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"A Twice-Told Tale": Doctor Sivana creates time traveling pills so that he can visit the past and kill Billy Batson before he became Captain Marvel. Once in the past, Sivana loses his memories that exist in t

Quote1 OMIGOSH! Now I remember everything! I went to the past in order to prevent Captain Marvel from ever existing! But when I got to the past, all I did was re-live the same events as before! Curses! Quote2
Doctor Sivana

Captain Marvel Adventures #80 is an issue of the series Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1948.

Synopsis for "A Twice-Told Tale"

Doctor Sivana creates time traveling pills so that he can visit the past and kill Billy Batson before he became Captain Marvel. Once in the past, Sivana loses his memories that exist in the future and he wonders what is he doing in an empty lot. He walks down the street and buys a newspaper from the newsboy, Billy Batson. After reading the headlines, he remembers that he is the "phantom scientist" mentioned in the main article. Since he is back in the past, he takes up the thread of his life, exactly as he lived it the first time. He heads to his apartment to plan his next caper. Meanwhile, Billy is approached by a mysterious figure who leads him to an underground cavern where he meets Shazam for the first time. The origin of Captain Marvel happens again and after his transformation, Billy/Captain Marvel, learns of Doctor Sivana's hideout and goes after him. During their (first) confrontation, Sivana remembers he has time traveling pills and swallows them in order to escape his "new" enemy. He pops back into present time, where (the present) Captain Marvel is waiting to apprehend his "old" nemesis.

Appearing in "A Twice-Told Tale"

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Items:

Concepts:


Synopsis for "Captain Marvel's Inferiority Complex!"

Under pressure from an important sponsor, Sterling Morris persuades Billy Batson to persuade Captain Marvel to show up at Mrs. Van Rockabilt's high-society soiree. Marvel reluctantly attends and things go poorly, and he makes a bad impression on the idle wealthy phonies present. Embarrassed and out-of-place, Captain Marvel develops an inferiority complex, and describes it out loud, drawing the attention of high-society psychiatrist Doctor Deflong, who gives him his card.

The next day Captain Marvel visits the psychiatrist, and in a free-association exercise he tells him the story of his first embarrassing encounter with Society Sam, famous international swindler. He'd caught the bad guy but had also gotten scorned and scolded by a mean rich girl. Based on this, the doctor advises the Captain to try again, and he arranges for Mrs. Van Rockabilt to invite Marvel to a croquet match at her estate, the following day.

Captain Marvel flies out to the croquet grounds, and at first he does a better job of aping the society people's manners, but soon a lucky but embarrassing accident leads him indoors at just the right moment to catch "Count de Champagne" in the act of burgling Mrs. van Rockabilt's wall safe. This regains the good will of all the society swells, and he gets over his inferiority complex. The next day Billy Batson explains most of this to his radio audience.

Appearing in "Captain Marvel's Inferiority Complex!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Society Sam, (as "Count de Champagne") (Flashback and main story) (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

  • Doctor Deflong (Single appearance)
  • Doctor Sivana (Mentioned only)
  • Mrs. van Rockabilt (Single appearance)
  • snobby rich girl

Locations:

Synopsis for "Captain Marvel Meets the Weatherman!"


Appearing in "Captain Marvel Meets the Weatherman!"

Featured Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Mr. and Mrs. Cranston (Single appearance)

Locations:

  • Western Indiana
    • Cranston Family Farm

Synopsis for "Captain Kid"


Appearing in "Captain Kid"

Featured Characters:

  • Captain Kid

Synopsis for "Captain Marvel in the Land of Surrealism!"

Leonardo Vinch, the famous surrealist artist, had a map, which led to the Land of Surrealism. Vinch called it his "Goofy Grotto." That's where he went to create his paintings. The art world scoffed at him, but he proved to Billy Batson that the place was real. After a weird encounter with the very weird natives of this other-worldly place, whose experience mirrored Vinch's own stories of disbelief, Captain Marvel tore up Vinch's map, which according to him would prevent anyone else from finding this dangerous other world.

Appearing in "Captain Marvel in the Land of Surrealism!"

Featured Characters:

Other Characters:

  • Leonardo Vinch (Single appearance)
  • Land of Surrealism Natives (Single appearance)

Locations:

Notes

  • "A Twice-Told Tale" was reprinted in Shazam! #8.
    • This is the first time that Sivana time-travels back to the Captain Marvel origin; the other were in the issues 100 and 121.
    • If Sivana returned to the period when Billy Batson first became Captain Marvel, there would be another younger duplicate of Sivana there and history itself hinted at it: when the 1948 Sivana reaches 1940, amnesiac, read headlines in a newspaper about a "ghost scientist" threatening the US radio system, and he recalls that he is the scientist mentioned in the main article and then re-enacts his role; his henchmen did not realize that Sivana was from another period of time. According to Whiz Comics Vol 1 2, Sivana did not meet Captain Marvel personally at the hero's debut, the scientist communicated via a special TV, thus the 1940 Sivana was hidden elsewhere.
  • The Weatherman appearing in this issue's third story appears very different from the Weather Man appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr. Vol 1 24. His abilities are supernatural, and innate, for instance, while the Weather Man in Captain Marvel, Jr. used special equipment to make weather. This Weatherman is also a lot more malicious, where the other Weather Man was just very cranky.
  • Also appearing in this issue of Captain Marvel Adventures were:
    • Tightwad Tad (appears twice)
    • Captain Tootsie: "Saves the School Party"
    • Dopey Danny Dee: "Early Morning Movie"
    • Whippersnappers: "Farm Frollicking"



See Also

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Links and References

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