Captains Marvel

Last week's release of Shazam means that there are currently two characters named Captain Marvel out on the screens these days. The one belonging to Marvel Comics is called Captain Marvel, and so is her movie. That's because Marvel Comics -- or whoever owns them these days -- owns the trademark on the name "Captain Marvel."

The hero now named Shazam was called Captain Marvel when he debuted in Whiz Comics back in 1940. Through a confusing series of lawsuits and oversights, DC comics eventually acquired the character but not the trademark. That means that while they can call their character Captain Marvel, they can't market him that way. So no "Captain Marvel" in a comic book or movie title, no Captain Marvel toys or whatnot. DC finally gave in and just started calling the character Shazam (which is kind of weird when you think about it, because it's saying his name aloud that brings down magic lightning that transforms him from hero form to teenage boy & vice-versa).

Anyway, because Marvel's movie and its stars for some reason decided to stir up the specter of sexism as the major or in some cases only reason to not like it, some online comic communities tried to gin up a feud between the "real" Captain Marvel of Shazam and the "fake" Captain Marvel of Captain Marvel. Most of the people directly connected to both movies weren't having it, and even though I waited until Shazam came out before going to see Captain Marvel, I'm not buying it either. Although I will insist until my proverbial last breath that the name of the Big Red Cheese (as his villainous detractors call him) is not Shazam but Captain Marvel, I'll just refer to him as the first Captain Marvel, which is accurate and doesn't make any quality judgments about the characters or the movies.

As for the movies themselves, they do make an interesting contrast, both as vehicles for their stories and as vehicles for their different company's theatrical plans. Captain Marvel is a set-up of sorts for Avengers: Endgame, previewing the character who will play a role in defeating or perhaps undoing the work of Thanos in Infinity War. It's set in the 1990s, as we see the woman warrior Vers (Brie Larson) struggle with symptoms very much like PTSD while serving with the Kree elite Starforce strike unit. Both her mentor and the ruling Kree AI tell her she needs to learn to keep her emotions in check.

But a capture by the Skrulls and a subsequent escape leave Vers stranded on Earth, where she learns she is actually the missing test pilot Carol Danvers. She finds allies in S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson), her friend Maria Lambeau (Lashana Lynch) and Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening) in trying to uncover her past and thwart a villainous plot -- but exactly who among all of the plotters are the real villains is a question that has no clear answer.

Larson was dogged in early previews for having a mostly stone-faced demeanor, showing little or no emotion. That's unfair, considering that her character's superiors are directing her to suppress emotion in order to increase her effectiveness. It's also unfair considering that this particular iteration of Marvel's "Captain Marvel" isn't the most interesting one available. It's by no means the worst -- that title probably goes to the original green-and-white suited lunkhead Stan Lee and Gene Colan whipped up in 1967 to maintain their trademark.

But the 1970s version of Carol Danvers, who out-dueled Jonah Jameson to get the salary she wanted and to get him to call her "Ms. Danvers" rather than "Miss," or the current Kamala Khan both offer more substantial story possibilities. Both characters go by "Ms. Marvel" rather than "Captain," but that's not hard to change.

The story's latter third fills the screen with pixelated pyrotechnics and battle scenes, losing the focus on the human actors in favor of CGI spectaculars. Captain Marvel has some light moments and fun bits and it has the plus of showing a strong and self-actualized female lead, but its major tones lean towards the dreary. If I hadn't decided I might miss some key element of Endgame by skipping Marvel, I probably would not have bothered. It's earned almost a billion dollars worldwide as I write, so that means sequel prospects are good and the moviemakers have another chance to convince me I should care about these characters.

Shazam had the burden of trying to continue a two-movie renaissance of sorts for DC superhero properties. Through Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman and Justice League, the Zack Snyder vision of superheroics was grim, glowering, gray and grinding. It was also failing miserably. But beginning with Wonder Woman and continuing in Aquaman, the company had a couple of hits and seemed to have found their own formula for getting people to not only watch what they put on screen but even like it. Would Shazam continue that streak? Chances were good that a lighter tone would dominate, considering that the original Captain Marvel universe included a talking tiger named Talky Tawney and three "Lieutenant Marvels" called Tall Marvel, Hill Marvel and Fat Marvel after their human identities of "Tall Billy" Batson, "Hill Billy" Batson and "Fat Billy" Batson. The latter three gained their own powers after meeting the original Billy.

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) was seemingly abandoned by his mother when he was young. He hasn't adapted well to foster life and has been placed in his last-ditch foster home with a crew of other children who welcome him even though he isn't always nice to them. A defense of his friend Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) leads to an encounter with the ancient wizard Shazam (Djimon Honsou), who gives Billy the powers of ancient figures of history and myth when he speaks the word "Shazam" aloud. As Shazam (Zachary Levi), Billy finds himself stronger, faster, invulnerable and (supposedly) wiser. But he draws the attention of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), who wants the knowledge of the Rock of Eternity that Billy now has.

Large parts of Shazam are played for laughs, as Levi and Grazer stage their best homage to Big, only with a superhero suit and powers. Some of the humor hits and some doesn't. Sivana is a truly evil villain, acting in ways that clash with the lighter tone of the Levi-Grazer scenes. Shazam works better than any of the Snyderesque visions of the DC universe, but it labors with its own flaws.

Although unofficial lore suggested that the adult Captain Marvel was more or less teenage Billy in his grown-up and super-powered form, the contrast previously presented little problem for the idea that we were reading about a hero who had the wisdom of Solomon. Plainly put, an adolescent of 1940 was far more mature than an adolescent of 2019, and had an easier time being an adult hero. Of course wisdom needs development, but we really don't see much of what the "S" in the name should be contributing.

As Shazam tries to play to more mature audiences with a superhero story that touches on issues like family, the impact of abandonment, and responsibility to others, it also tries to pitch to jokey humor and convince an audience that there's a reason to see a DC movie instead of rewatching The Avengers, Superman II or Spider-Man: Homecoming. That's really too much for any one movie, and the seams show.

Both Captains Marvel movies probably do better among fans of their respective characters than with the general public, even the general super-hero movie public. Their flaws are related but different. Captain Marvel really doesn't do enough justify its own existence; it's backstory for Endgame. Shazam, on the other hand, tries too hard to justify not just its own existence but that of the cinematic universe of which it is a part. Both movies would have been better if they had been created as ends in themselves, rather than as means to further ends down the road.

But considering that among their competition is yet another adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary that doesn't understand what King meant when he said it was the book, at the time, that "scared him the most," what have you got to lose?