Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Trials of Shazam # 2 (of 12)

By Koppy McFad
October 7, 2006 - 04:56

In this miniseries, we learn that Billy Batson, the captain formerly known as Marvel, is now the keeper of the Rock of Eternity and Freddy Freeman, the former Captain Marvel Junior, must succeed Billy as the new hero, that is, if he can pass several mystic 'trials.' And in the process, he has to beat out a rival band of wizards who want to take the mantle of Shazam for their own. While this is an intriguing premise, there is still a lot of confusion about the story. Billy is now just plain 'Marvel' while Freddy will be... Shazam?! There is also an obvious attempt to make this miniseries more trendy and more appealing to the demographic that watches "the O.C." Freddy, who was once barely in his teens, is now a young adult. He has a half-naked girlfriend of uncertain ethnicity and a dreadlocked mentor with a downtown flat. Yeah.... kewl. The art however is a little too heavy and stiff in this issue. Good monsters and stone carvings though. Perhaps this revision of the franchise will work but the really sad thing about this miniseries is that it shows that DC has truly lost all faith in the original Captain Marvel and all of the history and backstory behind him. There is almost nothing of the old Captain Marvel in this story, not the tone, the atmosphere, the art style, the established supporting cast-- heck, even the red-shirted captain never makes an actual appearance. This is an even more radical departure than the Thomas-Mandrake "Shazam: a New Beginning" which was so poorly received after the last Crisis. What we are getting is more of a Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer/Harry-Potter hybrid. Apparently DC has decided that the original concept of Captain Marvel-- a child who can magically transform into a superhero-- simply won't work in today's world. Yes, at the end of this miniseries, there will be a new Captain in the red suit with a lightning bolt but they might as well have created a completely new character and called him "Major Thunder."

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51