• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Captain Marvel (2019)

Remember Charlton Heston wigging out about the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes?

Imagine Carol doing the same thing, over the Blockbuster Video...

For a time Carol in the comics, lived inside an apartment inside the head of the Statue of the Liberty.

So...

Those dots connect. :)
I've never been, but I thought that it had some sort of observation room in there. Looking at pictures, it's not very roomy. :lol:
 
It's complicated, but the short version is that DC let the trademark lapse so Marvel invented a character with the name, and kept the title periodically in print so it didn't lapse back to DC. Not because Marvel wanted the name so much as they didn't want DC to have it.
.

To be more precise, Fawcett let the trademark lapse after they discontinued their comics line, partly because of the DC lawsuit, partly because comic sales were in a slump anyway. Marvel didn't so much "steal" it as pick it up off the ground when nobody else wanted it. It was not until years later that DC acquired the property, but by then Marvel already owned the trademark, fair and square.

And let's be honest here: there is no deal to be worked out here. Marvel is never going to surrender that trademark and DC doesn't have a legal leg to stand on here. ("But . . . but comic-book history!" is not a valid legal argument.)

The purist in me winces a bit, but the pragmatist realizes that this ship has sailed. It is what is.
 
Last edited:
Not that quick; in the 1940s, Captain America made his comic book debut in '41, with the Republic serial released in 1944. Similarly, Adventures of Captain Marvel serial (1941) was not long in coming after the comic debut in 1940.

Good point. And if we want to stretch the point, The Mark of Zorro (1920) hit the big screen only a year after original magazine serial in 1919.

The more things change . . . .

EDIT: Just looked it up: Tarzan took six years to jump from prose (1912) to film (1918).

EDIT 2: Looked it up. The Green Hornet took only four years to jump from radio (1936) to the movies (1940).
 
Last edited:
Good point. And if we want to stretch the point, The Mark of Zorro (1920) hit the big screen only a year after original magazine serial in 1919.

The more things change . . . .

EDIT: Just looked it up: Tarzan took six years to jump from prose (1912) to film (1918).

EDIT 2: Looked it up. The Green Hornet took only four years to jump from radio (1936) to the movies (1940).

Lets see how many we can come up with... ;) *googles*

'Buck Rogers' - First comic appearance: 1929, First live action appearance: 1933...if you count the World's Fair short film. Serial was 1939. (Elapsed time: 4-10 years)
'Flash Gordon' - First comic appearance: 1934, First live action appearance: 1936. (2 years)
'Mandrake the Magician'- First comic appearance: 1938, First live action appearance: 1939. (1 year)
'The Phantom'- First comic appearance: 1936, First live action appearance: 1943. (7 years)
'The Rocketeer'- First comic appearance: 1982, First live action appearance: 1991. (9 years) (I was surprised too, I could have sworn it was based on a period comic strip!)
'The Shadow'- First comic appearance: 1931 (1930 for the Radio serial), First live action appearance: 1931. (0-1 year)
'Dick Tracy'- First comic appearance: 1931, First live action appearance: 1937. (6 years)

...Lets see, who else...Oh yeah!

'Batman'- First comic appearance: 1939, First live action appearance: 1943. (4 years)
'Superman'- First comic appearance: 1938, First live action appearance: 1948. (10 years)
'Wonder Woman'- First comic appearance: 1941, First live action appearance: 1974. (33 years!)

Wow. Yeah, clearly it's way too soon for Carol. She really ought to wait her turn! :lol:

ETA:
'Captain America'- First comic appearance: 1941, First live action appearance: 1944. (3 years)
'Captain Marvel' (no, the other one!) - First comic appearance: 1939, First live action appearance: 1941 (2 years)
 
Last edited:
'The Rocketeer'- First comic appearance: 1982, First live action appearance: 1991. (9 years) (I was surprised too, I could
He sure bears a resemblance to the old 50s serials of 'Commando Cody' and 1949s 'King of the Rocketmen'. Comic strips, Adam Strange, 1958, would be one similar character. Be funny if the films preceded comic usage but I don't know for sure.
 
He sure bears a resemblance to the old 50s serials of 'Commando Cody' and 1949s 'King of the Rocketmen'. Comic strips, Adam Strange, 1958, would be one similar character. Be funny if the films preceded comic usage but I don't know for sure.
From what I read, that specific character and story originated in a 1982 issue of 'Starslayer', but was clearly meant as a pastiche on/tribute to the serials of the 30's & 40's, most likely the very ones you mentioned.

Between 'Star Wars', 'Indiana Jones' & I suppose 'Conan', that kind of thing was somewhat in vogue in the late 70's & early 80's. It's almost as if film makers like to adapt material from their childhood or something. ;)
 
'Superman'- First comic appearance: 1938, First live action appearance: 1941. (3 years)
What live action appearance is that? The animated shorts began in 1941; the Kirk Alyn serials in 1948. The first voice acting of Superman would have been the radio show in 1940.
 
What live action appearance is that? The animated shorts began in 1941; the Kirk Alyn serials in 1948. The first voice acting of Superman would have been the radio show in 1940.
Yeah, looks like I looked at the wrong date there. Corrected.
Still works out less than Wonder Woman though! ;)
 
He sure bears a resemblance to the old 50s serials of 'Commando Cody' and 1949s 'King of the Rocketmen'.
Entirely intentional. Dave Stevens was a big fan of the period. And if any of you have never seen the Rocketeer comics, go! Find! Dave Stevens was a brilliant artist. The comics are gorgeous!
 
