Billy Batson (New Earth)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Theme                  = Marvel
 * Title                  = Captain Marvel
 * Image                  = Captain Marvel 008.jpg
 * RealName               = William Joseph "Billy" Batson
 * CurrentAlias           = None
 * Distinguish1           = Captain Marvel
 * Distinguish2           = William Batson
 * Distinguish3           = Big Cheese
 * Aliases                = Captain Marvel, The Big Cheese, the World's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Whitebread, Captain Thunder
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Affiliation            = Marvel Family; Formerly Justice League of America; Justice Society of America
 * Relatives              = C.C. and Marilyn Batson (parents, deceased); Mary Batson (Mary Marvel, twin sister); Ebenezer Batson (uncle); Sinclair Batson (cousin, deceased), Thaddeus Sivana (uncle)
 * Universe               = New Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       = Fawcett City, formerly Rock of Eternity; formerly San Francisco


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 5'4"
 * Height2                = (as Billy); 6'2" (191.5 cm) (as Captain Marvel)
 * Weight                 = 125 lbs
 * Weight2                = (as Billy); 250 lbs. (113.4 kg) (as Captain Marvel)
 * Eyes                   = Blue
 * Hair                   = Black
 * Hair2                  = (Formerly White)
 * UnusualFeatures        = None; formerly when in Captain Marvel form, Billy changes his physical from his true age as teenager to a fully adult human male.


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = None at present.  Formerly employed as a radio announcer.  Formerly magical Wizard; Keeper of the Rock of Eternity; Guardian of the Seven Sins of Man.
 * Education              = Former High School Student suggested drop out. Formerly vast Occult Knowledge and later Omniscience now lost, but able to access vast knowledge.


 * Origin                 = Orphan Billy Batson met the wizard Shazam and was granted the powers of Captain Marvel. With the death of the Wizard Shazam, Batson was now granted the power that once belonged to the wizard if not more.  With the Wizard Shazam's return to his spirit form and Batson's choice of supporting his sister as an evil acolate of Black Adam, Batson was stripped of all powers and abilities and has returned to being a mere human teenager.


 * PlaceOfBirth           = United States of New Earth
 * Creators               = C.C. Beck; Bill Parker
 * OriginalPublisher      = Fawcett Publications
 * First                  = Chronological First Appearance: {{c|Whiz Comics #2}} (1940); First Post-Crisis Appearance: {{c|Legends #1}} (1986)
 * Quotation              = Brother, you are messing with the wrong god-power-wielding dude.
 * Speaker                = Captain Marvel


 * HistoryText            =

Billy and his sister Mary were separated following the death of their parents and left in the care of their uncle Ebenezer. Tragically, Ebenezer threw Billy out and stole his trust fund. Left penniless and homeless, Billy struggled through a sorrowful existence in Fawcett City, finding work as a newsboy. For shelter, he often slept in the subway terminals.

One night, a mysterious stranger - later revealed to be the spirit of Billy's father - convinced Billy to follow him deep into the subway tunnels. There, Billy found a marvelous train decorated in strange hieroglyphics and mystic runes. Billy and the stranger rode the train deep into the bowels of the earth and arrived in a looming cavern that held grotesque statues symbolizing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. These enemies include Envy, Lust, Greed, Pride, Wrath, Sloth, and Gluttony. Their, Billy met the ancient wizard Shazam, a champion of mankind for thousands of years. Withered with age, Shazam sat on a throne poised ominously beneath a massive stone block suspended above as if by magic.

The ancient wizard revealed that he had selected Billy to be his champion to fight for good as the "strongest and mightiest man in the world--Captain Marvel!" The great Wizard Shazam ordered Billy to speak his name, a thunderous Bolt of lighting exploded in the dark cavern and revealed the almighty form of Captain Marvel!

