| Subject: As a result, Captain Marvel was given a twelve-year-old boy named Billy Batson as the alter ego. In the origin story printed in Whiz Comics #2, Billy, a homeless newsboy, is led by a mysterious stranger to a secret subway tunnel. |
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An odd subway car with no visible driver takes them past Seven statues depicting the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man to the lair of the wizard Shazam,
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Date Posted: 13/11/10 1:20:30
In reply to:
Thursday 4th of November 2010 Emergency landing Changi Airport Singapore Captain Marvel
's message, " " on 13/11/10 1:13:54
As a result, Captain Marvel was given a twelve-year-old boy named Billy Batson as the alter ego. In the origin story printed in Whiz Comics #2, Billy, a homeless newsboy, is led by a mysterious stranger to a secret subway tunnel. An odd subway car with no visible driver takes them past Seven statues depicting the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man to the lair of the wizard Shazam, who grants Billy the power to become the adult superhero Captain Marvel and shows him his life, after which a stone above Shazam's head crushes him, although his ghost says he will give advice when a brazier is lighted. In order to transform into Captain Marvel, Billy must speak the wizard's name, an acronym for the six various legendary figures who had agreed to grant aspects of themselves to a willing subject: the wisdom of Solomon; the strength of Hercules; the stamina of Atlas; the power of Zeus; the courage of Achilles; and the speed of Mercury. Speaking the word produces a bolt of magic lightning which transforms Billy into Captain Marvel; speaking the word again reverses the transformation with another bolt of lightning.
Captain Marvel wore a bright red costume, inspired by both military uniforms and ancient Egyptian and Persian costumes as depicted in popular operas, with gold trim and a lightning bolt insignia on the chest. The body suit originally included a buttoned lapel, but was changed to a one-piece skintight suit within a year at the insistence of the editors (the current DC costume of the character has the lapel restored to it since 1994). The costume also included a white-collared cape trimmed with gold flower symbols, usually asymmetrically thrown over the left shoulder and held around his neck by a gold cord. The cape came from the ceremonial cape worn by the British nobility, photographs of which appeared in newspapers in the 1930s.
In addition to introducing the main character and his alter ego, Captain Marvel's first adventure in Whiz Comics #2 also introduced his archenemy, the evil Doctor Sivana, and found Billy Batson talking his way into a job as an on-air radio reporter. Captain Marvel was an instant success, with Whiz Comics #2 selling over 500,000 copies.[3] By 1941, he had his own solo series, Captain Marvel Adventures, while continuing to appear in Whiz Comics as well. He also made periodic appearances in other Fawcett books, including Master Comics.
[edit] Fawcett years: the Marvel Family, allies, and enemies
Through his adventures, Captain Marvel soon gained a host of enemies. His most frequent foe was Doctor Sivana, a mad scientist who was determined to rule the world, yet was thwarted by Captain Marvel at every turn. He had two non-evil children, the beautiful Beautia who loved Captain Marvel, and superstrong Magnificus. Sivana's evil children, Georgia and Sivana, Jr., were later introduced to the comics. Marvel's other villains included Adolf Hitler's champion Captain Nazi, an older Egyptian renegade Marvel called Black Adam (whose sole Golden Age appearance was in Marvel Family #1), an evil magic-powered brute named Ibac, who gained powers from historical villains, and an artificially intelligent nuclear-powered robot called Mister Atom. The most notorious Captain Marvel villains, however, were the nefarious Mister Mind and his Monster Society of Evil, which recruited several of Marvel's previous adversaries. The "Monster Society of Evil" story arc ran as a twenty-five chapter serial in Captain Marvel Adventures #22–46 (March 1943 – May 1945), with Mister Mind eventually revealed to be a highly intelligent yet tiny worm from another planet. The Monster Society was the first criminal group in comics with members from past stories, including Sivana, Ibac, and Captain Nazi, along with new foes, like Herkimer the crocodile man and a multi-headed Hydra. Even Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo were members. Mr. Mind is eventually executed in the electric chair for 186,744 murders at the end of the arc, but would be reintroduced decades later in DC Comics' Shazam! #2.
