   #copyright

Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Cartoons

                              Captain Marvel

   Captain Marvel, from the interior of The Trials of Shazam! #1 (2006).
   Art by Howard Porter.

   Publisher        Fawcett Comics (1939–1953)
                    DC Comics (1972–present)
   First appearance Whiz Comics # 2
                    (1940, historical)
                    The Power of Shazam! graphic novel (1994, canon)
   Created by       C.C. Beck
                    Bill Parker

   Characteristics
   Alter ego William Joseph "Billy" Batson
   Affiliations Marvel Family
   Justice League
   Justice Society of America
   Notable aliases Marvel
   Captain Thunder
   Abilities Magically bestowed aspects of various mythological figures
   which include vast super-strength, speed and stamina, physical and
   magical invulnerability, flight, fearlessness, vast wisdom, enhanced
   mental perception, control over and emission of magic lightning and
   vast untapped magical powers

   Captain Marvel is a comic book superhero, originally published by
   Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist
   C.C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz
   Comics #2 (February 1940). With a premise that taps into adolescent
   fantasy, Captain Marvel is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a youth who
   works as a radio news reporter and was chosen to be a champion of good
   by the wizard Shazam. Whenever Billy speaks the wizard's name, he is
   instantly struck by a magic lightning bolt that transforms him into an
   adult superhero empowered with the abilities of six mythological
   figures. Several friends and family members, most notably Marvel Family
   cohorts Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr., can share Billy's power
   and become "Marvels" themselves.

   Captain Marvel was hailed as "The World's Mightiest Mortal" in his
   adventures (and nicknamed "The Big Red Cheese" by archvillain Doctor
   Sivana, an epithet adopted by fans as a nickname for their hero). In
   addition, based on sales, he was the most popular superhero of the
   1940s, since the Captain Marvel Adventures comic book series sold more
   copies than Superman and other competing superhero books during the
   mid-1940s ^^. Captain Marvel was also the first superhero to be adapted
   into film in 1941 ( The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Fawcett ceased
   publishing Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953, due in part to a
   copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging that Captain Marvel
   was an illegal infringement of Superman.

   DC licensed the Marvel Family characters and returned them to
   publication in 1972. The company would eventually acquire all rights to
   the characters by 1991.^ They have since integrated Captain Marvel and
   the Marvel Family into the " DC Universe", and have attempted a few
   revivals. Despite their efforts, Captain Marvel has not regained
   widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live
   action television series featuring the character was very popular.
   Hoping to reverse this trend, DC Comics is currently publishing a
   twelve-issue limited series, The Trials of Shazam!, which significantly
   alters Captain Marvel's established characterization, with the
   character (now called "Marvel") taking over the wizard Shazam's role as
   mentor of Freddy Freeman, the former Captain Marvel, Jr.

   Because Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book
   during the interim between the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years
   and DC years, DC Comics is unable to promote and market their Captain
   Marvel/Marvel Family properties under that name. Since 1972, DC has
   instead used the trademark Shazam! as the title of their comic books
   and thus the name under which they market and promote the character.
   Consequently, Captain Marvel himself is sometimes erroneously referred
   to as "Shazam".

Character history

Development and inspirations

   After the success of National Comics' new superhero characters Superman
   and Batman, Fawcett Publications decided in 1939 to start its own
   comics division. They recruited writer Bill Parker to create several
   hero characters for the first title in Fawcett's line, then to be
   called Flash Comics. Besides penning stories featuring Ibis the
   Invincible, Spy Smasher, Golden Arrow, Lance O'Casey, Scoop Smith, and
   Dan Dare for the new book, Parker also wrote a story about a team of
   six superheroes, each possessing a special power granted to them by a
   mythological figure. Fawcett Comics' executive director Ralph Daigh
   decided it would be best to combine the team of six into one hero who
   would embody all six powers, and Parker responded by creating a
   character he called "Captain Thunder" ^. Staff artist Clarence Charles
   "C.C." Beck was recruited to design and illustrate Parker's story,
   rendering it in a direct, somewhat cartoony style that became his
   trademark.

