{"id":5705,"date":"2019-03-19T23:49:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T23:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=5705"},"modified":"2019-04-01T16:30:22","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T16:30:22","slug":"the-crazy-legal-history-behind-dcs-captain-marvel-becoming-shazam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/dc-captain-marvel-name-change-shazam\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crazy Legal History Behind DC’s Captain Marvel Becoming Shazam!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marvel and DC Comics have both been around for a long time, and the two major comic publishers have been duking it out for decades since well before the superhero movie renaissance. Though the bitter rivalry between the two is mostly made up nonsense, each one is a business doing what they can to survive and thrive. Sometimes, that means looking at your competitor and telling them that they don\u2019t get to use your property.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Now, on the face of things, that seems like common sense. But, like many dueling brands, many of Marvel\u2019s characters have DC counterparts and vice versa.\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s not a whole lot of battling over characters like those since neither brand would have much of a leg to stand on. Even the most similar of heroes have enough unique identi<\/span>fiers to avoid any sort of\u00a0<\/span>copy<\/span>right<\/span>\u00a0battle. But\u00a0<\/span>what happens when a brand decides that a competitor\u2019s counterpart is just a little too close to theirs?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The battle for the title of “Captain Marvel” began well before Marvel Comics’ Mar-<\/span>Vell<\/span>\u00a0and Carol Danvers started flying\u00a0<\/span>onto shelves.\u00a0<\/span>And, as it would happen, the opening volley of the battle over the name wouldn\u2019t be between DC and Marvel, but with Captain Marvel\u2019s first publisher: Fawcett Publications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the early forties, DC Comics (then known as National Comics Pu<\/span>blications) went after Fawcett P<\/span>ublications for their character Captain Marvel.\u00a0<\/span>It might be rare for one comic publication to go after another for character similarities now, but there\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0a heck of a lot fewer back in the\u00a0<\/span>day<\/span>\u00a0than we have running around our streets\u00a0<\/span>now<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In this case, the publisher that would later be known as DC had decided that there weren\u2019t enough differences between Fawcett\u2019s character and their golden boy, Superman. Though the first judge wouldn\u2019t rule in their favor, National Comics Publication elected to take the case to a higher court. The second judge would agree<\/span>\u00a0with National Comics\u2019 case against Fawcett<\/span>, but it turned out that there was no need to go to trial in the lower courts for a second time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shazam!

Shazam! (Credit: DC Comics)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Like many comics, Captain Marvel flew off shelves during World War II. Tired Americans needed an escape, and properties like Captain America, Superman and Captain Marvel helped provide that in a medium that wouldn\u2019t take away from the war efforts.\u00a0<\/span>Unfortunately, all comic distributors took a hit once the war was over. The boys were back home, and the world returned to\u00a0<\/span>as close to nor<\/span>mal as it would for any of them<\/span>. Simply put: the<\/span>\u00a0country moved on.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The decline in sales meant that when it came time to fight for the rights to Captain Marvel once again, Fawcett let him go.\u00a0<\/span>They agreed to cease use of all Captain Marvel-related characters, and would ultimately shut down their comic book department entirely in the early fifties.\u00a0<\/span>Several members of their team would find a home over at DC Comics, and the Captain Marvel drama would die down for a short period of time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fast forward to the ’70s, when Carmine\u00a0<\/span>Infantino<\/span>\u00a0sought to revive Captain Marvel. The famous publisher would run into a sna<\/span>g in his plan, unfortunately. Marvel\u2019s version of\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Captain Marvel\u00a0– then Walter Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell \u2013 had launched in the interim<\/span>, making the name no longer available to teams at DC Comics. And thus\u00a0<\/span>Shazam<\/span>\u00a0was born!\u00a0<\/span>That might seem like a big leap in name for those who don\u2019t actively read\u00a0<\/span>the comic<\/span>\u00a0books, but it\u2019s actually a pretty solid\u00a0<\/span>change<\/span>\u00a0for the character. \u201c<\/span>Shazam!<\/span>\u201d was the term Billy Batson cried to activate his powers as Captain Marvel. The\u00a0<\/span>cry<\/span>\u00a0is actually an acronym of the six elders who grant Billy his powers: S<\/strong>olomon, H<\/strong>ercules, A<\/strong>tlas, Z<\/strong>eus, A<\/strong>chilles and M<\/strong>ercury.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Infantino<\/span>\u00a0would attempt to be sneaky by adding in the sub-header \u201cThe Original Captain Marvel\u201d\u00a0<\/span>into the comic\u2019s first new release\u00a0<\/span>but, as you can imagine, Marvel Comics didn\u2019t take too kindly\u00a0<\/span>to that. Thankfully, their cease and desist letter was the last bout of major legal trouble to vex the publication.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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DC Comics\u2019 acceptance of the fact that Captain Marvel, and the brand work that had been put into it decades prior,<\/span>\u00a0were gone\u00a0<\/span>ended up working out in their favor. Using the multiverse theory to defend the story differences between the original Captain Marvel and the new\u00a0<\/span>Shazam<\/span>\u00a0played\u00a0<\/span>like\u00a0<\/span>gangbusters for the c<\/span>omic<\/span>\u00a0giant, and ended up helping keep things from getting ugly with\u00a0<\/span>what was left of\u00a0<\/span>Fawcett.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Billy Batson has found himself on a whole host of adventures<\/a> since the drama surrounding his name finally died down. From his first (new) appearance on Earth-S, all the way to the current day Rebirth reboot, the kid hero has successfully\u00a0<\/span>carved out a corner of the very franchise he was accused of ripping off all those decades ago. As a fun tidbit: Superman actually appears on the\u00a0<\/span>cover of the<\/span>\u00a01973 issue of\u00a0<\/span>Shazam<\/span><\/i>: Number 1<\/span><\/i>. Guess copyright<\/span>\u00a0concerns don\u2019t much matter after you take control of the infringing property!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n