12/18/2023 0 Comments Marvel comics bookends![]() ![]() 1 appeared with the subtitle The Original Captain Marvel, something that would be dropped from the series by its 15th issue after Marvel sent a cease and desist letter. Instead, the series was named after Billy Batson’s magic word: Shazam No. And yet…ĭC’s 1973 revival of the original character was hindered by the fact that it couldn’t call the series Captain Marvel, thanks to Marvel having nabbed the trademark to that title during the original’s hiatus. DC’s revival didn’t actually hit stores until 1973, so it’s possible Marvel was entirely unaware and the decision to relaunch was unrelated, after all. Two years later, DC - looking to find new properties to publish in response to Marvel’s growing marketplace dominance - licensed the rights to the original Fawcett character at the same time, Marvel relaunched its own Captain Marvel series with a new creative team and new direction. Marvel’s Captain Marvel graduated into his own comic book series in 1968 that series continued until 1970, when it ended with a 21st issue guest-starring the Hulk. Enterprises accepting $4,500 in exchange for ceasing publication of its Captain Marvel. The case was settled out of course, with M.F. Enterprises character an infringement on trademarks that it owned. 12.įass then sued Marvel for trademark infringement, arguing - reasonably - that Marvel’s character was created in bad faith Marvel responded by claiming that it owned the comic book rights to the word Marvel, and that it considered the M.F. publisher Myron Fass refused, and Goodman retaliated in an impressively underhanded way, pushing Stan Lee and Gene Colan to create Marvel’s own Captain Marvel, debuting in 1967’s Marvel Super-Heroes No. ![]() Enterprises launched its Captain Marvel, then-Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman approached the company with an offer: Marvel wanted to buy the character for $6,000. The series lasted just five issues before disappearing after Marvel Comics got involved…but not in the way many would expect.Īfter M.F. Enterprises released the first issue of its own Captain Marvel series, featuring an android who could split his body apart to fight crime in multiple directions simultaneously. The next comic book hero to use the name Captain Marvel didn’t come from Marvel Comics, however in 1966, short-lived independent publisher M.F. The character wouldn’t be seen in comics again for two decades. The final Captain Marvel titles from the publisher were released in 1953, with Fawcett essentially shuttering as a publisher at the same time. Fawcett settled with National, agreeing to pay $400,000 in damages and permanently cease publication of the character. ![]() By this point, Captain Marvel’s sales - indeed, superhero comic book sales across the board - were in free fall and publishers assumed the superhero fad was over. That retrial didn’t happen for a number of reasons, not least of which being that Fawcett decided that it wasn’t worth the time or hassle. An appeal led to a reversal of both findings, with Second Circuit Appeals Court Judge Learned Hand - his real name - deciding that National’s copyright was valid, but that Captain Marvel wasn’t derivative of Superman, although certain superpowers or events may be. Initially, the case was decided in Fawcett’s favor on a technicality in 1951, with the presiding judge declaring that, although Captain Marvel was derivative of Superman, National had been negligent in upkeep of Superman copyright, and therefore the suit had no standing. ![]() The lawsuit between National and Fawcett stretched out for 12 years, from 1941 through 1953. (There was also Uncle Marvel, Freckles Marvel and Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, because of course there was.) Faced with this kind of competition, DC - or, as it was then known, National Comics Publications - sued Fawcett, claiming that Captain Marvel was based on Superman, with neither party fully aware of just what would happen as a result. With that kind of success, it’s no surprise that Fawcett saw the potential to turn the character into a franchise, launching additional series including Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel and The Marvel Family. In his heyday, the original Captain Marvel was the best-selling superhero in comics, outselling Superman with more than a million copies sold each month. ![]()
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