Shazam! Power of Hope
Shazam! Power of Hope | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Format | One-shot |
Publication date | November 2000 |
Main character(s) | Captain Marvel |
Creative team | |
Written by | Paul Dini Alex Ross |
Artist(s) | Alex Ross |
Penciller(s) | Alex Ross |
Inker(s) | Alex Ross |
Letterer(s) | Paul Dini |
Colorist(s) | Alex Ross |
Shazam! Power of Hope is a 64-page DC Treasury prestige format
Plot
In the introductory comic, Billy Batson is shown being thrown out of his uncle's house. Despite his hardship, he is still hopeful. Seeing this, the wizard summons him to the Rock of Eternity, there transforming him into Captain Marvel.
After a long day at the radio station, Billy Batson's plans to go to a baseball game go by the wayside when he is asked to go through a mailbag filled with letters to Captain Marvel. Batson returns to his apartment where he lives alone, mentioning that he once transformed into Captain Marvel to sign the lease. Batson finds a letter asking Captain Marvel to visit a hospital for sick children. As Captain Marvel, he meets with the Wizard Shazam who tells him about a child in despair in desperate need of the hope which only Captain Marvel could provide. When he arrives at the hospital, the children are happy to see their hero, except for one child in a wheelchair who Marvel believes needs his help.
In the meantime, Captain Marvel tends to the other children at the hospital and strives to make each of their dreams come true. He treats some of them to a trip to the zoo, a dive into the ocean, and he even brings back a doctor from Japan to perform a challenging eye surgery on a little girl. On one of his trips, things go awry when a nearby dam explodes due to illegal workers at a nearby government mine. Luckily, he saves the children just in time before the breached water brings them to a waterfall.
Later at the hospital, Captain Marvel asks the lead doctor, Dr. Ellen Miler, about the boy in the wheelchair he met earlier. Marvel discovers that his father brought him to the hospital, explaining that his son fell down the basement stairs, and learns that the boy's name is Bobby. Noticing the bruises on his arm and his broken leg, Marvel soon deducts that Bobby had been severely beaten by his father. Captain Marvel decides to talk to the boy as Billy, hoping he'll open up to someone his age. Billy shares that he, too, has experienced a difficult childhood, and Bobby asks Billy if his father also hurt him.
Later, Billy meets the child's father, and then threatens him as Captain Marvel, telling him not to hurt his son anymore. After his visit is over, Captain Marvel learns from the Wizard that it was Billy, himself, whose hope was waning, and that this visit served as a reminder for how he could inject good into the world. Happy as ever, Billy decides to visit Bobby to play a game of catch.
Fake cancellation
As part of an
Reception
The work was critically lauded by
References
- ^ "An Oral History of DC's Captain Marvel/Shazam: The Modern Years Part 1". Newsarama.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13.
- ^ "Comic Book Related April Fools Day Jokes". Joe Sergi's Cup of Geek. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ "Wizard: The Comics Magazine #111 (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ "Shazam! Power of Hope Review - Silver Bullet Comics". Comicsbulletin.com.
- ^ "The Top 10 Shazam Stories You Should Read". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
External links
- Shazam!: Power of Hope at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)