Originally published on Patreon
One of the things that I've really enjoyed about this series is how it's turned around and criticised the idea that female heroes have to be the female versions of heroes. We've had plenty of times when the original hero takes a back seat for a while and a new person steps up to take on the name, or we get a second version of that character operating at the same time. Dick Grayson being Batman, Jon Kent being Superman, Bucky Barnes as Captain America. And whenever a man does it there will be some grumbles by those that don't like the story decision, but for the most art it's fine; people will call them Batman, Superman, and Captain America, but will then clarify which one. But when women do this something different happens. People complain, they attack, they belittle the characters, and they insult the very idea that they're that hero, adding some caveat like 'woman Thor', 'girl Wolverine', and 'She-Zam'.
This book takes a big hard no to that kind of thinking. Mary isn't Mary Marvel, Mary Shazam, Miss Shazam, She-Zam, or any other variation. She is Shazam. Purely, simply Shazam. As much as Billy Batson is. And her finally coming into that name, finally feeling like she can call herself Shazam is part of her journey, as well as part of her fight to be seen as worthy of respect from others.
I'm sure that there will be people who hate this idea, and the comic depicting online spaces where people attack the very idea of her being a hero, let alone Shazam isn't a fictional concept; it's the real world. We see it all the time in fan spaces, and it's fucking boring. I'm sick of seeing it in real life, of seeing people who claim to be fans, who say they love these universes and characters shitting over it all because a woman is getting the spotlight. And if books with women in the spotlight are going to occasionally stick their middle finger up at these misogynistic pieces of shit, well that's all the better.
This issue doesn't just focus on that, however, as it also has to deal with some things left hanging from the last issue. Darla has run off, and has been kidnapped by the big bad of the story. Mary heads after her and gets into a couple of fights with some misogynistic dicks, kicks their arses, then heads off to the final confrontation. The reveal of who the villain is, what their connection to the Shazam mythos is, is actually really cool, and I like that it's not just a new unconnected character.
The final confrontation isn't a big fist fight either, and the issue makes the point that the new Shazam isn't like the old one who goes in fighting. She makes plans, she uses her brains, and she thinks of alternate solutions. That being said, her taking the villain down a few pegs by screaming Shazam and powering up the way she does is pretty damn awesome, and might be one of my favourite Shazam moments. We also get more Hoppy helping out too; which can only ever be a win.
I was worried with this being a four issue mini that things would feel quite rushed, especially at the end. But this book has been hugely entertaining, and the story has felt 100% right for Mary's character. I love that she's been given the spotlight, and that she's getting to 'move up the ranks' as it were from a sidekick into the titular champion. She's more than earned that place, and with this series, her presence in DC vs Vampires: All Out War, and her being in Lazarus Planet, I hope that this is just the start of loads more of her as Shazam.
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