From the scandalous adventures of the Phantom Lady we turn to perhaps the most wholesome super-heroine in comics: Mary Marvel!
As longtime visitors of this blog have probably deduced, I’m a pretty big fan of the Marvel Family. Mary, however, has always been a personal favorite. I guess the concept of a super-powered Dorothy Gale is just too awesome for words, IMHO.
(Sadly, DC editorial in recent years has thought differently …)
From Mary’s Golden Age heyday, here’s “The Pictures That Came To Life”
The story, which originally appeared in Wow Comics #38 (Fawcett Comics, September-October 1945), was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jack Binder.
Jack Binder was also responsible for the striking cover image shown above.
Hmmm … I guess Mary’s use of “commando tactics” against that magic replica of Billy Batson proves that wholesomeness doesn’t necessarily make one a wimp!
The Time Bullet 
Okay, my question remains this: How is it that, one the one hand, Billy Batson and Captain Marvel are two distinct persons while, on the other hand, Mary and Freddy are simply given greater or reduce powers (and a change of costume) by the transformation?
Freddy and Mary refer to their Marvel counterparts as separate individuals as well … but I have no “in story” explanation as to why the two didn’t gain adulthood when saying their magic words.