Shazam! #14: When Powers Fail, A Crowbar Will Do The Trick

Shazam! #14 picks up with the attempted rescue of Billy Batson, who has recently decided to refuse to transform into The Captain after it was revealed that these two were actually different beings who swapped places, and that The Captain was holding a dark secret from Billy. Thankfully, Mary Marvel and Freddy Freeman are hot on the case, despite having run into a subterranean race, the Submen (also a great name for a brotherly duo of sandwich entrepreneurs). This dastardly rescue also sees the return of another character that Josie Campbell created, Uncle Dudley, AKA, Uncle Marvel, who may hold the craziest ability of all the Shazam family members, a crowbar!

One of the biggest worries when it was announced that Dan Mora and Mark Waid were leaving Shazam was that the book would lose that magical ambiance that made it so fun. Shazam! #14 makes sure that all of those worries go away, showing that Josie Campbell and Emanuela Lupacchino are here to deliver the same kind of whimsical action and fun as this comic continues to be a blast to read every month. The amount of magic shenanigans that these characters get into is hilariously astounding, showing that this is a corner of the DC universe that needs to be invested upon in every capacity. Only a Shazam book would be able to get away with the wackiness that this book ventures towards, creating such a fun atmosphere that never takes away from the pathos.

Although he was introduced in The New Champions of Shazam series, Uncle Dudley takes the cake here as the breakout character of this arc, revealing that he is as crazy and ridiculous as he is a heartfelt, fun character. In just two issues, he is reintroduced as a man who, despite having no powers, wants to fight for good and do the right thing because he was previously saved by Mary Marvel. This alone is enough to show the power of the pathos of this series; however, Uncle Dudley also takes the cake for delivering one of the most laugh-out-loud moments of the year, when he reveals his crowbar, which is exactly what it sounds like, just a crowbar. Campbell and Lupacchino then revisit this joke by showing him actually using the crowbar to clear some rubble. This is no hammer of Thor, but it is the best weapon wielded by a superhero this year.

The other huge character of focus here is Freddy Freeman, who has ingratiated himself with the leader of the Submen, hoping to buy himself some time as he hopes that Mary will be able to rescue Billy in time to save himself as well. Campbell also has Freddy take the role of the narrator in this arc, with his personal story mirroring that of Billy in ways that would probably make the two bond more once they get a chance to reconnect. Before this new run of Shazam kicked off, Freddy lost his powers, something that still sticks in his mind throughout this story. This shows the juxtaposition between Freddy, who wants the powers back with all his heart, and Billy, who wants nothing to do with them as he is angry with The Captain. This is an excellent piece of storytelling that is destined to coalesce in some kind of confrontation between the two that will hopefully bring them together.

Nonetheless, Freddy’s story here is also a lot of fun in its own right, with him attempting to convince the Submen’s leader that he is the leader of humanity as he also attempts to stop them from waging war on the surface. This plays into comic tropes in such a wonderful way, highlighting the overly common story of a cast out group of people seeking revenge, and turning it on its head by introducing the wise cracking, jovial Freddy Freeman into the mix. This is yet another example of the kind of magic that makes this series work so wonderfully well.