History
Origin
Post-Crisis, Freddy Freeman was an all-star student at the Binder school; an archetypal jock, he was also among the school's most popular and successful students. One of Freddy's friends was Billy Batson, Captain Marvel's alter ego, who worked as a boy reporter for WHIZ radio. At a WHIZ radio spelling bee hosted by Billy in , Freddy and Billy met Billy's long-lost sister Mary, whom Freddy immediately fell for. [1]
Later, Freddy and his grandfather went on a fishing trip in the Fawcett Bay, while Captain Marvel was engaged in a battle with Captain Nazi. Just as in the Pre-Crisis origin, Captain Marvel knocks Captain Nazi into the lake, and the Freemans are attacked when they attempt to save Nazi. Captain Marvel intervenes and rushes both injured bystanders to a hospital. Jacob Freeman slips into a coma, and Freddy is found to have a severely injured spine and a broken leg. [2]
The injured Freddy is taken to the wizard Shazam by Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel, who grant the boy the power to become Captain Marvel, Jr. However, Jacob Freeman dies, and Freddy goes on a rampage against Captain Nazi as Captain Marvel Jr. Nazi is eventually brought to justice after Mary gets Junior to calm down.
Teen Titans
Junior got into a fight with Captain Marvel and quits the Marvel Family. [3]
He started a new life in New York, during which he joins the Titans team. He even saved Chain Lightning from a suicide attempt. A possible romance of Argent with CM3 was explored, but after a particularly horrible date (CM3 was unable to cover the bill), it was abandoned.
At this time, Junior first began calling himself CM3 (short for "Captain Marvel Three", with Billy being CM1 and Mary CM2), so that he could identify himself without changing.
Outsiders to Infinite Crisis
Beginning in 2004, Junior once again went by the name "Captain Marvel Junior" (not "CM3"), and now wears a white cape like that of the other two Marvels instead of his traditional red one.
Captain Marvel, Jr. made a guest appearance to battle a new version of Sabbac[4], an old Fawcett Marvel Family foe. Junior was a member of the Outsiders for a while, although he was apprehensive about the team's dark tone. He and Marvel Family nemesis Sabbac, The Seven Deadly Sins, and Dr. Sivana all played major roles in the series.
Junior, Captain Marvel, and Mary Marvel made brief appearances during the Infinite Crisis. One year later, Captain Marvel, Jr. is no longer a member of the Outsiders.
The Trials of Shazam!
When the wizard Shazam was recently killed[5], his (and Mary's) mystical powers were revoked. Now that Batson is the controller of the Rock of Eternity, it is only through overcoming a series of trials and judgments that Freeman will regain his mystical powers and succeed Batson as Captain Marvel.
Stripped of his former superhuman powers, Freeman is currently trying to prove himself worthy to possess all of Batson's former power levels. Each of the six "Shazam" gods -Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury - would present Freddy with a "trial" (similar to the Labors of Hercules), which Freddy would have to complete successfully in order to be granted with that god's particular power. If he completes all six tasks, he will take on the name Shazam. Zareb Babak, a demoted necromancer, serves as Freddy's guide during his trials.
The current gods that give Freddy his powers are in no way related to the Olympian counterparts. They are known as the Lords of Magic, and simply share their names with them.
Trail of Wisdom: The first of these was the trial of wisdom set by Solomon. He had to withstand the pain of getting a magical tattoo placed upon his soul. The woman Rachel Zallman was Soloman himself in his mortal disguise. He survived the process and gained a better understanding of himself, in doing so he was granted the wisdom of Solomon (attainment of vast intellectual and mystical knowledge by overcoming).
At the same time, however, a dark organization known as the Council of Merlin are backing their own candidate, a Creole sorceress named Sabina. If Sabina wins the trials, then the power of Shazam will be lost to the Marvel Family and she will control it.
Trial of Courage: The second trial, the trial of courage, was set by Achilles. He had to combat against a "Hate Empath" which fed on the hatred of the people in the middle east. With the help of Achilles in the mortal disguise of a soldier he defeated the Empathic demon, though not before Sabina shot Achilles in his heel, killing him. Though Achilles didn't truly die but moved on to the next great warrior. For his effort he was granted his Captain Marvel red and yellow outfit and the courage of Achilles (Near-Invulnerability).
