September, 2002. It was published on July 24, 2002.
Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel"
This story is reprinted from Captain Marvel Adventures #18.
Billy is hosting a quiz bowl at WHIZ Radio with three young contestants. During a commercial break, Billy receives an urgent letter from Sarah Primm requesting his presence. He immediately goes to see the dying woman, who tells Billy about his twin sister. When the Batson twins were orphaned after their parents died in a car accident, Primm had substituted Mary for the baby girl of a rich family she nursed for, who had suddenly died, and sent Billy to an orphanage. Primm gives a locket broken in half to Billy. Mary, Primm tells Billy before dying, wore the other half of the locket.
After the quiz is over, Billy recalls that one of the contestants, Mary Bromfield, wore a broken locket, so he and Freddy Freeman trail Mary's limousine in their super-powered forms of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr.. Mary is kidnapped for ransom by thugs, prompting the two Marvels to intervene, save her, and knock out the kidnappers.
Captain Marvel then learns that Mary's locket matched his own, and that she was indeed Billy's sister. The Marvels reveal their secret identities to Mary, who thinks if, since she is Billy's twin, she could become a Marvel by saying the magic word "Shazam."
The kidnappers wake up and gag Billy and Freddy, preventing them from saying their magic words. "Oh no," exclaims Mary, "Billy can't say 'Shazam!'" Shortly after saying the word, inadvertently, a magic beam hits Mary Bromfield, and she turns into a super powerful version of herself. She then defeats the bandits alone and frees Freddy and his brother. Looking for answers, the three kids visit Shazam's cave and summon the wizard's ghost. He explains that because of their relation, Mary's able to derive Marvel powers from a group of female divinities, whose initials spell out the magic word. Junior flies off on his own, while Captain Marvel offers to show the new heroine the ropes.
Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel"
Featured Characters:
- Marvel Family
- Captain Marvel (Flashback and main story)
- Mary Marvel (Mary Batson Bromfield) (First appearance) (Joins team) (Flashback and main story)
- Captain Marvel, Jr.
Supporting Characters:
- Shazam (As a spirit)
- Sterling Morris
Antagonists:
- Kidnappers
Other Characters:
- Mister Scarlet (Cameo)
- Mrs. Bromfield (Mary's foster mother) (Mentioned only)
- Percy Pill (First appearance)
- Sarah Primm (Single appearance; dies) (Flashback and main story)
- Achilles (Mentioned only)
- Atlas (Mentioned only)
- Hercules (Mentioned only)
- Mercury (Mentioned only)
- Solomon (Mentioned only)
- Zeus (Mentioned only)
- Ariadne (Mentioned only)
- Aurora (Mentioned only)
- Hippolyta (Mentioned only)
- Minerva (Mentioned only)
- Selena (Mentioned only)
- Zephyrus (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Baffin Land"
This story is reprinted from Captain Marvel, Jr. #12.
Appearing in Captain Marvel, Jr.: "Baffin Land"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Marvel Family: "The Mighty Marvels Join Forces!"
This story is reprinted from The Marvel Family #1.
A man in a black and yellow Marvel Family suit lands in the middle of a city intersection. When a cop angrily tells him to move, he tries to snap the man in two for having the audacity to address his betters in such a manner. Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. are on hand to save the beleaguered officer of the law. To their great surprise, he isn't only dressed like them, he has all the same powers as them too and is unhurt even by their mighty blows. With superhuman speed he slips away into the crowd to have time to come up with a way to deal with his new rivals. Hoping for answers, Billy and Freddy head to Shazam's tomb and summon the wizard's ghost. He's disturbed to hear that his former pupil, Black Adam, has returned to Earth, and tells the sorry tale.
- In the days of ancient Egypt, Shazam tried to empower a champion as he empowered them in the modern day. The recipient he selected was a man named Teth-Adam, who by saying "Shazam" became Mighty Adam, the first World's Mightiest Mortal. Adam was corrupted by his power, overthrew the pharaoh and was soon dreaming of global conquest. Unable to harm the invulnerable champion-turned-tyrant, Shazam renamed him Black Adam and instead banished him to the farthest star in the universe. By flying for 5000 years, Black Adam finally managed to return to the world of his birth.
As soon as the specter fades, Black Adam springs from the shadows and gags the boys before they can transform. Noticing Billy and Freddy are missing, Mary and Dudley go to Shazam's tomb hoping for some help finding. Seeing them at the mercy of the World's Mightiest Villain, Mary transforms while Dudley saves the boys. Even the entire Marvel Family's unable to budge their predecessor. Dudley summons the wizard's ghost again for advice, and is told to make Adam say his name. Dudley then tries to convince the others to let Adam join them. After all, he got his powers from the same wizard, whose name he repeatedly fails to pronounce, prompting a frustrated Black Adam to correct him that the name is "Shazam". Which on cue summons magic lightning that reverts Black Adam to his mortal form. Since he's thousands of years old, Adam immediately decays away to his skeleton.
Appearing in Marvel Family: "The Mighty Marvels Join Forces!"
Featured Characters:
- Marvel Family
- Captain Marvel/Billy Batson (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- Captain Marvel, Jr./Freddy Freeman (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- Mary Marvel/Mary Batson (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
- Uncle Marvel/Uncle Dudley
Supporting Characters:
- Shazam (Flashback and main story)
- Sterling Morris
Antagonists:
- Black Adam/Teth-Adam/Mighty Adam (First appearance) (Flashback and main story) (Origin) (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Achilles (Mentioned only)
- Atlas (Mentioned only)
- Hercules (Mentioned only)
- Mercury (Mentioned only)
- Sarah Primm (Mentioned only)
- Solomon (Mentioned only)
- Zeus (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Rock of Eternity (named for the first time)
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family Battles the Sivana Family!"