In the early 1940s, Captain Marvel also gained allies in the Marvel Family, a collective of superheroes with powers and/or costumes similar to Captain Marvel's. (By comparison, Superman spin-off character Superboy first appeared in 1944, while Supergirl first appeared in 1959). Whiz Comics #21 (September 1941) marked the debut of the Lieutenant Marvels, the alter egos of three other boys (all also named Billy Batson) who found that, by saying "Shazam!" in unison, they too could become Marvels. In Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941), a friend named Freddy Freeman, mortally wounded by an attack from Captain Nazi, was given the power to become teenage boy superhero Captain Marvel Jr. with a distinctive gold on blue version of the Marvel costume. A year later in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (December 1942), Billy and Freddy met Billy's long-lost twin sister Mary Bromfield, who discovered she could, by saying the magic word "Shazam," become teenage superheroine Mary Marvel, although the pre-Crisis Mary Marvel got her power from 'goddesses'.
Detail from The Marvel Family #2 (June 1946), cover art by C. C. Beck. From left to right: Captain Marvel; Lt. "Fat" Marvel; Captain Marvel Jr.; Lt. "Tall" Marvel; Lt. "Hillbilly" Marvel; and Mary Marvel. Uncle Marvel can be seen seated at the piano in the background.
Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr. were featured as a team in a new comic series entitled The Marvel Family. This was published alongside the other Captain Marvel-related titles, which now included Wow Comics featuring Mary, Master Comics featuring Junior, and both Mary Marvel Comics and Captain Marvel Jr. Comics. Non-super-powered Marvels such as the "lovable con artist" Uncle Marvel and his niece, Freckles Marvel, also sometimes joined the other Marvels on their adventures. A funny animal spin-off, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, was created in 1942 for Fawcett's Funny Animals comics, and later given a series of his own.
As with other superheroes, Captain Marvel had a number of non-powered friends and associates as well. These included Mr. Morris, Billy's employer at WHIZ radio; Joan Jameson, Billy's secretary (and one of the few people to know his secret identity); Beautia Sivana, Dr. Sivana's good-natured adult daughter who had a crush on Captain Marvel and only periodically joined forces with her father (and usually by force); and Dexter Knox, an intelligent young scientist who was a friend of Billy's friends. The most prolific of Captain Marvel's supporting characters at Fawcett was Mister Tawky Tawny, an anthropomorphic tiger who'd been fed a serum that allowed him to learn to speak and stand upright.
The members of the Marvel Family often teamed up with the other Fawcett superheroes, who included Ibis the Invincible, Bulletman and Bulletgirl, Spy Smasher, Minute-Man, and Mr. Scarlet & Pinky. Among the many artists and writers who worked on the Marvel Family stories alongside C. C. Beck and main writer Otto Binder were Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Mac Raboy, Pete Costanza, Kurt Schaffenberger, and Marc Swayze.
[edit] Copyright infringement lawsuit and cancellation
See also: National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
Through much of the Golden Age of Comic Books, Captain Marvel proved to be the most popular superhero character of the medium with his comics outselling all others, including those featuring Superman. In fact, Captain Marvel Adventures sold fourteen million copies in 1944,[6] and was at one point being published bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.3 million copies an issue (proclaimed on the cover of issue #19 as being the "Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine").[3] Part of the reason for this popularity included the inherent wish-fulfillment appeal of the character to children, as well as the humorous and surreal quality of the stories. Billy Batson typically narrated each Captain Marvel story, speaking directly to his reading audience from his WHIZ radio microphone, relating each story from the perspective of a young boy.
Detective Comics (later known as National Comics Publications, National Periodical Publications, and today known as DC Comics) sued Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement in 1941, alleging that Captain Marvel was based on their character Superman. After seven years of litigation, the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications case went to trials court in 1948. Although the judge presiding over the case decided that Captain Marvel was an infringement, DC was found to be negligent in copyrighting several of their Superman daily newspaper strips, and it was decided that National had abandoned the Superman copyright.[7] As a result, the initial verdict, delivered in 1951, was decided in Fawcett's favor.
