The short-lived android Captain Marvel from M.F. Enterprises (the M.F. stood for publisher Myron Fass, you perverts). This cover is from the second of four issues of Cap’s own comic book, followed by two issues of Captain Marvel Presents the Terrible Five (which were published a year apart and numbered #1 and #5).
Fawcett Comics, the publisher of the original Captain Marvel, had originally trademarked that name. The trademark lapsed after Fawcett Comics shut down in 1953 following a legal battle with DC Comics. So Myron Fass was free to use the name when he published this Captain Marvel in 1966.
Fass also didn’t seem to mind “borrowing” characters from other companies as well. All the villains pictured above are obvious “homages” to other heroes or villains: Atom Jaw is Iron Jaw, Crimebuster’s nemesis from Lev Gleason’s Boy Comics; Elasticman is based on Plastic Man, Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man, or - given the red hair - Jimmy Olsen’s sometime super heroic identity Elastic-Lad; Tiny Man is Doll Man or the Atom; and Dr. Fate stole his name directly from DC’s resident sorcerer Doctor Fate.
This version of Captain Marvel was created by Carl Burgos, the creator of the original Human Torch. Cap was an android sent to Earth by an advance civilization to escape his planet’s destruction (sounds familiar). The android was possessed of super-strength, laser-firing eyes, super-speed, radar-hearing, and had jet-boots that allowed him to fly. However, the ability that made this Captain Marvel so distinct - and incredibly goofy - was his ability Mohave his head and limbs fly off and attack his enemies when he yelled “Split!”
Marvel Comics wasn’t happy with another company using their name in the title of a comic book. They threatened legal action, but in the end came to a settlement wherein they paid M.F. Enterprises the princely sum of $4,500.00 to cease publication.
Marvel then created their own Captain Marvell, the Kree warrior Mar-Vell, and trademarked the name in 1967. That created a kerfuffle when DC licensed Fawcett’s original Captain Marvel for publication in 1972 (before purchasing the character outright years later). DC could not use the character’s name on the cover of his own comic book (they even got in hot water for using the tagline “the original Captain Marvel” on the cover, and had to drop it after a few issues), which is why the comic was entitled Shazam.
But that’s a mess of a story for another time...
