Whiz Comics #2 (1940)
by Bill Parker & C.C. Beck
This issue isn’t only the first appearance of Captain Marvel, but of another Fawcett hero: Ibis.
Also known as “Ibis the Invincible”, “That’s not Sargon” and “Who???”.
The pronunciation guide is actually useful to me, because the Ibis bird doesn’t get a translation in Italian but it’s just pronounced “Ee-bis” instead of “Eye-biss”.
The word is from Latin so I have a feeling “Ee-bis” would be better for an old-time character. Then again he’s from Ancient Egypt so we should probably pronounce it 
since that’s apparently the word used in Ancient Egypt.
Ibis is from the Twelfth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, roughly 20th century B.C.
Bill Parker did his homework with his actual name: in the actual Twelfth Dynasty there were FOUR Pharaohs named Amenemhat, so “Amentep” sounds plausible enough.
Ibis then comes back to life thanks to his Ibistick, which can do pretty much whatever the plot needs.
The Ibistick even kept with the latest fashions! And as proof that Parker didn’t choose the 12th dynasty at random, it WAS 4000 years ago!
He wastes no time being a hero, because as soon as he leaves the Egyptian Museum he saves a woman from being run over. Apparently this spell is too complex to be done in English, because it’s the only one said in hieroglyphics.
To be fair, the Ibistick is PROBABLY not all-powerful because he doesn’t just teleport himself to Egypt.
It’s amazing Ibis isn’t more well-known when he does THIS like it’s nothing!
But Ibis eventually does get on the first available ship. To give you an idea when we are during the war, he has to save it from enemy submarines!
Poor Ibis had to go all the way to Egypt only to discover he has to leave immediately.
Yeah… that’s fair, Ibis.
AND THEN IBIS STOPS WORLD WAR II.
See, this is EXACTLY why magic-based heroes tend to stick to magic problems.
Compared to THAT, resurrecting his woman is nothing!
That’s all well and good until a random thief steals the Ibistick…
…AND THAT’S HOW IT ENDS!!!
Ibis does get his stick back the next issue. I considered reviewing that story too, but considering the best scans I could find look like this… it’s better I don’t.
As per nearly all Golden Age series, Whiz Comics #2 contained several other characters that didn’t really make the cut into new eras.
British readers may think otherwise about Dan Dare, but the character that debuts here is completely unrelated to the adventurer in 50s British comics.
It’s also surprisingly naughty for 1940 and Fawcett.
The one exception is Spy Smasher, who debuts in this issue as well.
We don’t get a good look at him here…
…but he’ll get his own series.
Historical significance: 2 / 
Despite the longevity of his original serial (more below), Ibis failed to make much of an impact.
Silver Age-ness: 10 / 
Seriously, that stick can do ANYTHING.
Does it stand the test of time? 2 / 
Some parts have more atmosphere than the standard of the time, but this is a VERY simple story without much substance. Ibis himself is a blank slate, and his Ibistick (which is a terrible name by the way) is SO overpowered that he has absolutely no challenge… until the very last page, where he gets his source of power stolen like a complete idiot.
How close is this to the modern character? What modern character?
Ibis proved popular enough to get his own series, which lasted from 1942 until 1948. Which SOUNDS impressive, but that was a very irregular schedule because there were only 6 issues.
His run on Whiz Comics, however, WAS impressive: it lasted all the way until issue #155 in 1953, making him one of the most successful Golden Age heroes.
After DC Comics acquired the Fawcett characters, he showed up in 1976 on Justice League of America #135 among many others.
Ibis is a real powerhouse in that storyline.
Ibis later made some appearances in multiple stories, but they little more than cameos: DC didn’t seem to know what to do with him.
The only attempted relaunch was a 2007 one-shot, where a modern day kid inherits the title.
Ibis may have been from the same universe of Captain Marvel, but there was no need to turn him into a Captain Marvel ripoff!
Plus giving him this awful costume didn’t help.
This version pops up sometimes, but he made even less impact than the original (who is still around).