Uncle Marvel (Dudley H. Dudley) is a
fictional comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
character, originally created for
Fawcett Comics, and today owned by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
, who appears in stories about the
Marvel Family team of superheroes.
Publication history
Created by
Otto Binder and
Marc Swayze, Uncle Marvel was created primarily as a supporting character of
Mary Marvel
Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a superheroine originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in '' Captain Marvel Adventures'' #18 (cover-dated Dec. 1942). ...
and first appeared in ''
Wow Comics'' #18 in October 1943.
Fictional character biography
An old, rotund man named Dudley, Uncle Marvel did not have any real superpowers. He found Mary Batson's good deed ledger, which she kept to record her good deeds. She had accidentally dropped the ledger, and Dudley read it, learning her secret. Claiming to be the uncle of Mary Batson,
Mary Marvel
Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a superheroine originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in '' Captain Marvel Adventures'' #18 (cover-dated Dec. 1942). ...
's teenage alter-ego, from California, Dudley attempted to con his way into the Marvel Family. The Marvels, possessing the wisdom of
Solomon, saw through Dudley's machinations, but since he was, in their opinion such a "lovable old fraud", they allowed Dudley to join the team as their manager Uncle Marvel and humored his pretense of having Marvel powers. When asked to make use of his supposed superpowers, Dudley would always complain that his "
shazambago" was acting up and was interfering with his powers, though the Marvels always knew better.
Though mostly played as comic relief, Dudley plays a key role in ''Marvel Family'' #1 as he tricks the rogue Marvel
Black Adam
Black Adam, real name Teth/Theo-Adam, is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' ''The Marvel Family'' co ...
(debuting in that story) into saying the magic word "Shazam" and reverting to his mortal self. In ''Mary Marvel'' #7, after Mary stops some thugs, Dudley makes Mary promise not to turn into Mary Marvel until midnight, to show that she is helpless without Mary Marvel. He then sends two men to rob the office, not knowing they are actual criminals who kidnap Mary and try to hold her for ransom. The criminals attempt to force Dudley to write a ransom note, but midnight arrives and Mary transforms into Mary Marvel to stop them.
Uncle Marvel continued to appear in the Marvel Family stories through 1948, at which time the character was quietly dropped. He returned to the Marvel Family comics when
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
began publishing new stories and reprints under the title ''Shazam!'' in 1973, he was put into suspended animation, along with many other Fawcett characters, explained as an attack gone wrong by the Sivana family. He again takes over Shazam Incorporated. After forty years of appearing in the Marvel Family comics, Uncle Dudley was revamped in 1987 along with the rest of the ''Shazam!'' franchise. In
Roy Thomas and
Tom Mandrake's four-issue 1987 miniseries ''
Shazam!: The New Beginning'', the character became Dudley Batson, an actual blood uncle of young Billy Batson,
Captain Marvel's alter-ego.
A second revamped version of Uncle Marvel was introduced in
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.
He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite Earths ...
's ''
Power of Shazam!''
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
in 1994 and a resulting ongoing comic book series of the same name, rendering Thomas and Mandrake's version non-
canonical. In Ordway's stories, Dudley H. Dudley is the janitor at Billy Batson's school, who looks out for the homeless boy and inadvertently learns that Billy is also the alter ego of Captain Marvel. This revelation leads Dudley to be involved in a number of Marvel Family adventures, including one story (''The Power of Shazam!'' #11 and #12) in which Dudley temporarily gains superpowers (and the "Uncle Marvel" costume of the original version of the character) thanks to
Ibis the Invincible. Dudley continued to appear in ''The Power of Shazam!'' for the duration of the series as a recurring supporting character, often paired with
Tawky Tawny, an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...
friend of Captain Marvel's who becomes Dudley's roommate.
Following the cancellation of ''The Power of Shazam!'' in 1999, "Uncle" Dudley virtually disappeared from DC Comics publications, save for a short cameo in ''
52'' #16 at the wedding of Marvel Family related characters
Black Adam
Black Adam, real name Teth/Theo-Adam, is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' ''The Marvel Family'' co ...
and
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...
and two brief cameos in Jerry Ordway-illustrated issues of ''
Justice Society of America'' in 2009 (Vol. 3, #24 and #28). Uncle Dudley was more prominently featured in the two-issue ''
Convergence'' tie-in ''Convergence: Shazam!'' in 2015, as well as a brief cameo in the "Thunderworld" issue - issue #4 - of
Grant Morrison's miniseries ''The Multiversity''.
In other media
Television
* A live-action ''
Shazam!
Shazam () may refer to:
Comic book franchise
* Captain Marvel (DC Comics), also known as Shazam, a superhero character published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics
** Shazam (wizard), a character from the ''Shazam!/Captain Marvel'' comics, who give ...
'' television series, which aired on
CBS Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1976, featured Captain Marvel and his young alter-ego Billy Batson, accompanied by an old man known as Mentor. The Mentor character was loosely based upon Uncle Marvel, who in concurrent 1970s issues of the ''Shazam!'' comic book began sporting a mustache to resemble
Les Tremayne, the actor who appeared as "Mentor" on the ''Shazam!'' TV show.
* Uncle Marvel appeared alongside the rest of the Marvel Family in ''
The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!'' voiced by
Alan Oppenheimer
Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s.
Early life
Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...
.
* Uncle Dudley appears in the ''
Young Justice'' episodes "Alpha Male" and "Misplaced" voiced by
Corey Burton. He is Billy Batson's guardian. Captain Marvel tells him about his adventures before reverting to Billy Batson and heading to bed. In "Misplaced", he makes a cameo where he worries about Billy's disappearance at the time when
Klarion the Witch Boy,
Blackbriar Thorn,
Wotan,
Felix Faust, and
Wizard used a temporary reality spell that separated the children from the adults.
* Uncle Dudley appears in the ''
Justice League Action'' episode "Captain Bamboozle", voiced by
John Astin, the father of
Sean
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; an ...
, Shazam’s voice actor.
In this incarnation, his powers are given to him by
Mister Mxyzptlk
Mister Mxyzptlk (, ), sometimes called Mxy, is a character who appears in DC Comics' '' Superman'' comic books. He is usually presented as a trickster in the classical mythological sense. Mxyzptlk possesses reality-warping powers with which he en ...
.
Film
* An evil, alternate version of Uncle Marvel appears as a villain in ''
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths''. This version has a full set of Marvel Family superpowers. According to the credits, he is named Uncle Super and voiced by
Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subsequen ...
.
* Uncle Dudley appears in ''
Lego DC Shazam: Magic and Monsters'' as one of Billy Batson's relatives.
References
{{GoldenAge
Marvel Family
Comics characters introduced in 1943
DC Comics sidekicks
Characters created by Otto Binder
DC Comics male superheroes