Shazam! Fury of the Gods opened last weekend, and the eagerly awaited sequel to 2019's film starring DC's most lovable superhero was said to have a surprisingly lackluster performance at the box office, bringing in "only" $30 million.
Those who may feel this is disappointing and strange for such a popular part of DC's canon of characters have never seen The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!
This short-lived Saturday morning TV show combined live-action and animated segments, along with a musical variety show vibe, providing Shazam! with a most offbeat backdrop.
While Shazam! Fury of the Gods continues its run in theaters; it seems the perfect time to re-visit the superhero's somewhat forgotten entry on Saturday mornings.
Produced by Filmatuion studios (who brought Shazam! to Saturday mornings in a live-action 1974 show and gave us such shows as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and He-Man) The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! debuted in 1981.
The show centered on two animated segments; one was Hero High, which was about high school superheroes (who looked like Archie Andrews and the gang with capes), and the other was the adventures of Shazam! a/k/a Captain Marvel and his family (or "Shazamily") of superheroes, such as Mary Marvel and Uncle Marvel, as they square off against enemies, such as Black Adam.
What was unique about The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! was that live-action segments introduced the animation. These resembled the Donny and Marie variety show, where live-action counterparts of the Hero High cast appeared on a stage (in front of an audience of cheering kids) like a rock band wearing superhero costumes, playing their latest tune.
And the superhero names? They all seem like something out of a DC brainstorming session: Captain California, Weatherman, Misty Magic, Glorious Gal, Punk Rock, Rex Ruthless, and even Dirty Trixie (!).
Thrown in for good measure were some groan-filled jokes:
Rex Ruthless: "What kind of job is easy to stick with?"
Weatherman: "What kind?"
Rex Ruthless: "Working in a glue factory!"
[Cut to the audience of kids laughing hysterically while a laugh track blares]
At least the Shazam! animated segments of the show feel more aligned with traditional superhero adventures. Oh sure, there's plenty of mildness to action (this was Saturday morning, after all) and cute "cartoony-ness" thrown in. But Filmation's animation, which always seemed a little "fuller" than other TV fare at the time, combined well with a traditional comic book feel.
Long before comics books meant movie franchises and mega-box-office, The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, even with all of its quirks, is a fun flashback to a comforting era when heroes had the power to make Saturday mornings super.
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