SUPERMAN - #276 SUPERMAN VS CAPTAIN THUNDER (1974 - FN/FN+)

"Make Way for Captain Thunder!"

Superman comes face to face with an alternate Earth version of Captain Marvel known as Captain Thunder.

Captain Thunder has been teleported to Earth after the Monster League of Evil casts a spell on him that compels him to do evil. This sets the stage for these two titans to go up against each other. Since they are too evenly matched, Superman tricks Captain Thunder into reverting back to his alter ego, Willie Fawcett (tribute to Fawcett Comics) and asks him to use his “Natural Wisdom” to figure out how to get home to his earth. While being restrained in a full nelson (very similar to the scene used later in Kingdom Come by Alex Ross), Captain Thunder has no option but to oblige. After uttering his magical word, “THUNDER”, there is a bolt of lightning and he disappears, seemingly transported back home.

This story takes place two years before Captain Marvel actually meets Superman in the pages of Justice League of America # 137.