   The first issue, printed as both Flash Comics #1 and Thrill Comics #1,
   had a low-print run in the fall of 1939 as an ashcan copy created for
   advertising purposes. Shortly after its printing, however, Fawcett
   found it could not trademark "Captain Thunder", "Flash Comics", or
   "Thrill Comics", because they were already in use. Consequently, the
   book was renamed Whiz Comics, and Fawcett artist Pete Costanza
   suggested changing Captain Thunder's name to "Captain Marvelous", which
   the editors shortened to "Captain Marvel". The word balloons in the
   story were subsequently re-lettered to label the hero of the main story
   of the book as "Captain Marvel". Whiz Comics #2 was published in late
   1939 and dated February 1940. Since it was the first of that title to
   actually be published, the issue is sometimes referred to as Whiz
   Comics #1, despite the issue number printed on it.

   Inspirations for Captain Marvel came from a number of sources. His
   visual appearance was modeled after that of Fred MacMurray, a popular
   American actor of the period. C.C. Beck's later versions of the
   character would resemble other American actors, including Cary Grant
   and Jack Oakie. Fawcett Publications' founder, Wilford H. Fawcett, was
   nicknamed "Captain Billy", which inspired the name "Billy Batson" and
   Marvel's title as well. Fawcett's earliest magazine was titled Captain
   Billy's Whiz Bang, which probably inspired the title Whiz Comics. In
   addition, Fawcett adapted several of the elements that had made
   Superman popular (super strength and speed, science-fiction stories, a
   mild mannered reporter alter ego), and incorporated them into Captain
   Marvel. Fawcett's circulation director Roscoe Kent Fawcett recalled
   telling the staff, "give me a Superman, only have his other identity be
   a 10 or 12-year-old boy rather than a man." ^

   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,
   presumably to differentiate from Superman's outfit). 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.

Whiz Comics #2: origin story

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   Captain Marvel's origin story finds the homeless and orphaned Billy
   Batson making a meager living selling newspapers near an old subway
   station, sleeping in the doorway of the station. Billy had been living
   with his uncle after the deaths of his parents, but the cruel old man
   threw the boy out into the streets and stole his inheritance. While
   selling papers one rainy night, a dark-clothed stranger comes to the
   boy, and asks him to follow him down into the subway station. There, a
   strange subway train with no visible driver appears, this carries the
   pair to the secret lair of the wizard Shazam. There, the ancient wizard
   reveals that he has selected Billy to be his champion to fight for good
   as the "strongest and mightiest man in the world — Captain Marvel!"

   To that end, Shazam orders the boy to speak his name, which was
   actually 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.

   Billy complies and is immediately struck by a magic lightning bolt,
   which turns him into Captain Marvel, an adult superhero. He then learns
   that he only has to speak the word again to instantly change back into
   Billy. With that, Shazam is immediately killed by a large granite block
   that falls from above his throne, and Billy vows to fulfill his
   bestowed role. Whenever he needed advice, Billy could light a brazier
   near Shazam's throne, which would summon the wizard's ghost.

   Marvel's first call to duty was saving the world from the evil mad
   scientist Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, who threatened to silence radio
   forever unless he was paid a large sum of money. Resuming his regular
   form, Billy tells WHIZ radio mogul Sterling Morris that he can stop the
   Radio Silencer and Sivana; a disbelieving Morris offers Billy a job on
   the air if he can do so.

   Finding the crooks' hideout, Billy transforms into Captain Marvel,
   destroys Sivana's radio silencing machine, and apprehends his henchmen.
   Sivana escapes, however, setting the stage for a long line of future
   confrontations. Marvel transforms back into Billy, who presents the
   captured criminals and destroyed Radio Silencer to Sterling Morris.
   True to his word, Sterling Morris makes Billy an on-air news reporter
   for WHIZ radio.

   Captain Marvel was an instant success, with Whiz Comics #2 selling over
   500,000 copies ^. 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.

Fawcett years: the Marvel Family, allies, and enemies

   Through his adventures, he soon gained a host of enemies, including
   Adolf Hitler's champion Captain Nazi, an older Egyptian renegade Marvel
   called Black Adam, an evil magic-powered brute named Ibac, 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" storyline
   ran as two-year story-arc 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.

   In the early 1940s, Captain Marvel also gained allies in The Marvel
   Family, a collective of superheroes with similar powers and/or costumes
   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 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. 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.

   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 character, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny,
   was created in 1942 and later given a spin-off series of his own.

   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 and 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 & Jack
   Kirby, Mac Raboy, Pete Costanza, Kurt Shaffenberger, and Marc Swayze.

