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Images copyright DC COMICS |
CAPTAIN THUNDER was his original name, but by the time
he appeared in WHIZZ COMICS #2 (there was no #1), this had
been changed to CAPTAIN MARVEL. A couple of ashcan editions
were produced to secure copyright, but similarly-titled periodicals
by rival publishers meant a change of name for the good Captain's
premiere issue in 1939/'40.
Captain Marvel outsold SUPERMAN for a while, prompting
NATIONAL (DC) to launch a plagiarism suit against FAWCETT,
but the initial decision fell in the latter's favour. National appealed
and won - and although Captain Marvel himself wasn't found to be a
copyright infringement, it was felt that certain storylines and situ-
ations might be, requiring a re-trial to determine the facts.
However, because of the preceding seven years of litigation -
plus a decline in circulation of CM titles over that time - Fawcett
decided it wasn't worth prolonging the battle and threw in the towel.
They discontinued their comics line and paid National $400,000
in damages - which indicates that their legal costs must have been
enormous if paying such an astronomical sum to their rival was
considered the least expensive option.
National licensed the character from Fawcett for a revival
in 1972, and finally acquired the rights to the Marvel Family line
in 1991. Of course, there's still the MARVELMAN/MIRACLE-
MAN situation to consider, but I'll leave that for somebody else
to explore as, frankly, I can't generate either the energy or the
enthusiasm to go into it.
Let's just look at the pictures, okay?