Billy Batson (Captain Marvel/Shazam)

The "World's Mightiest Mortal", Captain Marvel is the superpowered alter-ego of Billy Batson, an orphaned boy who speaks the name of the wizard Shazam to become an adult superhero. Billy has the powers of Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage), and Mercury (speed); and served as the wizard Shazam's champion and herald.

In the Golden Age and Bronze Age comics, Billy chose to share his powers with his sister Mary and his friend Freddy Freeman, creating the Marvel Family. Outside of the Marvel Family, Captain Marvel served briefly as a member of both the Justice League International and the Justice Society of America.

After the 2011 New 52 reboot of the Shazam! characters by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank, Billy Batson is a troubled foster child who has inherited the name, powers, and seat on the council of magic of the wizard Shazam. Becoming a hero inspired the initially brash and standoffish Billy to evolve into a noble hero and leader who embraces his new foster family. As Shazam, Billy has powers and a red-uniformed appearance similar to the traditional version of Captain Marvel with the added ability to wield magic via the "living lightning" that powers him. For a time, Shazam was infected by the Batman Who Laughs with Joker Venom and became King Shazam (while Billy became a Robin).

Mary Bromfield (Mary Marvel)

In traditional Shazam! stories, Mary is Billy's once-lost twin sister Mary Batson. She is technically the oldest in the pair (adopted as Mary Bromfield), who found she could say the magic word "Shazam!" and become a Marvel as well. The Golden Age Mary Marvel remained a teenager in superhero form, while the modern version is transformed into an adult like her brother. The Golden Age Mary Marvel had a different set of patrons from Captain Marvel who contributed to her powers. They were Selene (grace), Hippolyte (strength), Ariadne (skill), Zephyrus (swiftness), Aurora (beauty) and Minerva (wisdom).

During the 2007 and 2008 limited series Countdown to Final Crisis and Final Crisis, Mary Marvel lost her powers and gained the powers of Marvel Family foe Black Adam. She temporarily became a villain working for Darkseid and possessed by the New God Desaad.

In current DC Comics continuity from 2012 on, Mary Bromfield is Billy Batson's foster sister, having run away from an abusive home at a young age and being placed in the Vázquez home. The oldest of the Shazam kids, Mary acts as the "den mother" and conscience of the group. She shares Billy's secret, and by saying "Shazam!" she can gain a superpowered form similar to the traditional Mary Marvel in a red uniform.^[5]

Freddy Freeman (Captain Marvel Jr.)

In both the Golden Age and 1990s versions of the Marvel Family, Billy's friend and classmate, Freddy Freeman, was attacked and left disabled by the supervillain Captain Nazi, and was given the power to become a Marvel to save his life. Whenever he spoke Captain Marvel's name, Freddy becomes a teenage version of Captain Marvel. This created the odd problem that he could not identify himself without changing back to his regular form.

During the mid-1990s, the Freddy character went by the alias CM3 (short for "Captain Marvel Three", "CM1" being Billy and "CM2" being Mary) so that he could identify himself without transforming. He was a member of the Teen Titans during the late 1990s and later, the Outsiders in the early 2000s. The 2006–2008 Trials of Shazam! mini-series featured Freddy gaining the powers of Captain Marvel as Shazam, while Billy took over for the dead wizard Shazam as Marvel.

In current DC Comics continuity from 2012 on, Freddy Freeman (now a blond teenager instead of the traditional black-haired youth, though still physically disabled) is Billy Batson's foster brother, a smart-mouthed pickpocket and trickster whose parents are in prison. He shares Billy's secret and by saying "Shazam!" can gain a form similar to an adult version of the traditional Captain Marvel Jr., in a blue uniform.^[5]

Eugene Choi

Eugene Choi is Billy Batson's foster brother, an intelligent, bookish teenager about his age of Asian descent with a love of technology and video games. Eugene's bookishness is offset by a competitive and impulsive nature that causes trouble for him and the others at times.^[6] Introduced in the Flashpoint miniseries, Eugene can share Billy's power by saying "Shazam!" and become an adult Shazam-powered version of himself in a silver/gray uniform.^[5]

In addition to the standard Shazam power-set, Eugene has the additional power of technopathy, which allows him to talk to and control machines and technology.

