Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder #2

First Thunder: Odd Couples


Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Joshua Middleton
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Mike Carlin
Thanks to Brian Reiber
Cover Artist: Joshua Middleton
Cover Date: December 2005
Release Date: 05/10/2005

One week ago. Doctor Sivana travels to Metropolis for a clandestine meeting with Lex Luthor. Luthor offers up a resource caled Spec, which will follow Captain Marvel to reveal his secrets. In return, Sivana will sell back to Lex the LexCorp shares he has been buying through dozens of shell companies as a prelude to a hostile takeover. Realising that he has been outplayed, Sivana agrees. Spec starts to trail Captain Marvel, and one night follow him into an alley. Marvel vanishes, but a small boy runs out and into an abandoned subway station. Spec realises that his job has just become more interesting...


Now. Superman and Captain Marvel team up to take down the mystical beasts, whilst the gang of crooks, realising that two super-heroes are onto them, beat a hasty retreat. As they leave, they confirm that their second team have captured their target, and that they are working for Sivana. Superman is encased in a magical crystal, which Marvel is able to shatter. Superman is then surprised to see that Captain Marvel is able to withstand magical attacks. The beasts are defeated, and Marvel starts to explain his powers. Realising that it might be a longer conversation, he suggests that they go somewhere to talk.


On the summit of Mount Everest, the two heroes compare their similar and different powers. Superman finds himself about to reveal information about his civilian identity, and gently backs off, explaining that he keeps the two sides of his life seperate.


As night falls in Fawcett City, Doctor Sivana instructs that his plans begin. In a mystical cave, the captured civilian is forced to say a magical word - Sabbac. A mystical explosion sends a beam of energy to the sun, blacking it out. As Sabbac rises, Bruce Gordon is taken over by Eclipso. Superman realises what is happening with his super-hearing, and the two heroes return to the city.

So, a few fast thoughts on this issue, as we're on part two of a four part story and I want to hold the big guns until the end.

I really enjoyed the interactions between Luthor and Sivana. Putting Sivana in the role of a bitchy old queen going up against the stoic, unmoveable, and far superior Luthor work incredibly well, and the only duff moment comes from the point where Lex lowers himself to Sivana's level, with his retort of "Oh come one, what's the hurry? Apart from the fact that you're incredibly old and will probably die soon." It's too blunt for the subtle Lex, and it's also a poorly constructed put down, stumbling awkwardly off the tongue instead of gliding out with barely concealed ease.

As Lex and Sivana spend some time together, so do Superman and Marvel. Whilst their relationship in-combat is pretty bland, their conversation atop Mount Everest is far more interesting. Superman finds himself in a unique position. He's talking to a fellow super-hero without having to constantly be on guard, as he is with Batman, and without the pressures that come with interacting with a member of the Justice League. He seems a lot more relaxed, and finds himself slipping when it comes to details about himself. Although it's Captain Marvel who voices that fact that "it stinks" to not be able to talk, there is a sense of longing on the part of Superman to be able to be free and open about himself without having to constantly be careful of what he says.

The art continues to be fairly solid, although as with the first issue, faces occasionally deviate from the standard model. This issue's biggest offender is Lex Luthor, who conveys absolutely no presence on the panel. I hate to use a word such as 'bland', but I honestly can't think of a better word to use to describe how Joshua Middleton renders Luthor. Well, maybe 'meek'.


The Geeky Bits:  Judd Winick is one of comicdom's more polarising writers. He first came to fame as a cast member of the third series of The Real World, and his experiences on the show as well as his friendship with Pedro Zamora informed his multi award-winning graphic novel, Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned. Winick joined DC in 2000, working on titles such as Green Lantern, Green Arrow (where he revealed that GA's sidekick, Mia Dearden, was HIV positive), Batman (where he resurrected Jason Todd), Outsiders, and other projects. His work is loved by some, and hated by others. The highlights of his DC work would probably be his Green Lantern and Green Arrow runs, whilst the absolute lowlight would definately be the ill-advised and ill-executed Titans relaunch a couple of years ago.

Next on World of Superman: Part three of First Thunder, where things get tragic.

Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #1

And we're back. The latest event to take me away from blogging has been a trapped nerve in my shoulder, which made it almost impossible to lie down without heavy doses of medication, meaning no sleep for a couple of days. Thankfully it appears it has become untrapped and I have recovered my mental state from 'zombie' all the way back to 'normal, if a little geeky'. Later on tonight I'll be joining the crew from Amazing Spider-Man Classics for another shot at recording our episodes. If all goes well then the first should be up by the end of the week. Anyway, enough distraction... shall we take a look at some comics?

