Key Issue Notes
First appearance and origin of Black Adam
Origin of Captain Marvel retold
Origin of Captain Marvel Jr. retold
Origin of Mary Marvel retold
Origin of Uncle Marvel retold
This is kinda old news by now, but if you still haven't heard, the wrestler turned actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been given the role of Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam movie.
I have to be honest, I'm questioning if that was a good move to cast him for the part. Don't get me wrong, he seems like a nice enough guy and all, but he isn't the greatest actor the world has ever seen. Well, enough with my personal views on the matter, let's get into some details about this comic.
First and foremost, this issue of Marvel Family has the first appearance of Black Adam. Long before DC Comics obtained the rights to the character, Fawcett Publications created Black Adam as a one off villain to go up against Captain Marvel and the rest of the Marvel Family.
Black Adam |
Click to enlarge |
Captain Marvel Jr. |
Mary Marvel is actually Mary Batson, Billy's long lost sister. She is able to become Mary Marvel simply because she is the sister of Captain Marvel. She says the name "Shazam" and a quick flash of lightening and clap of thunder later, she becomes Mary Marvel.
Mary and Uncle Marvel |
So, after Black Adam finds his way back to Earth, he meets Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. They duke it out, blow for blow, but none of the punches do any damage. It kind of reminded me of the battle between Superman and General Zod in the Man of Steel movie, but without all of the collateral damage. Anyway Black Adam escapes. For some inexplicable reason, the two Marvels change back into Billy and Freddie and go to see the spirit of Shazam. When they get there, they are gagged and bound by Adam, and helpless to save themselves. In comes Mary and Uncle Marvel to save the day. Shazam tell Uncle Marvel that the only way to defeat Black Adam is to trick him into saying the wizards name. Well, he is tricked and say the magic word and turns back into the mortal Teth-Adam. Due to his age, his body immediately start to wither and decay... well that's the short story anyway.
Obviously, the character doesn't stay dead, like most comic characters, and is resurected by DC Comics in Shazam #28. I'll get more into that comic in the near future, so stay tuned.
Click to enlarge |
There are a few nice high grade copies, but not many. The highest graded copy listed on the census is a very respectable Universal 9.4 NM. If you're able to find this copy for sale, don't expect it to be cheap. The Overstreet Price Guide has 9.2 NM- valued at $7,000, so you can expect and already graded 9.4 NM to go for at least a few thousand dollars higher.
While I'm talking about Overstreet, values listed in the price guide for this comic have gone up a lot over the past two years. A 9.2 copy of Marvel Family #1 was only valued at $2,800 in the 44th edition of the price guide. That is a huge jump in a very short amount of time.
Values for Marvel Family #1 on GoCollect |
If you were lucky enough to have a copy of this comic in your collection before the hype started to hit and more people knew about this comic, then you will probably make out like a bandit. Now might be the time to throw it back out on the market. I'm not sure how much more room there is for any growth on this comic. It's definitely at a peak now, and how high the next peak will be remains to be seen.
Find a copy here
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