The Marvel Family #49 is an issue of the series The Marvel Family (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1950.
Synopsis for The Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family Proves Human Hardiness"
The Marvel Family are out collecting charitable donations from people to fight three great enemies: poverty, illness and malnutrition. They find that they’re short of their personal daily goal and need a big donation from someone. They overhear a quarrel between two scientists, Prof. Berg and Dr. Winch. Dr. Winch argues that humanity can adapt to any area more than any animal can and is therefore the toughest animal alive. However, Prof. Berg argues angrily that there are three places that humans could never survive: Antarctica, the Dinosaur Age and Non-Earth Planets. Dr. Winch argues that mankind may be as strong, but they’re smarter than any animal, showing a tapestry of a Stone Age man fighting a bear with a bow and arrow. Prof. Berg says that even the most intelligent man couldn’t live in the climates he imagines, but he’d pay $10,000 if someone could prove it! The Marvel Family decide to take up that bet and dive in, accepting on behalf of Billy Batson, Mary Batson and Freddy Freeman, which Prof. Berg offers that he’ll accept under conditions: they must live one full day in the climate without weapons or “special equipment,” except that the Marvel Family will have to take them there and retrieve them later. Billy agrees with Dr. Winch, that humans are the toughest animal out there and they split up as planned by calling the magic words SHAZAM and CAPTAIN MARVEL to take off.
Mary Marvel arrives in Antarctica, only populated by penguins and notes that explorers have lived out there for up to six months at a time, but with a lot of equipment. As she return to being Mary Batson, she finds that there are freezing winds, tries to run to get her blood pumping, but gasses out quickly and decides she needs to make a fire. She finds no fuel to make a fire with and tries to keep thinking about where to get something to burn, but as she draws to half a day, she collapses with frostbitten feet and fears she is succumbing to hypothermia. Captain Marvel, Junior hangs off of the Rock of Eternity to travel to 100,000,000 years ago, the Dinosaur Age and calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Freddy again. He’s almost immediately attacked by a Saber-Toothed Tiger, but he jabs it in the face with his crutch. He hears a Tyrannous Rex approaching and runs between his legs as fast as he can, only to be clawed at by a Parasarolophus. He gasses out quickly, finding the T-Rex is still coming after him and he must call CAPTAIN MARVEL to not die there. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel lands on another world, which is an unnamed desert planet, and calls SHAZAM to return Billy, who finds it furnace-like and 10 times hotter than Death Valley. He tries to find any form of shade or any source of water. When he tries to approach a cactus, he finds it swollen with what he thinks is water, but when he grows close, the cactus lunges at him like a wild animal! The three members of the Marvel Family are feeling pretty rotten. Mary manages to find an edge to the ice floes and is able to find a cave that she can collect seaweed in, lighting it with a shard of flint she’s discovered how to make a fire! However, just as the time passes for one full day, she finds an avalanche coming and calls SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel again, having proved Human Hardiness in Antarctica!
Freddy throws a rock into the T-Rex’s mouth to try making it choke to death. As the time limit passes and five more T-Rex arrive, he calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to escape again and reasons that though he couldn’t easily do it himself, a tribe of people could thrive there to fight the T-Rex. Meanwhile, Billy finds that the violent cacti cannot reach all the way to their roots, so he crawls to get close to its roots and tears them out to suckle water out of it. As the time limit passes, he finds more bipedal cacti coming after him and calls SHAZAM to summon Captain Marvel to smash through them and escape back to Earth. The Marvel Family return and collect a big donation from Prof. Berg and says that, though he was proved wrong, he now has a stronger pride in the human race as being the greatest animal on Earth!
Appearing in The Marvel Family: "The Marvel Family Proves Human Hardiness"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Winch
- Prof. Berg
Antagonists:
- A Saber-Toothed Tiger
- Six Tyrannosaurus Rexes
- A Parasaurolophus
- Alien Cacti
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Antarctica
- The Dinosaur Age
- A Desert Planet
Items:
- Masses of Antarctic Seaweed
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Fights the Ban on Laughter!"
Freddy Freeman has arrived at Mount Olympus, home of the Greek Gods… or at least a Museum based on them that includes Roman gods as well. Freddy fights a statue of Momus, the God of Laughter, and finds it rather amusing, referring to him as an “obscure” legend. On the real Mount Olympus, Momus continues laughing, as he always is, since if he ever stops, all laughter will cease on Earth with him. Suddenly, a janitor at the Museum nudges the Statue of Momus and it threatens to fall on him, so Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL to become Captain Marvel, Junior to save him from being crushed. The Director of the Museum enters and says it’s fine, because Momus is a lesser god that no one talks about, which angers the real Momus on Olympus. The fury of Momus makes him stop laughing, creating a world without laughter, which Freddy Freeman starts to see. People come out of the funniest play on the town, Fun Frolic, with no reaction. Freddy goes to see the Station WHIZ Laugh Riot and finds it just as disengaging. The jokes are funny, but no one is engaging with it at all. Momus’ servant tries to be him to laugh again, but Momus’ ego is still hurt and refuses. Freddy hears on the radio that it’s as if the god of laughter has banned all laughter.
