THE MARVEL FAMILY TOUR

Let's start this tour off by making one thing very clear!  The wizard is named Shazam.  The hero is named Captain Marvel.  I don't care how many continuity reboots DC undertakes; the hero Billy Batson turns into when he says, "Shazam!" is Captain Marvel.  I said it, and I won't take it back!

In this tour, we will go sightseeing through the Marvel Family of heroes who have popped up since the Cap's debut in 1940.  Strap in and enjoy!

Captain Marvel... the "original" Captain Marvel... debuted in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940).  It was a unique concept where a young orphan boy, Billy Batson, could turn into a god-like adult hero, Captain Marvel, by simply uttering the single word, "Shazam"!  Whiz Comics was the first title to feature Captain Marvel, but as his popularity increased, so did the number of comic books devoted to him and his ever-expanding "family" of Marvel-related heroes.  By 1945, there were eight ongoing monthly comic books featuring members of the Marvel Family!

Due to the volume of titles in which he appeared and to the character's popularity, Captain Marvel outsold the previous top-selling comic book character, Superman, every year from 1943 through 1948.  And DC Comics was not going to have it!  They took Fawcett to court, arguing that Captain Marvel was a copyright infringement of Superman.  That's a tough argument to make today, given the plethora of heroes, origins, and powers.  But back in the 1940s, when superheroes were a relatively new concept, many judges couldn't see the distinction of a hero born on another planet, sent to Earth as a baby, and raised by and elderly couple on Earth with a young boy who encountered a wizard, was granted various powers from Greek and Roman gods, and who transformed into an adult costumed hero.  Many judges back in the 1940s simply saw the comparison of two red-clad heroes with a cape who displayed amazing strength and the ability to fly.  Following the longest comic book-related legal battle in American history, the final ruling eventually went to DC.  This eventually led to Fawcett's Comic division closing its doors and ceasing publication of all its titles in 1953.

That would not be the end of Captain Marvel, but for now, let's start diving into the Marvel Family of characters, starting with the Big Red Cheese himself!

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Billy Batson is an orphaned 12-year-old boy who is bestowed with the ability to transform into an adult superhero named Captain Marvel.  The bestowal comes from an old wizard whose name is Shazam.  When Billy utters his name, he is struck by lightning and transformed into his caped adult persona.  Saying "Shazam!" bestows Billy with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.
Captain Marvel holds the distinction of being the first superhero to make it to the big screen in the 12-part movie serial, The Adventures of Captain Marvel, in 1941. Since then, he has been seen in live-action on television, in animated television series, and in 2019, he was featured in a big-budget motion picture that earned $366 million worldwide and inspired a sequel in 2023. The original Captain Marvel adventures were much more whimsical than Superman's. Captain Marvel's enemies often referred to him as "The Big Red Cheese"; one of his primary villains was an alien worm; one of his most popular supporting characters was a talking humanoid lion; and suspension of disbelief was commonly necessary to enjoy his delightful and charming early adventures. Though his days being published by Fawcett ended in 1953, that wasn't the end of his tale! His adventures are still being published today! I'll explain how as this tour continues!

THE WIZARD, SHAZAM

Like Captain Marvel, the wizard named Shazam first appears in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940). He is the entity who bestows young Billy Batson with the powers that turn Billy into Captain Marvel. In the original tale, he was killed by a giant granite block after bestowing his power to Billy. But he continued to appear as a spirit whom Captain Marvel and others could call upon when needed.

Originally, he is said to be 3,000 years old, but that is contradicted when he tells the tale of bestowing powers to Black Adam 5,000 years ago. It was also revealed that he originally went by the name Shazamo, but the 7th benefactor of powers, Oggar, became corrupt, so Shazamo defeated him, banished him to the realm of mortals, and dropped the "o".

The wizard's origins have been modified and/or updated several times since his inception. In some continuities, his original name was Mamaragam, and later he was the biblical Jebediah of Canaan.