Pedro Peña

Pedro Peña is Billy Batson's foster brother, an overweight teenager of Mexican descent who is around Billy's age. Introduced in the Flashpoint miniseries, Pedro can share Billy's power by saying "Shazam!" and becoming an adult Shazam-powered version of himself in a green uniform.^[5] Pedro's adult form, resembling a tall, bearded powerlifter, is a stark contrast to his personal insecurity and shyness.^[7] While the comics have yet to make any such distinction, the 2019 live-action feature film Shazam! implies that Pedro is gay or asexual,^[8] and later confirmed to be gay by the Shazam! Fury of the Gods screenwriter Henry Gayden.^[9]

In superhuman form, Pedro has extra amounts of super-strength compared to the rest of the Shazam Family, gaining the strength of Hercules.

Darla Dudley

Darla Dudley is Billy Batson's foster sister, an exuberant African-American preteen who was abandoned by her parents and adopted by Billy's foster parents, the Vásquezes. Despite her hardships growing up, Darla is very openly affectionate and loving towards her foster family and virtually anyone she meets. Introduced in the Flashpoint miniseries (as a teenager the same age as the other kids), Darla can share Billy's power by saying "Shazam!"^[5]

She wears a purple uniform, and her speed abilities are amplified, making her faster than the others. She is also unable to keep secrets, which proved rather difficult to overcome.^[5]

The Lieutenant Marvels

The Lieutenant Marvels are three other boys named "Billy Batson" (nicknamed "Tall Billy", "Fat Billy" and "Hill Billy"—the last because he was from the Appalachian Mountains — to differentiate themselves from "Real Billy", Captain Marvel) who learned that, because they also were named Billy Batson, they could draw on the power of Shazam. They vowed only to use their power if asked by Captain Marvel, and only if all three were to say the magic word, "SHAZAM!" in unison.

They did not appear in Marvel Family stories between Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985 and Flashpoint in 2011, except for a scene in The Trials of Shazam! #2 (2006) where they briefly appeared, only to lose their powers.

Following DC's 2011 New 52 reboot, the Lieutenant Marvels appear as non-superpowered allies of the Marvel Family in the 2015 one-shot comic The Multiversity: Thunderworld, where they, Mister Tawny, and Uncle Marvel help defeat the Monster Society of Evil while Captain Marvel is fighting Doctor Sivana for control of the Rock of Eternity.

C.C. Batson & Marilyn Batson

Clarence Charles "C.C." Batson (named after Captain Marvel co-creator Charles Clarence "C.C." Beck) is the biological father of Billy Batson. Billy's biological parents had been alluded to in a handful of Shazam! stories published prior to 1990 under different names. The 1994 graphic novel The Power of Shazam! by Jerry Ordway introduces C.C. and his wife, Billy's mother Marilyn, and how their deaths in that Post-Crisis continuity at the hands of Theo Adam (alter-ego of Black Adam) led to Billy gaining his powers. Much emphasis is made of Captain Marvel/Shazam's almost-identical appearance to the deceased C.C. Batson.^[10]

In a story arc from the subsequent The Power of Shazam! ongoing series (issues 24–27, 1997), Dr. Sivana sneaks into the timestream outside of the Rock of Eternity and alters the timeline so that Theo Adam never kills the Batsons.^[11] Instead, Marilyn and C.C. themselves become the heirs to Shazam's power as the Captains Marvel, while Billy and Mary remain typical, upper-middle-class teenagers. C.C. himself is employed by the Wizard Shazam and Waverider to correct the timestream by stopping Sivana from making his changes.

