Per Degaton, Star Sapphire, and Deathbolt on a mysterious mission.

REVIEW

Boy, Roy Thomas has a history of choosing the wrong words to talk about other races. As far as I know, “negro” was no longer in use in 1985. Also considering the way he writes women, I am starting to understand why, by reading these comics. (Sure, the characters are talking in 1942. But while it may be historically accurate, there was really no need for it).

Roy Thomas is a nostalgic. He loves the golden age so much, sometimes it is hard to take him out of that era. I do think he learns from thinks that other writers had to improved after him. After all, the female characters in Infinity Inc and All-Star Squadron are not useless. They do talk a lot about men though.

In any case, Roy Thomas loves this time period, but in a crossover that happens in 1985, it is a bit confusing at times. Especially when some characters on the Monitor’s satellite are from 1940 and others from 1985, and they all look almost the same (I dare you to tell apart which Johnny Quick is talking on each panel of #53).

Speaking of the art, the transportation to the Monitor’s satellite looks too much like the anti-matter wall. At a certain point I thought those characters died!

Mr. Mind’s story of basically how he ended up on Earth-S is kind of funny, but the Evil Society of Monsters is BORING.

I am also impressed that the issue is written by two people, yet all the dialogues are inhuman and too expository.

I give these issues a score of 4

[puppetwoman17]

“Billy’s favorite hero is SUPERMAN!”

“Wrong! It’s Wonder Woman!”

“You’re both wrong! His favorite hero is John Constantine!”

All of you are wrong because his favorite heroes are the bullet couple. Him and Mary had action figures of those two, and when you have ACTION FIGURES, you know you’ve passed the point of no return.

Billy geeks out about these two, and then does the same with Windshear(the bullets’ daughter) when she shows up. Being friends with them is one of the coolest things to happen to him.

Also they care for them right back. I wish I got to see a few moments with the twins and Bulletgirl(she’s dead in PoS), but her daughter’s worry for them was also so sweet.

[heroicadventurists]

Versus Series

Who is the superior Captain Marvel? Leave a comment below

Captain Marvel (Marvel)

Full Name: Carol Susan Jane Danvers

Team affiliations:

A-Force

Alpha Flight Space Program

Avengers

"Defenders for a Day"

Guardians of the Galaxy

Infinity Watch

The Mighty Avengers

NASA

New Avengers

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Starjammers

Ultimates

United States Air Force

X-Men

Abilities:

Superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and stamina

Energy projection and absorption

Flight

Versus

Captain Marvel Shazam (DC)

Full Name: William Joseph "Billy" Batson

Team affiliations:

Shazam / Marvel Family

Squadron of Justice

Justice League

Justice Society of America

Justice League International

Abilities:

Wisdom of Solomon

Enhanced intellect

Nigh Omniscience

Knowledge and focus of the gods

Strength of Hercules

Superhuman strength

Stamina of Atlas

Superhuman stamina

Invulnerability

Superhuman durability

Superhuman endurance

Power of Zeus

Power over unlimited lightning

Immortality

Electricity generation and manipulation

Lightning/Electricity absorption

Creation of electrical force-fields

Courage of Achilles

Indomitable will

Speed of Mercury

Superhuman speed

Teleportation via the Rock of Eternity

[wanderingmind867]

I decided to go back to my old notes app and see if i can't do anything there. I'm still infuriated by how i can't get music to work for long when i'm writing notes, so i am trying get around that. But i think i have my three or four main teams now: The Justice League Canada, a team of reformed supervillians supervised by Martian Manhunter, and the Squadron of Justice (a team of old fawcett comics stars).

These three teams are all kind of connected (Martian Manhunter and Captain Marvel/Shazam are founding members of the Justice League Canada, but leave to join the other two teams), so i can say i've made a bit of a reinterpretation of the DC universe. In honour of me trying to go back to these old ideas, I know what i need to do: i need to repost my old notes on this stuff, and i need to share my new ideas (if/when i write about them, of course).

[chernobog13]

Alex Ross’ dynamic cover for Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 4, which was part of a series of trade paperbacks reprinting all the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America annual crossovers.  The stories in this volume included both teams encountering the heroes of Earth-S (where all the Fawcett Comics characters lived) and the Legion of Super-Heroes.