Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

For the Marvel character of the same name, see Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics).

Captain Marvel / Shazam
Captain Marvel as depicted in Shazam!: Power of Hope (November 2003). Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
PublisherFawcett Comics (1942–1953)
DC Comics (1972–present)
First appearanceWhiz Comics #2 (February 1940)[1]
Created by
In-story information
Alter egoWilliam Joseph "Billy" Batson
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsJustice League
Justice Society of America
Justice League International
Marvel / Shazam Family
Squadron of Justice
Teen Titans
PartnershipsMary Marvel
Captain Marvel Jr.
Tawky Tawny
The Wizard
Raven (mentor)
Notable aliasesCaptain Thunder
World's Mightiest Mortal
King Shazam
Captain Shazam
Lightning Guy
Abilities
  • By shouting the name "SHAZAM!", Billy is bestowed the powers of divine origin, primarily of Greek-Roman and Israeli origin. These powers typically include:
    • Superhuman physical attributes: strength, speed, durability, etc.
    • Enhanced intelligence and knowledge
    • Physical and magical invulnerability
    • Control over lightning and magic
  • Skilled hand-to-hand combatant and natural charisma makes him an apt radio personality.

Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam (/ʃəˈzæm/), is a superhero in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker created the character in 1939. Captain Marvel first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (cover-dated Feb. 1940), published by Fawcett Comics. He is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a boy who, by speaking the magic word "SHAZAM!" (acronym of six "immortal elders": Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury), is transformed into a costumed adult with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight, and other abilities. The character battles an extensive rogues' gallery, most of them working in tandem as the Monster Society of Evil, including primary archenemies Black Adam, Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind. Billy often shares his powers with other children, primarily his sister Mary Batson and their best friend/foster brother Freddy Freeman, who also transform into superheroes and fight crime with Billy as members of the Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family or Shazamily.

Based on comic book sales, Captain Marvel was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, outselling even Superman.[2][3] Captain Marvel was also the first comic book superhero to be adapted to film, in a 1941 Republic Pictures serial, Adventures of Captain Marvel, with Tom Tyler as Captain Marvel and Frank Coghlan, Jr. as Billy Batson. Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953, partly because of a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman.[4] In 1972, Fawcett licensed the character rights to DC, which by 1991 acquired all rights to the entire family of characters. DC has since integrated Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family into their DC Universe and has attempted to revive the property several times, with mixed success. Owing to trademark conflicts over other characters named "Captain Marvel" owned by Marvel Comics,[5] DC has branded and marketed the character using the trademark Shazam! since his 1972 reintroduction.[6] This led many to assume that "Shazam" was the character's name. DC renamed the mainline version of the character "Shazam" when relaunching its comic book properties in 2011,[7] and his associates became the "Shazam Family" at this time as well.[8]

DC's revival of Shazam! has been adapted twice for television by Filmation: as a live-action 1970s series with Jackson Bostwick and John Davey as Captain Marvel and Michael Gray as Billy Batson, and as an animated 1980s series. The 2019 New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. film Shazam!, an entry in the DC Extended Universe, stars Zachary Levi as Shazam and Asher Angel as Billy Batson. Levi and Angel return in the sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

  1. ^ "Whiz Comics #2". Grand Comics Database.
  2. ^ Tipton, Scott (April 1, 2003). "The World's Mightiest Mortal". Comics 101. Archived from the original on June 14, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2005. I've always felt that it was this origin story and concept that made Shazam instantly popular, to the point that it was outselling every comic on the stands for several years throughout the '40s.
  3. ^ "Comic Book Success Stories". The Museum of Comic Book Advertising. Retrieved June 17, 2005. By the middle of the decade, Captain Marvel had received a self-titled comic book, Captain Marvel's Adventures [sic], which had a circulation that reached 1.3 million copies per month. Shazam's circulation numbers exceeded National's Superman title and the rivalry between the companies led National to sue Fawcett for plagiarism.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference settlement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Smith, Zack (December 30, 2010). "An Oral History of Captain Marvel: The Lost Years, pt. 3". Newsarama. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  6. ^ Bricken, Rob (September 4, 2013). "The Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Shazam Clusterf*ck Explained". Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NameChange was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; Wiacek, Stephen (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe (first American ed.). New York. p. 272. ISBN 9781465453570. OCLC 936192301.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)