Saturday, May 7, 2016

The Power of Shazam! - Great Title and Script for Upcoming Captain Marvel Movie

I've mentioned this before on Twitter, and now I'd like to write out in more detail why I think the upcoming Captain Marvel/Shazam movie should be based on The Power of Shazam! graphic novel.
  • The Power of Shazam! is a fantastic movie title for several reasons.  First, it bypasses the copyright restrictions DC has on using the character name 'Captain Marvel' in a title.  My understanding is they can use the Captain Marvel character name, just not in a comic title.  Second, it is an accurate title in that Captain Marvel gains his powers through Shazam.  DC's unfortunate renaming of the character to Shazam has created a lot of problems and this would help restore Captain Marvel's true and original name.
  • The graphic novel is a self-contained unit that stands on its own. Yes, it launched The Power of Shazam! series, and I'm very glad it did, but it's an awesome story by itself and seems to be ready made for a movie script.  (NOTE: In a Twitter conversation I had with Jerry Ordway, I asked him if he has been involved in the upcoming movie and he replied, "At one point, when John August was doing a script, I heard that they were looking at my painted book."  In another tweet he mentionded, Jonathan Peterson, the editor, and I set out to make "the movie adaptation" of Captain Marvel, without the actual movie."  I have to agree with Mr. Ordway - the graphic novel should be the movie adaptation!!! )
  • Captain Marvel's origin as well as that of Black Adam's is well developed in the graphic novel.  We already know Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is playing Black Adam in the movie, and Black Adam has a major role in The Power of Shazam! that he never had in the golden (Fawcett) age of Captain Marvel comics.  Yet in the graphic novel it stays true to Black Adam's character as a villain, not as an anti-hero.  Black Adam needs to be a villain, an antithesis to the wholesomeness of Captain Marvel.  Captain Marvel and Billy Batson's origins also remain intact but with some nice modernizations that do a fine job of bridging the golden age hero with our modern times.
  • By using The Power of Shazam! graphic novel, DC leaves the door open for future Captain Marvel movies.  It would ruin the movie if you try telling Cap's origin and throw in the entire cast of villains that Cap has faced over the years.  By sticking to the story in the graphic novel both Cap and Black Adam will be able to have future movies with well-established back stories.  The original Superman movie, Batman '89, Man of Steel, etc. used this format of introducing us to the character but not overwhelming us with villains.
For these reasons, The Power of Shazam! should be used as the title and script for the upcoming Captain Marvel movie.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this article, feel free to share them!  If I come up with any more reasons, I'll update this article and let you know.



1 comment:

  1. At the moment... It doesn't really look like there will even a movie,as we first were told. This article is nice conjecture, but where is the proof that this film will or is even going into production? Power of Shazam should be the logical title,for the movie. The movie is supposed to get made by what, 2019? Maybe time enough to get a script written. But then again, the Shazam script has been in development for how long?...2009??

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