Things are getting heated between Marvel and DC fans again as they try to one-up each other. The latest debate online pits Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel against Zachary Levi’s Shazam!, although there’s more to this fight than it seems.
The fight broke out on Twitter as fans discussed who would crush whom in a fight between the heroes. The jury is very much out on who would win as both are almost indestructible and possess insane levels of power, so it would probably just end in a tie if we’re being honest. But that hasn’t stopped fans from passionately defending their chosen hero as they went back and forth with each other online. All we know for sure is that Superman would squash both of them.
Aside from being close in terms of strength and abilities, there is another reason fans have decided these two must fight to the death. Interestingly, Shazam went by the name “Captain Marvel” long before Marvel Comics even thought of the character.
There’s a long and complex history to the character of Shazam. Created in 1939 by a rival comic company to DC, he went by the name Captain Marvel and was essentially a Superman ripoff. DC took the rival company to court and the character wasn’t used again until DC struck a deal with them in 1972 to feature “Captain Marvel” in their comics. However, by that point, Marvel Comics had already copyrighted the name and so DC changed it to Shazam.
That’s only a glimpse of just how competitive and confusing the comics industry was back in the Golden Age. It involved a lot of stolen ideas and copyright disputes. Marvel and DC have been involved in countless arguments regarding who stole from whom; the first issue of Shazam! even poked fun at the fact DC could no longer use the name.
Now the ancient dispute has been brought into 2023 as comic fans want the winner of the cosmic fight to claim the title as the true “Captain Marvel.”
The OG and best Captain Marvel 🥱 pic.twitter.com/5qMqWJWyvF
— Nicholas (@NicholasPascar5) March 22, 2023
The debate didn’t really get anywhere and quickly devolved into squabbling as things usually do on the internet. Unless we can get a MCU/DCU crossover where we have them fight on the big screen, we’ll probably never know who’s the most powerful.
In the end, both are great characters, powerful and unique in their own right. Although things worked out for DC as Shazam! is a more iconic name for the hero formerly known as Captain Marvel anyway. Not to mention, the name would have confused fans if they’d kept it, as it sort of makes sense for Marvel to own the copyright to a hero named Captain Marvel.