Captain Marvel vs. Superman

   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 ^, and
   was at one point being published 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") ^. 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.

   Due to the similarity of Captain Marvel to Superman, National Comics
   Publications (now DC Comics) sued Fawcett Comics for copyright
   infringement of intellectual property in 1941. After seven years of
   litigation, the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
   case went to trials court in 1948. The initial 1951 verdict was decided
   in Fawcett's favour. Although the judge 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 DC
   had abandoned the Superman copyright ^. DC appealed this decision, and
   Judge Learned Hand declared in 1952 that DC'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, sending the matter
   back to the lower court for final determination.^ .

   Accordingly, Judge Hand's decision stated that National had not
   specifically proven which particular aspects of the Superman character
   (and plots) had been infringed. He stated that in retrying the case
   again in the lower court such specific allegations would need to be
   maintained. Fawcett decided to settle with DC out of court instead of
   retrying the case (one they were not certain they would again win, even
   with the enhanced evidentiary record of specific comic panels,
   incidents and other distinguishing features of the two characters -
   Superman and Captain Marvel). Feeling that a decline in the popularity
   of superhero comics meant that it was no longer worth continuing the
   fight ^. Fawcett shut down its comics division in the autumn of 1953,
   laid off its comic-creating staff, and paid DC $400,000 in damages ^.
   Whiz Comics had ended with issue #146 in June 1952; Captain Marvel
   Adventures folded with #150 (November 1953), and The Marvel Family
   ended its run with #89 (January 1954).

   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. In 1954, the lawsuit abruptly cut off their
   supply of Captain Marvel material. They requested the help of a British
   comic writer, Mick Anglo, who created a British copy of the superhero
   called Marvelman. Marvelman ceased publication in 1963, but was revived
   in 1982 and retitled Miracleman in 1985.

The Shazam! revival

   When superhero comics became popular again in the mid-1960s (in what is
   now called the Silver Age of comics), Fawcett was unable to revive
   Captain Marvel because in order to settle the lawsuit it had agreed
   never to publish the character again. Eventually, they licensed the
   characters to DC Comics in 1972, and DC began planning a revival.
   Because Marvel Comics had by this time established its own claim to the
   use of Captain Marvel as a comic book title, DC published their book
   under the name Shazam! Since then, that title has become so linked to
   Captain Marvel that some readers have taken to identifying the
   character as "Shazam" instead of his actual name.

   The Shazam! comic series began with issue #1 in 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, the Sivanas, and most of their supporting cast had been
   accidentally trapped in suspended animation for 20 years until finally
   breaking free.

   Dennis O'Neil was the primary writer of the book; his role was later
   taken over by writers Elliott S! Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell. C.C.
   Beck drew stories for the first ten issues of the book before he quit
   because of differences with DC Comics; Kurt Shaffenberger and Don
   Newton were among the later artists of the title.

   With DC's Multiverse in effect during this time, it was stated that the
   revived Marvel Family and related characters lived on the parallel
   world of "Earth-S". While the series began with a great deal of
   fanfare, the book had a lackluster reception. Shazam! was cancelled
   with issue #35 (June 1978) and relegated to a back-up position in
   World's Finest Comics (from #254 in November 1979 to #282 in August
   1982) and Adventure Comics (from #491 in September 1982 to #498 in
   April 1983). With their 1985 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC
   fully integrated the characters into the mainstream DC superhero
   setting.

Justice League and Shazam! The New Beginning

   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. That same year, he was also given his own miniseries,
   Shazam! The New Beginning. With the 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. In this miniseries, both Sivana and Dudley were Billy
   Batson's real uncles, who fought over the custody for the boy after his
   parents were killed (by Sivana) in a car accident. Black Adam is also
   present in the story as Sivana's partner in crime.

   The most notable change that Thomas and Justice League writers Keith
   Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis introduced into the Captain Marvel mythos
   was that the personality of young Billy Batson is retained when he
   transforms into the Captain. The classic-era comics tended to treat
   Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities. This change
   would remain for all future uses of the character, as justification for
   his sunny, Golden-Age personality in the darker modern-day comic book
   world. (Captain Marvel's Justice League teammate Guy Gardner often
   jokingly referred to the innocent, pure-hearted Captain as "Captain
   Whitebread"). Another notable change in this version was the relocation
   of the Shazam characters from Fawcett City to San Francisco.

