Comic Connections: The Beatles and Captain Marvel/Shazam
Welcome to the first entry in “Comic Connections,” a new series from ComicBookWire designed to explain comic book references found in media and pop culture. Today we’re looking at “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill,” a Beatles song with a small, but poignant, reference to one of the era’s most popular superheroes. Specifically, we’re taking a look at the line “So Captain Marvel zapped him right between the eyes” which we will explain in the course of this examination.
“The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” is a song by the Beatles released in 1968 on the “White Album.” It is about a man who goes hunting for tigers in an unspecified jungle. Written by John Lennon, the song was inspired by real events that took place at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a place where the Beatles, and other guests, came to study transcendental meditation. While there, Lennon was perturbed by another guest’s choice to go out tiger hunting, an act Lennon believed contradicted the otherwise peaceful nature of the location. In later interviews, Lennon stated that the song was “about a guy in Maharishi’s meditation camp who took a short break to go shoot a few poor tigers, and then came back to commune with God.”
With this information, it becomes instantly apparent that the lyrics of the song are designed to mock and criticize this hunter. Throughout the song, he is depicted as a childish man who wants to kill tigers to prove himself. However, when the hunter is surprised by a tiger, the song suddenly compares him to Captain Marvel, a well-known superhero. What is Lennon implying by making this unusual comic book reference?
Captain Marvel was a superhero created by Fawcett Publications and published from 1939 to 1953. He was a hero capable of super strength, had the ability to fly, and could summon magic lightning bolts. More importantly, Captain Marvel was secretly a child. A young boy named Billy Batson was blessed with the ability to transform into the seemingly adult hero whenever he said the word “Shazam!”. It is also worth noting that the Captain Marvel referenced here is not related to the Captain Marvel currently appearing in Marvel movies and comic books. This Captain Marvel, now known as Shazam, was created much earlier and is currently owned by DC Comics.
Want more Comic Connections from the Beatles? Find out about Rocky/Rocket Raccoon here.
Captain Marvel’s true identity is the reason Lennon compares him to the hunter in this song. His comparison makes the direct accusation that this seemingly heroic man is secretly a child inside. This contrast between childish naivety and false bravado is consistent with the intent of the entire song and works well in solidifying the message. It is also simply a clever way of calling him a child without actually having to say it.
A reference like this is likely to pass over the heads of most modern listeners; Captain Marvel now goes by the name Shazam and a completely different Captain Marvel is in the spotlight. Confusion like this is why I wanted to examine this topic. If you’re a huge Beatles fan, like myself, understanding every one of their songs is essential to the listening experience and explorations like this can only help. Hopefully, this article manages to help so that all of you can now share your unique knowledge of this rather obscure topic.
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Also, make sure to check out our exploration into how the Beatles influenced the creation of Rocket Raccoon right here.
Do you have a citation for this?
Although your interpretation MAY fit, I find it a little too “after the fact” and that the line in question was added because it scanned, sounded good and made everyone laugh, rather than for some obscure literary metaphor to someone’s psychology. It may even have been a temporary line, left as a placeholder while the rest of the lyric was worked on, but ultimately stayed in for the reasons given.
Besides, I find it more likely that reference was to the Marvel Comics character (Who had been around since the early 67) – We know that McCartney was a Marvel Comics fan – hence his penning the song “Magneto and the Titanium Man” in 75.
It is entirely possible that this interpretation my be incorrect, though the possible connections are rather numerous.
However, I would be incredibly surprised if the song was actually referencing the Marvel Comics character. For one, the Marvel Comics character was less than a year old when this song was recorded and would have been a rather obscure reference to make, whereas the original Captain Marvel was one of the most popular and well known characters from the past few decades. In addition, Marvel’s hero went by the name Mar-Vel, which is not reflected in the vocals or the White Album’s lyrics. Plus, even though McCartney was a Marvel fan, this song was written by John Lennon during a time where the two did not have much influence on each other’s lyrics.
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All are welcome. Enjoy.