Did You Know...

Did you know Billy Batson's friend, Whitey Murphy, was a character that had his origin outside of Captain Marvel comics?

The Whitey Murphy character was introduced in the 1941 Adventures of Captain Marvel movie serial in which Whitey was a friend of Billy Batsons.  Murphy was played by actor William Benedict.

Whitey makes his first appearance in Whiz Comics #22 (published September 5, 1941) in the story "Captain Marvel and the Temple of Itzalotahui."   Whitey stops by Billy's office at W.H.I.Z. and the two young men are reunited after working on the Captain Marvel movie together and go on a wonderful adventure!

Billy and Whitey would have further adventures in the pages of Captain Marvel's comics.  For example, Cap helps Whitey get a promotion in Captain Marvel Adventures #12.

Even though Whitey Murphy was first introduced to us in the Captain Marvel movie, I'm glad they incorporated him into Cap's comics.  He's a great friend of Billy's and a great character who appears now and then on the pages of both the golden-age comics and the Shazam! comics of the 70s.

Captain Marvel's Character: Industry

Industry is another aspect of Captain Marvel's character that draws me to him as a hero.  In this article I want to illustrate the industry of Captain Marvel.

What is industry?  Here are some brief thoughts and definitions that will help frame industry for this article:

• Diligence in an employment or pursuit; especially: steady or habitual effort
• The habit of working hard and steadily
• "Industry, to be most successful, must be steady, persevering, and wisely directed." B. B. Comegys
• "Lose no time.  Be always employed in something useful.  Cut off all unnecesary actions." Ben Franklin

An example of Captain Marvel's industry is displayed on the pages of Captain Marvel Adventures #12.  In the story, "Captain Marvel Joins the Army" we find Captain Marvel has enlisted in the Army undercover as Private M. R. Vell.  Cap and his friend Whitey Murphey have been assigned the task of ditch digging!  Cap uses his powers and quickly gets the job done in a matter of minutes and that leads Whitey to say, "Good!  Now we can loaf the rest of the day, huh?"  Captain Marvel, the paragon of industry, replies with a hearty "Nothing doing!"  Cap doesn't goof off but instead looks to train Whitey to be a better soldier.

Does Captain Marvel's industry pay off?  Yes, it does!  Because Cap didn't loaf but invested his time in making his pal Whitey a better soldier, Whitey is promoted!

Captain Marvel's industry is clearly seen through his actions in both digging ditches and training his friend.  There are many other examples throughout the pages of Cap's comics, but this stands out to me as one of the better examples.  Captain Marvel is a hero who exemplifies industry, and that's just one more reason he's been my hero and a hero to countless others!

Comic of the Week - Whiz Comics #119

The Captain Marvel comic of the week is Whiz Comics #119.  This comic featured "52 pages of thundering action" with the following stories:

"Captain Marvel and the Strange Settlers"

"Golden Arrow and the Battling Sheepherder"

"Lance O'Casey and the Pan American Bull Session"

"Ibis the Invincible and the River of No Return" 

This comic was published on January 6, 1950* with a cover date of March 1950.  

*Based on Mike's Amazing World of Comics

Comic of the Week - Captain Marvel Adventures #134

The Captain Marvel comic of the week is Captain Marvel Adventures #134.  This comic offered the following three Captain Marvel stories:

"Captain Marvel Battles Sivana's Capsule Kingdom"

"Captain Marvel and Mr. Tawny's Bouncing Shoes"

"Captain Marvel and the Lost Island of Ice"

This comic was published on May 2, 1952* with a cover date of July 1952.  

*Based on Mike's Amazing World of Comics

General Shazam, Captain Marvel, and Private M. R. Vell

Captain Marvel Adventures #12 (published June 26, 1942) tells us information about Cap and Shazam's efforts during World War 2!  This happens in the story, "Captain Marvel Joins the Army!"  I'm not going to write about the entire story, but instead I want to focus on what the story reveals about Shazam and Cap's actions to support the Allies against the Axis.

The story tells us that Billy Batson wanted to join the Army but was turned away because he was to young.  So Billy transforms into Captain Marvel and assumes the alias of M. R. Vell who passes all the entrance tests with flying colors!  M. R. Vell is offered a commission, but he declines and requests to go to boot camp like all the other soldiers.  Captain Marvel joins the Army and is now known as Private M. R. Vell!!