THE LIEUTENANT MARVELS

If one Captain Marvel was a huge success with readers, how about adding three more?!  Just 19 months after Captain Marvel made his debut, the powers that be at Fawcett Comics decided to create three more red-clad costumed heroes for their roster.

Billy Batson meets three other individuals from other areas of the country who share his name.  There is "Hill" Billy Batson from the south, "Tall" Billy Batson from the west, and "Fat" Billy from Brooklyn.  Circumstances lead to all four Billy Batsons yelling "Shazam!" together... and lo and behold, all four Billy Batsons turn into adult Marvels (Hill Marvel, Tall Marvel, and Fat Marvel, respectively!). Fat Marvel makes it clear that there is only one Captain Marvel, and the three agree to be known as Lieutenant Marvels. 

These three appeared sporadically after this adventure, but not often.  I don't believe that any of them ever appeared independently, or not as a full trio.  Let me know if I'm wrong on that.  It was claimed that because they "borrowed" their powers from the original Captain Marvel, each of them was only 1/3 as powerful as the original.

CAPTAIN MARVEL JR.

In Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941) a young lad named Freddy Freeman and his grandfather are out fishing when they are attacked by the villain Captain Nazi.  Freddy's grandfather is murdered, and Freddy is injured with a broken back and left for dead.  Freddy is rescued by Captain Marvel who flies the boy first to a hospital, and then to the secret subway station where he communicates with the ghost of Shazam.  Shazam allows for Captain Marvel to share some of his power with young Freddy.  When Freddy says, "Captain Marvel", he is transformed into a junior version of Captain Marvel with a blue costume rather than a red one.

Freddy doesn't turn into an adult when he transforms into Captain Marvel Junior. And when he reverts back to Freddy Freeman, he requires the use of a crutch due to the damage Captain Nazi caused.  At the end of his origin tale, Captain Marvel sends Captain Marvel Jr. off to Master Comics (another Fawcett hero-themed comic book) to take care of Captain Nazi!  

Captain Marvel Jr. was a very popular character who appeared in 112 issues of Master Comics, 89 issues of The Marvel Family title, and 118 issues of his own eponymous series before Fawcett closed their doors.  The character was also notable for being a personal favorite superhero of the king of rock and roll himself, Elvis Presley.  

Captain Marvel Jr. also has one other unique characteristic.  He's the first superhero who is unable to say his own name, lest he trigger the lightning transformation!

HOPPY THE MARVEL BUNNY

In 1942, Fawcett added cartoon animal comics to their lineup of publications.  Capitalizing on the immense success of Captain Marvel, one of these animals was Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.  He debuted in Fawcett's Funny Animals #1 (December 1942).

Hoppy lives in Animalville and is a fan of Captain Marvel Comic books.  One day, he decides to say the magic word, "Shazam".  When he does, to his amazement, he is transformed by lightning into Captain Marvel Bunny!  Captain Marvel Bunny has the wisdom of Salamander, the strength of Hogules, the stamina of Antlers, the power of Zebreus, the courage of Abalone, and the speed of Monkury.

Hoppy's adventures were published through 1947; needless to say, he was not part of the general Captain Marvel continuity!

MARY MARVEL

In 1942, a dying nurse summons orphan Billy Batson to her bedside.  She tells him that she was the nurse who initially took care of Billy and his twin sister Mary when their parents died.  Billy is shocked because he didn't know he had a sibling.  While Billy was placed in an orphanage, his sister had been placed in the household of a wealthy family and raised by them.  It seems that the actual baby child of the couple had died suddenly, so the nurse switched the dead baby with Billy's twin sister, giving at least one of the twins a better life than in an orphanage. Mary first appears in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (December 1942)

As fate would have it, Billy had recently met a young girl named Mary who came from a wealthy family.  And wouldn't you know it, but it turns out that she is indeed his long-lost twin!  Not knowing much at all about Mary, other than she is his twin, Billy suddenly trusts her enough to share his secret identity with her.  Later, when Billy and Freddy Freeman are kidnapped and gagged, Mary states, "Billy can't say Shazam!"  Suddenly, she is struck by lightning and transformed into a powerful female Marvel, complete with a similarly colored costume as the Captain, but with a skirt. 

