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Captain Marvel Jr. meets the Teen Titans
in TEEN TITANS #4-5 [1997]. |
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The Power Of Shazam
Freddy Freeman was on a routine fishing trip with his grandfather, when both were attacked by the evil Captain Nazi during a battle with Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel. Freddy's grandfather was killed and Freddy was crippled by a blow from Captain Nazi.
Billy and Mary Batson (Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel) pleaded with the Wizard Shazam to restore Freddy. The Wizard said it was not within his power to do so. Billy and Mary deciphered what this meant: It was actually in their power to assist Freddy. So Billy and Mary gave a portion of the Shazam power to Freddy, enabling him to become Captain Marvel Jr. by saying "Captain Marvel."
Captain Marvel Jr. continued adventuring in Fawcett City along with the other Marvels. Freddy need only utter the name of Captain Marvel to share the power of Shazam. Though formerly identifying himself as Captain Marvel Jr., Freddy recently adopted the appellation CM3, since uttering his own heroic moniker would trigger a reverse-transformation and leave him powerless.
Teen Titans
Soon another group of Teen Titans emerged. This group consisted of a teen-aged Atom (de-aged by events in Zero Hour) and new heroes Argent, Risk, Joto and Prysm. Captain Marvel Jr. assisted this group of Titans in freeing Supergirl and the half-alien Fringe from The Veil, a sinister organization determined to wipe out anyone on earth with alien blood.
After a battle with Haze (Jarrod Jupiter), fellow teammate Joto seemingly died, leaving the team devastated. Mr. Jupiter disbanded the team. Deciding to band together once more, Argent was instrumental in initiating a membership drive to keep the Teen Titans together. During the membership drive, various teen heroes showed up to pledge membership. Captain Marvel Jr. was among them. The Veil took the opportunity to launch an attack on the teen heroes. Captain Marvel Jr. impressed the team in the subsequent battle. The Titans accepted him as a new member on the team, along with the gentle, half-alien beast, Fringe.
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Titans L.A. Together! [from left to right]; Matt Logan, Bumblebee, Flamebird, Captain Marvel Jr., Beast Boy, Hero Cruz, Terra and Herald [Bushido not pictured].
From TITANS SECRET FILES #2 [2000] |
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Captain Marvel Jr. developed a crush on Argent during his time on the team. Although they went on one date, it was disastrous, and their relationship never developed into anything more.
After another altercation with the H'San Natall and The Veil, The team discovered that Joto was indeed alive! They rescued him, and Prysm and Fringe elected to remain in space. The rest of the team decided to go their separate ways and disbanded.
Captain Marvel Jr. aided the Titans again during the Technis Imperative conflict, which involved the Justice League as well as all Titans, past and present. The two teams eventually worked together to save the earth and former Titans teammate, Victor Stone (Cyborg).
Later, Gar Logan's obnoxious cousin Matt took it upon himself to hold a membership drive party for an all-new Titans West. Gar reluctantly agreed to have the team re-form, and Titans West was re-dubbed Titans L.A. - with members that included Beast Boy, Flamebird, Herald, Bumblebee, Terra, Hero Cruz, Captain Marvel Jr. and Bushido. But Titans L.A. was over before it even began; No one had any real devotion to the team.
Later, Captain Marvel, Jr. joined the Outsiders at the request of Jade. But when the Outsiders were forced to go underground, Captain Marvel Jr. left the team.
Super strength and flight. Freddy transforms into Captain Marvel Jr. by saying "Captain Marvel"; Uttering the same words again will transform him back into Freddy Freeman.
Freddy Freeman is also third in line to having a portion of the power of SHAZAM. The wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the courage of Achilles, the power of Zeus, the stamina of Atlas, and the speed of Mercury. When Billy and Mary aren't using their power, Freddy retains all of the power in SHAZAM. His vulnerability is if he gets hit with lightning while in CM3 form, he will revert back to his mortal form.
supplemented by titanstower.com
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Whiz Comics #25 [1941]: First appearance of Captain Marvel, Jr.
Power of Shazam #8 [1995]: First appearance of Captain Marvel Jr., post-Crisis.
Teen Titans #4-5 [1997]: "Coming Out," parts 1 & 2. It's guest stars galore, when Nightwing enlists Robin to investigate the new team. Meanwhile, Supergirl and a strange creature are kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Veil; and Risk, Joto, Prysm, Argent, and the Atom blow up their headquarters during a training exercise, leaving Captain Marvel Jr. the task of saving Risk! Just getting used to their origins, powers and expense accounts, the Teen Titans are hardly ready to break into a well-armed fortress, but that's what they have to do to rescue Supergirl and the bizarre creature that will become known as Fringe. First Appearance of Fringe in issue #4.
