It is no secret that I truly dislike what has been done to poor Billy Batson in the the New 52. Now, let me get this straight: I do not hate the New 52 as a whole. There are some things which I very much enjoy, such as: the Green Lantern books, Wonder Woman, The Phantom Stranger, OMAC (cancelled), pre and post Liefeld Deathstroke (cancelled), last 3 issues of Ravagers (cancelled), Lobdell's Superman (you heard me right), Supergirl, Action Comics, Layman's Detective Comics, Aquaman, and some others. Justice League, however, I find to have been utterly terrible since the relaunch, especially its handling of certain characters (i.e. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel). Here is what I would have preferred for the Big Red Cheese........
1. Bring back adventurous fun, while still having some darker and more serious themes
I would accomplish this by making Black Adam a secondary protagonist in the series once he is introduced. Captain Marvel would wholesomely fight evil and protect the downtrodden, whilst Black Adam violently faces threats in Kahndaq. Billy goes on crazy fun, Golden-Age esque adventures, where as Adam has darker and deeper things to deal with.I feel that this would be very fitting since the book would more than likely be called "The Power of Shazam".
2. Slowly but surely introduce the families.
Marvels: I would change Billy's life up a bit. For instance, he and his twin sister Mary are both about 12 years old, as opposed to being little kids. They live with their uncle Ebenezer, who tries his hardest make ends meet and send the two to school. However, life is very hard for their uncle, who sometimes takes out his anger on his poor niece and nephew. After Billy becomes Cap,he goes on several adventures, with Mary fully knowledgeable (but not their uncle). Eventually through her own growth and courage, she is also blessed by the wizard Shazam and becomes Marvel Maiden (called Mary Marvel by her brother). At their school, Mary develops a crush for a wheelchair bound boy named Freddie Freeman, who is also the object of affection of Georgia Sivana. Unlike in the Golden Age, Georgia won't be "ugly", but will still have the same basic nerdy look. She is as intelligent as her father, but not evil. Abandoned by her father so that he could pursue science, she feels unloved and does not know that she has 3 siblings scattered in foster homes. She is somewhat of a sidekick to the Marvels, whilst eventually is tempted to join her father. Freddie Freeman later becomes empowered. The Marvels' guardian animal is a powerful magic tiger named Tawky Tawny.
Adams: Black Adam is released from a scarab by Theo Adam, a falso descendant who is simply enamored with the legend of the "Arabic Marvel, Mighty Adam", who once protected Kahndaq from the invading Greeks. Adam soon meets an Arab woman named Adrianna Tomaz, who he can sense is a reincarnation of his beloved wife Isis. Isis becomes empowered, and her brother Amon is given the power of Osiris. Their stories are a bit darker, namely with Adam and Isis relationship, being..ya know, married, a bit more sensual than the young love of Mary and Freddie. They are also a bit more violent and political, with Adam fighting off modern Middle Eastern terrorism to unite the once mighty Kahndaq. Their animal is Sobek the malicious crocodile spirit.
2. Reintroduce/update old villains and create new ones.
We've already discussed Adam and Sivana (who won't be Lex Luthor with glasses), and they will pretty much their normal selves. Others, however, will be updated a bit. For instance, IBAC. Have a scientist named Stanley Prinwhistle (of Printwhistle Robotics), who, after learning of the android Amazo, aims to create an army of androids with vast military knowledge from various leaders. Realizing that M.A.S.H. just ain't gonna cut it, he decides to go all Serpentor and gain the knowledge of various leaders of then and now. Kidnapping various military leaders, as well as digging up bodies, he plans to graft all of their knowledge into the "Intelligent Bio-Mechanical Army Construct". Realizing that the various militaries are on his trail, he intends to put his mind into the android and maintain control of it. Upon discovering his lab, the various soldiers are easily defeated by Printwhistle's new form. Mr. Mind will also be the same, just given a deadlier look than a simple worm (but the same size). He will appear alongside the Monster Society of Evil, as well as a slightly redesigned King Kull. Kull would essentially be a reverse Vandal Savage. Whereas Savage is suave and smooth, Kull is brutish and almost like an uncaged beast who can not comprehend how to operate in a world of order. Captain Nazi is a revived German supersoldier with the strength to fight the Captain and his family, and reignites a despised outlook on Germany, which the Marvels must also combat (the image, not the country).
These are just a few ideas I had, but I would vastly prefer something like this that bridges the gap between classic camp and modern day tastes, while still keeping the core of the characters intact. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
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