Today’s super homage is a familiar one: Captain Marvel. Yes,
I know he’s called Shazam in the current continuity, but he’s the Captain in
this book. I and a lot of people knew the difference between the names, DC… and
Marvel. I know Marvel also has a Captain Marvel. Anyway, he was probably the
first homage/ripoff, debuting in Fawcett Comics’ Whiz Comics back in 1940. He’s
Billy Batson, a young boy who transforms into an adult with all sorts of
superhuman abilities. Talk about a literal power fantasy.
Because of a lawsuit from DC in the early 50’s, Fawcett had
to stop publication of the character for being too similar to Superman. In the
70’s, DC actually got the rights to Captain Marvel and integrated his world
into the DC universe. They had his world be a part of the Mulitverse. After
Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character and his supporting cast got integrated
into the main DC universe. Today’s issue is Superman:The Man of Tomorrow #4 from
1996. This book was released whenever a fifth Wednesday would pop up. It’s
written by Roger Stern with pencils from Tom Grummett and inks from Brett
Breeding. So, let’s see what happens as a boy and his wizard come to Metropolis.
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #4
Writer: Roger Stern
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Brett Breeding
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: John Costanza
Separator: Digital Chameleon
Editor: KC Carlson
Consulting Wizard: Jerry Ordway