National appealed this decision, and Judge Learned Hand declared in 1952 that National's Superman copyright was in fact valid. Judge Hand did not find that the character of Captain Marvel itself was an infringement, but rather that specific stories or super feats could be infringements, and that the truth of this would have to be determined in a re-trial of the case. The judge therefore sent the matter back to the lower court for final determination.[7]
Instead of retrying the case, however, Fawcett decided to settle with National out of court. The National lawsuit was not the only problem Fawcett faced in regards to Captain Marvel. While Captain Marvel Adventures had been the top-selling comic series during World War II, it suffered declining sales every year after 1945 and by 1949 it was selling only half its wartime rate.[8] Fawcett tried to revive the popularity of its assorted Captain Marvel series in the early 1950s by introducing elements of the horror comics trend that gained popularity at the time.[9] Feeling that a decline in the popularity of superhero comics meant that it was no longer worth continuing the fight,[10] Fawcett agreed to never again publish a comic book featuring any of the Captain Marvel-related characters, and to pay National $400,000 in damages.[11] Fawcett shut down its comics division in the autumn of 1953 and laid off its comic-creating staff. Whiz Comics had ended with issue #155 in June 1953, Captain Marvel Adventures was canceled with #150 (November 1953), and The Marvel Family ended its run with #89 (January 1954).
[edit] Marvelman (and Miracleman)
Main article: Marvelman
In the 1950s, a small British publisher, L. Miller and Son, published a number of black and white reprints of American comic books, including the Captain Marvel series. With the outcome of the National v. Fawcett lawsuit, L. Miller and Son found their supply of Captain Marvel material abruptly cut off. They requested the help of a British comic writer, Mick Anglo, who created a thinly disguised version of the superhero called Marvelman. Captain Marvel Jr. was adapted to create Young Marvelman, while Mary Marvel had her gender changed to create the male Kid Marvelman. The magic word "Shazam!" was replaced with "Kimota", "Atomik" backwards. The new characters took over the numbering of the original Captain Marvel's United Kingdom series with issue number 25.
Marvelman ceased publication in 1963, but was revived in 1982 by writer Alan Moore in the pages of Warrior Magazine. Beginning in 1985, Moore's black and white serialized adventures were reprinted in color by Eclipse Comics under the new title Miracleman (as Marvel Comics now existed and objected to the use of Marvel in the title), and continued publication in the United States after Warrior's demise. Within the metatextual storyline of the comic series itself, it was noted that Marvelman's creation was based upon Captain Marvel comics, by both Alan Moore and later Marvelman/Miracleman writer Neil Gaiman.
In 2009, Marvel Comics obtained the rights to the original 1950s Marvelman characters and stories.
[edit] The M. F. Enterprises Captain Marvel
In 1966, M. F. Enterprises produced their own Captain Marvel: an android superhero from another planet whose main characteristic was the ability to split his body into several parts, each of which could move on its own. He triggered the separation by shouting "Split!" and reassembled himself by shouting "Xam!" He had a young human ward named Billy Baxton. This Captain Marvel, who didn't last long, was credited in the comic as being "based on a character created by Carl Burgos."[12]
[edit] DC Comics' Shazam! revival
When superhero comics became popular again in the mid-1960s in what is now called the Silver Age of Comic Books, Fawcett was unable to revive Captain Marvel because in order to settle the lawsuit it had agreed never to publish the character again. Carmine Infantino, publisher of DC Comics, licensed the characters from Fawcett in 1972, and DC began planning a revival. Because Marvel Comics had by this time established Captain Marvel as a comic book trademark, DC published their book under the name Shazam! Since then, that title has become so linked to Captain Marvel that many people have taken to identifying the character as "Shazam" instead of his actual name.
The Shazam! comic series began with issue #1, dated February 1973. It contained both new stories and reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. The first story attempted to explain the Marvel Family's absence by stating that they, Dr. Sivana, Sivana's children, and most of the supporting cast had been accidentally trapped in suspended animation for twenty years when the Sivanas attempted to put the Marvels into suspended animation, until finally breaking free when the Suspendium globe moved towards the Sun.
Dennis O'Neil was the primary writer of the book; his role was later taken over by writers Elliot S. Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell. C. C. Beck drew stories for the first ten issues of the book before quitting due to creative differences; Bob Oksner and Fawcett alumnus Kurt Schaffenberger were among the later artists of the title.