S - for the endless wisdom of Solomon H - for the legendary strength of Hercules A - for the stamina and might of Atlas Z - for the overwhelming power of Zeus A - for the courage and invulnerability of Achilles M - for the peerless speed and power of flight of the god Mercury

With that, the Wizard Shazam was immediately killed as the large granite block fell from above his throne. Billy vowed to fulfill his singular role. Whenever he needed advice, Billy lit a brazier near Shazam's throne, summoning 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 told WHIZ radio mogul Sterling Morris that he could stop the Radio Silencer and Sivana; a disbelieving Morris offered Billy a job on the air if he could do so.

After finding the crooks' hideout, Billy transformed into Captain Marvel, destroyed Sivana's radio silencing machine and apprehended his henchmen. Sivana escaped, setting the stage for a long line of future confrontations. Marvel transformed back into Billy, who presented the captured criminals and destroyed Radio Silencer to Sterling Morris. True to his word, Sterling Morris made Billy an on-air news reporter for WHIZ radio.

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.

In the early 1940s, Captain Marvel also gained allies in The Marvel Family, a collective of superheroes with similar powers and costumes to Captain Marvel's (by comparison, Superman spin-off character Superboy first appeared in 1944, while Supergirl first appeared in 1959). Early on 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. Soon 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.. Eventually 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.

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, Doctor 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 (classic-era comics tended to treat Captain Marvel and Billy as two separate personalities). This change would remain for all future appearances 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
In this version of the story, Billy's parents - archaeologists C. C. and Marylin Batson - were killed by their treacherous assistant, Theo Adam, while on a dig at the tomb of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, Egypt. Theo Adam was the resurrected non-powered form of Teth-Adam aka Black Adam. 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 Doctor Sivana, Billy swears to find his sister as Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel became a member of the revived Justice Society of America and was featured prominently in that group 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 fondness for the country, and wished to see the totalitarian regime done away with, 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. Rather than telling Garrick and the team the truth about his age, Marvel chose to follow the Wisdom of Solomon and leave the team and Courtney.

The Marvel Family played an integral part the Infinite Crisis. The climax of the Day of Vengeance saw the Spectre engaged 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 magicks and evils that had been captured eons ago back into the 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, although teetering on the brink of insanity, constantly talking back to the Seven Sins around him. During this time, Marvel was shown helping Black Adam grant Adrianna Tomaz the powers of the goddess Isis. Later that year, Captain Marvel presided at the marriage ceremony of Adam and Isis in Kahndaq.

Black Adam's continued attempts to reform, and depicted Adam's formation of, with Captain Marvel's blessing, a "Black Marvel Family". Joining Black Adam in the Black Marvel Family were his wife Isis and her brother Osiris. Isis and Osiris are murdered by the "Four Horsemen", creatures engineered by a team of DC's mad scientist characters (Dr. Sivana among them). As a result, Black Adam takes his revenge out on the entire world, killing millions. Black Adam is halted for a few minutes, just the time needed for Captain Marvel to force a magic lightning bolt on him, turning Black Adam back to Teth-Adam and changing his magic word into an unknown one.

The Trials of Shazam! and Final Crisis
The Trials of Shazam!, a 12-issue maxi-series written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Howard Porter for the first eight issues and by Mauro Cascioli for the remaining four, began publication in August 2006. The series redefined the Shazam! mythos, the characters, and their place in the DC Universe. Trials of Shazam! featured Captain Marvel, now with a white costume and long white hair, taking over the role of the wizard Shazam under the name Marvel, while Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel lose their powers. A powerless Freddy Freeman is then drafted to prove himself worthy to the individual six gods evident in the "Shazam" acronym so that he can become their new champion and herald under the name Shazam, although a witch Sabina from the Council of Merlin attempts to take the power herself, as ordered by her father Merlin. Atlas is killed during the series by Sabina, but Apollo's healing replaces him. Marvel helps Freddy when he is trapped by the weight that Atlas bore.