Trial of Strength: The third trial, the trial of strength, is set by Hercules. He has to find a way of breaking Hercules out of jail, who in his mortal disguise faced off against Medusa and her minions in the form of a gang of yakuza. He inadvertently killed passing innocents thus breaking the magical covenant for a being of his rank. Fate punished him by making Hercules mortal and thus he was subject to their rules, which meant jail time as well. Putting Freddy in a hard position before he could make his decision Sabina in disguise as a lawyer brought the head of Medusa out to paralyze Hercules then forced him to bestow her with his power. Hercules did so but apparently doesn't take kindly to thieves so Sabine is only given half the power. Hercules then bestows the other HALF of the Strength of Hercules to Freddy. Sabina and Freddy fight but are evenly matched. After she teleports away before Freddy can take his winning shot, Hercules says he passes the trail but he can only truly be capable of all the power after he defeats Sabina.
Trial of Stamina/Healing: The fourth trial, a trial of stamina to be set by Atlas never takes place. Sabina teleported deep underground to where Atlas held up the world and killed him with the Dagger of Three Faults to steal his power. Upon finding him Zareb has Freddy take Atlas's place which Freddy reluctantly does. However and taking on the role is to much to bare, for the 3 minutes he wears the helm of Atlas seems like months to him, luckily Marvel comes and relieves him but not before warning him that he can only be away from the Rock of Eternity for 24 hours. Freddy and Zareb then go to a local hospital to speak to the mortal disguise of Apollo, so that he may take Atlas' place as the next in line. Apollo refuses but then decides on giving Freddy his trial, a simple fight if he loses his life is forfeit and if Freddy wins he gets Apollos' power. They fight while elsewhere Sabina takes control of the Council of Merlin. When lives of innocent are put into danger Apollo saves them and relents to become the new holder of the world. In becoming a god again he relinquished his mortal life as if it never happened, with the realization Apollo upset over his loss of mortal life, thus Freddy has been bestowed with only HALF of the Healing of Apollo. Only truly capable of all the power after he gets a replacement for him as Atlas's replacement.
Trial of Speed: The fifth trail of speed set by Mercury also never takes place. Sabina killed hundreds of elves to learn a piece of information to find Mercury, she then tore through a couple more people to get the rest of the information. All this led to Tawky Tawny who fights Sabina and has the upper hand until his inclination to talk gave her a the necessary information she needed to take him down. Before she could do so Mercury revealed himself just as Freddy arrived forcing him and Sabina to go after him. At this point Freddy lost on options for the trials he was failing calls along with Marvel and Zareb on the Shadowpact and Zatanna for aid in searching for Mercury in the hopes that he finds him so the Sabina doesn't. Meanwhile Sabina and the Council of Merlin find Mercury's mortal children and threaten their lives forcing Mercury out of hiding. He succeeds in using his speed to save his daughter but his son is chained to Sabina and she uses the Dagger of Three Faults to take his power. Without the power they are on equal footing, thus Freddy plays the last card he has and calls on on the Justice League of America for help.
Trial of Power: The sixth trail of power set by Zeus. Marvel and Freddy knowing full well that if Sabina gets the power of Zeus she can take the rest from Freddy. Though at the same time they know Zeus will never give her the power willingly so she has to magically compel him to do it. The only way for her to do so is by using old magic, namely a Blood Spell, she has to sacrifice one million people. Meanwhile Sabina and the Council of Merlin asks for the backing of Merlin himself in return Sabina as the Acolyte of the powers of Shazam promises to be Merlins' Champion and corporeal anchor to the earth realm. In the battle a portal opens in Las Vegas and demons pour through killing all in their path and transforming them in to demons as well. The spell is two fold if one million souls are killed and taken then Merlin gains a foothold in this reality and is then empowered to compel Zeus to award the powers of Shazam to Sabina. The Justice League fights the demons and Freddy fights one on one with Sabina, and tells her of his plan is to allow her to beat him up so he can get her closer to the immersion portal she opened. If he throws them both through the one way portal they will be destroyed and all the suffering she has caused that day will be undone. This will also cause the powers of Shazam to be lost to all. Freddy sees this as more fitting then allowing her and evil to wield them and destroy the Earth. In making this decision of self-sacrifice and bravery Freddy has appeased the Fates and Zareb revealed himself as Zeus. Having witnessed all of Freddy's trials Zeus, as Lord of the Gods of Magic and Gatekeeper of the Power of Shazam, gives Freddy his power and bestows upon Freddy the remaining powers from he other gods stolen by Sabina. In saying "Shazam" Freddy is bestowed the full power of Shazam and Sabina is sent flying into the Emergsion portal destroying her army of demons and her.
