Captain Marvel DC Comics: Encyclopedia II - Captain Marvel DC Comics - Appearances in film and television

Captain Marvel DC Comics - Appearances in film and television

The first filmed adaptation of Captain Marvel was produced in 1941. The Adventures of Captain Marvel, starring Tom Tyler in the title role of Captain Marvel and Frank Coglan, Jr. as his alter ego, Billy Batson, was a twelve-part film serial produced by Republic Pictures in 1941. Often ranked among the finest examples of the form, its release made Captain Marvel the first superhero to be depicted in film.

Over thirty years later, Filmation produced Shazam!, a live-action television show which ran from 1974 to 1977 on CBS. From 1975 until the end of its run, it aired as one-half of The Shazam!/Isis Hour. The Shazam! TV show was a more indirect approach to the character; it told of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel making road trips, instead of flying across the USA to combat evil. Michael Gray portrayed Billy Batson in the series, with both Jackson Bostwick (season 1) and John Davey (seasons 2 and 3) as Captain Marvel. Shortly after the Shazam! show ended its network run, Captain Marvel appeared as a character in the low-budgeted comedy special, Legends of the Superheroes, in 1978.

Three years later, Filmation revisited the character for an animated Shazam! cartoon, which ran on NBC from 1981 to 1982 as part of the Kid Superpower Hour with Shazam!. The rest of the Marvel Family joined Captain Marvel on his adventures in this series, which were more similar to his comic-book adventures than the 1970s TV show.

In 2005, Captain Marvel guest starred in the Cartoon Network animated series Justice League Unlimited, in an episode entitled "Clash". Captain Marvel was voiced by Jerry O'Connell, with Shane Haboucha as Billy Batson. In the episode, Marvel joins the Justice League, but soon finds himself in a battle with Superman over the perception of Presidential candidate Lex Luthor's credibility and a perceived nuclear threat. A fight sequence between Captain Marvel and Superman, during which the dueling heroes level much of Luthor's prototypical Lexor City, contains references to the Kingdom Come mini-series. "Clash" aired in May 2005 in Canada and aired on 11 June 2005 in the United States.

Currently, New Line Cinema has plans for a Shazam! live-action feature film, with Michael Uslan as producer. The film is currently in development, with no release date set.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Appearances in film and television", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki