Well, we did it: We have now reached the end of 2000, and every single Marvel family appearance since “Crisis on Infinite Earths” has been covered. All that is left is a perfect way to wrap up our coverage, Paul Dini and Alex Ross’s “Shazam: The Power of Hope.”
Written by Paul DiniCover by Alex Ross
Illustrated, colored, and lettered by Alex RossSHAZAM!: POWER OF HOPE is a tale of a super-hero using his powers in the most human of ways, to instill hope in the hearts of children. When Billy Batson, Captain Marvel’s adolescent alter ego, receives a letter from a terminally ill boy in the City’s Children Hospital, he decides to spend a few days in the ward. A true kid at heart, Captain Marvel tries to shed some light in the children’s lives by taking them on flying escapades and amazing them with stories of his exploits. Through amazing art and dynamic personal interaction, the true essence and innocence of Captain Marvel shines throughout this touching and emotional book.
The first thing that has to be said about “Shazam: The Power of Hope” is that it needs to be approached in the proper context. Yes, the painted style leads to less suggested motion, and yes, the subject matter can border on saccharine. But taken together, along with the character at its center, it comes away as a really lovely story that is both gorgeous to look at and strikes an emotional chord.
There may not be a character, save for Superman, that better fits Alex Ross’s style than Captain Marvel. The simplicity of the costume, the squared jaw, and the setting, straight out of the Golden Age, all combine for Ross’s strengths to shine through. This book has an almost constant ‘golden hour’ palette applied to it, which gives it a nostalgic air that goes beyond the setting and tone. This book is as close to a Norman Rockwell comic as we’re likely to see in the 21st century, and I mean that as a complement.
Many times Captain Marvel stories try to use Billy Batson’s lack of maturity to show him struggle to be empathetic or to act impulsively. Paul Dini points Billy in the opposite direction here, allowing his innocence to lead to a bigger heart and a greater compassion. It also leads to Billy not handling failure as well as, perhaps, someone older would.
This all sounds a little hokey, and I admit that it borders on that at times. But when Captain Marvel can help a little girl smile before she dies, despite the maudlin overtones, it is a beautiful moment. For a character that doesn’t just remember being a child, but it is a literal child, it allows a different sense of introspection. Kids never handle the death of kids well; hell, most adults don’t either. But Billy’s strength and grace throughout this entire book shows just how much he, and most kids, are truly capable of when they put others first.
The book doesn’t really feature a main villain. Sure, we get the thugs trying to open a mine, which leads to a dam breaking, but they’re not mustache twirling baddies. The lack of a big bad helps to show Captain Marvel as less of a reactive hero and more as a proactive one. Instead of waiting for trouble to find him, he goes to the hospital to help. This wouldn’t work as well for a series, where conflict is needed to bring readers back each month, but works in spades with a stand alone story like this.
Captain Marvel seems to work especially well when creators take a shot at telling a singular story, whether in the “A New Beginning” mini, or the “Power of Shazam” graphic novel, or, as we’ll be discussing next summer, Jeff Smith’s take on the character. This fits right into that mold of ‘tell a quintessential Shazam story,’ and it’s a little surprising that so few people have been able to move past that. The closest we’ve seen lately is what Geoff Johns is doing, and his take needed a family more than a main character. Billy is still the heart of Johns’s’ “Shazam,” but he’s not really the focus of the book. The family is.
Continued belowI don’t say that to say that “The Power of Hope” is a more authentic story than “Shazam.” I think both have their places. The shame of the matter is that these are some of the only places to get Captain Marvel stories. One of the themes of this column has been how Cap is always around, but not really doing anything. With only two in-continuity ongoings since 1985, it is really hard to see the character as a priority for DC, despite their clear desire to have him standing amongst the big shots whenever possible.
And maybe “The Power of Hope” is an instructive tool moving forward. Maybe if the “Shazam” ongoing took more cues from this work, like doing more done in one stories, or by giving Billy empathy that can sometimes hinder him. I don’t want his siblings to go away, but I also don’t want Billy to get lost in the mix. If this read through has shown me anything about the character, it is that he brings something to the table that no other character really does.
See ya in 2020, friends.
