Captain Marvel (DC Comics) Marvel's protégé, Captain Marvel, Jr., who was the alter-ego of Billy and Mary's best friend, the disabled newsboy Freddy Freeman. Before DC's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" comic book miniseries in 1985, the Marvel Family also included part-time members such as Mary's non-powered friend "Uncle" Dudley (Uncle Marvel) and three other protégés (all of whose alter egos are named "Billy Batson") known as the Lieutenant Marvels. A pink rabbit version of Captain Marvel, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, appeared in his own stories featuring a funny-animal cast. The current-continuity version of Shazam has a Shazam Family made up of his five foster
Captain Marvel Jr. of World War II-era comic stories. Immediately following the crossover chapters in "Master Comics" #21–22, Captain Marvel Jr. began starring in the series with issue #23 (February 1942). His own "Captain Marvel Jr." comic book launched nine months later. Mac Raboy's darker, more dramatic art style illustrated adventures with more serious themes than those often seen in the often whimsical Captain Marvel stories. Marvel Jr's regularly dealt with espionage, organized crime, murder, and Nazis in more-or-less straightforward adventure styles with often somber overtones. The stories depicted the plight of working class and working poor people during World War II. Even