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 (DC Comics) its comic book staff. Otto Binder and Kurt Shaffenberger ended up at DC, becoming prominent members of the creative team for the Superman-related comics from 1954 through the 1960s. Shaffenbeger snuck an unauthorized cameo by Captain Marvel into a story in "Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane" #42 in 1963. "Whiz Comics" had ended with issue #155 in June 1953, "Captain Marvel Adventures" was canceled with #150 in November 1953, and "The Marvel Family" ended its run with #89 in January 1954. Hoppy the Marvel Bunny was sold to Charlton Comics, where a few Fawcett-era stories from that strip were reprinted