This is "My Name It is Nothin'," a look at when comic books guest star celebrities, but their names are changed so as to avoid any legal problems.

This one is tricky, as it is a fictional character, so typically, when a writer uses another company's character, it is to make some sort of point. Here, though, it seems like it literally was just a case of wanting to have Doctor Sivana fight the Legion of Superheroes. That's not a BAD thing, but it's not really a "meta-message," so I am featuring it here.

Doctor Sivana, of course, was the famed nemesis of Captain Marvel (the original Billy Batson), in the classic Fawcett comics of the 1940s and 1950s...

DC Comics had a long-running lawsuit with Fawcett over the claim that Captain Marvel was infringing on Superman's copyright. Eventually, DC won and Fawcett closed up their superhero comic book business rather than continue to appeal the case, as their sales were slumping at the time.

Eventually, Fawcett licensed the rights to DC and in 1973, a new Captain Marvel series started called Shazam!, featuring Sivana fighting him again...

Six years earlier, though, Jim Shooter brought Sivana back early...as a Legion of Superheroes villain!

In Adventure Comics #362, Shooter and artist Pete Costanza (who drew Captain Marvel back in the day) had the Legion face off against Dr. Mantis Morlo, who is, well, come on...

What a fun story idea by whoever came up with it. It could have been Shooter, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Mort Weisinger or assistant editor E. Nelson Bridwell (a big Captain Marvel fan)

There might be SOME sort of commentary with "Sivana" destroying the "wrong Earth" in the next issue, but I doubt it....

Good stuff.

I love that a former Captain Marvel artist got to draw this.

Okay, people, there are obviously TONS of great examples of this sort of thing in comic book history, so get thy selves to thine e-mail and send in suggestions for future editions of My Name It is Nothin' to brianc@cbr.com! I'd prefer actual celebrities, but occasional stuff like this installment is okay, too!