With DC's Multiverse concept in effect during this time, it was stated that the revived Marvel Family and related characters lived within the DC Universe on the parallel world of "Earth-S". While the series began with a great deal of fanfare, the book had a lackluster reception. The creators themselves had misgivings; Beck said, "As an illustrator I could, in the old days, make a good story better by bringing it to life with drawings. But I couldn't bring the new [Captain Marvel] stories to life no matter how hard I tried."[13] Shazam! was heavily revamped as of #34 (April 1978), with Bridwell providing more realistic stories, accompanied by similar art, the first issue by Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein, thereafter by a longtime fan of the character,[14] Don Newton and Schaffenberger. Nevertheless, the next issue was the last one, though the feature was kept alive in a back-up position in a giant-formatted run of World's Finest Comics (from #253, October–November 1978, to #282, August 1982, skipping only #271 which featured a full-length origin of the Superman-Batman team story). Schaffenberger left the feature after #259, and the inking credit subsequently varied. When WFC reverted to the standard 36 pages, leftover Shazam! material saw publication in Adventure Comics (#491, September 1982, and #492, October 1982); the remaining eleven issues of that run contained reprints, Shazam! represented by mostly Fawcett era stories (left out of an all Legion of Super-Heroes #500, and the final #503, where two features were doubled up to complete their respective story arcs). With their 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, DC fully integrated the characters into the DC Universe. With the exception of an appearance by Lex Luthor in #15, (November–December 1974), the early, faithful-to-the-40s-comics versions never crossed over with the mainstream DC characters.
[edit] Captain Marvel in the late 1980s
The first post-Crisis appearance of Captain Marvel was in the 1986 Legends miniseries. In 1987, Captain Marvel appeared as a member of the Justice League in Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis' relaunch of that title. That same year (spinning-off from Legends), he was also given his own miniseries titled Shazam! The New Beginning. With this four-issue miniseries, writers Roy and Dann Thomas and artist Tom Mandrake attempted to re-launch the Captain Marvel mythos and bring the wizard Shazam, Dr. Sivana, Uncle Dudley, and Black Adam into the modern DC Universe with an altered origin story.
The most notable change that Thomas, Giffen, and DeMatteis introduced into the Captain Marvel mythos was that the personality of young Billy Batson is retained when he transforms into the Captain. The Golden Age comics tended to treat Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities. This change would remain for most future uses of the character as justification for his sunny, Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book world.
This revised version of Captain Marvel also appeared in one story arc featured in the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly #623–626, released from October 25, 1988–November 15, 1988. At the end of the arc, it was announced that this would lead to a new Shazam! ongoing series, which failed to materialize.
[edit] The Power of Shazam!
Main article: The Power of Shazam!
DC finally purchased the rights to all of the Fawcett Comics characters in 1991.[15] In 1994, due to the unpopular revision of the character from 1987's Shazam: The New Beginning miniseries, Captain Marvel was retconned again and given a revised origin in The Power of Shazam!, a painted graphic novel written and illustrated by Jerry Ordway. This story became Captain Marvel's official DC Universe origin story (with his appearances in Legends and Justice League still counting as part of this continuity).
Ordway's story more closely followed Captain Marvel's Fawcett origins, with only slight additions and changes. For example, in this version of the origin, it is Black Adam (in his non-powered form of Theo Adam) who killed Billy Batson's parents, and the "mysterious stranger" who leads Billy to the subway tunnel with statues of the Sins and the wizard Shazam is revealed to be the ghost of his father. The graphic novel was a critically acclaimed success, leading to a Power of Shazam! ongoing series which ran from 1995 to 1999. That series reintroduced the Marvel Family, and many of their allies and enemies, into the modern-day DC Universe.
Marvel also appeared in Mark Waid and Alex Ross' critically acclaimed 1996 alternate universe Elseworlds Kingdom Come miniseries. Set twenty years in the future, Kingdom Come features a brainwashed Captain Marvel playing a major role in the story as a mind-controlled pawn of an elderly Lex Luthor. Being one of the most powerful beings on Earth, his mere presence unnerves many of those around him and, brainwashed, he even sets out to cause what could lead to the end of the world. However, Marvel ultimately sacrifices himself as an act of redemption and, as a figure of martyrdom, becomes the symbol of a new world order.
