Freddy Freeman
Freddy Freeman is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Fawcett
Freddy Freeman
One day, he was with his grandfather where the pair were fishing with them being on a boat when a figure had dropped by the waters. At his grandfathers urging, the pair went to rescue the person who they brought on the boat where it was revealed that this was Captain Nazi. The villain had recently lost a battle against Captain Marvel and had fallen in the area. Captain Nazi turned against his rescuers where he killed the elder Freeman and left Freddy to drown in the waters whilst he fled the scene. The young Freddy was only saved by the arrival of Captain Marvel who took Freeman to a hospital. Whilst there, he learnt that Freddy had sustained injuries that led to his back being broken and him being left a cripple for life though he was not expected to had survived the night. Later on, he came to find himself transported magically to the ancient underground hall of the wizard Shazam where he saw Captain Marvel and said his name. It was then that he was struck by magical lightning and found himself in a superpowered form similar to the hero where he was named Captain Marvel Junior. He told that saying the words 'Captain Marvel' would transform him from his normal form to his superpowered one where he was to use this power to fight against evil in the world. (Whiz Comics v1 #25)
He came to learn of a new figure looking to become the king of crime called the Walking Shadow. Captain Marvel, Jr. came to learn that the criminal was actually Herald Globe reporter Yvonne Sergo Blake who was using the identity to acquire the fortune of Dumont who headed the biggest gang in the country. (Captain Marvel, Jr. v1 #1)
Afterwards, he was visited by Cap-Ton of the diminutive Troll race where two of his comrades had been captured by the circus of Jerome Barney who wanted them for his freak show section. Thus, the Troll requested the help of Freeman in his identity as Captain Marvel Junior. He arrived too late as the two captive Trolls were forced to sign a contract with the circus manager to be part of his acts. Captain Marvel Junior then disguised himself as a trapeze performer to infiltrate the circus where Barney who did recognise him was impressed with his performance. Thus, he intended to have him sign a contract at which point Captain Marvel Junior revealed his true identity and destroyed the contract thus freeing the Trolls from servitude. He next then helped thwart the scheme of Dr. Dunk who was using his Fourth Dimensional Forceps to extort a man whose fortune was trapped in the vault of the bank. Afterwards, Dunk then went on a crime spree where he used his creation to steal fortune from various people until he was ultimately captured by Captain Marvel Junior. (Captain Marvel, Jr. v1 #11)
Later on, a mining engineer named John Wilson discovered a uranium mine on Baffin Land, and set sail back for America with his wife and assistants. A Nazi sub sunk the ship, and took the crew prisoner, but Wilson managed to evade detection in a lifeboat, and made his way back stateside. The Nazi torpedoes that sunk his ship left him with memory loss, but he kept babbling about the uranium mine. Freddy Freeman was hawking his papers at the hospital where Wilson was recovering when Captain Nazi, disguised as a doctor, abducted John. Freddy changed into Captain Marvel, Jr. To find out where he was headed. Captain Nazi and several Nazi officers took Wilson to Baffin Land, demanding he tell them the location of the mine so they could use the uranium for their war effort. Wilson’s memory returned when Captain Nazi threatened to torture his wife Helen, and Nazi pressed his prisoners into working the mine. Jr. Arrived and knocked out Nazi by hurling drilling equipment at him. Jr. Changed back into Freddy Freeman to find Wilson and Helen, only to be captured by a Nazi guard who locked him up alongside the Wilsons. Freddy changed into Captain Marvel, Jr. And helped them and the other prisoners escape. He confronted the revived Captain Nazi and defeated him, tossing him down a mine shaft and sealing the entrance with a boulder. Jr. Called the U.S. Navy for a pickup and said he had Captain Nazi in captivity. (Captain Marvel, Jr. v1 #12)
A street vendor was hawking his eggbeaters when Freddy spotted a Gremlin casting his magic on the projects. An elderly man named Jonas Weatherby bought one of the eggbeaters, and its’ whisk started spinning until it carried him up into the air. Freddy changed into Captain Marvel, Jr. To save Jonas, who was wildly flying through the sky. Jonas kept taking off, and Jr. Had to save a woman he accidentally knocked off a rooftop and save Jonas from some crooks who wanted the flying eggbeater to commit crimes. Jonas made his way home and found a way to control his flight. He was tempted by his new power and decided he wanted to be a millionaire. Jonas robbed the National Bank, and when Jr. Responded he locked himself in the vault. Two burglars had tunneled into the vault, and Jonas used their tunnel to escape. Jonas counted his money and realized he had one million and twenty dollars. Not wanting to be greedy he went to the National Bank to return the twenty dollars. Jr. Convinced him that he wasn’t just stealing from a bank, he was robbing people of their life’s savings. Jonas never was a real criminal, he’d just been tempted by power, so he returned the full sum of money. His eggbeater flew off of its’ own accord and Jr. Laughed as he ran off after it. (Captain Marvel, Jr. v1 #14)
DC
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Frederick Christopher Freeman
Whilst at the New England fishing village, he came to have a foster brother in Timothy Karnes with the two being close friends. The bond between the two grew greater after Freddy's parents drowned in a storm. It was then that Freeman's grandfather arrived to take the boy in but the elderly man struggled to care for two children. As a result, Timothy left the happy idyllic adoptive family and was sent to a number of foster homes where he was abused regularly from each of them. The experience caused Karnes to feel abandoned and the one time friendship he had with Freddy turned to hatred. (Outsiders v3 #10)
He arrived to aid the Outsiders during their battle with Ishmael Gregor who now wielded the power of Sabbac. (Outsiders v3 #9)
In the wake of Indigo’s death, Captain Marvel Junior was offered a place on the Outsiders by Jade. (Ousiders v3 #28)
After losing his powers, Freddy was forced to return to a normal life where he attempted to readjust with being powerless. During this time, he felt alone as Billy was not around and Mary was in hospital in a coma as she lost her powers whilst flying causing her to experience terrible injuries. Whilst at the hospital visiting her, he futilely called out the word 'Captain Marvel' knowing that nothing would happen but he was teleported to the Rock of Eternity. Once there, he learnt the true nature over his loss of his powers namely that the death of the wizard Shazam meant that his magic congregated into Billy Batson turning him into the new keeper of magic. Thus, Billy as Marvel was confined to hold the power in the Rock of Eternity and asked for Freddy to be his champion as Shazam. To become the new champion, he had to undergo a number of mystical trials to be worthy of the gods of magic in bestowing their power to him. (Trials of Shazam v1 #2)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. The blonde haired Freddy Freeman’s parents were noted for being criminals that went to prison. This led to him going into foster care where he was adopted by the Vasquez family in Philadelphia. He was their first adopted child and later met Mary who was similarly adopted by the family. At first, the two foster siblings did not speak to one another with Freddy simply observing Mary. He came to note that she followed the rules but felt there was nothing interesting about her. This was until one day they visited the local pet shop that they regularly visited and noted that Mary had come attached to a rabbit there. The rabbit was set to be sold to Dr. Sivana for his experiments with Freddy deciding to trigger the fire alarm in secret and allowed the animals loose. This distracted the owners of the shop allowing Mary to take the rabbit for herself which was adopted as the family pet with this act cementing her and Freddy into being close friends. (Shazam! v3 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After being empowered by the magic lightning, he was given the name Captain Marvel Junior. (Whiz Comics v1 #25)
He was told to use his powers to fight evil wherever it appeared in the world. (Whiz Comics v1 #25)
When he was young, he had a foster brother in Timothy Karnes with the two being close to one another and cared for each other. However, after Karnes was forced to go to various foster homes and was abused he came to feel abandoned with him developing a hatred for Freddy Freeman. Freddy came to consider Timothy a bad person by the time he grew up but acknowledged that he was once kind and good. It was for this reason that when Karnes was murdered by Ishmael Gregor that he wanted to avenge him by bringing his killer to justice. (Outsiders v3 #10)
Powers and abilities
Originally, Freddy Freeman was an ordinary young human being with no special powers. This was until one day he was badly injured and left a cripple with a broken back that prevented him from being able to walk on his own again. He was later empowered by Captain Marvel where the magic lightning made him a superhuman being with greater strength, endurance and the power of flight. Using the words 'Captain Marvel', he was capable of changing from his human identity to that of his superhero form. (Whiz Comics v1 #25)
Notes
- Freddy Freeman as Captain Marvel Junior was created by France Herron and Mac Raboy where he made his first appearance in Whiz Comics v1 #25 (December, 1941).
Alternate Versions
- In Kingdom Come v1 #2 (1996), an alternate version of Freeman was shown where he took the name of King Marvel who resided in the Multiverse on Earth-22. This version had married Mary Batson who was known as Queen Marvel with the pair having a son who inherited the magic of Shazam and became the young superhero called the Whiz.
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Freddy Freeman as Captain Marvel Junior appeared in the animated television series in the episode "The Malicious Mr. Mind!" where he was voiced by actor John DeVito.
Films
- In Justice League: War, Freddy Freeman made a brief appearance in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Georgie Kidder.
- In Shazam!, Freddy Freeman appeared in the live-action film set in the DC Extended universe where he was portrayed by actor Jack Dylan Grazer whilst his superpowered Captain Marvel, Jr. form was portrayed by actor Adam Brody.
Video games
Appearances
- Whiz Comics v1: (1941)
- Captain Marvel, Jr. v1:
- Shazam!:
- Power of Shazam! v1:
- Outsiders v3:
- Trials of Shazam v1:
- Justice League v2:
- Shazam! v3:
External Links
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