| Uncle Marvel | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Real name: | Dudley H. Dudley |
| First Appearance: | Wow Comics #18 (October, 1943) |
| Created by: | Otto Binder Marc Swayze |
| Affiliations: | Marvel Family |
| Abilities: | None |
| Portrayed by: | Corey Burton (voice) |
Uncle Marvel was originally created for Fawcett Comics, and today owned by DC Comics, who appears in stories about the Marvel Family team of superheroes. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, Uncle Marvel first appeared in Wow Comics #18 in October 1943.
History[]
An old, rotund man named Dudley, Uncle Marvel did not have any real superpowers. Claiming to be the uncle of Mary Batson, Mary Marvel's teenaged alter-ego, Dudley attempted to infiltrate his way into the Marvel Family. The Marvels, possessing the wisdom of Solomon, saw right through Dudley's ruse, but since he was, in their opinion, such a "lovable old man", 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 old Shazambago was acting up and was interfering with his powers, though the Marvels always knew better. Dudley/Uncle Marvel was modeled after American actor W.C. Fields.
Uncle Marvel continued to appear in the Marvel Family stories through 1948, at which time he was quietly dropped. He returned to the Marvel Family comics when DC Comics began publishing new stories and reprints under the title Shazam! in 1972. 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' alter-ego.
A second revamped version of Uncle Marvel was introduced in Jerry Ordway's Power of Shazams 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 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). Dudley continued to appear in The Power of Shazam for the duration of the series as a recurring supporting character, often paired with Mister Tawky Tawny, an anthropomorphic tiger friend of Captain Marvel's who becomes Dudley's roommate. This version of Dudley also dealt with alcoholism, as a further reference to WC Fields.
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 and Isis, and two brief cameos in Jerry Ordway-illustrated issues of Justice Society of America in 2009 (Vol. 3, #24 and #28).
Others versions[]
Appears in Scooby-Doo! Team-Up Vol 1 issue 16.
Earth-5 (The New 52)[]
While not an uncle by blood, he acts as a guardian for the family while usually taking a backseat in combat. He is best friends with Tawky Tawny, the family's pet talking tiger. Together with the Lieutenant Marvels, he helped stop the Monster Society of Evil from destroying Fawcett City.
Powers[]
- Divine Empowerment
- Transformation
- Enhanced Intellect
- Invulnerability
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Strength
- Flight
In other media[]
Television[]
- A live-action Shazam! television series, which aired on CBS Saturday mornings from 1975 to 1978, 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 1981-82 Saturday morning cartoon series The Kid Superpower Hour with Shazam! voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, doing a WC Fields impersonation.
- Uncle Dudley appears in the Young Justice episode "Alpha Male" voiced by Corey Burton.
Film[]
An evil, alternate version of Uncle Marvel, with a full set of Marvel family superpowers, appears as a villain in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. According to the credits, he is named "Uncle Super" and voiced by Bruce Timm.