The Power of Shazam!

   DC finally purchased the rights to all of the Fawcett Comics characters
   in 1991. ^In 1994, Captain Marvel was retconned again and given a
   revised origin in The Power of Shazam!, a painted graphic novel by
   Jerry Ordway. This version of Marvel's origin, now considered his
   official DCU origin story, more closely followed his Fawcett origins,
   with only slight additions and changes.

   In this version of the story, it is Black Adam who kills Billy Batson's
   parents (as his reincarnated non-powered form of Theo Adam) while the
   Batsons and Adam are excavating an ancient tomb in Egypt. He also
   kidnaps Billy's sister Mary, who ends up missing.

   The wizard Shazam is made aware of all of these events, and (just as in
   the Fawcett origin) has Billy brought before him by the dark-clothed
   stranger, and grants the boy the power to become Captain Marvel. As
   Captain Marvel, Billy takes on the form of his late father, which is
   how Theo Adam guesses his identity, has a revelation about the power of
   Shazam, and becomes Black Adam using a scarab he stole from the tomb.
   After subduing Black Adam and his employer, the rich tycoon Dr. Sivana,
   Billy swears to find his sister as Captain Marvel.

   The graphic novel was a critically acclaimed success, leading to a
   Power of Shazam! ongoing series which ran from 1995 to 1999. The series
   reintroduced the Marvel Family and many of their allies and enemies
   into the modern-day DC Universe. It also added the Republic movie
   serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel to its continuity. This was
   done by having the Billy Batson of the serial become the modern Billy
   Batson's grandfather. The Golden Scorpion device from the serial even
   played a role at the end of the comic book series.

   During the publication of the series, the Marvel Family also appeared
   in Mark Waid and Alex Ross's critically acclaimed miniseries Kingdom
   Come, with a brainwashed Captain Marvel playing a major role in the
   story as a mind-controlled pawn of an elderly Lex Luthor. The climax
   centered heavily on a battle between Marvel and Superman, during which
   Marvel had the upper hand due to his magical abilities (such as being
   able to strike Superman with his "Shazam" lightning bolt). Captain
   Marvel also starred in an oversized special graphic novel, Shazam!:
   Power of Hope, in 1999, written by Paul Dini and painted by Alex Ross.

JSA membership (2003–2004)

   Since 1999, the characters have made appearances in a number of other
   comic book series. A typical use for Captain Marvel guest appearances
   in current comics is as a backup for Superman when a flight-enabled,
   super-strong being is needed, especially in situations where Superman's
   special weaknesses, such as Kryptonite or magic (which Captain Marvel
   does not share), are involved.

   In 2003, Captain Marvel became a member of the revived Justice Society
   of America and was featured prominently in that series alongside his
   nemesis Black Adam. Captain Marvel had originally joined the team to
   keep an eye on Adam, who had joined the JSA claiming to have reformed.
   Black Adam eventually left the JSA to instigate a takeover of his home
   country of Kahndaq; he had a fondess for the country, and wished to see
   the totalitarian regime done away in what he saw as justice. Captain
   Marvel remained with the team.

   During his tenure in the JSA, Marvel dated Courtney Whitmore, also
   known as Stargirl, which put him in an unusual position: while he could
   legally date Courtney as Billy Batson, it looked very strange for the
   grown-up Captain Marvel to be with the teenaged Stargirl. The Golden
   Age Flash, Jay Garrick, another JSA member, confronted Marvel about the
   issue, but instead of telling Garrick and the team the truth about his
   age, Marvel chose to follow the Wisdom of Solomon and leave the team
   and Courtney.

Day of Vengeance and Infinite Crisis

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   The Marvel Family played an integral part in DC Comics' 2005/2006
   Infinite Crisis crossover, which gave DC the opportunity to begin a
   retooling of the Shazam! franchise. The climax of the Day of Vengeance
   limited series printed during the crossover saw the Spectre engage in a
   cosmic-level battle with the wizard Shazam. At the conclusion of this
   battle, Shazam was obliterated, and the Rock of Eternity burst apart
   into Earth's dimension, freeing scores of ancient majicks and evils
   that had been captured eons ago back into the DC Universe.

