Written by Mark Waid
Drawn by Dan Mora
Published by DC Comics
PREVIOUSLY: Shazam! #1
The primary plot of this issue is Billy trying to figure out why he, as The Captain, snapped at the press at the end of the first issue. Back at home his foster siblings are all questioning him, but he’s just as confused as they are. They’re briefly interrupted by another talking Dinasour from outer space (this one wearing a top hot a suit with a bowtie) who has some unfinished business to deal with.
Again, I love the way this type of detail is handled in this series. Billy quips to himself, “This is what we get for living with a talking tiger. Now everything seems normal in this family.” In just two issues Mark Waid has managed to capture the whimsical nature of classic Captain Marvel stories, without seeming retro or child-like.
Billy, as The Captain, later faces the supervillain Psycho Pirate who, along with a group of armed henchmen, is trying to rob an art museum. Considering the Pirate’s powers of emotional manipulation, The Captain makes the logical conclusion that he’s behind his emotional outburst. But things don’t go as he planned and, once again, in the end The Captain’s reputation is in tatters.
And I guess this isn’t really a spoiler, since they’re on the cover, and it’s mentioned in the official solicitation for this issue, but Freddy does some snooping on his own and finds out it’s actually the Gods whom Shazam gives Billy powers from, who are responsible for The Captain’s erratic behavior. This is a test of some kind. So now we have to see how this plays out.
Another solid issue, this is already my favorite new ongoing series.
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