In the pages of the 2007-2008 Countdown to Final Crisis limited series, Black Adam gives the powerless Mary Batson his powers, turning her into a more villainous character. She eventually relinquishes the power and gets powers from the Olympians, but she is tempted by her old power. By the end of the series, as well as in DC's 2008-2009 Final Crisis limited series, the now black-costumed Mary Marvel, possessed by the evil New God DeSaad, becomes a villain, joining forces with Superman villain Darkseid and fighting both Supergirl and Freddy Freeman/Shazam, who turns her back using his lightning.

Justice Society of America
The redesigned Marvel made a few appearances in various DC comics outside of The Trials of Shazam! maxi-series for two years before returning in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #23 in January 2009. Justice Society writer Geoff Johns collaborated with writer/artist Jerry Ordway to write a storyline that would again retool the Shazam! franchise.

In the story, Marvel is ambushed by Black Adam and Isis, who are intent on taking over the Rock of Eternity. Isis robs Marvel of his powers by saying Shazam from a spell book to send lightning at him, and banishes a powerless Billy Batson back to Fawcett City, where he contacts the Justice Society for help. Upon arriving at the Rock of Eternity with Billy, the Justice Society fights Black Adam and Isis. Billy is abducted by the now evil Mary Marvel, who shares her powers with him and turns him into an evil teenage Captain Marvel. The evil Billy and Mary join Adam and Isis in fighting the Justice Society. However, Adam switches sides when Isis sets into action her plan to kill off humanity and destroy modern civilization. With the help of the Justice Society's Flash and the spirit of C.C Batson (Mary and Billy's father), the dead wizard Shazam's soul is retrieved from an underworld realm known as the Rock of Finality, and Adam gives up his powers to resurrect him from the statue he is imprisoned in. Shazam promptly takes his powers back from the other three Black Marvels, turns Adam and Isis into stone statues, and banishes Billy and Mary from the Rock of Eternity upon stating that they have failed him. He threatens to come after Freddy Freeman, as his powers come directly from the Gods. They are later seen walking the streets of Fawcett City while homeless and pondering the fate of their father's spirit.

Blackest Night
During Blackest Night, they are living in an apartment, and comment on how scary it is not to have their powers anymore.

Shazam One-Shot
Freddy is seen with Billy and Mary in their apartment. They reminisce about the past and how Mary now feels useless without her powers. Mary is later seen assaulting Freddy, Blaze appears. The scene cuts to a homeless shelter. Blaze is seen talking to Mary. She tells Mary that if she kills Freddy, she will restore Billy and Mary's powers. It cuts back. Blaze is seen breaking her promise to Mary. Seconds later the word 'Shazam' is heard, sending Blaze rocketing through the wall. It turns out Freddy was in on it too, only pretending to get killed. Blaze and Freddy fight in the streets. Blaze punches Freddy with a ring containing liquid from the river of the Styx, which is toxic to everyone besides the residents of Hell. Billy is seen telling Mary to distract Blaze while he helps Freddy wash off the toxic water. Freddy then follows by "killing" Blaze and sending her back to Hell. Later on, Freddy tells Billy and Mary that no matter what, he will find a way to restore their powers!

Formerly:
 * Powers                 =

Power of Shazam: In order to access the powers of Captain Marvel, Batson must invoke the name of the Wizard Shazam, thereby summoning the spells and energies of those extra-dimensional beings once known as "the gods on Earth". Batson also has ties to the Quintessence.

Batson must invoke the spell in order to call upon these powers. In a burst of supernatural thunder and lightning, Captain Marvel wields the mighty powers of the immortals!

Batson was able to share his power with others who are worthy. His sister became Mary Marvel and Freddy Freeman became Captain Marvel Jr. In this state, each person is in possession of a fragment of the power of "Captain Marvel". By calling upon Shazam again, each member of the Marvels can once again return to their former identities. This allows one of their numbers, such as Billy or Mary, to have the full power of the spell. The spell can be shared with others of noble intent and purity, such as Superman, who once switched identities with Captain Marvel. Bolstered by the Stamina of Atlas, the invulnerability of Achilles, and the power of Zeus, Marvel is often depicted with strength on par with Superman.

