From SHAZAM! to He-Man

[@Gojitron1]

Thanks for all the comments folks but, to be clear, this is not meant to be a complete list of *everything* that may or may not have influenced the creation of He-Man. I'm discussing specific similarities between He-Man and the other characters that are looked at in the video.

[@kevingallagher188]

As a silver age kid born in the sixties, growing up in the seventies, and graduating in the eighties I will always have a love for all those characters!

[@Leadeshipcoach]

Same!!!

[@MOTUJonezer]

Love this! Mighty Mightor! Live action Shazam! All great examples of similar lore and or backstories. Of course He-Man my fav! 😉

[@rickytoddbotelho9555]

Excellent job. Not enough is said about the important impact CC Beck has had on the American culture lately. Still waiting for Mcfartlane to drop a proper golden age captain marvel that's not a giant mega fig piece of work 😂❤💥⚡

[@Leadeshipcoach]

Great video! First time viewer. Love what you did here! Like a poster said below I was born in the 60's raised in the 70's and graduated in the 80's. I loved these cartoons as a kid...I still love them! I never understood why Captain Marvel was judged a Superman ripoff: Their is only a superficial resemblance. Both are super strong, both can fly and both have secret identities. But that is it (okay one more -they both work in journalism). Clark Kent is an adult who removes his outer clothing and is revealed as Superman. He is super all the time. Billy Batson is a kid who turns into an adult by speaking a magic word. And Billy is only super when he turns into Captain Marvel. Superman's powers are due to his alien origin and the earth's yellow sun. Captain Marvel's powers are totally magic based. So I never got how anyone could say that Captain Marvel was a Superman ripoff. Any way...great video!!!

[@RiderOrigin]

Very enlightening! When you place them side by side such as you did, the connections are obvious.

[@kilroywashere513]

He-Man reminded me of marvel comics Thor a little given that he used to have a secret identity where Thor would use his hammer to become Donald Blake, and from him to Thor, and back and forth, and I remember that Samson cartoon and I watched in reruns back in the 80’s, I found out about mightor from reruns of it on the boomerang channel when it was previewed on Cartoon Network, and I watched the reruns of that live action Shazam tv series in reruns on syfy channel, and I remember that 80’s Shazam cartoon too back when it aired on Saturday mournings, and I remember that ad you showed from comic books back then💁🏻‍♂💯.

[@MLCOOK51]

You forgot John blackstar get his powers from the starsword As for Samson got his powers from bracelet from the distant great grandfather Samson from the Bible

[@bobahicks]

Never knew anything about Mightor before watching this 🙏

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Yeah, you would say that you Alien lover!

[@joezar33]

He-Man and Samson, i definitely see it , Shazam and He-Man not as much , tho the Crossover i heard was good He-Man got a huge OP form from the Wizard Shazam and fused the 2 powers . That sounds utterly way to strong boost in power but i think it was to defeat an evil Superman and Dark Orco

[@jamesoblivion]

Excellent points all around, and some connections I'd never thought of before. It's interesting to look at the inspirations for the toy line, and the inspirations that went into the cartoon, and how they converged. It's kind of sad that the original lore established in the early mini-comics didn't really stick, with the cartoon's narrative supplanting it early on. I guess Thundarr the Barbarian was a little more in that direction. AND he had a lion-man sidekick! haha

[@universaltoycollector]

Another informative video. I found this really interesting as I don't really know too much about Shazam . You could certainly see the similarities between He-Man and Mighty.

[@joezar33]

I definitely see the similarities with Samson & He-Man, Shazam & He-Man, don't see much of the parallel, tho He-Man and Shazam did a DBZ fusion in the crossover comic DC JL and the Master 🤔

[@robertsinfiniterealms1308]

Cool look back. I can’t remember where it was said but I could have sworn someone at Mattel said Shazam was an inspiration for He-Man as they developed the ideas for the cartoon.

[@Bucky749]

What a team up story with all these heroes you could have now that would be a some crossover comic

[@WeirdFantasticToyAdventures]

This is great!

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Amen Brother

[@MattyHervey]

Another fun note is that in Marvel Comics, at one point, teenage Rick Jones wore wristbands that he clanked together in order to switch places with Mar-Vell (who was otherwise trapped in another dimension.) If I'm not mistaken, the same bands were later the source of Quasar's powers, and interpreted into the MCU version on Kamala Kahn's power source.

[@cnote729]

Look like they tried that concept again on the Thing from Fantastic Four cartoon series

[@MattyHervey]

@@cnote729 yes I remember that too

[@andrewweisneck1102]

They were called Nega-Bands because Captain Mar-Vell was trapped in The Negative Zone. Young Samson used similar wristbands.

[@TimeVextorX]

​@@MattyHervey They must've stupidly changed how Monica Rambeau the first female Captain Marvel aka Quasar got her powers.