In 2000, Captain Marvel starred in an oversized special graphic novel, Shazam! Power of Hope, written by Paul Dini and painted by Alex Ross.
[edit] JSA, 52, and other early/mid 2000s appearances
Portion of a panel from The Trials of Shazam! #2 (November 2006) featuring Marvel, a revised version of the Captain Marvel character. Art by Howard Porter.
Since the cancellation of the Power of Shazam! title in 1999, the Marvel Family have made appearances in a number of other DC comic books. Black Adam became a main character in Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer's JSA series, which depicted the latest adventures of the Justice Society of America. Captain Marvel also appeared regularly in JSA in 2003 and 2004. He also appeared in Frank Miller's graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the sequel to Miller's highly-acclaimed graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns.
The Marvel Family played an integral part in DC's 2005/2006 Infinite Crisis crossover, which began DC's efforts to retool the Shazam! franchise. In the Day of Vengeance miniseries, which preceded the Infinite Crisis event, the wizard Shazam is killed by the Spectre, and Captain Marvel assumes the wizard's place in the Rock of Eternity which is rebuilt by the Shadowpact, although he has trouble with the Sins imprisoned there as he hears their voices. The Marvel Family made a handful of guest appearances in the year-long weekly maxi-series 52, which featured Black Adam as one of its main characters and introduced Adam's "Black Marvel Family", consisting of Adam himself, his wife Isis, and her brother Osiris, and Sobek. Marvel gave the amulet which was used to give Isis her powers. Marvel marries Adam and Isis. He helped battle Sabbac later on Halloween. The Marvel Family also appeared frequently in the 12-issue bimonthly painted Justice maxi-series by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithwaite, published from 2005 to 2007. When Black Adam attacks the world in retaliation to the deaths of Osiris and Isis at the hands of the Four Horsemen, Captain Marvel is beaten by him, along with the rest of the Marvel family. He first asks the Egyptian gods to take Adam's powers but fails, then uses his lightning to change Adam back. He also changes Adam's magic word with the help of other mystics and he claims he will never tell anybody else.
[edit] The Trials of Shazam! and Final Crisis
The Trials of Shazam!, a 12-issue maxi-series written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Howard Porter for the first eight issues and by Mauro Cascioli for the remaining four, began publication in August 2006. The series redefined the Shazam! mythos, the characters, and their place in the DC Universe. Trials of Shazam! featured Captain Marvel, now with a white costume and long white hair, taking over the role of the wizard Shazam under the name Marvel, while Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel lose their powers. A powerless Freddy Freeman is then drafted to prove himself worthy to the individual six gods evident in the "Shazam" acronym so that he can become their new champion and herald under the name Shazam, although a witch Sabina from the Council of Merlin attempts to take the power herself, as ordered by her father Merlin. Atlas is killed during the series by Sabina, but Apollo's healing replaces him. Marvel helps Freddy when he is trapped by the weight that Atlas bore.
In the pages of the 2007-2008 Countdown to Final Crisis limited series, Black Adam gives the powerless Mary Batson his powers, turning her into a more villainous character. She evantually relinquishes the power and gets powers from the Olympians, but she is tempted by her old power. By the end of the series, as well as in DC's 2008-2009 Final Crisis limited series, the now black-costumed Mary Marvel, possessed by the evil New God Desaad, becomes a villain, joining forces with Superman villain Darkseid and fighting both Supergirl and Freddy Freeman/Shazam, who turns her back using his lightning.
