When it comes to represenation of disabled characters comic books and super hero media, Freddie Freeman, aka Captain Marvel Jr, is arugably the most well known character with a disablity in the DC Comics sphere. I spoke with actor Jack Dylan Grazer about playing Freddie at Galaxy Con 2024 in San Jose, California.
"It was a really great role for me," Grazer explained on August 17th. "I want disabled people to feel like they can be a superhero too."
Freedy Freeman was one of my many heroes brouht to life during real world World War 2 --similar to Captain America's Bucky. During that time, SHAZAM was being published under Whiz Comics, an inprint that would later become DC Comics. The orignal version of the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #25. He is badly injured by a super villian and is subsequently saved by Captain Marvel, (AKA Shazam) but in the insuing battle is paralyzed. Freddy's injuires were in part inspired form war vetrans who returned home missing limbs or living with paralysis.
However, the version of Freddy Freeman appearing in the 2019 Shazam film it largely based on 2011's New 52 storyline, seeing Freddy adapted into the foster care system where he meets Billy Batson, Shazam's alter ego. In Shazam and its sequel, Fury of the Gods, Freedie is a bit of a comic book fanboy. Not only are Superheroes real in this universe, but DC's Zack Snyder's Justice League characters are real too. Freddy sports plenty of Superman and Batman merch in the films, even buying a bullet that hit Superman on Ebay, similar to Grazer himself.
Grazer shared his love of comics, "Growing up my grandfather gave me a lot of hand me down comics -- I had lots of Captain Marvel, some Justice League comics, and alot of Batman. I love Batman."
Freddy's disability in 2019's Shazam is breifly explained, similar to his injury in the comics. The details of the fall are kept rather vague, but is the result of an after the fact accident, rather than a condition that he was born with. His accident is in line with other forms of disabled superheroes, such as Marvel Professor X, who legs are crushed by falling debris.
"Its sort of left unexplained how Freddy got his unusual walk," Grazer explains. But he looked forward to the oppourtunity to give some representation to the disbabled community. "Its super cool to represent something that is super meaningful. I did two months of training to learn how to walk realistically with the crutch; to learn how to walk up step and fall with the crutch while (Shazam actor) Zachary Levi was learning how to fly." Freddie's superhero persona is played by O.C. alum Adam Brody, but Grazer would love to play the superhero verison of the character -- should it happen.
"I'd love to wear the suit and take Freddy into Space," Grazer adds.
The future of the Shazam franchise is a bit of an unkown quanity, with James Gunn's recent reboot of the entire DC Universe. Hopefully this isnt the last weve seen of Freddie and rest of the Shazam Family.
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