At the end of the adventure, Private M. R. Vell has been summoned to General Headquarters.  Upon entering the office, Private M. R. Vell meets the General - and to his surprise (and mine!!) it is none other than the wizard Shazam!  Shazam is a General in the Army and is supporting the Allies to defeat the Axis.

While Private M. R. Vell would be a super soldier, General Shazam explains that he has plans for Captain Marvel that far exceed what any soldier could do and Cap will see more fighting action than any soldier will.  Then, Billy Batson sums it up for us by explaining, "So that's why Captain Marvel isn't in an Army uniform!  But he's in the scrap, shoulder to shoulder with the Army, the Navy, the Marines!"

This story was a fantastic adventure that gives us more information about the wizard Shazam as well as Captain Marvel's exploits during WWII.  It also gives us a glimpse at Captain Marvel's patriotic and humble character.  I'm sure it gave a morale boost to the men and women serving in the armed forces during the war and to the boys and girls back home.

General Shazam and Captain Marvel joined forces with the Allies during World War 2, and for a moment so did a little known Private - M. R. Vell!!

C. C. Beck's Appearances in Captain Marvel Comics

C. C. Beck is the beloved artist who brought Captain Marvel to life in Cap's golden-age comics.  I found a few instances where Beck made some guest appearances in Cap's comics!  Here are the ones I have found so far.

The first appearance I found was when I was researching the origin of Captain Marvel Jr and ran across a story in Master Comics #22.  In this story, Sir Clarence Beck has become a victim of Dr. Eternity - partner in crime with Captain Nazi!  (Peter Costo in the picture below was probably Becks assistant, Peter Costanza.  Costanza also made a few cameo appearances as I mentioned in my article here.)

Beck next appears in Captain Marvel Adventures #18.  In this appearance, C. C. asks a question in the The Mental Marvel Quiz.  His question is, "Who is Captain Marvel?"  The answer comes from Freddy Freeman (Captain Marvel, Jr) who says Captain Marvel is "the world's mightiest mortal!"  I think it's pretty funny how Billy and Freddy respond to C. C.'s question!

The final appearance I've found is in Captain Marvel Adventures #97.  I'm basing this information from a notation on that comic in Comic Book Plus that states it's a cameo appearance by Beck.  It's a great appearance as the story is about Captain Marvel saving the world from an evil artist with a magic eraser that can destroy the world!  Please note that the features of the artist in the picture below are very similar to the Beck in Master Comics #22 listed above!!

Beck made an appearance in the '70s Captain Marvel comic series in Shazam! #4 which I wrote about here.  And C. C. Beck made a guest appearance in Shazam! Convergence as drawn by Doc Shaner!

These are the only golden-age comic appearances that I'm aware of, but be sure I will update this article as I find more.  

Marvel Family Timeline

As I've been writing a series of articles on the Marvel Family, I thought it would be helpful to include a timeline showing when each family member made their appearance in Captain Marvel's comics.

Here's the timeline for when each family member appeared, the cover of the comic, and the date of publication (according to Mike's Amazing World of Comics).

1.  Captain Marvel 

The world's mightiest mortal first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 published December 1, 1939.

2.  The Lieutenant Marvels

Tall Billy, Fat Billy, and Hill Billy became the Lieutenant Marvels in Whiz Comics #21, published on August 8, 1941.

3.  Captain Marvel, Junior

Freddy Freeman becomes Captain Marvel, Junior in Whiz Comics #25 and published on November 28, 1941.

4.  Mary Marvel

Mary Batson, Billy's twin sister, becomes Mary Marvel in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 which published on November 13, 1942.

5.  Uncle Marvel

Uncle Marvel meets Mary Marvel in Wow Comics #18, published on September 15, 1943.

6.  Freckles Marvel

Freckles Marvel, niece of Uncle Dudley, made her debut  with Mary Marvel in Wow Comics #35 which published on March 23, 1945.

7.  Tawky Tawny

Mr. Tawny - the talking tiger - first met Captain Marvel on September 26, 1947 when Captain Marvel Adventures #79 published.

Although each Marvel Family member may not have super powers, they each contribute to the depth and unique character of Captain Marvel's comics.  Cap's adventures just wouldn't be the same without the contributions of each Marvel Family member!