First Thunder Chapter 1: A Face In The Crowd!


Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Joshua Middleton
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Mike Carlin
Cover Artist: Joshua Middleton
Cover Date: November 2005
Release Date: 08/09/2005

The wizard Shazam observes the emergence of super-heroes into the world, and decides that the time has come for him to have a champion again. Captain Marvel makes his first appearance to the world, saving the an aeroplane from crashing into the center of Fawcett City. As Shazam watches, he decress that Marvel is locked in a battle with fate.


Three months later. Superman apprehends a gang of crooks who are breaking into the Metropolis Museum of Natural History and are attempting to steal a 1000 year-old golden statue. To cover their escape, the crooks produce staves which they strike onto the floor, summoning a giant mystical beast who attacks Superman. Superman engages the monster, but after a few seconds of fighting the beast vanishes in a puff of smoke. He spies a coin on the floor, and realises that magic was involved.


The next day, two giant robots attack the Fawcett City Solar Center contruction site. Captain Marvel engages and defeats them after a short battle. In the aftermath, Marvel agrees to leave the robots in the care of Dr Bruce Gordon, the chief scientific advisor of the project. Marvel then takes off. Later that night, Billy Batson returns to his makeshift home in an abandoned subway station. He and his best friend, Scott Cooper, who also knows his secret, discuss Captain Marvel's popularity in Fawcett City. Scott wants Billy to come back to the foster home with him, but Billy doesn't want to be part of the system, happy to sleep rough with the other homeless people.


Doctor Sivana, frustrated by his failed attempts to kill Captain Marvel and his failure to obstruct the Solar Center project, decides to contact Lex Luthor to exchange ideas on killing caped superheroes.


Later still, Billy is scoping out the Mckeon History Museum when he sees a gang breaking and entering. Changing into Captain Marvel, he confronts the gang, who had previously robbed the Metropolis museum. They employ the same tactics, summoning two mystical beasts to cover their escape. The beasts throw Captain Marvel out of the museum into the street. Looking up, he sees Superman, who offers his assistance.

In 2005, Judd Winick launched two projects to highlight not only Captain Marvel but also his relationship with Superman. The first, Lightning Strike Twice, was a three-issue crossover that ran through the Superman titles coverdated June. This was a prequel to Day of Vengeance, itself a prelude to Infinite Crisis. A few months later came this four-part mini-series depicting the first meeting between the two heroes.

This is a perfectly serviceable first issue to the series. It's solid without being spectacular, but is also a surprisingly brisk read. There's very little dialogue in this issue, and this results in Captain Marvel and especially Superman coming across as ciphers, there to wear their uniforms and do some fighting without displaying any character of their own. The two pages of Doctor Sivana work a lot better, as we get an interesting portrayal of the character as well as a nice setup for his role in the rest of the series. I really like the idea that Sivana - pre-mad scientist, and Fawcett City's version of Lex Luthor - would swap notes on cape-killing with Luthor. It's only a little bit crazy, and in the long run makes Superman's inclusion in the story better setup than we get here. I also like the fact that we get a homeless Billy Batson, an element of the character

There are a few slippages in the issue. Some of Captain Marvel's dialogue just seems wrong. The Captain Marvel I know (admittedly I don't know very much, mostly from the pages of JSA) wouldn't yell 'Hey! Iron butt!' at a robot, and such a saying seems out of character for someone blessed with the wisdom of Solomon. Joshua Middleton's art, whilst pretty good throughout the issue, falls down in one close-up of Superman's face that ages him by about twenty years. It's a shame that these little moments occur, as they detract from the comic.

The Geeky Bits: Right, a short history of Captain Marvel in one paragraph. Created in 1940, became the best-selling super-hero of the 1940s and the first comic character to have a live-action adaptation. Publishing ceased in 1953 when DC sued Fawcett Publishing for trademark infringement. Twenty years later, DC bought Fawcett and started publishing Captain Marvel, although Marvel had trademarked their own Captain Marvel in the meantime, so the book had to be called Shazam!. Captain Marvel had a rough ride out of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and it wasn't until Jerry Ordway created The Power of Shazam! in 1994 that a permanent ongoing series featuring the character was established. This series ran for five years, and after its conculsion, Marvel joined the JSA until Infinite Crisis came along.

Next on World of Superman: Superman and Captain Marvel do more than say 'hello' in their first ever team-up.