How the Captain Marvel Movie Franchise Was Doomed from the Start

So, the second Shazam! movie failed, and that comes as no surprise to yours truly. In fact, that the first film was moderately successful was somewhat of a shock to me, and this is all due to my understanding of Captain Marvel's history.

Yes, "Captain Marvel," not "Shazam."

DC royally screwed up when they renamed "Captain Marvel" to "Shazam." The OG Captain had a public awareness about him. Whether it was old-timers who remembered WHIZ Comics, Captain Marvel Adventures, the black-and-white film serial (see above), or Boomers who remembered the 1970s Saturday morning show, Cap was known. Unfortunately, DC was faced with a huge issue after finding out that Fawcett Publications, the publisher of WHIZ Comics and the owners of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family prior to DC's acquisition of the Fawcett properties, never renewed their trademark on the characters. Marvel snatched up the name quickly, granted it to a now-legendary alien character named "Mar-Vell," and effectively prevented any competitor's magazine from ever bearing the name of Captain Marvel or even the word "Marvel."

I believe DC could have renamed the original Captain Marvel there and then instead of bringing him back in a book named "Shazam!" However, once they did that, the confusion began as comics casuals would look at the covers and assume the character was named "Shazam," which he wasn't, while older readers knew just who he was. That was in the 1970s, and from that point forward, DC's Captain Marvel suffered from an identity crisis in the public eye. 

Curiously, some DC stories featured a Captain Marvel analogue named "Captain Thunder," and I believe that Captain Marvel should've been renamed as such or to "Captain Power" (the CGI-heavy "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future" show was still about a decade away, so DC's change would've been a legal act). Instead, by renaming the Captain to "Shazam," DC found themselves with a property that had a diminished public awareness and power they repeatedly nerfed in order to make Supes look good (which was shocking considering that Captain Marvel's tagline used to read: "The World's Mightiest Mortal.") 

The above was not a winning foundation on which to build a movie franchise based on the character. Yes, Captain Marvel has appeared in a few DC animated movies and video games, but many people—this writer included—refer to the character by his original name, and some of us have little interest in the current, weaker take on what was once a top-tier superhero. So, there you have it: Captain Marvel's troubles today are rooted in Fawcett's legal inaction, DC's failed corrective action, Marvel's strategic hijacking of the "Captain Marvel" name, and DC's failed handling of the character. At least, that's how I see it.

What are your thoughts?

-TechRider