[edit] Justice Society of America
The redesigned Marvel made a few appearances in various DC comics outside of The Trials of Shazam! maxi-series for two years before returning in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #23 in January 2009. Justice Society writer Geoff Johns collaborated with writer/artist Jerry Ordway to write a three-issue storyline that would again retool the Shazam! franchise.[16]
In the story, Marvel is ambushed by Black Adam and Isis, who are intent on taking over the Rock of Eternity. Isis robs Marvel of his powers by saying Shazam from a spell book to send lightning at him, and banishes a powerless Billy Batson back to Fawcett City, where he contacts the Justice Society for help.[17] Upon arriving at the Rock of Eternity with Billy, the Justice Society fights Black Adam and Isis.[18] Billy is abducted by the now evil Mary Marvel, who shares her powers with him and turns him into an evil teenage Captain Marvel. The evil Billy and Mary join Adam and Isis in fighting the Justice Society. However, Adam switches sides when Isis sets into action her plan to kill off humanity and destroy modern civilization. With the help of the Justice Society's Flash and the spirit of C.C Batson (Mary and Billy's father), the dead wizard Shazam's soul is retrieved from an underworld realm known as the Rock of Finality, and Adam gives up his powers to resurrect him from the statue he is imprisoned in. Shazam promptly takes his powers back from the other three Black Marvels, turns Adam and Isis into stone statues, and banishes Billy and Mary from the Rock of Eternity upon stating that they have failed him. He threatens to come after Freddy Freeman, as his powers come directly from the Gods.[19] They are later seen walking the streets of Fawcett City while homeless and pondering the fate of their father's spirit.
Billy and Mary Batson made a brief appearance during DC's 2009/2010 Blackest Night saga in a one-shot special, The Power of Shazam! #48. The siblings watch the rampage of the once-dead Osiris, now revived as an undead Black Lantern, on the internet from their apartment.[20] The issue was written by Eric Wallace, who will also write a Shazam! one-shot due for release in January 2011 featuring Billy, Mary, Freddy Freeman/Shazam, Osiris, and Blaze.[21]
[edit] Other appearances
The Superman/Shazam: First Thunder miniseries, written by Judd Winick with art by Josh Middleton, and published between September 2005 and March 2006, depicted the first post-Crisis meeting between Superman and Captain Marvel. The meeting proves to be most amicable, with Superman noting that he is impressed to have an ally who may have similar powers to himself, but who is also far more resistant to the kind of magic attacks that he is vulnerable to. However, he is disturbed when he learns that the Captain is actually a child and agrees to Shazam's suggestion that he mentor the boy.
A second Captain Marvel miniseries, Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil, written and illustrated by Jeff Smith (creator of Bone), was published in four 48-page installments between February and July 2007. Smith's Shazam! miniseries, in the works since 2003, is a more traditional take on the character, which updates and reimagines Captain Marvel's origin.[22] Smith's story features a younger looking Billy Batson and Captain Marvel as separate personalities, as they were in the pre-1985 stories, and features a prepubescent Mary Marvel as Captain Marvel's sidekick instead of the traditional teenaged or adult version. Dr. Sivana is Attorney General of the United States, and Mr. Mind looks more like a snake than a caterpillar.
An all-ages Captain Marvel comic, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, debuted in July 2008 under DC's Johnny DC youth-oriented imprint and was published monthly through December 2010. Following the lead and continuity of Smith's version, it was initially written and drawn by Mike Kunkel, creator of Herobear.[23] Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, of Tiny Titans, took over as writers with issue #5, with Byron Vaughns as main artist until issue 13, when Mike Norton assumed his place for the rest of the series.[24] Kunkel's version returns to the modern concept of having Captain Marvel retain Billy's personality, and also introduces new versions of Black Adam (whose alter ego, Theo Adam, is a child like Billy Batson in this version), King Kull, the Arson Fiend, and Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr.
[edit] Powers and abilities
When Billy Batson says the magic word "Shazam!" and transforms into Captain Marvel, he is granted the following powers:
S for the wisdom of Solomon As Captain Marvel, Billy has instant access to a vast amount of scholarly knowledge, including most known languages and sciences. The wisdom of Solomon also provides him with counsel and advice in times of need. In early Captain Marvel stories, Solomon's power also gave Marvel the ability to hypnotize people. (Note that Solomon is the only figure in the list not taken from Greco-Roman mythology). Captain Marvel has exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing him to read and decipher hieroglyphics, recall everything he has ever learned and solve long mathematical equations. Instantaneously, he can make intuitive guesses based on limited data; to the point his guesses are almost always correct; also he has a great understanding of divine phenomenon in the mortal world. Captain Marvel possesses an uncanny awareness of his circumstances that allows him to turn disadvantages into advantages. Through sheer power and magic he can hypnotize people for a length of time (undetermined). Only those of great willpower can overcome this ability. He can speak every language known to humans as well as ancient or dead languages and is able to understand aliens.
