Captain Marvel, Jr.

Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel, Jr. by Matthew Clark in Outsiders (vol. 3) #28 (November 2005)
Publication information
Publisher	Fawcett Comics (1941–1953) DC Comics (1972–present)
First appearance	Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941)
Created by	France Herron Mac Raboy
In-story information
Alter ego	Frederick Christopher "Freddy" Freeman
Team affiliations	Marvel Family Teen Titans Outsiders Young Justice
Notable aliases	CM3, Shazam, Shazam Jr., Captain Shazam Jr.
Abilities	Magical lighting bestows: The Wisdom of Solomon: Genius-level intellect Clairvoyance Hypnosis Ability to speak and understand any language The Strength of Hercules: Immense superhuman strength The Healing of Apollo: Healing powers The Power of Zeus: Control and emission over magical electric lighting The Courage of Achilles: Unlimited courage Telepathic resistance Increased fighting prowess The Speed of Mercury: Superhuman speed Flight
Captain Marvel Jr.
Series publication information
Publisher	Fawcett Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	Nov. 18 1942 – June 1953
Number of issues	118
Main character(s)	Captain Marvel Jr.
Creative team
Artist(s)	Mac Raboy

Captain Marvel Jr.. (Freddy Freeman), is a fictional superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. A member of the Marvel/Shazam Family team of superheroes associated with Shazam/Captain Marvel, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 in December 1941.

In the original Fawcett and DC continuity, Captain Marvel Jr.'s alter-ego was Freddy Freeman, a crippled newsboy saved by Captain Marvel from the villainous Captain Nazi. Junior derived his powers from Captain Marvel himself, while the other Marvels derived their powers from the wizard Shazam. By saying the name "Captain Marvel", Freddy is transformed into the teenaged Captain Marvel Jr. Unlike Captain Marvel and the modern-era version of Mary Marvel, Junior remained a teenager in his transformed state.

A Trials of Shazam! maxi-series published from 2006 to 2008 featured Freddy Freeman undergoing six trials to prove himself worthy of succeeding Captain Marvel, who takes over the wizard Shazam's post on the Rock of Eternity. Upon completion of the Trials, Freddy assumed the superhero name Shazam. Following DC's New 52 reboot in 2011/12, Freddy Freeman – now a blond instead of the traditional brunet – appears in current DC Comics publications as one of Billy Batson's foster siblings, and at Billy's whim can share the Shazam powers and become an adult superhero.

After Fawcett Comics' success with their first superhero character, Captain Marvel, the company decided to introduce a spin-off character. Although Captain Marvel had been given part-time sidekicks in the form of the look-alike Lieutenant Marvels in Whiz Comics #21 (Sept. 1941), Fawcett Comics editor Ed Herron wanted to introduce a distinctive spin-off character. Captain Marvel transformed from teenage boy to adult superhero with a magic word; Herron decided for his new character to remain a teenager to differentiate him from Captain Marvel. Fawcett staff artist Mac Raboy designed the new character, named Captain Marvel Jr., using a more realistic style parting with C.C. Beck's more cartoony artwork for the Captain Marvel stories. Whereas Captain Marvel changed identities by saying "Shazam", Captain Marvel Jr. says "Captain Marvel" to transform; this was intended to serve as a frequent reminder to readers to buy the Captain Marvel Sr. books.