This story is reprinted from The Marvel Family #10.
The Sivana Family had a plan to separate the Marvels from their lightning, but Sivana realized that it would take more energy than an atomic bomb. Sivana Jr. had found an Atlantean record of an element called Protium; which was even more powerful than Plutonium or Neptunium. In 10,000 yrs it decayed and became Neutrium and in another 10,000 yrs, Neutrium decayed into Electrium; and the Sivana's device needed a vial of each.
Faster-than-light ships got the Sivanas access to the Rock of Eternity, where they travelled to Ancient, Modern, and Future Atlantis. The Wizard Shazam warned the Marvel Family and they pursued the Sivanas.
Georgia Sivana appeared in ancient Atlantis and found Chal-Patzun, who had written about Protium. Chal-Patzun was regarded as a crackpot because he claimed that Atlantis would sink, and so he had created Protium. His descendants would keep the vials in their family vault until it became Electrium in 20,000 years, and raise Atlantis.
When Chal-Patzun wasn't looking, Georgia killed him with a club to the head. Too late, Mary captured Georgia and tied her to a chair but Georgia refused to reveal any information. Mary could not fathom the Protium using her lightning, and as a mortal she was bound and gagged by Georgia when the earthquake freed her. Mission complete, Georgia stole one vial of Protium and escaped with a helpless Mary in tow, as Atlantis collapsed.
Doctor Sivana hunted for Patzun's current living descendant, and kidnapped the young Dr. Charles Patterson to find the location of the family vault. Patterson left "Atlantis, Coast 35" written on the wall, which allowed Captain Marvel to find the location of the vault and defeat Doctor Sivana, but Sivana escaped while Captain Marvel saved Patterson from an octopus. Only Patterson knew the combination to the Atlantean family vault, and Charles opened it for Marvel. They found Chal-Patzun's skeleton in the vault, and saw that one vial of Neutrium was missing. Sivana returned and used a giant electric eel to turn Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson, then shot Patterson thrice, and left him to rot beside his ancestor Patzun. He took a vial of Neutrium and returned to his base with a trussed-up Billy Batson.
In 12000 AD Chass Passon found two skeletons in the vault, and that two vials of Electrium were missing. Eight vials were still enough to raise Atlantis. As Atlantis rose, Sivana, Jr. knocked out Passon, but was delayed by seaweed thrown his face by Marvel, Jr. Passon placed a remaining vial of Electrium in a disintegrator gun to clear the ruins and asked Captain Marvel, Jr. who he was. When Marvel, Jr. absent-mindedly told Passon his name, he was turned back into Freddy Freeman and knocked out by Sivana, Jr., who further caused an avalanche that killed Chass Passon. With Freddy immobilized and a vial of Electrium in his hand, Sivana, Jr. returned home.
Georgia and Sivana Jr. forced their prisoners, Mary and Freddy, to walk in before them where they found that Billy was a prisoner also. The three Sivanas together added their three elements and turned on the machine. Sivana moved toward the kids with a knife, and they thought that he was going to slit their throats. To their surprise Sivana said "You poor kids. You're all tied up and gagged", and cut them all free. He mocked them, as they could not transform because of the electron shell formed around the Earth, which repelled the lightning.
The kids were marched at gunpoint into a ship, and taken to the remote palace of the Sivanas, where they were released and hunted. But the Marvels stole the Sivana's ship and returned to their lab where they turned off the Protium-powered machine. The electron shell down; they said the magic word and transformed into the Marvels, who easily wrecked the machine and captured and imprisoned the Sivanas.
Appearing in Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family Battles the Sivana Family!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Sivana Family
Other Characters:
- Professor Chal-Patzun (Single appearance; dies)
- Dr. Charles Patterson (Single appearance; dies)
- Chass Passon (Single appearance; dies)
Locations:
- New York City
- Atlantic Ocean
- Atlantis
- Patzun/Patterson/Passon Family Vault
- Atlantis
Items:
- King Arthur's Round Table
- Protium
- Neutrium
- Electrium
- Disintegrator Gun
Vehicles:
- Faster-Than-Light Spacecraft
- Ship
Concepts:
Notes
- Also reprints the Jon Jarl text story "Exile on Mercury" from Captain Marvel Adventures #75, written by Otto Binder.
- "The Marvel Family Battles the Sivana Family!" was divided into five chapters:
- "The Sivana Family Strikes at the Marvel Family!" by Otto Binder and Pete Costanza
- "The Sinking of Atlantis" by Otto and Jack Binder
- "Captain Marvel Faces Danger in the Deep!" by Otto Binder, C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza
- "Atlantis Rises Again" by Otto Binder and Bud Thompson
- "The Marvel Family in the Battle of the Age!" by Otto Binder, C.C. Beck and Pete Costanza
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Marvel Family Recommended Reading
- Whiz Comics (Volume 1)
- Captain Marvel Adventures (Volume 1)
- Captain Marvel, Jr. (Volume 1)
- Mary Marvel (Volume 1)
- Master Comics (Volume 1)
- Wow Comics (Volume 1)
- The Marvel Family (Volume 1)
- Hoppy the Marvel Bunny (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam!: The New Beginning (Volume 1)
- The Power of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder (Volume 1)
- Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil (Volume 1)
- The Trials of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 2)
- Shazam! (Volume 3)
- Shazam! (Volume 4)
- The New Champion of Shazam! (Volume 1)
- Shazam! (Volume 5)