H for the strength of Hercules* Hercules' power grants Captain Marvel immense superhuman strength, making him one of DC Comics' most physically powerful characters; he is able to easily bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects, (including whole continents like South America). In the comics, this strength has evolved in parallel to that of Superman.[citation needed]
A for the stamina of Atlas Using Atlas' stamina, Captain Marvel can withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults, and heal from them. Additionally, he does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe and can survive unaided in space when in Captain Marvel form.
Z for the power of Zeus Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transforms Captain Marvel, also enhances Marvel's other physical and mental abilities, and grants him resistance against all magic spells and attacks. Marvel can use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or target. The magic lightning has several uses, such as creating apparatus, restoring damage done to Marvel, and acting as fuel for magic spells. It can also turn other Marvels back by striking them. It aids interdimensional travel at the Rock of Eternity.
A for the courage of Achilles This aspect gives Captain Marvel the courage of Achilles. In the Trials of Shazam! miniseries, this was changed to the Greek hero's near invulnerability. It also aids Captain Marvel's mental fortitude against most mental attacks.
M for the speed of Mercury By channeling Mercury's speed, Captain Marvel can move at superhuman speeds and fly. This also gives Marvel the ability to fly to the Rock of Eternity by flying faster than the speed of light.
Repeating the word "Shazam!" transforms Captain Marvel back into Billy. Captain Marvel shares his powers with Marvel Family members Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. In pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories, this had no detrimental effect on the heroes' abilities, while in DC's Power of Shazam series and irregularly afterward, the Shazam power was shown to be a finite source which would be divided in half or into thirds depending upon how many Marvels were in active super-powered form at one time.
As he was transformed by magic lightning, Captain Marvel was shown in several stories to be susceptible to both high-powered magic, which can weaken or de-power him, and to significantly high voltages of electricity or lightning to revert him back to Billy Batson form. The modern version of Captain Marvel is also vulnerable in the fact that he possesses the immature personality of a teenager.
The white-clad "Marvel" version of the character from the Trials of Shazam! series also possessed the commands of various magic abilities once owned by the wizard Shazam. However, Marvel was required to remain on the Rock of Eternity and could only be away from the Rock for twenty-four hours at a time.
[edit] Other versions
In the alternate universe Elseworlds book Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl (1998), Captain Marvel is depicted as a bald African American man.
[edit] Captain Thunder
In Superman (vol. 1) #276 (June 1974), Superman found himself at odds with Captain Thunder, a superhero displaced from another Earth and another time. Thunder had been tricked by his archenemies in the Monster League of Evil into doing evil, and Thunder therefore was made to do battle with Superman. Captain Thunder, whose name was derived from Captain Marvel's original moniker, was a thinly veiled pastiche of Marvel; down to his similar costume, his young alter ego named "Willie Fawcett" (a reference to the publisher of the original Captain Marvel stories, Fawcett Comics), and a magic word ("Thunder!") which was an acronym for seven entities and their respective powers. He got his power from rubbbing a magic belt buckle with a thunder symbol on it and saying 'Thunder.' He got his powers from Tornado (power), Hare (speed), Uncas (bravery), Nature (wisdom), Diamond (toughness), Eagle (flight) and Ram (tenacity).
At the time of Superman #276, DC had been publishing Shazam! comics for two years, but had kept that universe separate from those of its other publications. The real Captain Marvel would finally meet Superman in Justice League of America (vol. 1) #137 two years later (although he met Lex Luthor in Shazam! #15, November–December 1974).
[edit] 52 and Earth-5
In the final issue of the maxi-series 52 (#52, May 2, 2007) , a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated Earth-5. As a result of Marvel Family foe Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-S, including the Marvel Family characters.
The Earth-5 Captain Marvel and Billy Batson appeared in the Final Crisis - Superman Beyond miniseries, assisting Superman. The miniseries established that these versions of Captain Marvel and Billy are two separate beings and that Billy is a reporter for WHIZ Media, rather than a radio broadcaster. The Earth-5 Captain Marvel re-appeared in Final Crisis #7 along with an army of Supermen from across the Multiverse to prevent its destruction by Darkseid.
[edit] Supporting cast
Main articles: Marvel Family and List of Captain Marvel (DC Comics) enemies
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