Afterwords, Freddy talks to Zeus/Zareb, who explains that he needed an anchor to the Realm of Earth. In Freddy proving himself, Zeus could reclaim his Terran province, So that he may return to his full power. Freddy apologizes for giving him a hard time during the trials to which Zeus says it wouldn't have been as much fun. Zeus tells him that his days of chasing criminals are secondary, he is now needed to protect the world, to keep the darkness at bay. To keep magic in balance.
At some point after the Trials of Shazam, Freddy helps the Justice Society of America track down Black Adam with Mr. Terrific's T-Sphere's testing Freddy's magic lightning signature.
Final Crisis
Freddy talks with Tawky Tawny about the current events plaguing the Marvel Family, Billy is Gone and Mary is missing. He then contemplates about asking Black Adam for help and transforming into Shazam permanently. Later he gets an invite for Article X by Alan Scott which is actually a Superhero Draft. He joins most of Earth's heroes in the JLA's Hall of Justice.[6]
After the activation of the Anti-Life Equation, Freddy fights his way to Khandaq to reach Black Adam to have him rejoin The Marvel Family, only for Black Adam to tell him he was unsure as the New Gods have overthrown the Lords of Magic and that as their champions they are at their weakest.[7] Ultimately, Black Adam agreed to help, and joined Freddy and Tawny during the assault on Bludhaven. Almost immediately, Adam begins trying to kill Mary, who was part of Darkseid's forces. Adam said he looked into her eyes and didn't see Mary, but a leering old man. Throwing Adam aside, Mary attacked Freddy, saying that she had a new magic word.[8] As the battle continued, Mary focused her attentions on Supergirl, but Freddy was able to grab Mary and shout "Shazam", changing them both and suppressing Desaad. Now in control again, Mary was horrified at her actions, saying she could never change back again, as Freddy told her it wasn't her fault.[9]
When Black Adam strips Batson of his powers as Guardian of the Rock of Eternity, Freeman was able to continue accessing his magical powers. When the wizard Shazam was revived[10], he stripped all of the Marvels of their powers, and petrified Black Adam and Isis. Freddy was not affected by this as his powers come directly from the lords of magic. Shazam has stated he will deal with Freeman but whether the Wizard Shazam will challenge the gods to remove/reduce or change Freeman's powers has not been dealt with.
Cry For Justice
Captain Marvel joined the splinter faction of Hal and Oliver's Justice League in search of the villain Prometheus. They searched several locations until Supergirl deduced (a bit too late) that Captain Marvel was not Freddy, but Prometheus himself. Prometheus had abducted Freddy and sewed his mouth shut so he could not call down the magic lightning.
Flashpoint
This section of the history takes place during Flashpoint, a massive crossover event set in an alternate timeline to the mainstream DCU. History was completely changed when Professor Zoom finally found a way to erase his nemesis the Flash without harming his own legacy.
In an effort to save his mother's life from the Reverse-Flash, Barry Allen unknowingly changes reality, creating a new world in which his friends' lives are drastically different.
