DC didn't either - their dispute with Fawcett wasn't over the name 'Captain Marvel', but rather the visual and story elements. Realizing that since Fawcett had ceased publishing the adventures of Captain Marvel almost 15 years prior in 1953, in 1967, the still newly-christened Marvel Comics (formerly Atlas Comics) realized that the famous hero moniker that included their namesake was not in use – and decided to make their own Captain Marvel.įawcett, who was prevented from publishing Captain Marvel comic books, had no apparent reason to dispute Marvel Comics' Captain Marvel at the time. (Image credit: Gene Colan (Marvel Comics)) Then, in the '60s, another publisher entered the 'Captain Marvel' dispute. National and Fawcett settled out of court, leading Fawcett to cease publishing comic books and sell the rights to some of its comic characters - but they held on to the Marvel Family and their other superheroes.įrom there, Captain Marvel all but disappeared (though some less successful heroes briefly adopted the name over the years). Naturally, National didn't like that Fawcett's perceived copy of their hero was outselling their original, adding fuel to a lawsuit that aimed to cease publication of Captain Marvel. There's one other factor that set the Captain Marvel lawsuit apart, however – at his peak, Captain Marvel was selling more copies than Superman, and even became the first superhero to get their own live-action film. If that seems drastic considering how many characters in modern comics share even more specific qualities, and how many superheroes were ripping off Superman even back in the '40s, bear in mind that National had a history of suing companies that published heroes it felt were too close to Superman, successfully putting a stop to the publication of Fox's Wonder Man and Fawcett's pre-Captain Marvel hero Master Man. Seeing the similarities between the characters, National Comics Publications (Superman's publisher who later became DC) sued Fawcett, Captain Marvel's publisher, over copyright infringement against Fawcett, who published Captain Marvel. Like Superman, the first major American superhero (and the character that defined most of the genre tropes), the original 1939 incarnation of Captain Marvel could fly, had super strength and speed, and wore a costume of tights and a cape to rescue people.
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