Adventures of Captain Marvel

Long before there was ever talk of cinematic “universes” or the existence of CGI, the caped crusaders of yore made their debuts outside of their four-color funny books through two chief mediums: radio drama and the matinee serial. Hugely popular in theaters, 1941's Adventures of Captain Marvel was based on the beloved character from Fawcett Comics who bested even Superman in public devotion but suffered at the hands of DC Comics in an infamous copyright lawsuit. In this Republic Studios serial, teenage hero Billy Batson (Frank Coghlan, Jr.) gains his mighty abilities as an inheritance from the ancient wizard Shazam (Nigel De Brulier), who tells the lad to simply exclaim his name (“Shazam!”) to transform into adult warrior Captain Marvel (Tom Tyler). Billy soon finds out that heroics are in high demand, and that a hooded villain known as the Scorpion is plotting to obtain a magnificent artifact that has the power to transmit a deadly ray. Employing a cadre of hoods, gangsters, and exotic assassins—not to mention a baker's dozen of complex and colorful death traps—the Scorpion attempts to attain the artifact at all costs, but Billy and his mighty alter-ego aren't about to make things easy for him. Divided into the weekly “chapters” of the original serial, Kino Lorber's Blu-ray debut of this fun, high-flying adventure features extras including audio commentary by no less than ten filmmakers, historians, and critics (including Leonard Maltin), and a booklet with an essay by film critic Matt Singer. Highly recommended. (J. Cruz)