DC Database

"Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Battles the Throwback Terror"": Doctor Sivana has developed a new theory that cavemen evolved via the strength of will to create tribes, which created city-states, then empires and nations. His goons, led by Monk, ask why this matters and Sivana reveals that

Captain Marvel Adventures #113 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1) with a cover date of October, 1950.

Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Battles the Throwback Terror"

Doctor Sivana has developed a new theory that cavemen evolved via the strength of will to create tribes, which created city-states, then empires and nations. His goons, led by Monk, ask why this matters and Sivana reveals that he’s going to turn back history and start things over literally by using a new invention of his to turn people into caveman and passes out Stahlhelms to everyone that will protect them from the effects. Sivana attaches the machine to a power pole, making mere electric light in people’s homes irradiate them into being mindless animals. Meanwhile, Billy Batson is trying to interview a physicist, Oliver Smithberg, only to find he’s devolved into a brutish creature, swinging his umbrella at him as a rudimentary weapon. Billy quickly calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel who easily disarms him and punches him out, chalking it up to a mental break from burnout. He soon runs into a portly man chasing a dog to eat after him and two men fighting in the streets with sticks, but quickly finds that all of New York City is devolving into a violent chaos too. Monk starts using sturdy clubs and the ability to think like a reasoning human being to instill the mindless cavemen into joining his tribe, only for Captain Marvel to fly in and challenge his authority directly, finding out that Sivana intends to seize power with everyone being turned into cavemen. However, his helmet falls off while being interrogated and loses all intelligence, including where Sivana’s hideout is. Instead, Captain Marvel decides to return to Station WHIZ so Billy can broadcast about the caveman problem and finds that the night crew likely also turned into cavemen, only for Sivana to reveal that he was hiding in the studio and fires some caveman radiation that turns Billy into a violent creature that starts smashing a piano and the studio window with his mic stand. He soon decides that it would be “fun” to have Captain Marvel seize power and become Chief, but when he calls SHAZAM, Captain Marvel is naturally unaffected and finds Sivana is gone. However, Captain Marvel decides that this is a decent plan and defeats a majority of Sivana’s henchmen and declares himself Emperor of the Captain Marvel Empire and soon lines up in battle lines against Sivana’s rival Sivana Empire. Sivana is disturbed to find that Captain Marvel has resorted to being more than willing to beat him personally and is threatening to take off his helmet, which would make him a caveman as well. He acquiesces and goes to jail again. Later, Billy signs off saying Captain Marvel destroyed the Throwback Machine.

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Battles the Throwback Terror"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Oliver Smithberg

Locations:

Items:

  • The Throwback Machine (Destroyed)
    • Throwback Machine Helmets

Vehicles:




Synopsis for Capt. Kid: "Capt. Kid and the Gift Package"

Mr. Brown finds Captain Kid is looking pretty blue because it’s Betty Mae’s birthday, but he can’t afford her a present! Mr. Brown says that he’ll help him by offering him a dollar to deliver a dress to his daughter, whose address is on the box at the Fancy Dress Shoppe. Mr. Brown muses that he had an argument with her and he’s getting it for her as a makeup gift. Unfortunately, Captain Kid runs into Betty Mae, who thinks the dress is for her. In order to not have to explain an embarrassing situation to his girlfriend, Captain Kid nicks a ladder from Betty Mae’s dad’s garage to sneak into her bedroom and steal the dress back. Mr. Mae arrives and finds someone climbing into an upper story window with a ladder and presumes that he was leaving the gift for her. Mr. Brown soon returns and finds that Captain Kid hasn’t delivered the dress, but says that she broke up with him and the dress is meaningless now. That night, Captain Kid pretends that he got the dress for her… only to find that it’s way too large for her size and she’s insulted that Captain Kid got her a gigantic dress and Captain Kid is thrown to the curb.

