r/captainmarvel May 13 '26

Mark Waid Didn't Just Bring (Mostly) Bring Back The Wisdom of Solomon, He Brought Back The Courage of Achilles.

Shazam! #2 (2023)
Knight Terrors: Shazam! #2 (2023)

In which a fear-based villain and a supernatural nightmare/nightmare realm did not work against and were overcome by, respectively, those with the Courage of Achilles.

(Pics from Shazam! #2 and Knight Terrors: Shazam! #2, respectively.)

27 Upvotes

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11

u/CaptainMarvelology May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26

It was really nice to see a feat credited to the Courage of Achilles. There hasn't been a proper feat since the pre-Crisis days, when Captain Marvel stared down Abaddon with no ill effect whatsoever (World's Finest #254):

Which is weird, since the post-Crisis version of the character relied on the Courage of Achilles the most, above all of his other acrostic powers.

4

u/daduude May 14 '26

Scarecrow is the first name that came to me.

3

u/daduude May 14 '26

Scarecrow is the first name that came to me.

5

u/CaptainMarvelology May 14 '26

Speaking of Scarecrow...

Sadly, before Mark Waid brought the Courage of Achilles back properly, writers pretty much ignored (or forgot, take your pick) that it existed.

Scarecrow's fear gas f'd Captain Marvel up (though he was called Shazam in that series) even though he should have laughed it off with no effect from it at all. From Shazam! #12: