Issue number 3 follows in the steps of issue 2. Once again, many of the positive changes to the new52 Shazam, now known as "The Captain", from issue 1 are missing and the series heads more into the new52 direction. The plot has Freddy becoming the unwilling spy for the six Elders whom The Captain derives his powers from. The Elders want to control Billy like a puppet. Billy, concerned about his erratic behavior as the Captain, unaware of the Elders interference, stops saying the magic word. New 52 Mary Shazam, now officially named Mary Marvel, has her own set of Elders, and continues to fight crime. Billy's Elders manipulate a situation forcing Billy to become the Captain. He saves a bus load of Gorillas from Gorilla City (yeah, you read that right), and under the Elders' manipulation, they convince the Captain that a race of Moon people are about to attack Earth. The Captain flies off to the moon to prevent the invasion.
The plot is getting kind of weird, and I just don't get putting the Captain in such sci-fi based scenarios. This seems like a rejected Silver Age Superman story line, and I didn't even mention the scene with the alien dinosaur. Captain Marvel's adventures, for the most part, were always more Earth bound, with some slight touches of magic. Not sure where this series is headed. This issue earns another C.