In current DC Rebirth continuity, C.C. Batson is still alive, resembling an older Captain Marvel/Shazam with greying hair. As a younger man, C.C. had abandoned Marilyn and Billy when Billy was a toddler and become a grifter. After spending a decade in prison, C.C. returns to Philadelphia to find Billy at the Vazquezes' foster home. When he is attacked by Black Adam and the Seven Deadly Sins, Billy shares his Shazam powers with his father, making him the prophesied seventh and final member of the Shazam Family.^[12] In superhero form, C.C. Batson wears a yellow/gold costume with red trim (an inverse of the colors of Billy's costume).^[12]

However, it is revealed that C.C. Batson had been possessed by Mister Mind since his prison release, who intended to uses the Shazam powers in a plot to unite the Seven Magiclands under his rule.^[13] Using a spell, Shazam shrinks himself down small enough to enter his father's ear canal and battle the worm directly. Following Mind's defeat, C.C. loses his powers and is freed from Mind's control, but reveals that he has no intentions of actually reuniting with his son.^[14]

Primary members

Other members

• Captain Black Bunny: Predating Black Adam, Captain Black Bunny is the nemesis of Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.
• Black Alice: Able to tap into the power of magical beings, Black Alice tapped into an unknown member of the Marvel Family appearing in a costume similar to Black Adam.
• Black Mary: Losing her powers in the wake of Infinite Crisis, Mary Batson/Bromfield lost her powers from Shazam and gained new ones from Black Adam eventually taking the name Black Mary. During the events of Final Crisis, she became possessed by the New God Desaad.
• Black Billy: When Black Mary re-emerged to align with Black Adam and Isis, she forced Billy Batson into joining the Black Marvel Family by threatening the life of Stargirl. During this period he became known as Black Billy.
• Mysterious figure: Introduced in Justice Society of America #25 (May 2009), a mysterious figure appears in the Rock of Finality where Black Adam and Isis are imprisoned claiming them as his new champions.
• Black Sivana: In The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 (February 2015), the Dr. Sivana of Earth 5 found a way to replicate the Marvel Family's powers and shared it with his children. Georgia, Magnificus, and Sivana Jr. were able to assume Shazam's power by saying "Sivana!" Sivana also applied his discovery to himself as the black-clad Black Sivana. The Dr. Sivana of Earth-S had previously devised a way to steal the power of Shazam for himself and became Captain Sivana.
• Teth-Shazam: Also known as the Captain and Nightmare Captain, Teth-Shazam is created from Mary Marvel's nightmares while trapped in the Nightmare Realm of her brother Billy who transforms into a black-clad remorseless killer.

Other versions

• On Earth-50, Henry Bendix transformed seventeen year-old Peter Moran into the super-powered Giant. However, his incompetence and temper saw him become a liability and inevitably the super-villain called Halibastard.
• In a parallel universe, the Power Posse is an evil version of the Super Buddies. Among its members were versions of Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel known as Mistress Mary and simply Billy, respectively.
• Freddy Freeman initially emerged as Black Adam Jr. in the series Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! before becoming Captain Marvel Jr.
• For Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, Skeletor corrupted the powers of Shazam to assume a form reminiscent of Black Adam.

In other media

• Anubis: Introduced in DC League of Super-Pets, Anubis is Black Adam's super-powered dog.
• Hurut: In the film Black Adam, Teth-Adam's son Hurut was the original chosen champion of Shazam.

Doctor Sivana

Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana Sr. – "The World's Wickedest Scientist" – debuted in Whiz Comics #2 alongside Billy Batson and Captain Marvel, quickly becoming his main archenemy and most frequently recurring villain. A mad scientist who fights the Marvel Family using his genius intellect and inventions, the Golden Age Sivana had been a humanitarian scientist who bitterly fled 20th-century Europe after his inventions were ridiculed by the scientific society. Living on Venus with his four children, he became a mad scientist, bent on taking over the universe.^[20]

Other versions of Sivana in later DC Comics have positioned him as Billy Batson's wicked step-uncle (Shazam!: The New Beginning), a wealthy, wicked businessman driven to ruin by his entanglements with Black Adam (The Power of Shazam!), and the wicked Attorney General of the United States (Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil). The current-continuity Doctor Sivana, following the 2011 reboot, is a rich scientist determined to prove the existence of magic, which leads him to free both Black Adam and Mister Mind. Sivana acquires the ability to both see magic and project magic lightning from his right eye.^[21]

