Captain Marvel (DC Comics) abilities. Based on book sales, the character was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, outselling even Superman. Fawcett expanded the franchise to include other "Marvels", primarily Marvel Family associates Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., who can harness Billy's powers as well. Captain Marvel was also the first comic book superhero to be adapted into film, in a 1941 Republic Pictures serial titled "Adventures of Captain Marvel". Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953, partly because of a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics, alleging that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. In 1972, DC licensed the
Legacy hero Legacy hero A legacy hero is a type of character, usually a superhero, that is the descendant or relative of an already or previously existing hero who either inherits or adopts the name and attributes of the original. One of the earliest examples of this character type was comic strip hero The Phantom, assumed to be immortal by his enemies—various members of a single family, the descendants of Christopher Walker. The term is used most often to refer to characters published by DC and Marvel comics. Family franchises such as DC's Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Atom, Black Canary, Captain Marvel,