Steamboat Bill

STEAMBOAT BILL

Real Name: Bill (last name unrevealed)

Class: Human

Occupation: Food truck owner

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Pacque Boat (cousin), Grandpappy Riverboat (grandfather)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile, Earth-S

First Appearance: America’s Greatest Comics (Fawcett) #2 (February-March, 1942)

Powers: Steamboat Bill was loyal and courageous.

History: (America’s Greatest Comics (Fawcett) #2) - Steamboat Bill ran a food truck out of the city’s park and was assaulted by Stinko and his youth gang. Captain Marvel and Chief Brannigan were on the case and drove the kids away. Mobsters that had a grudge against Brannigan ambushed him and pulled their guns on him, but Steamboat Bill caused a distraction by letting the horse that pulled his food cart go wild. Marvel took care of the mobsters, and the fight convinced Stinko and his gang to go straight, so Marvel made them members of the Captain Marvel Club so they could make amends by fighting crime. Steamboat’s food cart got wrecked during the fight, and Marvel told him he’d find him a new line of work at radio station WHIZ, where his alter ego Billy Batson worked as a newscaster.

Comments: Created by Ed Herron? & C.C. Beck.

Steamboat Bill was originally published by Fawcett Comics, which DC obtained the rights to in 1972.

Steamboat Bill was portrayed as a racist African American caricature. The Youth Builders, a youth group of public school students, petitioned Will Lieberson, editor of Fawcett Comics, to retire the offensive character, and he complied. For more information see https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-467/2/.

Steamboat Bill's appearanxce in America’s Greatest Comics (Fawcett) #2 was reprinted Shazam! Archives #4.