During the early and mid-1940s, Dr. Sivana was often assisted, under duress, by his good-natured adult daughter Beautia (and, briefly, Sivana's oldest child, his son Magnificus). From the mid-1940s onward, his youngest children – teenaged twins Thaddeus Jr. aka Sivana Jr, and Georgia Sivana, both dead ringers for their father – became his henchmen as the Sivana Family. Georgia Sivana became a prominent villain for Mary Marvel, as did Sivana Jr. for Captain Marvel Jr. Over the years, Sivana has managed to gain the power of Shazam for himself. Once as Captain Sivana in DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (September 1984) and later as Black Sivana in The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures #1 (February 2015). For the latter, Magnificus, Sivana Jr., and Georgia Sivana also stole the power.

Captain Nazi

Introduced in a three-part crossover between Master Comics and Whiz Comics in 1941 during World War II, Captain Nazi – real name Albrecht Krieger – is a genetically altered Nazi who is Adolf Hitler's champion. Wearing a green costume with a swastika insignia, Captain Nazi has super-strength, near-invulnerability, and can use a special chemical gas to fly.

Created to wreak havoc on America, Captain Nazi murders an elderly man and cripples a teenage boy during his fight with Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941). The boy, Freddy Freeman, is granted powers by Captain Marvel to save his life, becoming Captain Marvel Jr. and declaring Captain Nazi his mortal enemy.

Ibac

A frail thug named "Stinky" Printwhistle who was empowered by Lucifer himself after Lucifer saved Printwhistle from a fall caused by Captain Marvel. Printwistle is imbued with the powers of four of the most evil men to walk the face of the earth (Ivan the Terrible, Borgia, Attila the Hun and Caligula). When he says the name "IBAC", he is engulfed in green fire and brimstone and becomes a large, muscular brute with super-strength.^[22] Saying his name again transforms him back into Printwhistle (therefore, like Captain Marvel Jr., Ibac also cannot say his own name).

Ibac first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #8 in 1942 and became a recurring Marvel Family villain through the characters' run in Fawcett and DC Comics. The 2011 rebooted version of Ibac is the descendant of a long line of evil despots, the first of whom – Ibac the Terrible – was known in ancient times as "the man who invented evil."^[23]

Satan

Having granted power to Ibac and Sabbac, Satan (initially under the name of Prince Lucifer) came into direct conflict with the Marvel Family years later including when he came to collect on the soul of Ebenezer Batson. Billy Batson, Ebenezer's nephew, battled Satan's champions Abaddon, Medea, Antaeus, Old Age, Legion, and Truth as Captain Marvel.^[24] Defeated, Satan returned with the Confederation of Hell including the aforementioned Ibac and Sabbac as well as Master Man and Darkling in an unsuccessful bid to eliminate the Marvel Family and Kid Eternity.^[25]

Sabbac

Similar to Ibac, Timothy Karnes is granted the powers of six demons when he says the magic word "Sabbac". As opposed to fire, Sabbac transforms via black lightning cast up (rather than down) from Hades. First appearing in Captain Marvel Jr. #4 (February 1943), Sabbac's pantheon grant him powers similar to the Marvel Family, with the added power of pyrokenesis.

A second Sabbac, Ishamel Gregor, was introduced in the mid-2000s in the Outsiders comic book. While Karnes' Sabbac became a more muscular version of himself in a green cloak with demon fangs, Gregor's Sabbac is a large, muscular, horned demon with red skin and hair.

