Zachary Levi had spoken out for the first time about his role as Shazam in the upcoming DC movie, and have left a few wondering if he threw a little shade at Marvel.
The actor took to Instagram and shared an image from the artist BossLogic that had transformed him into what he may look like as Shazam. Levi used this post to share how “honored and greatly humbled” he is to play the role. He made a reference to Shazam as being “the original Captain Marvel” that may be a subtle shot at Marvel.
For those not familiar with the history of “Captain Marvel,” here is an explanation. In 1939 C.C. Beck and Bill Parker created Captain Marvel for Fawcett Comics’ Whiz Comics. The character had an alter ego of Billy Batson who can transform into the costumed adult hero by uttering the word SHAZAM! The character became popular in the 1940s, outselling DC Comics’ Superman.
In 1953, Fawcett had stopped publishing Captain Marvel-related comics after a copyright infringement suit from (DC) National alleging that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. In 1972, DC had licensed the Marvel Family from Fawcett. Marvel had their own Captain Marvel character and so DC published their Captain Marvel book under the title Shazam!.
When DC publisher Carmine Infantino tried to subtitle the Shazam! book as The Original Captain Marvel, Marvel Comics hit DC with a cease and desist letter. Fans closely associated with DC’s Captain Marvel with the name “Shazam!” and the character adopted that name while Marvel Comics continued using the “Captain Marvel” name.
Captain Marvel, the Marvel Comics version is getting a whole lot of buzz. The Marvel heroine will appear in her own MCU installment with Brie Larson slated for a March 8, 2019 release date.
Here’s to hoping that there’s room for both Marvel’s Carol Danvers and DC’s Billy Batson/Shazam when the superheroes debut in 2019.
