“Shazam!” is doing amazing in theaters and Warner Bros. just OKed a sequel.. But you know who is just a bit cooler than Captain Marvel? CAPTAIN THUNDER.
The alternate universe Captain Marvel is so much better than the original. But he has been retconned multiple, so let me start at the beginning.
1974
Captain Thunder first appears in Superman #276. He finds himself at odds with Superman after being displaced from his own timeline and dimension. His name is Willie Fawcett. Clever. Willie from Billy in Billy Batson, and Fawcett from the original comic company of Shazam!. He gets his powers from yelling “Thunder!” His powers came from Tornado (power), Hare (speed), Uncas (bravery), Nature (wisdom), Diamond (toughness), Eagle (flight), and Ram (tenacity).
1983
In the 80’s, Captain Thunder was retconned as an Earth-1 hero. This new African American hero used the “Shazam!” tag line to switch from Willie Fawcett. Unfortunately, this idea was never used.
2011
The best version came from the Flashpoint series. Captain Thunder was again an alternate reality Captain Marvel, but this time, better. Instead of just having one alter-ego, he had SIX. Also, he has a scar on his face from his run-in with Wonder Woman, a baddie in his timeline. Oh, and one of the kids has tiger that also transforms into a more powerful version when hit by the magic lightning. I know. AWESOME!
So, forget “Shazam 2”, give me Captain Thunder.