In the 2011 Shazam! reboot, the Seven Deadly Sins have the power to possess a wicked human and transform him into a fifty-foot tall demon resembling the Ishamel Gregor version of Sabbac.^[26]

Mister Mind

First appearing in Captain Marvel Adventures #22 (1943) as a disembodied voice, and later in issue #26 in his actual form, Mister Mind – "The World's Wickedest Worm" – is an evil alien caterpillar with genius intellect. Given his small stature, he wears a talkbox to communicate and is often depicted wearing eyeglasses as well. He runs the supervillain team called the Monster Society of Evil Mister Mind's own powers have included mind control (typically by crawling into a host's ear),^[27][28] telepathy, mental projection, and, once evolved into a "Hyperfly", the ability to eat time itself.^[29]

The 2011 reboot of Mister (Maxivermis) Mind presents him as a native of one of the Seven Magiclands (The Monsterlands according to Mind, The Wildlands according to rumor) who gained high-level magic powers by reading every book in the Rock of Eternity's library.^[30]

Crocodile-Men

The Crocodile-Men (also called "Punkusians") are a race of humanoid crocodiles from the planetoid Punkus who were members of the Monster Society of Evil in Captain Marvel Adventures during the mid-1940s. There were many unnamed Crocodile-Men who just acted as henchmen for Mister Mind. One of them was one of Mister Mind's Monster Professors while the others were Monster Students.

• Herkimer – A Crocodile-Man in a business suit who is Mister Mind's second-in-command.^[31] Between the end of the Fawcett Marvel Family run in 1953 and the start of the DC Shazam! run in 1972, Herkimer reforms and gets a job as part of a carnival.^[32] In the third volume's special interlude issue that takes place before the first issue, Herkimer attacks a museum stating that the reign of the Crocodile-Men is nigh. He was mentioned to have fought Shazam before. When Freddy asks why Herkimer is in a business suit, Billy states that he didn't say. Herkimer is defeated by Shazam. Billy later mentioned his fight with him to Batman following Shazam's disastrous fight with Scarecrow where Batman mentions that he has fought Killer Croc many times. Batman does answer "No" when asked by Billy if he wears a business suit.^[33]
  • Herkimer appeared in The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! episode "The Circus Plot", voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
• Jorrk – The greatest scientist of the Crocodile-Men and one of Mister Mind's three lieutenants.
• Sylvester – A Crocodile-Man and one of Mister Mind's preferred gunners.

The third volume of the Shazam! comic book series, launched in 2018, introduced an unnamed three-headed Crocodile-Man in striped prison attire from the Wildlands who is a member of the Monster Society of Evil.^[13]

Oggar

A wizard who is the "World's Mightiest Immortal." Oggar was originally part of the Shazam pantheon before the Wizard, then known as "Shazamo", dismissed him.^[34] Seeking revenge, Oggar uses his extensive magic powers to battle Shazam and his champions, though his powers cannot directly harm women and girls, allowing Mary to battle him directly. First appearing in a multi-issue arc starting with Captain Marvel Adventures #61 in 1946, Oggar recurred regularly in Shazam! stories during the 1970s and 1980s.

King Kull

The king of the Beast Men (also called the Submen), Neanderthal-like humanoids who ruled the earth in ancient times and enslaved the Homo sapiens populace. Kull fakes his death and goes into suspended animation, awakening in the modern-day and attempt to take over or destroy the world again. He possesses super-strength, near-invulnerability, and expert weaponry and military skills.^[35] Kull first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #125 in 1951.

Blaze and Satanus

Originally introduced in the early 1990s as Superman villains, Blaze and Satanus are powerful twin demons who are among the rules of Hades. They are also the estranged children of the Wizard Shazam, from his younger days as the ancient Canaanite superhero Vlarem The Champion.^[36] While Satanus has a soft-spot for his father and assists him from time-to-time (including giving life to Tawky Tawny), Blaze hates the Wizard and stages attacks on both him and the Marvel Family, believing the power of Shazam to be her birthright.^[37]

Villains introduced during the Golden Age (1939–1953)

