Boy-o boy, there's nothing like the feel of the wind in your hair, cruising at Mach speed. Forget your worries, your pressures... Forget you're late for school. Again. 
The Power of Shazam! #1 is an issue of the series The Power of Shazam! (Volume 1) with a cover date of March, 1995.
Synopsis for "Things Change"
Captain Marvel enjoys flying over the city and forgets he’s late for school, heading out to not be late. Nearby, a new Wayne-Tech building is being opened with Sinclair Batson introducing it with the Mayor of Fawcett City, hoping to modernize their otherwise art deco city after ten years of absence. In the crowd, a blond lady watches pensively as a brutish man with a buzz-cut and a Satanic tattoo on his chest announces his boss doesn’t want change in Fawcett City and detonates explosives in the building, nearly crushing Sinclair in the process. Captain Marvel flies down to pick him up and Sinclair almost notices his strange “resemblance” to CC Batson and tries to fly in to find the two security guards still stuck within. The building starts to collapse around him while he drags only one of the guards out, the other crushed before he can save him. The firefighters say he helped one person and that’s a difference he’s made. Sinclair points out the resemblance to his uncle, CC Batson, and offers him a business card and invites him to a formal party that Saturday at 7. Meanwhile, Dudley has come to try to visit Billy in his efficiency apartment as his trashy landlord says he hasn’t seen anyone but Billy at that room and pretends to be his “Uncle.” He figures out that Billy is probably living alone, but pretends that “Mr. Batson” must work a night shift and the drunken landlord agrees that’s likely the case, since he passes out around 10 every night. Dudley says beer does that. Captain Marvel soon lands near his school and turns back into Billy, only for a winded Dudley to try to catch up to him, only for Miss Wormwood to find him first, upset that he’s missed all day yesterday. Dudley covers for him, claiming he was helping him unload supplies in the lunchroom and apologizes as Billy runs off to his second period class. Miss Wormwood says she’ll speak with Dudley’s union if he keeps up using students to help him. Dudley says that they need to talk after classes.
Meanwhile, the bomber Ibac meets with his blonde boss, who is sporting a pentagram necklace and upset that he let anyone die, since this wasn’t part of the plan. Ibac is dismissive of the casualties and asks for his money and arrogantly flirts with her, but she coldly says he’s forgotten with whom he’s speaking…
Elsewhere, Sinclair is meeting his father Ebenezer, who is bedridden, still horrible, doesn’t remember his nurse’s name (after six months) and thinks Sinclair deserves more credit from the Mayor for rebuilding Fawcett City. Sinclair is confident in his vision of a new-age Fawcett City changing after 50 years. The dying Eben says he’s happy to have his son with him and Sinclair asks him to tell him all he knows about Captain Marvel… Billy soon gets out of class and dashes home (ignoring Dudley) so he won’t miss an episode of Bulletman by much. Dudley, winded as usual, arrives and promptly has a heart attack, forcing Billy to run out the back, call SHAZAM to become Captain Marvel and fly him to St. Vincent’s Hospital, implying that he understands that Billy is Captain Marvel and that’s why he’s been covering for him lately.
Later, Captain Marvel arrives at Sinclair’s formal and is coldly announced by Sinclair’s butler. Sinclair again mentions his resemblance to his “Uncle Charlie” and that seeing him would likely put his father Ebenezer in a coma, which Captain Marvel thinks about being a good result for what he deserves. He’s soon reintroduced to Beautia Sivana, who fawns over him for a moment, only to become highly embarrassed by her closeness with him. Sinclair is able to cut in and Captain Marvel shoves some hors d’oeuvres in his mouth. Sinclair apparently gets handsy with Beautia, since she stomps on his foot and goes off to find Captain Marvel again. Shazam soon contacts Captain Marvel, upset that he’s using his powers to go to fancy parties instead of fighting crime and Captain Marvel angrily returns he’s been doing his work as a hero for four years now and Shazam calls him on not taking his “job” as seriously as he should. He angrily challenges that Shazam hasn’t done anything to find his sister, Mary Batson, and Shazam punishes his disrespecting a Wizard by removing his powers entirely, saying he doesn’t have to leave him his responsibilities. Beautia soon finds him hiding behind a curtain and Billy dashes off. A butler goes to throw him out, not believing he’s a guest of Captain Marvel or Sinclair’s cousin. Sinclair himself, seeing him, only offers his butler give him some money and throw him out. Before he can be thrown out, the butlers find the door is jammed shut and a note has been shoved under it, telling Sinclair that since he hasn’t paid protection money to his employer, the “Arson Fiend” will be killing him soon… after Sinclair snatches it away from Billy and reads it, it combusts in his hands. Billy recognizes that the Arson Fiend supposedly died years ago and, when the butlers try to force the door open, it explodes! Billy tries to pull down some curtains to help smother the fires and Beautia offers that Captain Marvel could sure help them… only for another explosion to go off… and Billy finds calling SHAZAM does nothing… and the fire is growing larger.
Appearing in "Things Change"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Sinclair Batson (First appearance)
- Uncle Dudley
- The Wizard Shazam
Antagonists:
- Ibac (First appearance)
- Lady Blaze (Behind the scenes)
Other Characters:
- Miss Wormwood
- Uncle Ebenezer "Eben" Batson (First appearance)
- Beautia Sivana (First appearance)
- The Mayor of Fawcett City
- Arson Fiend (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- New Earth
- Fawcett City, WI
- Sinclair Batson's Mansion
- Wayne-Tech Building (Destroyed)
- Fawcett City, WI
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This series follows from the The Power of Shazam! Graphic Novel, also by Jerry Ordway, and develops on various of its themes and plots, most noticeably the fates of Mary Batson and Black Adam. However, the Graphic Novel happens four years in the past, while this series is placed in the present.
- Further, it's implied that Captain Marvel has enjoyed some simulacrum of his classic adventures, having met villains like Beautia Sivana, Ibac and the Arson Fiend beforehand in presumably similar, yet unseen, encounters.
- This issue is reprinted in Shazam!: A Celebration of 75 Years.
See Also