By the mid-1940s, Original Captain Marvel was the most popular comic book character in the country. He was already the first super hero to appear on the big screen as part of a 12-chapter movie serial, but the prominence of the character only grew. In the years while the case was ongoing, Original Captain Marvel become something of a hit. The lawsuit, however, took its time meandering through the courts. That displeasure manifested itself in the form of a cease and desist letter sent to Fawcett June 1941 and, when that was ignored, DC Comics filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in September of that same year.
The character was much akin to Superman, which first appeared in 1938, in terms of his powers and appearance and, though Original Captain Marvel’s powers were magical in origin, other aspects of the character were similar enough that Detective Comics (now simply DC Comics) took umbrage. The original Captain Marvel was created in 1939 by Fawcett Comics as part of their Whiz Comics series. Note: To avoid confusion in this article we are going to refer to the characters as the Original Captain Marvel and the Current Captain Marvel. The truth is, ultimately, a bit more complicated but no less interesting as it’s a tale of copyright and trademark that unfolded over a lifetime. However, it’s also a story that’s often widely misunderstood, often being framed as yet another battle between DC and Marvel Comics, even though the two never really came into direct conflict.
It’s a story that involves multiple companies and has drastically changed the history of comic books and super heroes more broadly. Most impressive of all is that it’s a history that goes back 80 years. However, the two films and their titular characters have shared much more than just theater space, they have a long, winding history of lawsuits, trademark and copyright issues. Back in March, both Shazam! and Captain Marvel were in theaters at the same time.
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