• Ebenezer Batson - The uncle of Billy Batson, Ebenezer Batson robbed his nephew of his inheritance from his brother and sister-in-law's demise. Ebenezer returned time and again to take advantage of Billy and sought to expose Dudley as a fraudulent relative. Billy later battled Satan's champions to save Ebenezer's soul from the devil. His first appearance was in 1940's Whiz Comics #2.
• The Arson Fiend – First appearing in Captain Marvel Adventures #2 in 1941 as a one-shot villain, the Arson Fiend – a tall, vampire-like being with the power of pyrokinesis – was revived in the 1990s The Power of Shazam! series. He is the alter-ego of George Tweedle, a small, husky insurance salesman who transforms into the Arson Fiend using a magic salve in order to cause havoc (and boost his business).^[34]
• Mister Banjo – Kurt Filpots worked as an agent for the Axis powers during World War II. Dressed as a stout man in a baggy green suit and straw hat who carried around an old banjo with him, Filpots delivered secrets to the Japanese in the form of musical notes. Someone in a military meeting would whistle musical notes which were a code, Banjo would play the music next to a house with an agent inside who would radio them to the Japanese. Although evil, Mr. Banjo would go up against Captain Marvel with nothing more than a banjo. He first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #8, in the same issue as – though in a different story than – Ibac.^[22]
• Aunt Minerva – A criminal mastermind who looks like a sweet old lady, but has deadly accuracy with a gun and a desire to find a new husband after her first five died. She first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #59 in 1946 – in which she attempted to force Captain Marvel to marry her.^[38] Minerva recurred as a Marvel Family villain thereafter through to the 1990s.
  • Aunt Minerva appears in The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! episode "Uncle Dudly's Wedding Day", voiced by Dawn Jeffory.
  • Aunt Minerva made an appearance in the 1979 Hanna-Barbera TV special Legends of the Superheroes, portrayed by Ruth Buzzi.
• The Three Faces of Evil – A three-headed monster – Terror, Sin, and Wickedness – imprisoned beneath or within the Rock of Eternity with the ability to hypnotize victims, even the Marvels, into doing evil. First introduced in The Marvel Family in 1947 as a humanoid three-headed monster, the later DC Comics version of the character resembles a giant hydra.
• Mister Atom – First debuting in Captain Marvel Adventures #78 in 1947, Mister Atom is a giant robot created by Dr. Charles Langley. Mister Atom's artificial intelligence malfunctions and he becomes a threat to humanity and to the Marvel Family. At one point, he was converted into a race car by Mr. Mind as the Atomobile.

Villains introduced in the Bronze Age (1970–1985)

• Chain Lightning – A young woman with the power of electrokinesis, which allows her to depower the Marvels by blasting them with lightning.^[39] First appearing in World's Finest Comics in 1981, Jerry Ordway reintroduced Chain Lightning in The Power of Shazam 15 years later as young woman with electric metahuman powers suffering from multiple personality disorder. While her main persona Amy is good-natured, her other persona Amber fuels her worst impulses and sometimes takes over her body and her powers. The other two personas are Inner Child and Id.^[40]

The Seven Deadly Sins

Originally known as the "Seven Deadly Enemies of Man" and first appearing in the Whiz Comics #2 origin story in 1940, the sins are seven powerful demons held prisoner by the Wizard Shazam in his lair. The demons, whose forms vary by era and artist, sometimes escape and cause havoc through murder and using their powers to influence sin in humans.

Based upon the seven deadly sins as enumerated in the Christian faith, the original "Seven Deadly Enemies of Man" were slightly censored for suitable reading for children: Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness, and Injustice. Each demon could influence their namesake sin in human victims. Beginning with DC's JSA series in the mid-2000s, the proper Christian names/versions of the sins were used: Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust.

Monster Society of Evil

The Monster Society of Evil is an organization led by Mister Mind. Its membership includes most of the Marvel Family's key and recurring villains, including characters such as Doctor Sivana, King Kull, the Crocodile-Men, Captain Nazi, Mister Atom, Ibac, Jeepers, and Oggar.

In the 2011 Shazam! reboot, Mister Mind's Monster Society of Evil includes creatures from across the Magiclands who had been banished to the Monsterlands' Dungeon of Eternity by the Council of Wizards. Its members include Doctor Sivana, Black Adam, the Crocodile-Men, King Kull, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Red Queen, Jeepers, Evil Eye, and Mister Atom, as well as new villains Mister Merry-Go-Round and Scapegoat.^[41]

Confederation of Hell

Formed by Satan, the Confederation of Hell was made up of Ibac, Sabbac, Master Man, and Darkling to eliminate the Marvel Family and Kid Eternity.