   In a later Day of Vengeance one-shot special, Captain Marvel and the
   Marvel Family then helped Zatanna and several other beings to capture
   the Seven Deadly Sins and rebuild the Rock of Eternity. Captain Marvel
   was then required to take over Shazam's role as caretaker of the Rock.
   Marvel was later shown fulfilling this role in Week 12 of the weekly
   limited comic series 52, although teetering on the brink of sanity,
   constantly talking back to the Seven Sins around him. In this issue,
   Marvel was shown helping Black Adam grant Adrianna Tomaz the powers of
   the goddess Isis.

The Trials of Shazam! and other series

   DC Comics published a four-issue Captain Marvel/Superman limited
   series, Superman/Shazam: First Thunder, between September 2005 and
   March 2006. The miniseries, written by Judd Winick with art by Josh
   Middleton, depicted the first meeting between the two heroes.

   Winick is continuing with the Marvel Family in a second limited series,
   running 12 issues, that started August 30, 2006, called The Trials of
   Shazam!, illustrated by Howard Porter. Trials of Shazam!, a significant
   revision of the Shazam! mythos, is intended to re-imagine the
   characters and their roles in the DC Universe. It features Captain
   Marvel, now with a white costume and long white hair, taking over the
   role of the wizard Shazam under the name Marvel, while a powerless
   Freddy Freeman attempts to prove himself worthy to take on the powers
   of Shazam.
   Spoilers end here.

   A second Captain Marvel miniseries, Shazam! Monster Society of Evil, is
   due for publication in 2007 and is being written and illustrated by
   Jeff Smith (creator of Bone). Smith's Shazam! miniseries, in the works
   since 2003, is a more traditional take on the character. ^The classic
   versions of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family also appear in the
   bimonthly painted miniseries Justice by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and
   Doug Braithwaite.

Characterization

   Captain Marvel is usually depicted as pure-hearted and unwaveringly
   upstanding. At one point, he was described by Grant Morrison as the "
   Sir Percival of superheroes", or a representation of what kids think
   their dad should be — a "big, nice, noble guy without much sexuality
   about him". ^Like the classic depiction of Aquaman or Superman, Marvel
   is usually an amiable, friendly person. Since he is still a youth, it
   is harder for him to become corrupted (thus the wizard's reasoning for
   not choosing another adult like Black Adam as his champion). In the
   1995 Underworld Unleashed miniseries, Captain Marvel's soul is coveted
   by the demon prince Neron, but Marvel's soul is so pure that Neron is
   unable to possess it.

   However, despite his wisdom, Captain Marvel is also depicted as
   somewhat immature. Since Billy is only a teenager, he tends to take
   many things for granted and is usually nervous about interacting with
   other superheroes, making him seem like a case of arrested development
   to other heroes who are unaware of his true form.

Powers and abilities

   When Billy Batson says the magic word "Shazam" and is transformed 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. The wisdom of Solomon also
   gives Marvel clairvoyance and provides him with counsel and advice in
   times of need. In early Captain Marvel stories, he also had knowledge
   of all languages and sciences, ancient and modern, and could hypnotize
   people as well, through this power.
   H for the strength of Hercules * Dubbed "The World's Mightiest Mortal,"
   Captain Marvel has incredible amounts of super strength, and is able to
   easily bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects.
   Marvel's strength is enough that he has fought beings such as Superman
   or Wonder Woman to a standstill.
   A for the stamina of Atlas Using Atlas' endurance, Captain Marvel can
   withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults.
   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, provides physical invulnerability
   and grants magic resistance against most magic spells and attacks, as
   well as allowing for interdimensional travel. Marvel can use the
   lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an
   opponent or target. The magical lightning has many uses, including
   creating apparatus, restoring damage done to Marvel, or acting as fuel
   for magical spells.
   A for the courage of Achilles Like the wisdom, this aspect is primarily
   psychological, and gives Marvel superhuman amounts of inner strength on
   which to draw.
   M for the speed of Mercury By channeling Mercury's speed, Captain
   Marvel can fly and move at great speeds.

   Additionally, Captain Marvel's senses are acutely sharpened, though not
   to the extent of Superman's. With Judd Winick's Trials of Shazam!
   series, Marvel has also gained the ability to wield magic and cast
   spells.

