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Shazam! (1973) #9

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"Captain Marvel: "Worms of the World, Unite!"": Billy Batson is checking out wanted posters to keep himself abreast of crimes that Captain Marvel can stop, which haven't stopped since the ‘50s. Later, the post office closes and Mr. Mind sneaks in to start recruiting criminals for a new Monster S

Shazam! #9 is an issue of the series Shazam! (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1974. It was published on October 18, 1973.

Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Worms of the World, Unite!"

Billy Batson is checking out wanted posters to keep himself abreast of crimes that Captain Marvel can stop, which haven't stopped since the ‘50s. Later, the post office closes and Mr. Mind sneaks in to start recruiting criminals for a new Monster Society of Evil, which formerly numbered among the top 87 criminals of other worlds, even including Dr. Sivana and Führer Adolf Hitler! However, it was broken up by Captain Marvel and he was electrocuted, but (somehow) he's returned. He soon manages to find a mad scientist working on a “Hate-Projector”… only for Captain Marvel to fly in his window and arrests him before he can finish it, while Mr. Mind steals into the machine itself to hide out. When Mr. Mind thinks of how much he hates Captain Marvel, it makes the scientist faint, whereof he's immediately arrested (though Captain Marvel didn't feel it, invulnerable as he is.) He begins plotting about if he had 1,000,000 worms, even he might be able to defeat the “Big Red Cheese.” Days later, Billy is finishing up a broadcast when he gets news in that a plague of worms in the thousands are marching across America and that Captain Marvel will soon investigate it. Once off the air, he calls SHAZAM to become Captain Marvel, flying out to find worms moving on a nearby hill. With his Worm Army assembled, Mr. Mind activates the Hate Projector, which is now strong enough to make Captain Marvel fall out of his flight path and knock him down the hill when he tries to go after him. Further, Mr. Mind threatens if he moves closer, it could even kill the World's Mightiest Mortal! Thus, Captain Marvel decides to pick up a big bag of dry ice as Billy and flies it into the sky over the hill, making it rain and making the worms come out of the ground, breaking their concentration enough that he plucks him out of his Hate Projector and plops him in an empty tomato can. Captain Marvel asks how he managed to survive the electric chair and Mr. Mind reveals that he broke off a segment of himself and regenerated from it (like a worm does,) but Captain Marvel proves this wrong, since his body in the Museum was fake. Mr. Mind laughs madly that he'll give him a new explanation each time, but Captain Marvel says there won't be a next time for him. Later, Billy remarks that Captain Marvel has to continue being good, since evil never stops.

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Worms of the World, Unite!"

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • Mr. Mind's Hate-Projector Helmet
  • A Bag of Dry Ice

Vehicles:




Synopsis for Captain Marvel, Jr: "The Mystery of the Missing Newsstand!"

Freddy Freeman is peddling papers at his Newsstand where he meets his earliest and most consistent customer, “Good-Natured” Joe, who pays him with a $5 and lets him keep the change. However, the next day… both the Newsstand and Good-Natured Joe aren't there! The Daily Gazette is soon delivered and he finds that elevators are being stolen out of buildings across Fawcett City and sees a gigantic red airship that sure seems to be responsible and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Jr. The World's Mightiest Boy finds the airship using a powerful tractor beam to drag the elevators out and starts firing lasers at him when he gets closer, so he instead follows it from afar to see what they're up to. He soon trails the airship back to a smelting plant being run by metal-ore smugglers at Galvano's Metal Refinery, having stolen the elevators to use the rare metals inside them so they can sell them to a “foreign power” for a “secret weapon.” Mr. Galvano tries to reactivate the autonomous Robot Airship, but Junior punches out his goon and then destroys the controls, chopping Galvano in the neck, knocking him out. Within one of the elevators, he finds Good-Natured Joe was trapped inside one going home the night before and he runs off suddenly, saying he's “late.” Junior soon returns to being Freddy and heads back to where his Newsstand was (outside the Citizens Bank) and finds that Joe ran off so fast… because he bought him a new pre-fab plastic Newsstand that won't break down! Freddy is happy to see it from his best customer.

Appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr: "The Mystery of the Missing Newsstand!"

Supporting Characters:

  • "Good-Natured Joe" (First appearance) (Freddy Freeman's regular customer at his newsstand)

Antagonists:

  • Galvano and his gang (First appearance) (Metal-ore smugglers)

Other Characters:


Locations:

Items:

  • Stolen Elevators
  • A New Plastic Newsstand

Vehicles:

  • Galvano's Robot Airship

Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "The Day Captain Marvel Went Ape!'

Billy Batson, Boy Broadcaster, is asked by Mr. Morris to help out, since the boy who plays the Wizard in Bonzo's Show is sick and must be replaced. A half-hour before, Billy is wearing a turban as “Caliban the Wizard,” but is lackluster with co-stars Trixie (a girl) and Bonzo, a chimpanzee. When Mr. Morris does too good of a job scaring them with a sinister-sounding spell, Bonzo is spooked and starts breaking lighting fixtures, forcing Billy to call SHAZAM… to find nothing happening! Unfortunately, something has gone wrong and now the magic lightning has given Bonzo the powers of Captain Marvel! When he tries it again, it again veers off and empowers Mr. Morris and then Trixie, so Bonzo snatches the turban and flies out of a nearby wall. Mr. Morris and Trixie fly after him, but Mr. Morris' acrophobia gets the better of him and Trixie has to carry him back inside, having fainted. Billy rouses him with a pitcher of water to the head and calls SHAZAM, realizing the jewel on the turban was reflecting the magic lightning off when he said SHAZAM… which turns him back into Billy. He calls SHAZAM again to become Captain Marvel, but finds that Bonzo is just as fast, meaning he can't easily catch up to him. Thus, Captain Marvel changes tack and tries to do some acrobatic tricks to trick the ape into dropping the turban. He tries swinging on a flagpole, but Bonzo holds his turban on, so he instead borrows a hat from a nearby horse and takes him to a restaurant where they both check in their hats, getting Bonzo to remove the turban. Captain Marvel puts it on and calls SHAZAM again, returning Bonzo to normal, then turns back Mr. Morris and Trixie to normal, suggesting that Mr. Morris play Caliban the Wizard, since Billy isn't that great of an actor.

Appearing in Captain Marvel: "The Day Captain Marvel Went Ape!'

Supporting Characters:

  • Sterling Morris (Temporarily gains Captain Marvel's powers and costume in this story)

Other Characters:

  • Bonzo the Chimp (First appearance) (A performing chimp who stars in his own TV show on WHIZ; temporarily gains Captain Marvel's powers and costume in this story)
  • Trixie (First appearance) (A child actress who co-stars on Bonzo's TV show; gains Captain Marvel's powers and costume in this story)
  • Dr. Sivana (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:

  • A Turban with a Jewel

Vehicles:


Notes

Trivia

  • The chimp on this issue's cover exclaiming "Vootie! Vootie!" is a reference to a running gag in MAD Magazine in the 1950s. Vootie was also the title of a fanzine for funny animal cartoons in the 1970s that is arguably the origin of furry fandom.


See Also

Recommended Reading

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