Captain Marvel possesses the following superhuman and magical powers:


 * S for the Wisdom of Solomon: Captain Marvel has instant access to a vast amount of knowledge. The wisdom of Solomon is sometimes known as the Wisdom of the Ancients. Captain Marvel has superhuman clairvoyance and awareness. He is provided with counsel and advice in times of need. Captain Marvel has knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern warfare, and can hypnotize or enchant people with his power. The power of wisdom lends him knowledge far beyond mortal comprehension.


 * Superhuman Knowledge: Captain Marvel has exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing him to read and decipher hieroglyphics, recall everything he has ever learned and solve long mathematical equations. Instantaneously he can make intuitive guesses based on limited data; to the point his guesses are almost always correct; also he has a great understanding of divine phenomenon in the mortal world.
 * Clairvoyance: Captain Marvel possesses an uncanny awareness of his circumstances that allows him to turn disadvantages into advantages.
 * Hypnosis: Through sheer power and magic he can hypnotize people for length of time (undetermined). Only those of great willpower can overcome this ability.
 * Omni-lingual: He can speak every language known to humans as well as ancient or dead languages and is able to understand aliens.


 * H for the Strength of Hercules: In his role as Earth's Mightiest Mortal, Batson has incredible super strength. He has stalemated Superman in an arm wrestling contest, and has managed to match the strength of an Eclipso possesed Superman when he wasn't holding back at all (although Eclipso did't know how to use Superman's power at it full extent and also Marvel showed more strain, indicating that Superman is fractionally stronger), and has rendered Superman  unconscious (however he had the advantage of catching Superman by surprise). Captain Marvel has moved and destroyed massive objects. He has fought warriors such as Wonder Woman and Superman although both of them have defeated him. Captain Marvel refrains from such power displays as physically moving planets, although, given his abilities against Superman and Wonder Woman, such feats would be within his abilities.
 * Superhuman Strength: Give him the ability to lift and/or press volumes of mass far in excess to that normally possible for a human being functioning in Earth gravity.


 * A for the Stamina of Atlas: The Titan known as Atlas had limitless endurance. Atlas cradled the Earth for time immemorial. He can overcome tremendous physical resistance. This superhuman ability lends to his ability to stay as Captain Marvel for elongated periods of time, survive in space and fight seemingly endless battles such as his fight with the Spectre or Black Adam.
 * Self-Sustenance: He does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe as Captain Marvel.
 * Superhuman Stamina: His incredible metabolism endows him with practically infinite endurance and inexhaustible stamina.


 * Z for the Power of Zeus: Zeus was Olympus's high father and the god of magical lightning bolts. Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transform Captain Marvel, also enhances Captain Marvel's other physical and magical abilities. This power reinforces his physical invulnerability and resistance against magic spells and attacks. Captain Marvel can use the magical lightning as a weapon. He can summon Zeus's lighting bolts to strike his opponents. Zeus's lightning may be used to create mythic apparatus, restore damage done to Marvel, and act as a power source for magical spells. He knocked Superman unconscious with the speed of Mercury and with his fists wrapped in lighting bolts.


 * Magical Resistance: This boosts his Invulnerability and Endurance powers to god-like levels. Making him only affected by the most potent of spells and abilities.
 * Physical Enhancement: His muscles, height increase, weight, mass and all physical properties that differ from Billy Batson's are a magical enhancement.
 * Inter-dimensional Travel: This can only be used to travel to the Rock of Eternity.
 * Spell Source: He is the focal point and immediate source of Mary Marvel and Freddy Freeman's powers. Just as Shazam is the source of Billy Batson's powers.
 * Sorcery: Captain Marvel is a creature of pure and ancient magic. This allows for his ability to resist and cast magic spells, Zeus's Lighting being the most notable.
 * Advanced Healing: If he is injured in battle he may call on the magical lightning to heal himself and mend wounds. If wounded, his divine and supernatural energies enable him to recover at other worldly speed.