Freddy calls CAPTAIN MARVEL and flies to the real Mount Olympus to ask Momus himself about it and tries to butter up the god by saying he’s the most important, but Momus refuses still, throwing a joke book at him and says he won’t laugh for a few centuries. The servant whispers to Junior that if he can make Momus laugh once, it will likely break his grouchy spell. Junior tries telling a pun about shooting a horse, making a silly face and slipping on a banana peel, then has the servant throw a pie in his face. Momus is equally unimpressed about him dressing like a purple clown before Junior starts to beg desperately and tries tickling him, but Momus is further insulted and decides no one will laugh for 1,000,000 years. To fix things, Junior goes to Momus’ workshop and decides to make him a new statue for him, but isn’t confident in how well he’s done. Momus finds him trying to dispose of it discreetly and uncovers it, finding it looks poorly made with a face like a snowman, but finds that it’s hilarious and begins laughing again, returning the world to comedic normalcy. Later, Momus laughs harder seeing that Junior’s new Statue of Momus has been given a place of honor and that they think he’s a good sculptor!
Appearing in Capt. Marvel, Jr.: "Capt. Marvel, Jr. Fights the Ban on Laughter!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Momus' Servant
Antagonists:
- Momus, God of Laughter
- An Unnamed Museum Director
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- A Greco-Roman Museum
- Mt. Olympus
- New York City
Items:
- Statue of Momus (Destroyed)
- Funnier Statue of Momus
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl!: "Mary Marvel and the Adult Children!"
Mary Batson is at a neighborhood playground and is astonished to find grown people dressed like children and having effusive fun, including Mr. Fosdick the Bank Teller. Fosdick explains that he just got together a bunch of his adult friends to enjoy their lives by thinking nostalgically of their past and having fun on the playground and are ignoring their responsibilities for now. Fosdick slips and almost falls from the middle of a slide, so Mary calls SHAZAM to become Mary Marvel and catches him, setting him down carefully, chiding him trying to have rowdy fun like this which will just get him hurt. Fosdick says it was just an accident as a woman finds that the chain breaks on the swing and the woman, Gerty, trips and falls into a wading pool after she’s set down. When the adults insist they’ll keep doing this by riding bicycles and playing hoop-and-stick, so Mary Marvel decides to just leave them for now.
Gerty and another adult friend try making a sand castle in a sandpit, but find that these are dangerous spots that fill in easily and are dangerous for everyone as Mary Marvel drags them to safety from smothering themselves. Elsewhere, some adults light some small cabinets into a backyard bonfire while dressed as Native American caricatures, only for it to fall over towards them, prompting Mary Marvel to dive in and push it back into place, saying that nobody should be playing with fire too! She spanks the man who lit the fire before she hears Fosdick shout because he’s caught his shorts on the branch of a tree while climbing and they all decide to head home already. Mary Marvel decides to spoil childish games for them forever despite them wanting to quit, shoulder-checking into them like a football scrimmage, throws them into each other with jiujitsu playing cops and robbers and soon let them go home to find their children have caused messes and Gerty returns to a burning roast. Mr. Fosdick goes home to find that his boss was going to promote him to Chief Teller, but now he’s not because he thinks he’s an “undignified idiot” and leaves. Fosdick mopes, but owes up that he should’ve been more mindful of his responsibilities and Mary Marvel doesn’t have to say “I told you so” to him. However, the next day, he runs into Mary Batson on the street and says he apologized to his boss like an adult and he got his promotion after all! Mary tells him that kids have their fun and joy, but adults can enjoy their lives just as much.
Appearing in Mary Marvel, the World's Mightiest Girl!: "Mary Marvel and the Adult Children!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Foolish Adults
- Mr. Fosdick the Bank Teller
- Gerty
Other Characters:
- Mr. Fosdick's Boss
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- A Playground
- A Sandpit
- New York City
Items:
- Hoop-and-Stick
- Native American "Costumes"
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Freshman Freddy: "Freshman Freddy and the Big Dance"
Freshman Freddy is ready to go out to the big dance with Harriet, but finds out that Harriet’s mother isn’t feeling well and so she can’t go out, but hopes to come back for another date later. Stooge tells Ace that he got a date to the dance, but Ace grumbles that he doesn’t have one though. Stooge offers that Ace try to go out with Harriet, which he manages to convince her to do. She tells him to pick her up at 8pm and they stop to pick up Stooge’s girl, Betty. However, when they get to the Girls’ Dorm, the den mother gives him a note from Harriet, telling him that she has fooled him into thinking she’d break her date with Freddy so she’s left him high and dry without one. Ace decides to try taking Betty with him instead, leading to Ace slapping Stooge in front of his girlfriend and they come to blows. Betty, upset that neither of them are taking her to the dance, goes with Freddy instead. Outside the big dance, Ace and Stooge look on, wondering what he does (or doesn’t do) that Freddy always gets ahead!
Appearing in Freshman Freddy: "Freshman Freddy and the Big Dance"
Featured Characters:
- Freshman Freddy
Supporting Characters:
- Harriet
- Betty
Antagonists:
- Ace
- Stooge
Other Characters:
- Den Mother of the Girls' Dormitory
Locations:
- Earth-S
- Podunk University
- Girls' Dormitory
- Podunk University
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Million Dollar Tasks"
Appearing in Captain Marvel: "Captain Marvel and the Million Dollar Tasks"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- "Ghost" Gordon Green
Other Characters:
- Wild Mountain Lions
Locations:
- Earth-S
- New York City
- Wildwood Forest
- Needle Rock
- The Old Haunted Mill
Items:
- "Ghost" Gordon's Phosphorus Smoke Gun
- A Blackjack
Vehicles:
- A Motorless Glider
See Also