Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A Superhero of Old

                                                                                   Author: Republic Pictures
Image: From Adventures of Captain Marvel
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

My recollection of superheroes
Were mainly of the Big Three of that vintage
Superman, Batman and Robin and Captain Marvel
Of them Captain Marvel left most memories

The impact was on account of many reasons
Captain Marvel had the strength of Superman
He could fly and righting wrongs where he found
And more so his shout out phrase ‘Open Shazam’!

First to be featured in his own serials on film
Sadly it did not sustain its own ‘immortality’
As a result of a copyright infringement suit
It went into oblivion

There were hopes of its return
But given the present crop
Of superheroes wannabes  
With all sorts of electronic peculiarities
It would have to have more on its plate
To come back to its heyday
Of superiority!

Written for Brian’s hosting at Poetry Jam talking on superheroes
as a prompt

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for a bit of history here, Hank. I had forgotten about Captain Marvel.....but sounds like he was a real forerunner of the superheroes of today. Never knew of the series either. But just look what he started!

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    1. Didn't quite remember,too! Was quite young then and it was the craze! All the black and white episodes on screen. Thanks Mary!

      Hank

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  2. shazam....very cool...ok here is where i admit my geekiness...ha...shazam is actually making a come back in the comic books...he was alluring to me as a kid because he was a kid...who became a man through the power of shazam....dont know that i ever saw this show...need to look it up...

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    1. The comics were aplenty then! I saw the screen episodes on re-runs a long time ago! Thanks Brian!

      Hank

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  3. I remember that one to, they were great for the time

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    1. Apparently Lois Lane gained powers like Superman through blood transfusion. Interesting developments!

      Hank

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  5. I heard of Shazam but never heard of the show before now

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  6. Hah! I don't remember shazam...but I do remember Bugs Bunny saying "Open Says Me"
    Cheers! Have a great day!

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  7. I remember Captain Marvel. I loved 'Joe 90' he had glasses like me. Great take on the prompt and great words.

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  8. Fun to read this superhero history. I do not recall Capt Marvel--TV was my only exposure so if he was only in the movies and comic books I missed him. The name kind of rings a bell but not images to go with it for me. So I liked seeing the photo too. Poor Capt Marvel.

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  9. Captain Marvel, like Mighty Mouse grew out of the 30's, the Golden Age, and hell yes, he did get the short end of the stick in terms of posterity. A decade, or so, ago, Marvel ran a redeux upgraded CAPTAIN MARVEL series; different uniform, and more Sci Fi. I lost track of it. Nice work; thanks.

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  10. Superman .. I grew up with the original ~ the best of them all. Of course, this is my own humble opinion. Nice write, Hank.

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  11. the things we remember. I think it matters more that we remember than why. Thanks.

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  12. I've always loved that word "Shazam!" a great trip through superhero history--I grew up with Superman in black and white--loved that :-)

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  13. Shazam! That brought back memories ...

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  14. Yes! Thanks for the memories. I used to love Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy. I saw them both at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA. My Dad lifted me onto his shoulders so I could shake hands with Roy Rogers riding proudly on Trigger. I reached up to shake Roy's hand and then noticed he was wearing lipstick and eyeliner. It scared the heck out of me and I began to cry. So much for those TV Heroes!

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  15. Nice to remember your favorite super heroes. They didn't have the tech advantage, but they kept our attention and admiration.

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