Teen Titans #17 [1998]: The Titans reunite in a guest-star filled issue. After their adventures with Superboy, Supergirl, Impulse, and Robin; the reunited Argent, Prysm and the Atom try to restart the Titans by having an open house for all the DC Universe's youthful heroes, and get much more than they bargained for when they are attacked by the Veil. Captain Marvel Jr. and Fringe join the Teen Titans in this issue.
Teen Titans #20 [1998]: A night with the Titans! Captain Marvel, Jr. takes Argent on a dangerous first date that finds them running into Lex Luthor.
Power of Shazam #37 [1998]: Conquering his internal demons, Captain Marvel, Jr. begins calling himself CM3.
The Titans Secret Files #2 [2000]: It's the debut of Titans LA in an astonishing all-new Special. Whether he wants it or not, Beast Boy finds himself saddled with a new West Coast branch of the Titans. But it may be the new team's final appearance as well if Fear and Loathing and the madcap Harlequin have their say. Captain Marvel Jr. joins Titans L.A.
Teen Titans #17-19 [2004]: "Titans Tomorrow" - Face to face with themselves ten years from now, the Teen Titans make a pact that doesn't bode well for the future. Now they must find a way home, before the Titans of Tomorrow catch up with them! Captain Marvel Jr. appear in Titans East as Captain Marvel.
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The Later Members:
Captain Marvel, Jr. and Fringe |
The stage was set as far back as TEEN TITANS #4-5
Nightwing appeared in TEEN TITANS #3; This segued into a two part story in #4-5. On the cover of #5, Former Titan Supergirl is featured as well as Nightwing, Tim Drake Robin and Captain Marvel Jr. This story also featured the introduction of the man-monster, Fringe.
The Teen Titans (Atom, Prysm, Argent, Joto and Risk) first encountered Fringe after he was taken prisoner by Pylon and the Veil. The Veil's agenda: rid the earth of alien influence. Pylon was able to kidnap both Fringe and Supergirl. The Teen Titans, with help from Nightwing and Captain Marvel Jr., were able to rescue both Supergirl and Fringe. Upon meeting, Prysm and Fringe instantly recognized a bond. She named him ‘Fringe' (‘Yes. It fit. He's kind of a... fringe human. A lot like me.') After his rescue, Fringe wandered off into the woods.
Jurgens says: "As I see it, Captain Marvel Jr., Impulse and Robin [...] will have a loose affiliation with the group and can be brought in at any time, if their appearance makes sense and isn't used as a sales tool."
TEEN TITANS #5 also launched a 'vote-for-new member' campaign. From the letter column: "Hoookayy, as Cody would say, in this issue we featured a nice variety of guest stars for all of you who have been asking us why so-and-so isn't part of the Teen Titans. But if we know you fans, you're still not satisfied. Soooo, with this issue we open the polls for you - yes, YOU - to pick the next member to join the TEEN TITANS. The only requirement is that they be young. Characters like Flash and Green Lantern have graduated to JLA status, so we suggest characters who are in the Robin, Impulse and the Spoiler league instead. Hoookayy? Send the ballot below."
The team seemingly broke up following events of #16. Following that issue, a number of one shots spotlighted individual members. Issue #17 featured a membership drive, and new members Fringe and Captain Marvel Jr. joined the team. Former Titan Arsenal also joined the supporting cast.
TEEN TITANS #17 letter column revealed the winner to the contest: "Holy Moley! [We]hope you like the addition of Captain Marvel Jr. to the ranks. He was the winner by a landslide of the vote for a new Titan, It was pretty interesting that neither Robin nor Impulse (guys both Dan and the editor thought would be the favorites) got as many votes as Freddy. And some of the other candidates you voted for will also be making appearances here soon. So stick around!"
TEEN TITANS #18 letter column revealed more of the outcome: "As for the winner of the new member vote, it should be obvious by now that it was Captain Marvel Jr. Our runners-up were Spoiler, Terra and Damage. Surprisingly, Robin and Impulse gave a very poor showing, which is strange because during the days when this book got started, all we heard was how you wanted those guys in the Titans. Oh, well."
These new members didn't generate much new excitement. Dan Jurgens didn't appear too fond of Captain Marvel Jr. in the book, as his 'panel time' seemed limited. Fringe, who seemed to be a favorite of Dan's, was sort of a poor man's Baby Wildebeest. And that's no compliment!
These changes failed to invigorate the title. It seemed readers didn't accept these new characters as "Titans" and the book, while not a failure, failed to reinvent the franchise. The title was canceled with issue #24.
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