Shazam Facts

Let's see how much of a Captain Marvel/Shazam Fan you are! Here are One Dozen Shazam Facts!

1. Captain Marvel was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics in 1939 and for a brief time he was more popular than Superman. This is because his alter ego is a ten year old kid named Billy Batson. So a child who could turn into an adult hero appealed to children. His prototype names include Captain Billy, Captain Marvelous, and Captain Thunder.

2. In the 1950's, a British publication reprinted black-and-white issues of Captain Marvel's stories. But after a lawsuit, the British publisher had to recolor the book and rename the title character Marvelman. This character and his supporting characters were direct rip-off of The Marvel Family, and in 1963 writer Alan Moore created Miracleman. This character was based off Marvelman/Captain Marvel and was drastically darker than both characters.

3. DC Comics had sued Fawcett Comics in the 1950's over Captain Marvel being a copy of Superman. DC won the court case and Captain Marvel was cancelled. Fawcett Comics would also be put out of business years later. The rights to Captain Marvel would then be bought by DC Comics and the character/characters were integrated into the DC Universe.

4. During the time of Captain Marvel's cancellation, Marvel Comics created and published a character also named Captain Marvel. This Cap was a member of an alien military and would go on to inspire characters like Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan. Marvel did this to erase confusion by fans of Fawcett's Cap belonging to Marvel Comics. In 2011, DC Comics finally changed Captain Marvel's name to "Shazam" named after the Wizard who gave him his powers and the phrase Billy yells to become a hero.

5. The Marvel/Shazam Family includes Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior, Uncle Marvel, Hoppy The Marvel Bunny, The Wizard Shazam, Black Adam, Isis, Thunder, Osiris, Sobek, Tawky Tawny, Fat Marvel, Tall Marvel, Hill Marvel, and three other uses of Cap's powers.

6. In Mark Waid and Alan Ross' "Kingdom Come", Captain Marvel is under the mind control of Lex Luthor. "Kingdom Come" takes place 50 years in the future and it is revealed Billy Batson grew up to look like Captain Marvel, so when Lex Luthor controls him he creates the illusion that Billy has his powers, but keeps him in his human form to control him.

7. The word "Shazam" is an anagram containing abilities of Greek/Roman Gods. "S" for the wisdom of Solomon, "H" for the strength of Hercules, "A" for the stamina of Atlas, "Z" for the power of Zues "A" for the courage of Achilles, "M" for the speed of Mercury. Black Adam's version of "Shazam" is drawn from Egyptian Gods and the villain Sabbac is empowered by demons.

8. Captain Marvel had once took the place of The Wizard, donning a white version of his costume. During that time, his former sidekick Captain Marvel Junior had become the new Captain Marvel.

9. Captain Marvel Junior's civilian identity is Freddy Freeman who is a child with a lame leg and crutches. To become Captain Marvel Junior, Freddy has to shout "Captain Marvel" instead of "Shazam". During his time on The Teen Titans he had a romance with Supergirl.

10. In the universe of "Flashpoint", Billy Batson and his foster siblings shout "Shazam" together to fuse into Captain Thunder. During a fight with that world's Wonder Woman, Cap is divided and Billy is murdered by Wonder Woman.

11. In the universe of "The Dark Knight Strikes Again", Billy Batson died of unspecified health issues, but had turned into Captain Marvel before dying. This made Captain Marvel a separate personality from Billy who had been around for eight years after Billy's death. After being forced to turn back into Billy, Cap is simply wiped out of existence. This version of Cap also worked for Lex Luthor.

12. In the New 52 version of Earth 3, the powers of Shazam are given to that world's Lex Luthor who becomes Mazahs and has a child with Earth 3's Wonder Woman.

Thanks for reading.