 * A for the Courage of Achilles: Captain Marvel has heroic levels of inner strength from which to draw. He has the courage of the Greek Hero Achilles which in battle and while in the Captain Marvel form allows him to wield great bravery and spirit. Captain Marvel is blessed with an innate and harmonious good will. A divine cheerfulness that is characterized by his trademark grin. It gives him a perseverance that pushes him to always confront a challenge with a knowing optimism.


 * Invulnerability: Captain Marvel is virtually invulnerable, and resistant to all types of physical injuries. His resilience to damage is on par with beings such as Superman, but without the weaknesses.
 * Optimism: With the Courage of Achilles combined with the Wisdom of Solomon and the boyish personality of Billy Batson this creates a certain kind of optimism of which Captain Marvel is supremely known for. Able to smile down most opponents and using his powers in special ways other than fighting, Captain Marvel will forever remain the staple "boy scout".


 * M for the Speed of Mercury: By channeling Mercury's speed, Captain Marvel can easily fly and move at speeds far exceeding Mach 10 (2 miles a second) while in earth's atmosphere. This is far from his limit as the Speed of Mercury allows him to move at speeds faster than light. Just like Black Adam, his reflexes and speed enhance the impact of his uncharted physical strength. Thanks to the power of Mercury, Marvel flies as swiftly as the messenger god of Greek and Roman myth.


 * Superhuman Speed: He can move at incredible speeds making him at least fast enough to race the Flash on foot. Captain Marvel can move fast enough to render himself invisible and seemingly vanish and disappear at will. Even Superman himself (who is one of the fastest beings on Earth) admitted Captain Marvel as faster than him, and even considered him fast enough to catch an unstoppable Flash.
 * Flight: Captain Marvel can also mystically fly through the atmosphere. This enables him to soar effortlessly sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet in blinding speed. He can travel through space, but has sometimes uses devices to ease communication during interstellar travel.

Keeper of the Rock of Eternity (formerly): Batson formerly had been advanced to the position of the Wizard Shazam after the Wizard Shazam's spirit had been been dispersed by the Spectre. As the new Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, Billy possessed even more power then he had as "Captain Marvel"

All of Batson's original magical powers as "Captain Marvel" had been increased way beyond previous levels. As the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, Batson was one with the Rock as it is a part of him. Batson was able to channel the energies of the primal God-wave and the Greek Lords of Magic through the Rock of Eternity. In that state Marvel was infused with the duty to keep the power and the magic of the earth realm in balance. As keeper of the Rock of Eternity Marvel also held the dark forces at bay.


 * Inherent Omnipresence: Apparently possessing the power to be everywhere, at all times (i.e. multiple dimensions and places in time).


 * Inherent Omniscience: Apparently possessing the power to know anything that he chooses to know and can be known.


 * Inherent Omnipotence: Apparently possessing the vast magical powers, and ability to make anything he wants.


 * Telepathy: Ability to read the minds of others and project thoughts.


 * Sorcery: As the High Lord of Magic, Marvel has omnipotent mastery of magics and mysticism. He truly knows magic and can cast any spell to achieve any powerful results. He has unlimited access to Personal, Universal and Dimensional Energies.


 * Cosmic Awareness: Power to sense the presence of beings and objects in the universe.


 * Immortal

Various. The knowledge he currently possesses is unending, therefore he is capable of unknown acts.
 * Abilities              =

Multilingual: Thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon, he has the ability to understand, comprehend, and speak any language on earth.

Genius-Level Intellect: He also is considered a genius among geniuses.

Smooth Talker: Another facet of his intelligence is ability to talk his way out of situations, as a man with an unprecedented amount of wisdom, he prefers to talk, rather than fight. Class 100 +. As Captain marvel his strength is on par with Superman. When he received the upgrade to Lord Marvel and became the keeper of the Rock of Eternity he was one of the strongest beings in the Universe. High Order Magic: Only the strongest of magics can affect him in any particular way, such as those wielded by the Spectre.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             =

Personality: Batson is still a human teenager, despite the enormous powers and awareness of the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, Batson's emotional state can be overwhelmed. Recently Black Adam was able to trick Batson out of his Marvel form and strip him of his powers as the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity.

