Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1943.
Synopsis for "The Mark of the Black Swastika"
- Some decades ago, the Devil himself chose three young boys to carry his mark: The Black Swastika. These boys grew up to be Adolph Hitler and his inner circle.
Billy Batson, acting as a war correspondent, is on hand when the Devil appears and makes things even worse. Captain Marvel himself is unable to pound him to any effect. However, when some children think the Devil is on fire and douse him to be good citizens, then show concern for his well-being, their kindness makes him shrink out of sight. With their infernal patron gone, the Nazi High Command end up in the hospital and seem to have lost their evil powers.
Appearing in "The Mark of the Black Swastika"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Satan
- Nazis
- Hitler (Flashback and main story)
- Joseph Goebbels (Flashback and main story)
- Hermann Göring
Other Characters:
- French children
- German children (Flashback only)
- Austrian children (Flashback only)
- Goebbels' teacher (Flashback only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel and the Horn of Plenty"
Capt. Marvel handles the problems of an artifact which gives anything which the user wishes.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel and the Horn of Plenty"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Fingers Grogan and his gang (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Bert Nelson
- Doris Brown
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Captain Marvel and the Raiders from Space"
The alien race named Thoads plans to invade the Earth. Captain Marvel thwarts them.
Appearing in "Captain Marvel and the Raiders from Space"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Thoads (Single appearance)
- Grollo, high-commander of the Thoads
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Thoad-Thule (Single appearance)
- Camp Yankton
Items:
- Radium Gun
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Kid: "Captain Kid on the Farm"
Appearing in Captain Kid: "Captain Kid on the Farm"
Featured Characters:
- Captain Kid
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Capt. Marvel meets Attila the Hun"
Dr. Sivana uses his Reincarnation Machine to resurrect Attila the Hun, expecting the Mongol conqueror to defeat Capt. Marvel. Beautia warns Billy Batson about the plans of her father and Batson changes to Captain Marvel. Even with all his wild strength, Attila is not successful in doing harm to Marvel. Sivana and Attila hide themselves. Beautia tries to kiss Marvel, who changes back to Billy in order to flee from her. Dr. Sivana seizes the opportunity and gags Billy, and imprisons him in his house. Attila begins to mess with Sivana's home, eating enough for ten people, allowing his horse to stay inside the house, kissing Beautia, and even sleeping in Sivana's bed. And the worst: Attila is longing for the position of rightful ruler of the universe, which is the main goal of Sivana. The mad scientist frees Billy, who changes to Captain Marvel and knocks out Attila, throwing him into the reincarnation machine, where he returns to his previous state. Instead of being jailed, Sivana vows to reform himself.
Appearing in "Capt. Marvel meets Attila the Hun"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Attila the Hun (Dies)
- Dr. Sivana
Locations:
Items:
- Sivana's Reincarnation Machine (First appearance)
Notes
- "The Horn of Plenty" was reprinted in the Captain Marvel and the Horn of Plenty! one-shot.
- "Captain Marvel and the Raiders from Space" was reprinted in the Captain Marvel and the Raiders from Space one-shot.
- A free miniature "Mighty Midget" reprint comic was attached to this comic at the spot on the cover to which Captain Marvel points. This was the "special thrill" to which he referred. Several different mini comics were offered, featuring Captain Marvel, Jr., Ibis the Invincible, Golden Arrow or Captain Marvel himself.
Trivia
- Second story: Steamboat is a stereotypical black character. Comic book stories from 1943 may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While not representing the DC Comics view of today's society, these stories are being indexed and summarized as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.
- Third story: This is the first time that ordinary lightning changes Billy Batson into Captain Marvel.
- Fifth story:
- The Reincarnation Machine will be used again by Sivana in Shazam! #27.
- This story is the first one in which Sivana asks for help from Captain Marvel.
- At the end of this story, Attila goes back to his previous state, which effectively means death.
See Also
Links and References
- Read the complete issue at the Digital Comic Museum
- Read the complete Captain Marvel Mighty Midget mini-comic that came with some copies of the issue at the Digital Comic Museum