Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

Captain Marvel
Shazam
Captain Marvel; Shazam
	Billy Batson in his normal and transformed state on the cover of Shazam! (2023) #5. Art by Dan Mora
Publication information
Publisher	Fawcett Comics (1942–1953); DC Comics (1972–present)
First appearance	Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940)
Created by	Bill Parker; C. C. Beck;
In-story information
Alter ego	William Joseph "Billy" Batson
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Justice League; Justice Society of America; Justice League International; Marvel / Shazam Family; Squadron of Justice; Teen Titans
Partnerships	Mary Marvel; Captain Marvel Jr.; Tawky Tawny; The Wizard
Notable aliases	Captain Thunder; World's Mightiest Mortal; King Shazam; Captain Shazam ; Lightning Guy; Champion of Magic
Abilities	By shouting the name "SHAZAM!", Billy is bestowed the powers of divine origin, primarily of Greek-Roman 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. Captain Marvel is the alter-ego of William Joseph "Billy" Batson, a young boy who is granted magical powers by the Wizard by speaking the magic word "SHAZAM!", an acronym of six "immortal elders": Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury, and transforms into a costumed adult superhero with various superpowers derived from specific attributes of the aforementioned elders. The character battles evil in the form of 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). The character also serves as a notable member of several teams, including the Justice League and various other derivatives, Justice Society of America, and the Teen Titans.

Since the character's inception, Captain Marvel was once 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] DC later 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.

^ "Whiz Comics #2". Grand Comics Database.
^ 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.
^ "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.
^ Cite error: The named reference settlement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Smith, Zack (December 30, 2010). "An Oral History of Captain Marvel: The Lost Years, pt. 3". Newsarama. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
^ Bricken, Rob (September 4, 2013). "The Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Shazam Clusterf*ck Explained". Retrieved December 5, 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference NameChange was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ 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)

[gcdb-1] "Whiz Comics #2". Grand Comics Database.

[TiptonMoviePoopShoot-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.

[ComicSuccessMuseum-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.

[settlement-4] Cite error: The named reference settlement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[NRLostYearsPt3-5] Smith, Zack (December 30, 2010). "An Oral History of Captain Marvel: The Lost Years, pt. 3". Newsarama. Retrieved September 11, 2014.

[:5-6] Bricken, Rob (September 4, 2013). "The Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Shazam Clusterf*ck Explained". Retrieved December 5, 2017.

[NameChange-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)

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Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

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