Guardian of the Rock Limitation (formerly): Marvel is required to remain on the Rock of Eternity, and can only be away from the Rock for twenty-four hours at a time.

Formerly All the mystical items belonging to Shazam including:
 * Equipment              =
 * Historama: Shazam owned the Historama that adorns the space near his throne at the Rock of Eternity. It functions as a crystal ball, but with Incredible range and accuracy. He activates the Historama by saying, "Historama show me...". The historama has incredible material strength and provides the following abilities:
 * Clairvoyance
 * Clairaudience
 * Remote Sensing
 * Extra-dimensional Detection
 * True Sight
 * Dimensional Viewing
 * Temporal Viewing: ability to look into the past, and functions just like Dimensional Viewing. These powers allow the Historama to "cleave through the barriers" to show the occupants of the Rock of Eternity what transpires in other dimensions and even other times.

Batson had forgone the original historama and has opted for a more up to date version and has redirected the Rock of Eternity with a multitude of different tv screens which portrays whatever he chooses, just as the original historama.
 * Transportation         = Teleportation, Flight
 * Weapons                =

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), Captain Marvel was (based on sales) the most popular superhero of the 1940s. The Captain Marvel Adventures series sold more copies than Superman's Action Comics and other competing superhero books. Captain Marvel was also the first superhero to be adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and Marvel Family comics in 1953. This was due to both a general decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman. DC licensed the Marvel Family characters in 1972 and acquired all rights in 1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into the DC Universe, and DC has attempted a few revivals. Captain Marvel has not regained widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the character was very popular.
 * Notes                  =

Due to the fact that 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. They decided to use the word "Shazam" as the title of their comic book and thus the name under which they would market and promote the character. As a result, Captain Marvel himself is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Shazam."


 * Trivia                 =
 * 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 Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in a popular comics story in MAD Magazine no. 4 from 1953, entitled "Superduperman", which was inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles. In the story, Superduperman (an obvious Superman doppelganger) does battle with the Captain Marvel-esque Captain Marbles. Marbles' magic word was not "SHAZAM", but "SHAZOOM", which stood for Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another, and Money. After DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, 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 who get along very well with each other. Notable Superman/Captain Marvel battles in DC Comics stores 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 in 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.
 * 17 months after DC's first issue of Shazam!, a try-out of the first meeting of Captain Marvel and Superman was published in Superman 276, with a character called Captain Thunder. Captain Marvel and Superman would finally meet 18 months later in the December 1976 issue of Justice League of America #137.
 * 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, and Warner Bros. Television's Freakazoid. Other heroes, including Marvel Comics' Thor, undergo similarly magical transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form.
 * 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 from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Elvis Presley was a fan of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child. Elvis later styled his hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Jr.'s costume and lightning-bolt insignia. Actor Cary Grant said that some of his younger fans told him they thought he bore an uncanny resemblance to Captain Marvel.
 * Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the superhero was still used for jokes, such as in The Monkees when Peter Tork tried to escape the ropes he was tied up in by yelling "Shazam!", only to magically break a mirror and sheepishly note that it's seven years bad luck for Captain Marvel. Several other episodes of The Monkees had Captain Marvel references, including using the name "Freddy Freeman" in dialogue. Captain Marvel also made a cameo in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his trademark exclamation, "Holy Moley!"
 * In the Fox Network animated series American Dad!, Steve's favorite t-shirt has Captain Marvel's signature lightning bolt insignia on it which he refers to as a "Shazam" shirt. Additionally, Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance in an episode of ABC Network's The Drew Carey Show as part of a dream sequence.
 * DC                     =
 * Wikipedia              = Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
 * Links                  =
 * Captain Marvel Culture: The history and cultural significance of the many Captain Marvels
 * Captain Marvel at the Guide to the Mythological Universe

}}
 * Recommended            =
 * Captain Marvel Adventures
 * The Trials of Shazam!
 * Infinite Crisis
 * 52