[@jamesyoung4508]

Kane's Parents and Kane remember them all and still watching the newest He man and Shera😊2024

[@Jeflexful]

I think there's one more character...a Filmation character I might add, that you probably missed or overlooked. Black Star! He too , according to many, might have also been an inspiration to the creation of He-man. Anyways, your video is amazingly entertaining. And above all, significantly informative.

[@Gojitron1]

@@Jeflexful Not missed, Blackstar does not fit the transformation aspect that was the focus of the video. Thanks for watching.

[@nostalgianaut]

Yeah, good call. They both shared a split sword between hero, and villain.

[@Chasing80sToys]

Excellent video. Fun and learned a lot too. And enjoy my motu collection even more knowing some of its inspirations😉👍

[@InvisibleAvenger]

Awesome video! This is the first time I've seen anyone mention YOUNG SAMSON AND GOLIATH in a long time. From what I've read previously, Fawcett still had an active trademark on Captain Marvel, and Marvel bought the trademark from Fawcett. Fawcett offered the copyrights too (the whole character, design, back story etc. but as Marvel was creating their own character Marvel opted not to buy the copyright

[@treasuresfortrigger915]

Lots of interesting stuff learnt here Gojitron! 💥Great video

[@shebakoby]

mighty mightor was a bit before my time (no reruns that I saw when I was a kid) but I guess I need to check it out!

[@andrewweisneck1102]

People forget that Dr. Donald Blake used to strike his cane on the ground to change into The Mighty Thor.

[@a_world_made_of_cardboard]

I'm just upset we never got an origin for the world spanning Moped. We MUST know MORE! Great video and, once again, you have raised the bar on knowledge of pop culture. Just great work!

[@MezTZO]

You'd be surprised how many Filipino superheroes were inspired by the "Shazam/Captain Marvel" formula. Especially one in particular, named... "Captain Barbell"!

[@MichaelPickering-g1i]

Mightor, the prehistoric He-man.

[@dwainpannell8366]

A little off topic but Jack Kirby's Fourth World was also a big influence on motu

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

Blikkity Blam and Shazam! Gojitron, the most Knowledgeable Man in the Universerse! Fabulous Videos! 😃

[@SoulGuardian777]

I always felt that He-man was directly influenced by the SHAZAM/Captain Marvel mythos. From "The World's Mightiest Mortal" to "The Most Powerful Man In the Universe", a magical transformation into their alter egos, both having a twin sister with similar powers i.e.: Mary Marvel & She-Ra, etc.

[@Scotty-Z70]

i always called him Shazam! due to the LIVE ACTION show..and figured he didn't just say his name to transform, he emoted his name which transformed him.

[@TimeVextorX]

Wrong in the live action show he did say his name to transform.

[@Scotty-Z70]

@@TimeVextorX yes. I made that clear. He said “his name to transform” is what I said.

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

The Rock of Gojiternity! Kimota! 😂

[@subraxas]

❤ ❤ ❤

[@anominon]

I'm not sure how true it is but I've also seen people make connections between He-Man and Conan the Barbarian in terms of art style and design, so I wouldn't be surprised if Roger Sweet was a fan of Conan.

[@Gojitron1]

@@anominon That's true, but this video focused on characters with similar transformations. Thanks for watching.

[@TimeVextorX]

The Kid Super Power Hour With SHAZAM wasn't in the late 70s it in 81-82 on NBC

[@Scotty-Z70]

the He-Man cannon of mine were the comics BEFORE the cartoon was conventionalized. My cousin and i watched a few MoTU cartoons and HATED it. The mini-comics made him so barbaric, and the cartoon made him so annoying...especially that Orko

[@RamManNo1]

Agreed. The comics were pretty gritty early on. They were my preferred canon too. And some of the early golden books. The show was almost an entirely different world to me.

[@MattyHervey]

@@Scotty-Z70 I would love to see a modern comic book or animated series inspired by that cannon.

[@robertpolanco1973]

Personally, I am so angry that the SHAZAM franchise has been such a sad state because of how it happened from the beginning. After all, I blame DC Comics for having taken legal action against Fawcett Comics because of the ALLEGED "ripoff" of "Superman" due to similarities of both the Man of Steel and "Captain Marvel" over powers, abilities, and backgrounds in the 1950's. Then Marvel Comics STOLE the very name of "Captain Marvel" for their own superhero in later decades as well. What great mistakes they had done, and with all due respect to the two major comic book entities, SHAME ON THEM! Besides, I always believed that the SHAZAM franchise should have been the way it was anyway! Furthermore, the name of "Captain Marvel" only BELONGS to the SHAZAM franchise along with "Mary Marvel" and "Captain Marvel, Jr." as well. Finally, I am so AGAINST the so-called "New 52" concept of the franchise in recent years with a number of DC Comics books and movies because they were not exactly in a classic form like from the past, too. How sad indeed.

[@bobahicks]

I remember first seeing a picture of Captain Marvel and thinking he was supposed to be a modern parody of classic super heroes 😬 it wasn't until years later that I realised the character was the real deal and had a big history and following.

