Shazam (DC Comics)

Publication history

In 1939, Fawcett Publications launched its own comics line after seeing the success of Superman and Batman. Staff writer Bill Parker was hired to create heroes for a planned title called Flash Comics. One of his ideas was a team of six superheroes, each given a power by a mythological figure. Executive director Ralph Daigh decided to merge them into a single hero with all six abilities, and Parker came up with a character named Captain Thunder.

Artist C. C. Beck drew the story in a cartoonish style he became known for. The first issue was released as both Flash Comics #1 and Thrill Comics #1 in fall 1939, but only as a low-print ashcan for advertising and trademarking. Fawcett couldn't trademark Captain Thunder, Flash Comics, or Thrill Comics because those names were already taken. The book was renamed Whiz Comics, and artist Pete Costanza suggested calling the hero Captain Marvelous, which the editors shortened to Captain Marvel.

Whiz Comics #2, with a February 1940 cover date, came out in late 1939. It introduced Billy Batson, a 12-year-old orphan who transforms into Captain Marvel by saying the name of the wizard Shazam.

Fictional character biography

Whiz Comics #2 (Feb. 1940) introduces William Joseph "Billy" Batson, a homeless 12-year-old newsboy who sleeps in a subway station. A mysterious man in a green cloak leads him to an underground throne room inhabited by an old man with a long beard and white robe, the wizard Shazam. The wizard explains he has used the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury to fight evil for over 3,000 years but is now too old to continue. Billy is chosen because of his misfortune and being "pure of heart".

Ordered to speak the name "Shazam", Billy is struck by lightning and transforms into a superpowered adult in a red costume with gold trim. The wizard declares him "Captain Marvel" and orders him to carry on his work, as a stone block falls upon the wizard, killing him. The wizard later returns as a spirit living at the Rock of Eternity. Saying "Shazam" allows Billy to become Captain Marvel, and Captain Marvel can say the word to become Billy again.

Captain Marvel's first battle was with Doctor Sivana, who becomes his arch-enemy. Billy becomes a reporter and host for WHIZ Radio.

Characterization

The secret identity of the character is William "Billy" Batson, a young superhero who can transform into an adult at will. Prior to Flashpoint, the character was an orphan granted power due to his innocent nature despite hardships. More recent stories cast Billy as a jaded and troubled youth abandoned by his parents to foster care, chosen as a champion due to his potential for goodness. In his super-powered identity, he is considered among Earth's greatest and most powerful superheroes on par with Superman and Wonder Woman.

The character's age has varied: early adventures portray him as ten or eleven; in Power of Shazam! he is fourteen or fifteen; in Justice Society of America he is sixteen; a 2011 one-shot implies he is eighteen; after the New 52 reboot his age was first officially stated as fifteen. Following the New 52 reinvention, he is also recognized as a Champion of Magic, a supernatural protector overseeing the Rock of Eternity and the Seven Magiclands. Billy's familial connections play an important role in his background and have changed throughout publication history.