◊"Echoes of Shazam!" by Alex Ross
, featuring pretty much every character named or inspired by Captain Marvel.note
, featuring pretty much every character named or inspired by Captain Marvel.note "Deep in the jungle where the mighty tiger lies
Bill and his elephants were taken by surprise
So Captain Marvel zapped him right between the eyes."
Bill and his elephants were taken by surprise
So Captain Marvel zapped him right between the eyes."
— The Beatles, "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", The White Album
"Captain Marvel" is a name that can refer to multiple characters and/or pieces of media:
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Comic Books
Fawcett / DC Comics
- Billy Batson: The original Captain Marvel, created by Fawcett Comics in The Golden Age of Comic Books as a Superman knockoff. Billy shouts the magic word "SHAZAM!" to call down magic lightning which transforms him into the World's Mightiest Mortal. Ironically, currently owned by Superman's creators DC Comics, though they had to title his books Shazam! due to rights conflicts with the other Captain Marvels listed below (becoming the Trope Namer for I Am Not Shazam) and eventually changed his name to "Shazam" completely in 2011.
- Freddy Freeman, who eventually inherited this title from Billy, and was previously (and is normally) Captain Marvel Jr. or CM3 (or Lieutenant Marvel). He's covered on the Shazam! character page.
Inspirations/Parodies/Pastiches of Fawcett's Captain Marvel
- The Marvel/Shazam Family, which were all inspired by the success of Captain Marvel, includes: Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr (later known as CM3 and then Captain Marvel), Uncle Marvel or Uncle Dudley, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, Freckles Marvel, and the Lieutenant Marvels (Tall Marvel, Fat Marvel, and Hill marvel).
- The New 52/DC Rebirth introduced three new members of the Shazam family: Billy's adopted siblings Pedro Peña, Eugene Choi, and Darla Dudley, none of whom have code-names yet.
- Black Adam, who was originally Captain Marvel's Evil Counterpart but has since evolved into an Anti-Villain.
- Marvelman aka Miracleman, a superhero pastiche of Captain Marvel created by Mick Anglo in the U.K. when the original Captain Marvel comics were cancelled; followed by an update of done in the 1980s by Alan Moore and Alan Davis and then Neil Gaiman. The name was changed during Moore's run because Marvel Comics now owned the "Captain Marvel" name and objected to a competing similarly-named hero (though in a similar case of copyright irony to DC buying the original Captain Marvel rights, Marvel Comics later bought the rights to Miracleman in 2014).
Marvel Comics
- Mar-Vell, created by Marvel Comics in 1967. Marvel was able to publish his adventures under the title "Captain Marvel" because the trademark on the "Shazam" version had lapsed, as all comic books featuring him had been cancelled in the fifties. Mar-Vell is a Human Alien who went native and defended Earth, until he was Killed Off for Real in the Eighties.
- Monica Rambeau, the next one from Marvel Comics. After gaining energy powers in a freak accident, she took up Mar-Vell's now-vacant title. She gave up the name once actual successors to Mar-Vell appeared, and has since gone by Photon, Pulsar, and Spectrum; though she's currently best known by her birth name.
- Genis-Vell, Mar-Vell's son, who was Captain Marvel for about ten years from the mid-Nineties to the mid-Noughties.
- Phyla-Vell, Mar-Vell's daughter, who was also Captain Marvel for a very brief time (from 2004 to 2007). She has since joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, and has become more associated with that franchise than Captain Marvel.
- Khn'nr, a Skrull who took the form of and believed himself to be Mar-Vell right before and during 2008's Secret Invasion.
- Noh-Varr, a Kree super soldier from an alternate universe who went by Marvel Boy and the Protector before having the Captain Marvel code-name passed down by Khn'nr. He later discarded the name and went by his real name.
- Carol Danvers, the current holder of the name. Originally a supporting character of Mar-Vell's, Carol Danvers eventually gained superpowers herself and became his Distaff Counterpart. After spending decades under different names (Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird), she became the latest Captain Marvel in 2012.
Inspirations/Parodies/Pastiches of Marvel's Captain Marvel
- Ms. Marvel, which began as the superhero name for Carol Danvers and has since been adopted by others:
- Sharon Ventura, who was the pro-wrestler girlfriend of the Thing in the Eighties.
- Karla Sofen/Moonstone and Deidre Wentworth/Superia, supervillains who adopted Danvers' former costume and codename as part of the Dark Avengers in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
- Kamala Khan, the current Ms. Marvel since 2013. A Pakistani-American teen and superhero fangirl who chose her codename in honor of her idol.
Amalgam Comics
- When the Marvel and DC universes merged together to create the Amalgam Universe, Captain Marvel became the combination between DC's Captain Marvel and Marvel's Captain Mar-Vell: a young boy named Billy Mar-Vell who, when he shouts "Kree!", turns into the "super-scientifically enhanced" adult hero named Captain Marvel. He wears a lightning bolt like DC's Captain Marvel, but his outfit is green and white, like Marvel's Captain Marvel's first outfit.
M.F. Enterprises
- M.F. Enterprises' Captain Marvel was a jet-powered, laser-eyed android that could detach his limbs with the shout of "Split!" and re-attach them with the shout of "Xam!" He only appeared in four issues of Captain Marvel (from April to November 1966) and two issues Captain Marvel Presents the Terrible Five (from September 1966 to September 1967).
- The book was remembered for how much it seemed to rip-off other characters. The red-garbed android (similar to the Human Torch) was best friends with a boy named Billy Baxton. He also fought an enemy named Plasticman (who was later renamed Elasticman), the mad scientist Dr. Fate, the evil mastermind the Bat (who was also later renamed the Ray), and Professor Doom.
Film, Television, Animation, and Music
Film
- The Adventures of Captain Marvel, a 1940s film serial starring Fawcett's Captain Marvel.
- Captain Marvel, a Marvel Cinematic Universe film which stars Marvel's Carol Danvers and has Mar-Vell and Monica Rambeau in supporting roles.
- The Marvels, a 2023 sequel starring Carol, Monica, and Kamala Khan (from her 2022 TV show) as co-leads.
- Phyla also appears with a minor role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but altered to have absolutely no connection to Mar-Vell, Carol Danvers, or anything else Captain Marvel-related.
- SHAZAM!, a 2019 film set in the DC Extended Universe starring The New 52/DC Rebirth version of Shazam.
- Black Adam, a 2022 spinoff film featuring the titular Anti-Hero.
- SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods, the 2023 sequel to the 2019 film.
Television
- Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (2011), which features a character named Captain Marvelous as its lead (no relation to either Captain Marvel comics franchise).
- Ms. Marvel, a 2022 live-action TV series that is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and stars Kamala Khan.
- Shazam!, a half-hour live-action TV series based on Fawcett's Captain Marvel. It was made by Filmation and went on from 1974 to 1977. From 1975 to 1977, it was paired with The Secrets of Isis in The Shazam!/Isis Hour.
Animation
- The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, a 1981 Filmation cartoon that contained two segment: Hero High, about a high school for superheroes, and Shazam!, which was about DC's Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family and the fight against their enemies.
- Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, a DC original animated short film starring DC Captain Marvel and Superman.
Music
- "Captain Marvel," a Jazz composition recorded by Chick Corea in 1972. In 1974, it became the name of a Jazz album by Stan Getz, which included said composition.
See those characters' and works' individual pages for further details.
If a direct link led you here, please change it to point to the correct character or work.
