Billy Batson's Faux Family

From the very first Captain Marvel comic, we learned that Billy Batson was an orphan.  As time went on, we learned he did have a twin sister - Mary.  Mary is the only blood relative that Billy has.  However, as Billy's fame as a radio announcer grew, there were occasions where people sought out Billy thinking that they were true blood relatives.

Here are the examples I've found so far:

1.  Captain Marvel and His Country Cousin.  This story was published in Captain Marvel Adventures #26 (published June 30, 1943).  Willard Batson from Arkansas tracks down Billy Batson and introduces himself as Billy's cousin!  However, Billy finds out that there is no relationship at all.

2.  Captain Marvel and the Last of the Batsons!  This adventure comes to us from Captain Marvel Adventures #51 (published November 28, 1945).  Billy meets 'Wild Bill' Batson who claims to be the last of the Batsons from out West and Billy is his long-lost grandson!  But by the end of the story, Captain Marvel discovers Wild Bill's true long-lost grandson.  Once again, Billy meets a Batson that is not a blood relative!

These are the only examples I've found so far.  As I discover more, I'll update this article!

Comic of the Week - Captain Marvel Adventures #104

The Captain Marvel comic of the week is Captain Marvel Adventures #104.  This comic featured an awesome cover of Captain Marvel and Tawky Tawny - with Tawky in a Captain Marvel uniform!  This comic was a 'big 52 pages' and contained the following stories:

"Captain Marvel and the Space Dragon!"

"Captain Marvel Fights the Hypnotic Trap"

"Captain Marvel and the Missing Atom"

"Captain Marvel and Mr. Tawny's Masquerade"

This comic was published on November 2,1949* with a cover date of January.  

*Based on Mike's Amazing World of Comics

Captain Marvel Gets Struck by Lightning!

We know from Whiz Comics #125 that it is magic lightning thrown by Zeus that transforms Billy Batson into Captain Marvel and transforms Cap back to Billy.  So what would happen if Captain Marvel was struck by non-magical lightning?  We get the answer in Captain Marvel Adventures #142*! 

In the story "Captain Marvel Battles the Red Lightning Blitz" we find Cap has flown to investigate a strange phenomenon happening in the midst of the Korean war.  During his investigation, Cap is zapped by lightning from a lightning gun created by the villain the Red Crusher!   What happens?!?  Nothing!  The lightning doesn't transform Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson!

Based on this story and also based on the information in Whiz Comics #125, it appears that non-magical lightning has no effect on Captain Marvel and does not trigger any transformation!  I would also have to assume that if Billy was struck by non-magical lightning the results would be the same for any human struck by lightning!

I must note that I have seen two examples from golden-age Captain Marvel comics where Cap was transformed back to Billy by the electricity of a giant electric eel.  There's also an example of Billy being transformed into Captain Marvel from a regular bolt of lightning.  I have only seen screenshots of these so I don't know the entire story or context.  (I'm trying to find what comic they came from so I can read the full story.)  Additionally, in the 1970's Shazam! comics, there are two incidents where Billy and Cap both transformed after being struck by a form of magical lightning(Shazam! #15 and #31).  Therefore, based on the burden of evidence, I have to conclude that the electric eel and regular lightning incident are errors or gaps in Cap's continuity.  Who knows, maybe Zeus saw Billy was about to be struck by regular lightning and threw a magic lightning bolt at him to save him!!

Throughout Cap's comics, there are many times where it clearly states that it is the magic lightning that transforms Billy into Captain Marvel and back again.  And, based on Captain Marvel Adventures #125 and #142, I can safely say that the only type of lightning that has any impact on Captain Marvel is the magic lightning thrown by Zeus!  

*Based on Mike's Amazing World, this comic published on January 2, 1953.

Comic of the Week - Captain Marvel and the Good Humor Man

The Captain Marvel comic of the week is Captain Marvel and the Good Humor Man.  This comic was a one-shot, 32 page comic featuring Captain Marvel and promoted the movie, 'The Good Humor Man.'  The cover featured Cap, actor Jack Carson, and boys from the Captain Marvel Club.

The premise of the story is Captain Marvel is invited to the set of The Good Humor Man movie to act as a technical advisor for the Captain Marvel Club sequences filmed for the movie.  And, as you can imagine, there are all sorts of hijinx and adventures throughout the story.  There are also several ads for the movie as well!

This comic was published on June 2, 1950.*    

*Based on Mike's Amazing World of Comics