Uncle Marvel

Uncle Marvel
Uncle Marvel (fourth from left) standing with the Marvel Family before the Wizard Shazam (right) on the cover of The Marvel Family #1. Art by C. C. Beck.
Publication information
PublisherFawcett Comics (1943–1948)
DC Comics (1972–present)
First appearanceWow Comics #18 (October 1943)
Created byOtto Binder
Marc Swayze
In-story information
Full nameDudley H. Dudley
Team affiliationsMarvel Family
Supporting character ofCaptain Marvel
Mary Marvel
Notable aliasesUncle Dudley
AbilitiesNone

Uncle Marvel (Dudley H. Dudley) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books formerly published by Fawcett Comics and today by DC Comics, who appears in stories about the Marvel Family team of superheroes.

Publication history

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Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, Uncle Marvel was created primarily as a supporting character of Mary Marvel and first appeared in Wow Comics #18 in October 1943.[1]

Fictional character biography

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An old, rotund man named Dudley, Uncle Marvel did not have any real superpowers and claimed to be Mary Marvel's uncle from California. The Marvels, possessing the wisdom of Solomon, saw through Dudley's machinations, but allowed him to become their manager and supported his delusions. 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 (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 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's Power of Shazam! graphic novel 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 is the janitor at Billy Batson's school, who looks out for him and inadvertently learns his secret identity. 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 Ibis the Invincible gives him superpowers. 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 tiger friend of Captain Marvel's who becomes Dudley's roommate.

Following the cancellation of The Power of Shazam! in 1999, 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 and Isis 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 Convergence and The Multiversity.

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Video games

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Uncle Marvel appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "GCD :: Issue :: Wow Comics #18". www.comics.org. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. ^ Cronin, Brian (April 14, 2019). "How the Shazam! Comic Book Series Tied In With the Shazam! TV Series". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Uncle Marvel / Dudley Voices (Captain Marvel)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 12, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  4. ^ "Uncle Super Voice - Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 12, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  5. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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