In this universe Freddy Freeman never becomes Captain Marvel Jr., instead he along with five other children who were caught on a subway car that took them to the Rock of Eternity, and The Wizard Shazam instead grants the power to six children each with a different aspect of the power of Captain Marvel. An Asian-American boy named Eugene Choi possesses the wisdom of Solomon, an overweight Latino boy named Pedro Peña possesses the strength of Hercules, Mary Batson possesses the stamina of Atlas, Freddy Freeman possesses the power of Zeus, Billy Batson possesses the courage of Achilles, and an African-American girl named Darla Dudley possesses the speed of Mercury. Tawky Tawny is also shown with them on a leash held by Pedro. By saying the wizards name "Shazam" together, the six children possess the collective ability to turn into Captain Thunder, this timeline's version of Captain Marvel, who has a scarred face which he claims is due to Wonder Woman, who in this timeline is a villain.[11]
Cyborg, the Flash, Batman, Enchantress and Element Woman meet with the group of children known as S.H.A.Z.A.M. and ask for their help. Billy is swayed to the heroes' cause after he uses his abilities to see what the timeline is supposed to be like while stabilizing the Flash's memories, as they were adjusting to the current timeline. Billy convinces Eugene and the other children to help. They come together and shout "Shazam" and they merge into Captain Thunder. The heroes and Captain Thunder travel to what is left of Europe to stop the war between the Atlantean and the Amazons. Captain Thunder fights with the Amazon leader Wonder Woman to a draw before being transformed back into the six children by Enchantress, who is revealed to be a traitor. Before the kids can reform Captain Thunder, Billy is stabbed by the Penthesileia one of the Amazons killing the young boy.[12]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Divine Empowerment - All of the powers granted collection of six by gods and figures of legend either directly or through Shazam.
- Accelerated Healing
- Clairvoyance: The ability to understand situations from many angles, including future and past consequences with superhuman clarity and accuracy.
- Divine Grace: Innate luck and divine guidance that allows finesse in actions and dealings with others.
- Eidetic Memory
- Magic Resistance
- Enhanced Intellect: Intellect and wisdom are heightened to superhuman levels. This also provides great or comprehensive knowledge in many areas, including:
- Flight: The ability to hover or soar at high speed through an act of sheer will.
- Healing: The ability to use the transformative lightning to heal others or ones self instantly.
- Indomitable Will: An incredible amount of willpower that allows perseverance in overwhelming odds and seemingly unbeatable situations.
- Invulnerability
- Self-Sustenance: The ability to survive without sleep, food, water, or air.
- Superhuman Speed: The ability to run or fly at incredible rates of speed.
- Superhuman Reflexes
- Superhuman Agility
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Strength
- Teleportation: The ability to access the Rock of Eternity.
- Transformation: The ability to transform from a mortal to the entity empowered by the six.
Weaknesses
- Vulnerability to Magic: High level magics can prove a determent to him and effect him more then any other force.
- Paraplegic: In his normal human form, Freddy has limited mobility due to his lame leg.
Trivia
- Freddy Freeman's nicknames include the World's Mightiest Boy and Super Powered Pest (Doctor Sivana's personal favorite).[13]
- Unlike Batson, Freeman does NOT receive his powers from the Wizard Shazam but directly from the six gods as their direct champion. This has allowed Freeman to continue using these magical powers after the Wizard revoked Batson's powers and abilities. It remains to be seen if the Wizard will directly challenge Freeman and try to harm Freeman in order to remove his powers as well.
- Freddy has full use of his legs while in his super powered form.[14]
- Freddy had a soul tattoo which gave him unlimited and unrestrained access to the magical realms of the gods.[citation needed]
Related
- 144 Appearances of Frederick Freeman (New Earth)
- 63 Images featuring Frederick Freeman (New Earth)
- 10 Quotations by or about Frederick Freeman (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Frederick Freeman (New Earth)
External Links
Captain Marvel Jr. at Wikipedia
Footnotes
- ↑ Power of Shazam! #3
- ↑ Power of Shazam! #6
- ↑ Power of Shazam! #13
- ↑ Outsiders (Vol 3) #10
- ↑ Day of Vengeance #4
- ↑ Final Crisis #3
- ↑ Final Crisis #4
- ↑ Final Crisis #5
- ↑ Final Crisis #6
- ↑ Justice Society (Volume 3) #25
- ↑ Flashpoint #1
- ↑ Flashpoint #4
- ↑ Shazam #1
- ↑ Power of Shazam #7
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