The secret history of Mary Marvel: How the female hero of Shazam! is finally seizing the spotlight
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Like a magic thunderbolt from the sky, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to hit theaters this weekend. With the release of the sequel to 2019's surprise hit Shazam!, it feels worthwhile to dig into the saga of Mary Marvel — the first female spin-off superhero, whose creation predates that of Supergirl by almost two decades. With both the new film and the recent DC comic series New Champion of Shazam, Mary is finally taking on a bigger role worthy of her long, important history.
Originally created by writer Otto Binder and artist Marc Swayze, Mary Marvel was the third member of Fawcett Comics' "Marvel Family." Years before the reign of Marvel Comics (when the publisher of Captain America and the Human Torch was still known as Timely), Fawcett had become a major competitor to DC thanks to its assembly of lighthearted magical superheroes. There was, of course, Billy Batson, a young boy who by saying the magic word "Shazam!" transformed into an older self with a vast array of superpowers. But unlike the solitary Superman or the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, Captain Marvel was soon surrounded by a whole family of fellow superheroes: First came Billy's friend Freddie, who could transform into Captain Marvel Jr., and then the revelation of Billy's twin sister Mary.
Unlike Billy and Freddie, Mary didn't grow older or significantly change when she said her magic word — she just got an awesome outfit and superpowers of her own. But who needs to change when you already look like Judy Garland? Even Mary Marvel's creators acknowledged that the star of The Wizard of Oz was the model for their character's look.
"Making comic characters resemble well-known people (without actually saying so) made them instantly acceptable to readers," Beck explained in a piece for the Fawcett Collectors of America newsletter, eventually collected in The Fawcett Companion.
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics; Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros. Mary Marvel on the cover of 'New Champion of Shazam' #1 vs. Grace Caroline Currey as Mary in 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods.'
HardPress Mary Marvel's first appearance in 'Captain Marvel Adventures' #18.
The influence of Mary and the other Marvel Family characters is woven throughout the DNA of modern pop culture (see the extended sequence in the recent Oscar-nominated biopic about Elvis Presley basing his iconic stage looks off Captain Marvel Jr.) but the significance of their legacy is sometimes obscured by the fact that DC sued Fawcett out of business in the early '50s, alleging that Captain Marvel was a rip-off of Superman. Funnily enough, the victorious DC then proceeded to steal elements from the successful Marvel Family comics and incorporate them into Superman's mythos — even hiring Binder to work for his former rival.
"It's funny because Otto Binder, who was one of the main Marvel Family writers, would go on to work on Supergirl, and do a lot of the Super Family stuff," modern DC writer Josie Campbell tells EW in a new interview. "There's a lot of crossover between Shazam/Captain Marvel and Superman specifically, because of that."
Yet in an interview collected in The Fawcett Companion, Binder maintained, "Mary was my pride and joy."
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Mary Marvel explains her backstory in 'New Champion of Shazam' #1.
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Mary Marvel explains her backstory in 'New Champion of Shazam' #1.
These days, almost every major superhero has come to resemble the Marvel Family. Superman has a literal wife and son now, while Batman has now had so many Robins that any comic set in Gotham City now has to involve the "Bat-Family." Then there's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which has united the titular wall-crawling hero with multiple alternate versions — and it's safe to say that without Mary Marvel, there would be no Spider-Gwen.
Decades after Fawcett went out of business, DC eventually acquired the rights to the Marvel Family characters. But they haven't always known what to do with them (not least since the name "Marvel" now connotes an entirely different set of superheroes) and Mary in particular has long felt adrift. An attempt to modernize her in the 2007 series Countdown to Final Crisis saw Mary go to the "dark side," taking on a skimpy black outfit and palling around with villains like Black Adam.
DC Comics Mary Marvel goes to the dark side in 'Countdown to Final Crisis.'
But nothing really stuck — until writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank revitalized Shazam in 2013. Their comic, which went on to become the basis of the 2019 film, introduced new characters Eugene, Pedro, and Darla. Along with the classic trio of Billy, Freddy, and Mary, they now form a literal family of adoptive siblings. Many years have passed since Mary's original debut, and her current comics incarnation reflects maturity.
"In a lot of ways, Mary in the new era is almost exactly flipped from who she was when she started out," Campbell says. "Billy would say 'Shazam,' and he'd transform into an adult. Freddy would become Captain Marvel Junior, the ultimate teenager. But Mary would not really transform: She'd get super strength, but she'd just remain a young girl looking like Dorothy of Oz. She was the little sister. But then since Geoff Johns and Gary Frank did their big revamp, it's kind of flipped on its head where she's become the responsible older sister."
In a boisterous family of six very different siblings, Mary has become the one everybody can trust. This maturity extends to the recent film adaptations, where Mary gives Billy advice about growing up. In Shazam: Fury of the Gods, her experience and self-confidence is reflected in the fact that actress Grace Caroline Currey now plays both Mary's human self and her superhero incarnation.
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Cover of 'New Champion of Shazam' #1 by Evan Shaner.
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Variant cover for 'New Champion of Shazam' #1 by Gary Frank.
In recent DC comics, meanwhile, Mary Marvel is taking on an even bigger role. After studying Binder's original Captain Marvel comics for her college thesis about the history of women in comics, Campbell finally got the chance to write Mary Marvel in DC's recent New Champion of Shazam miniseries. As the title suggests, this comic sees Mary finally take center stage. In Billy's absence, she has now become the one and only wielder of the power of Shazam. The series sees her juggling that superhero responsibility with the demands of becoming a college freshman.
"She might not be a genius, but she works hard," Campbell tells EW. "She might not be flashy, but she has a plan. She's the one doing the hard work, she's the one who's seeing everything for what it is and putting the pieces together in a way that really separates her from Freddy and Billy. Mary's older now, and she's the one who sees the consequences. She's the one who sees how things fit together. She's the one who sees, 'If I don't help these people, nobody will.'"
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Mary Marvel in 'New Champion of Shazam' #4.
Josie Campbell and artist Evan Shaner/DC Comics Mary Marvel in 'New Champion of Shazam' #4.
Sometimes it seems impossible to refashion old concepts for modern cultural contexts, but Campbell's writing (as well as art by Evan "Doc" Shaner, who seamlessly blends the style of classic '40s comics with modern aesthetics) demonstrates how relevant Mary is to modern culture. Mary and Billy were always orphans, and now the role of adoption in their family dynamic is even more important — just as homelessness is skyrocketing nationwide.
"She's the perfect Shazam, the perfect person to take on this mantle, because she's the one who sees the most need for a hero," Campbell says. "She's the one who can champion the people who are forgotten, the people who are left behind by everybody else. Because of the foster experience, she's one of those people. She knows what it's like to be thrown away and feel like there's no one to support you. The short version is, she's the hero we need and deserve."
Although New Champion of Shazam has finished its initial run, Campbell is definitely eager to return to the character at some point: "I would love to do more because I think especially this permutation of Mary, where she's struggling to figure out where she fits in, she's still going to have struggles. I feel like I've barely begun with her. I would love to write more of her and her world."
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in theaters now.
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