Supporting cast

   Captain Marvel often fights evil as a member of a superhero team known
   as the Marvel Family, made up of himself and several other heroes: The
   Wizard Shazam who empowers the team, Captain Marvel's sister Mary
   Marvel, and Marvel's protégé Captain Marvel, Jr. Before the Crisis on
   Infinite Earths, the Marvel Family also included part-time members such
   as Mary's non-powered friend "Uncle" Dudley aka Uncle Marvel, Dudley's
   non-powered niece Freckles Marvel, a team of proteges (all of whose
   alter egos are named "Billy Batson") known as the Lieutenant Marvels,
   and the funny-animal pink rabbit version of Captain Marvel, Hoppy the
   Marvel Bunny.

   Through his adventures, Captain Marvel gained an extensive rogues
   gallery, the most notable of whom include the evil mad scientist Dr.
   Sivana (and, pre-Crisis, the Sivana Family), Shazam's corrupted
   previous champion Black Adam, Adolph Hitler's champion Captain Nazi,
   and the mind-controlling worm Mister Mind and his Monster Society of
   Evil. Other Marvel Family foes include the evil robot Mister Atom,
   Shazam's demon offspring Blaze and Satanus, the "World's Mightiest
   Immortal" Oggar, and Ibac and Sabbac, demon-powered supervillains who
   transform by magic as Captain Marvel does.

   The Marvel Family's non-powered allies include Dr. Sivana's
   good-natured adult offspring Beautia and Magnificus Sivana, Mister
   "Tawky" Tawny the talking tiger, WHIZ radio president and Billy's
   employer Sterling Morris, Billy's girlfriend Cissie Sommerly, Billy's
   school principal Miss Wormwood, and Mary's adoptive parents Nick and
   Nora Bromfield.

Cultural influence

   Captain Marvel's adventures have contributed a number of elements to
   both comic book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of
   these is the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries
   in Modern Age comic book stories.

   The fictional Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in
   "Superduperman," a satirical comic book story by Harvey Kurtzman and
   Wally Wood in the fourth issue of Mad (April-May, 1953). In the parody,
   inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles, Superduperman, endowed with
   muscles on muscles, does battle with Captain Marbles, a Captain Marvel
   caricature. Marbles' magic word is "SHAZOOM", which stands for
   Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another and
   Money. In contrast to Captain Marvel's perceived innocence and
   goodness, Marbles was greedy and money-grubbing.

   Prior to reviving Captain Marvel in the 1970s, DC Comics, in its
   flagship Superman comic (issue #276, June 1974), published a story
   featuring a battle between the Man of Steel and a thinly disguised
   version of Captain Marvel called Captain Thunder (whether this was
   intentional to honour the character's early original name is unknown).
   This was a sort of test run to allow DC to gauge how readers might
   receive the return of the original character. After encouraging sales
   figures led to the official revival, they followed Mad's cue and often
   pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of
   reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters' long battles
   in court; they are otherwise staunch allies. Notable Superman/Captain
   Marvel battles in DC Comics include All-New Collectors' Edition #C-58
   (1979), All-Star Squadron #37 (1984), Superman #102 (1995), the final
   issue of the Kingdom Come miniseries (1996) and, most recently,
   Superman #216 (2005). The "Clash" episode of Justice League Unlimited,
   which included Captain Marvel as a guest character, featured a
   Superman/Captain Marvel fight as its centerpiece.

   Captain Marvel was the first major comic book hero to have a young
   alter ego. Although kid superheroes had generally been neglected before
   Marvel's introduction, kid sidekicks soon became commonplace shortly
   after Marvel's success: Robin was paired with Batman in May 1940, and
   Captain America was introduced with sidekick Bucky in March 1941. The
   idea of a young boy who transformed into a superhero proved popular
   enough to inspire a number of superheroes who undergo similar
   transformations, including Marvel Comics' Darkhawk, Malibu Comics'
   Prime, and animated/ action figure superheroes such as Hanna-Barbera's
   Mighty Mightor and Young Samson, Mattel/ Filmation's He-Man, Warner
   Bros. Television's Freakazoid and, for a time, the Marvel Comics
   version of Captain Marvel (issue 17 on). Other heroes, including Marvel
   Comics' Thor and DC's The Enchantress, undergo similarly magical
   transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form.