Appearing in Capt. Kid: "Capt. Kid and the Gift Package"

Featured Characters:

  • Captain Kid

Supporting Characters:

  • Mr. Brown

Antagonists:

  • Betty Mae

Other Characters:

  • Betty Mae's Dad

Locations:

Items:

  • A Ladder
  • A Plus-Sized Dress

Vehicles:



Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Imperfect Perfection"

Walter Ward is a normal man with polka-dot pajamas and purple hair. He is self-conscious about it because random men on the street snatch his hat off to mock him for having a hair color. Billy Batson arrives in the city where Walter lives, Perfection, a model town, and meets with civic leader Robert Ajax, head of the Civil League that keeps Perfection “perfect.” He shows off that there are no slums, no noise, no dirt and all the cars are shiny and clean… and if they don’t they receive heavy fines. What’s more they describe that everyone in Perfection must have the ideal form of beauty, that of Ancient Greek gods and the only person who isn’t is purple-haired freak Walter Ward. Robert Ajax openly offers that other citizens will just casually assault Walter until he leaves town forever. Billy figures out this is becoming disturbing and criminal and calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel who punches two men over. Captain Marvel calls Ajax an intolerant snob and Ajax instead offers that he’ll manage his “perfection campaign” soon enough. Captain Marvel finds that the Museum in Perfection is free unless you have purple hair and Walter leads him to the Odd Fellows Club, full of other people of moderate looks that are being discriminated against. Captain Marvel says that they need to fight back against bigotry as Ajax decides to just swing a wrecking ball into the building. Captain Marvel holds the ceiling up while the Odd Fellows leave and confronts Ajax, who has falsified a notice saying the building is “condemned” due to “termites.” The Odd Fellows decide to leave town and the Perfection Civic League have a rally that everyone in town are now “perfect.”

Captain Marvel interrupts and says that they’re “right” and says that he’s perfect too, but offers that if anyone is shorter than him, they are therefore imperfect and begins to angrily insist that he’s a freak and a misfit for not being taller than him. Ajax points out that he just made up a reason he’s better than him and Captain Marvel points out that he now understands the arrogant foolishness that is bigotry. Ajax admits that he’s wrong and asks him to bring back the Odd Fellows, willing to apologize to them for trying to kill them with a wrecking ball. Later, Billy signs off saying that Ajax isn’t just friends with the Odd Fellows Club now… he’s a member too, since he’s odd for thinking he’s so perfect!

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Imperfect Perfection"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Walter Ward

Antagonists:

  • Robert Ajax, President of the Perfection Civic League
    • The Perfection Civic League

Other Characters:

  • The Odd Fellows

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:

  • A Wrecking Ball

Synopsis for Mr. Tawky Tawny: "Captain Marvel and his Feud with Mr. Tawny"

Mr. Tawny is singing in the shower as Billy Batson is reading in his den, realizing that Mr. Tawny can’t sing very good, but he can sing loudly. A press agent driving by, Hal Hooey, hears his voice from the street and runs into his home to say he wants to make him a star! Billy openly says that the man is lying to him and trying to pressure him into something while Hal thinks about how he mostly just wants people to come see a “singing tiger.” Billy calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel as Hal starts shaking a contract in Mr. Tawny’s face. Mr. Tawny is just as willing to give Hal a chance even with the World’s Mightiest Mortal there and Captain Marvel leaves in a huff at being so ignored. The next day, Hal tells Mr. Tawny he intends to take him to a big party to meet important friends. Mr. Tawny asks to invite Captain Marvel, but Hal throws away the invitation, hoping to use the “feud” between Captain Marvel and Mr. Tawny to push Mr. Tawny’s big hit career.

Mr. Tawny is sad to see Captain Marvel didn’t show up and Captain Marvel (outside) is upset that he wasn’t invited, but dashes in anyways when a lit match accidentally lights the curtains on fire. However, though he stomps out the flames to save them, the two find things are still too raw for them to talk it out and Hal sells it to the press as part of an ongoing “feud” and papers start rumoring that the two are close to blows. Soon, Hal manages to produce and set up a cheap play The Singing Cavalier starring Mr. Tawny and it quickly sells out. Billy decides to try to patch things up with Mr. Tawny for Captain Marvel and a stagehand decides to let him go to Mr. Tawny’s room, only for Hal to ambush him and knock him out with a stage hook and leaves him locked in the Prop Room. The show begins and everyone is shocked to elated to find Mr. Tawny can’t really sing, but soon start pelting him with tomatoes. Billy wakes up and calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel who throws the tomatoes back and the people realize that the feud is “over.” Hal tries to run off with the money for the opening night and Captain Marvel punches him in the back of the head and he admits to having started this feud himself. The two friends shake hands and decide never to doubt each other.

Appearing in Mr. Tawky Tawny: "Captain Marvel and his Feud with Mr. Tawny"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • Hal Hooey

Other Characters:

  • Hecklers
  • A Stage Hand

Locations:

Items:

  • A Stage Hook

Vehicles:




See Also


Links and References