[@edisonade5409]

Good history of DC’s legal challenge to Captain Marvel; just about every article or video gets something wrong, but I didn’t notice anything wrong here. Prince Planet would have been a good addition to this history; it hasn’t been shown in decades, but neither has Mighty Mightor.

[@bjornjorgensen2220]

He will always be captain marvel to me.

[@kerry-j4m]

Me too.Captain Marvel sounds so much better too. IMHO

[@irontaylor9992]

Captain Marvel is Cool he is one of my favorite superheros

[@ManuelFernandezDJ]

Actually DC lost the Shazam court case, but the company that owned Shazam (Whiz) went bankrupt because of the legal fees and DC bought the rights to Shazam.

[@ChristopherH-c7z]

What's weird is that some of the elements that make He-Man resemble his thematic predecessors were, at least initially, coincidental. It would be tempting to assume that He-Man was given a tiger simply as an homage to Mr.Tawny or Goliath; however, Battle Cat was originally created for the MOTU toyline when Mattel decided to take a tiger from their earlier Big Jim action figure series and repaint it green to serve as He-Man's mount. That decision predates the idea of He-Man being an obvious CM/Mightor/Samson copy since in the early mini comics, He-Man had no secret identity and was just a barbarian who was, if anything, a Conan/Thundar knock off. That being said, I am in no way challenging the thesis put forth in this video. Clearly the influences of these other characters were impressed upon the barbarian template by the time Filmation took over the story. Also noteworthy is the possibility that Marvel Comic's Thor fits into this mix too. Though it was left out of the MCU, in the comics Thor originally had the secret identity of Dr.Donald blake a crippled MD who could transform into Thor by striking his cane on the ground to change into/switch places with the Norse thunder god in a flash of lightning. While Thor himself is based on the ancient mythological figure, the Donald Blake era Thor stories may have been influenced by Captain Marvel Junior; a crippled boy who could transform into a super powered Marvel family member also in a flash of lightning. Also worth mentioning is that He-Man was even more of a CM homage in the 2000s series were Prince Adam was literally a young boy like Billy Batson.

[@Gojitron1]

@@ChristopherH-c7z Indeed I am aware of the origins of the toys and the original mini comics, which is why I focused on the additions made to the mythology by Filmation (and DC Comics). Thanks for watching!

[@straightblacksah5272]

Why did you screw over Captain Marvel Jr? He was super cool!

[@Gojitron1]

@@straightblacksah5272 The point of the video was comparison to He-Man, hence the specific mention of Mr Tawny (talking tiger like Cringer) and Mary (twin sister like She-Ra). No offence to Freddy. I didn't mention Uncle Dudley either.

[@cnote729]

Ŵow he didn't mentioned the Masters of the universe movie that came out in the 80's or that He-man was the more kid friendly genre for toys animation series than going with the r rated movie of Conan. But good video

[@Gojitron1]

@@cnote729 Would have mentioned them if this was a complete history of He-Man, but the focus of the video was comparison to characters with similar transformations.

[@cnote729]

@Gojitron1 gotcha... I still love the episode, Shazam my favorite character, grew up Shazam live action and animation. The thing I didn't know, was that Captain Marvel only had one animation series, with the Shazam super power hour

[@TonyMazzacane]

So Shazam is similar to he man?

[@mercuryman1250]

Shazam belongs to the wizard if he couldn't be captain marvel then Captain Thunder makes more sense less confusing instead of shazam

[@13thwho]

Actually, he was originally going to be called Captain Thunder, and the comic was to be called “Flash Comics”. This was used to secure the copyright. The names were subsequently changed to Captain Marvel and “Whiz Comics”. The Captain Thunder/Flash Comics example can be found in vol. 1 of the “Shazam Archives”.😮

[@AltimusPrimeG1]

DC did not actually win, they just had run the legal process so long that the other company could not afford to be still a company because of all of the legal fees. Yes it was a technical win but was not won because the court granted the win. As far as companies copying each other, most time something is just inspired by something else. Even green arrow and Hawkeye were inspired by Robin Hood. Although is some cases DC and Marvel have blatantly ripped almost entire characters from each other. Most cases are just two intellectual properties get inspired by other things without being blatant copies of each other.

[@Gojitron1]

@@AltimusPrimeG1 Which is exactly the point I made at the conclusion of the video. Thanks for watching!

[@AltimusPrimeG1]

@@Gojitron1 Yes I was agreeing with that point. Cheers.

[@PuncherOfAbs]

I personally work for. Britannica animation During the fairytale project. Hosted by Pat Marita it showcased three stories of a specific archetype. Cinderella story Girl in the tower story Sleeping beauty storys From different countries. 2 from around the world and one archetypal Grimms fairytale

[@PuncherOfAbs]

Your voice sounds somewhat similar to Stan Lee’s. Or or your accent

[@PuncherOfAbs]

Avatar in Ferngully

[@PuncherOfAbs]

Technically King Kong was the inspiration for Godzilla The best from 20,000 phantoms was just a booster