   The Image Comics character Mighty Man, created by Erik Larsen and
   appearing primarily in Larsen's series The Savage Dragon, is an obvious
   homage to Captain Marvel. Similarities run deep, from MM's initial
   secret identity being a young boy with an alliterative name ("Bobby
   Berman") to his greatest foe being a mad scientist named "Dr. Nirvana".

   In pop culture, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel's magic word, "Shazam!",
   became a popular exclamation from the 1940s on, often used in place of
   an expletive. The most notable user of the word "Shazam!" in this form
   was Gomer Pyle ( Jim Nabors) from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith
   Show. Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his
   trademark exclamation, " Holy Moley!"

   Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the
   superhero was still used for allusions and jokes, in films such as West
   Side Story, TV shows such as The Monkees, M*A*S*H, and American Dad!,
   and songs such as " The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" (1968) by
   The Beatles and "Shazam" (1960) by Duane Eddy. Elvis Presley was a fan
   of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child, and later styled his
   hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and
   TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Junior's costume and
   lightning-bolt insignia. The Academy of Comic Book Arts named its
   Shazam Award in honour of the character's mythos.

   A grown-up, pot-bellied Billy Batson and a still-virile Captain Marvel
   appeared in one of Jules Feiffer's "Feiffer" comic strips (reprinted in
   Jules Feiffer, Feiffer's Marriage Manual, Random House, 1967). Leonard
   Cohen mentions Captain Marvel in his poem "A Migrating Dialogue"
   (Selected Poems, 1956-68, McClelland & Stewart, 1968) Stan Getz, along
   with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Airto Moreira, recorded a song
   entitled "Captain Marvel" (written by Chick Corea) which appeared on
   their album of the same name.

Additional reading

     * The Shazam! Archives, Volumes 1–4 (1992, 1998, 2002, 2005).
       Reprints Captain Marvel's adventures from his earliest Fawcett
       appearances in titles such as Whiz Comics, Master Comics, and
       Captain Marvel Adventures from 1940 to 1942. Stories by Bill
       Parker, Ed Herron, and others; art by C.C. Beck, Pete Costanza, Mac
       Rayboy, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, George Tuska, and others. ( ISBN
       1-56389-053-4, vol. 1; ISBN 1-56389-521-8, vol. 2; ISBN
       1-56389-832-2, vol. 3; ISBN 1-4012-0160-1, vol. 4)
     * Shazam! and the Shazam Family! Annual #1 (2002). Reprints Mary
       Marvel's origin from Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (1942), Black
       Adam's origin from Marvel Family #1 (1945), and stories from
       Captain Marvel, Jr. #12 (1943) and The Marvel Family #10 (1946).
       Stories by Otto Binder; art by C.C. Beck, Pete Costanza, Mac
       Rayboy, Marc Swayze, Bud Thompson, and Jack Binder.
     * All in Colour for a Dime (1970), edited by Richard A. Lupoff and
       Don Thompson. A collection of essays on Golden Age superhero
       comics, including an essay on Captain Marvel by Roy Thomas. ( ISBN
       0-87341-498-5)
     * The Power of Shazam! (1994), written and painted by Jerry Ordway. A
       graphic novel depicting Captain Marvel's current DC Universe origin
       story. ( ISBN 1-56389-153-0, paperback)
     * Kingdom Come (1996), written by Mark Waid, painted by Alex Ross. A
       painted epic, in which Superman has temporarily retired, giving way
       to a new breed of reckless, morally ambiguous superheroes. Superman
       attempts to bring order to the superheroes' operations, but his
       efforts are matched by Lex Luthor, who has a brainwashed Captain
       Marvel on hand to challenge Superman. The story was novelized by
       Elliot S! Maggin. ( ISBN 1-56389-330-4)
     * JSA: Savage Times (2004). Trade paperback reprinting stories from
       JSA #38–45 (2002–2003), which feature Captain Marvel meeting Black
       Adam during Adam's tenure as Mighty Adam in ancient Egypt. Stories
       by Geoff Johns & David Goyer; art by Leonard Kirk, Patrick Gleason,
       Keith Champagne, and Christian Alamay. ( ISBN 1-4012-0253-5)
     * Day of Vengeance (2005). Trade paperback reprinting the Day of
       Vengeance miniseries and a three-issue Superman/Captain Marvel
       crossover. Stories by Bill Willingham and Judd Winick, art by
       Justiniano, Walden Wong, and others ( ISBN 1-4012-0840-1)

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