Your honest opinion.. Superman and Shazam.

I would like to know the opinion of my fellow Viners on one of the greatest rivalries in the history of comics.

Today I ask you to let me know who you think is a cooler character between the two, and who has the most potential as a character.

There is no wrong answer, just your opinion.

Honestly think Clark is cooler from his powers to his design to his back story, to his villains.

I like Billy but his whole selling point is a kid that turns into a superhero. That's nice but that's about it. His powers were always really basic ( glad the new 52 at least gave him lightning powers) and the only villain I've ever liked from him was BA with Mr mind and sivanna being decent. The only supporting character I really really liked was Freddy Freeman and Mary who I have soft spots for and kind of like them more than cap

I'd honestly like what the new 52 and rebirth have done with his mythos and think he hasn't been this interesting in years when he was with Fawcett or during the post crisis time line.

Both are cool and as different as fire and water can be

in superman you can feel how its like be a outsider trying to fit in our society and also protect it

in shazam you have the opportunity to see the a kid taking serious responsibility while haveing fun for being a superhero

But shazam doesn't wear Trunks thats a plus point

Okay.

@helloman:

lol good talk!

Well Shazam is better and cooler beacuse he doesn't wear an s on his chest. And Shazam is also a better name

cooler / cape hoody too.

Captain Thunder is that dude

Goku beats both

Superman is cooler but I like going for the underdog

@phisigmatau: lol

Superman is the quintessential superhero. After him the entire genre was named. And then there's the other guy.

With that said, I find most of the interpretations of Superman to be... Boring? Irrelevant? Struggling? Can't find the right description.

Captain Marvel. Power of the Gods...and he doesn’t wear his undies on the outside.

In terms of coolness :

New 52 superman >> New 52 shazam >> Post crisis superman = Post crisis captain marvel.

Shazam.....Clark is the most boring superhero ever written. OG Cap Marvel has always had humor, real worries over whether or not he will prevail, and well written flaws. Clark's alien trying to fit in bit is far better done by MMH and is story arc consists of....is there kryptonite around?

@adamtrmm: well said. While I really liked the "Greatest American Hero" moments in Shazam...as well as his almost Hancock moments

Hardly think it’s one of the greatest rivalries. It’s a fun one, but that’s about it

@six-deuce: @adamtrmm:

Superman is that dude, but he wouldn’t be the man he is today without Captain Marvel. CM has his own great legacy.

@mazahs117 said:

Captain Marvel. Power of the Gods...and he doesn’t wear his undies on the outside.

But... we were almost there, and then Bendis... BENDIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@mr_shazam0920 said:

@six-deuce: @adamtrmm:

Superman is that dude, but he wouldn’t be the man he is today without Captain Marvel. CM has his own great legacy.

Considering CM was by himself a spin of Superman archetype, you're just making my point stronger. If CM is daddy, Supes is the grandy.

@adamtrmm:

That’s why I said Supes is that dude lol.

But CM made it so that Supes had to learn new tricks and evolve, hence flying, and other array of powers.

@ancientdarksider:

You need help

@mr_shazam0920 said:

@six-deuce: @adamtrmm:

Superman is that dude, but he wouldn’t be the man he is today without Captain Marvel. CM has his own great legacy.

Considering that Shazam is made because superman was made in the first place. Its kind of blunt to claim superman would not be the man it is if not for CP.

As for the topic itself. Superman is much better character, billy is decent and fun character. But Superman is way more developed every way.

I'm not all that aware of that history tbh.

@adamtrmm:

Short story, Billy was the first to fly, and the first to be ridiculously strong. He outsold Superman in the 40’s and 50’s to the point where DC eventually sued Fawcett. But to have Superman keep up with Captain Marvel they kept making him stronger.

@supermanforever:

I know that Billy is a copy of Superman, I understand that. But due to the success of CM, Supes had to evolve. CM was the first to fly. Supes never flew before then. Just one example.

@mr_shazam0920:

Interesting. Still,

You mean the movie? I didn't like the movie. Which is sad because I do think they got some elements right (the cast, the general concept, and half of the setting and hook), but since everything else was so bland it was a huge disappointment... Funnily enough I'd take Hancock over it.

Superman.

i generally prefer Billy over Clark

Superman.

Superman, Shazam wasn't interesting to me till the new-52

@adamtrmm: I went in with low expectations and it exceeded them. Would have been better if they showed less in the trailers

Shazam

Hhhhmmmmm....

Both cool, Superman is cooler

Bump

Superman is a popular icon due to being an old classic.

If both characters were released today, Shazam will be thousands of times more popular. Way cooler and more unique.

@gateofbabylon: Captain Marvel was created just a few years after Superman, and outsold him for quite a while. I would neither call him recent nor say Superman's seniority makes him more popular. It's really the qay DC has treated both characters.

OT: Captain Marvel is a purer distillation of the power fantasy Superman represents. But I think writers have over they years gotten more out of Clark than out of Billy.

Shazam is by far my favorite of the two. A kid turned adult superhero is just a much more interesting premise. The New 52 Shazam is my favorite incarnation though, not sure how popular that opinion is seeing as the New 52 generation is generally looked down upon. But hey that's what opinions are all about right? Actually the movie Shazam is what has been getting me back into comics lately and made me sign up for this site. Shazam is one of my favorite super heroes, if not my #1 favorite. Billy Batson is just a fun and often relatable character and even though he's not the most powerful superhero...if this were a question of who is more powerful, I'd have to say Superman, but as far as entertainment values go, Shazam, hands down.