Lets see how many we can come up with... ;) *googles*


'The Shadow'- First comic appearance: 1931 (1930 for the Radio serial), First live action appearance: 1931. (0-1 year)

That was a fun rundown, but just to nitpick: You mean his "first pulp magazine appearance," not "his first comic appearance." He wasn't really a comic-book character back in the day.

The Shadow's history is actually a bit complicated and messy. First he was just the host of a radio drama, then he got his own pulp magazine featuring him as a crime-fighter, then he became the hero of his own radio show, and eventually he got his own movie serial. But he didn't start out in the comics.
 
That was a fun rundown, but just to nitpick: You mean his "first pulp magazine appearance," not "his first comic appearance." He wasn't really a comic-book character back in the day.

The Shadow's history is actually a bit complicated and messy. First he was just the host of a radio drama, then he got his own pulp magazine featuring him as a crime-fighter, then he became the hero of his own radio show, and eventually he got his own movie serial. But he didn't start out in the comics.

Yeah I figured it went down something like that just looking at the dates. If anything it just illustrates how these kinds of characters have always been multimedia and not entirely confined to comic books/newspaper strips/pulp magazines/whatever. IIRC some of Superman's lore we tend to take as read actually originated from the radio show, not the comics. Pretty sure Kryptonite is one, not sure about the others.

Indeed, I suspect that back in the day, the radio drama incarnation of most of these characters were the ones a lot of kids were more familiar with. Just like people of my generation are most likely to have been introduced to the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-man and the X-Men not through the comics, but through the Reeves & Keaton movies, plus the various 90's animated series. Likewise, kids today are going to know them from the recent crop of movies.

Case in point: the only reason a child of the 80's & 90's like me has even heard of Mandrake or Phantom is because of this. ;)
 
Last edited:
Yeah I figured it went down something like that just looking at the dates. If anything it just illustrates how these kinds of characters have always been multimedia and not entirely confined to comic books/newspaper strips/pulp magazines/whatever. IIRC some of Superman's lore we tend to take as read actually originated from the radio show, not the comics. Pretty sure Kryptonite is one, not sure about the others.

Yep. And I believe Jimmy Olsen also originated in the radio series, just as, decades later, Harley Quinn originated in the 90s animated cartoon. And I honestly can't remember if my first exposure to Batman was via the comics or the old Adam West tv series, which I watched religiously as a kid, along with reruns of THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN with George Reeves. And, growing up in the sixties, I knew about the Shadow and the Phantom and Mandrake and that bunch because my dad, who had been a fan back in the day, introduced me to them. (Heck, my grandfather gave me his old TARZAN hardcovers when I was a kid.)

Meanwhile, you mentioned CONAN above. He first appeared in the pulps back in 1932, hit the comics in 1970, and finally made it to the big screen in 1982, some fifty years after he debuted in WEIRD TALES magazine!
 
Last edited:
Good point. And if we want to stretch the point, The Mark of Zorro (1920) hit the big screen only a year after original magazine serial in 1919.

The more things change . . . .

EDIT: Just looked it up: Tarzan took six years to jump from prose (1912) to film (1918).

EDIT 2: Looked it up. The Green Hornet took only four years to jump from radio (1936) to the movies (1940).

Lets see how many we can come up with... ;) *googles*

'Buck Rogers' - First comic appearance: 1929, First live action appearance: 1933...if you count the World's Fair short film. Serial was 1939. (Elapsed time: 4-10 years)
'Flash Gordon' - First comic appearance: 1934, First live action appearance: 1936. (2 years)
'Mandrake the Magician'- First comic appearance: 1938, First live action appearance: 1939. (1 year)
'The Phantom'- First comic appearance: 1936, First live action appearance: 1943. (7 years)
'The Rocketeer'- First comic appearance: 1982, First live action appearance: 1991. (9 years) (I was surprised too, I could have sworn it was based on a period comic strip!)
'The Shadow'- First comic appearance: 1931 (1930 for the Radio serial), First live action appearance: 1931. (0-1 year)
'Dick Tracy'- First comic appearance: 1931, First live action appearance: 1937. (6 years)

...Lets see, who else...Oh yeah!

'Batman'- First comic appearance: 1939, First live action appearance: 1943. (4 years)
'Superman'- First comic appearance: 1938, First live action appearance: 1948. (10 years)
'Wonder Woman'- First comic appearance: 1941, First live action appearance: 1974. (33 years!)

Wow. Yeah, clearly it's way too soon for Carol. She really ought to wait her turn! :lol:

ETA:
'Captain America'- First comic appearance: 1941, First live action appearance: 1944. (3 years)
'Captain Marvel' (no, the other one!) - First comic appearance: 1939, First live action appearance: 1941 (2 years)
It's a book series not a comic, but the creator of The 100 TV show actually started working on the show before the book was even published, and there was only a 6 month gap between the first novel's release (Sept. 3 2013), and the premiere of the show (March 19 2014). That's one of the quickest adaptations I know of.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top