Mary Bromfield aka Mary Marvel has started her new career as Shazam in New Champion of Shazam miniseries from DC Comics, and after only three issues it’s already gone off the rails. After making a disastrous mistake her legitimacy as a hero is in question, but at least she has a talking rabbit to help her through it all.
Mary made her debut in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze. She has been an essential ally and sister to the original Shazam, Billy Batson, for 80 years, but now things have changed. After losing her powers she tried to have a normal life, but nothing is ever normal for Mary. Her plans got interrupted by Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, who brought her the news that she was the next Shazam. Since then, it hasn’t been an easy transition for the new hero. After making a huge mistake, and with the internet turning against her, she now has to find the strength to ignore the doubters and save all of Philadelphia's missing residents.
New Champion of Shazam #3, written by Josie Campbell with art by Evan “Doc” Shaner, will be on sale in October, but AIPT has revealed an exclusive look at new cover art for the issue by Shaner, Jen Bartel, and Ben Caldwell. According to Campbell this series is about Mary getting a “clean slate.” She will even have her own rogues' gallery. No longer Mary Marvel, she's now Shazam, but with that title comes all the responsibility and pitfalls of being a superhero. Everything rests squarely on her shoulders, but thankfully Mary has not lost her joy, determination, or her bunny sidekick. She’s going to need all the help she can get. According to the official synopsis for the third issue:
Don’t read the comments! After a disastrous outing as Shazam, Mary is the laughingstock of the internet. Will she ever be taken seriously? Now it’s up to her to ignore the haters and help those who really need her. The missing-persons problem in Philly has only gotten worse, and our hero is running out of time to find the culprit behind it!
The main cover by Shaner portrays a cornered Mary against a wall plastered with missing person signs, in what is almost certainly a nod to the iconic cover for X-Men Days of Future Past. One of the missing people over her shoulder is even named "Billy" and looks a lot like her brother, the original Shazam. Mary wears a look of determination as one eye sparks with electricity. The second cover by Bartel is the most exciting. As Shazam flies through space, riding on her back is Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, which suggests that her newest and cutest sidekick will be making a comeback in the issue. The last cover by Caldwell portrays Mary atop a mountain, looking confident and strong posing under a halo of stars, what is almost certainly a clear parody of the Paramount logo.
DC Comics' newest issue of New Champion of Shazam promises to be a real turning point for Mary Marvel in her career as Shazam. The real test of a hero is not what they do when they are riding high, but how they pick themselves up after a failure. The whole world and internet seem to be against her, and Mary Marvel’s confidence and the Shazam legacy will be tested. Hopefully she can get some help from a fluffy and talkative rabbit.
Check out New Champion of Shazam #3 in comic stores on October 4.
Source: AIPT
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