For some unknown reason, she, like Freddy, does not become an adult when transformed into Mary Marvel.  When the three Marvels go to meet with the wizard Shazam, he explains that he always knew of Mary's existence and knew that Billy and she would be reunited.  He also explains that Mary's powers are provided by a completely different set of female gods.  Mary is granted the agility of Selene, the strength of Hippolyta, the stamina of Artemis, the flight of Zephyrus, the invulnerability of Athena, and the wisdom of Minerva.  (Some more investigation by the writer of the tale would have discovered that Zephyrus was a male god!)

Mary was well received by readers, and she appeared in 9 issues of Captain Marvel Adventures, 50 issues of Wow Comics, 89 issues of The Marvel Family, and 28 issues of her own Mary Marvel Comics.

UNCLE MARVEL
The character known as Uncle Marvel made his debut in Wow Comics #18 (October 1943). Fawcett added him as a supporting character to Mary Marvel's adventures, and he soon migrated to being a supporting character to the entire Marvel Family.

Dudley H. Dudley had no real relation to anyone in the Marvel Family. He found a journal that Mary dropped, her journal of good deeds. Upon reading it, he was now privy to her secret identity. He introduced himself to Mary as her long-lost Uncle Dudley from California. He made himself a Marvel-style costume and would pretend that he could change like the rest of the Marvel Family. He would shout "Shazam!" and then quickly remove all his outer clothing, revealing himself as Uncle Marvel. It was wonderful comic relief. All the members of the Marvel Family accepted him, though they all knew he was a fraud. When unable to perform certain powers, he would often complain that his "Shazambago" was acting up!

FRECKLES MARVEL

Freckles Marvel debuted in Wow Comics #35 (August 1945). Her real name is Mary Dudley, and she is the adopted niece of Uncle Dudley(Marvel). Like Uncle Marvel, she had no actual superpowers. As Freckles Marvel, she wore a costume similar to Mary Marvel's and tried to assist in Mary Marvel's adventures.

She showed up less than 20 times between 1945 and 1947, and her appearances were limited to Mary Marvel's solo adventures. She would often be responsible for many of the troubles she helped Mary Marvel overcome.

BLACK ADAM

Black Adam is the final addition to the Marvel Family. Well... sort of! Black Adam first appeared in the pages of The Marvel Family #1 (Dec. 1945). He was originally Teth-Adam, an ancient Egyptian selected by the Wizard, Shazam, to be his successor. Upon saying "Shazam", Teth-Adam was transformed into Mighty Adam. And while the Wizard was the same, the gods endowing the powers were not. Mighty Adam gained the stamina of Shu, the strength of Heryshaf, the power of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the speed of Anpu, and the courage of Menthu. Upon converting to Mighty Adam, Teth is corrupted into believing he should rule the world. He kills the Pharaoh and assumes the Egyptian throne. Shazam is furious with Adam's betrayal, and he renames him Black Adam and then banishes him to the most distant star in the universe. It takes Adam 5,000 years to fly back to Earth, by which time the Wizard has selected the Marvel Family to become the heirs of his power. Black Adam seethes with jealousy and is determined to defeat Shazam's new honorees of god powers and take over the world. Ultimately, Uncle Marvel is able to trick Black Adam into saying "Shazam", at which time his body rapidly ages 5000 years and Teth Adam is presumably no more.

This was Black Adam's sole appearance when the Marvel Family was under the Fawcett Comics label. But things for the Marvel Family were about to take one of the most ironic twists in comic book history! From here, we'll take a quick break from character bios and detour into some comic book history! There are plenty of websites and blogs that are devoted to a deep dive into this topic, so I will keep things simple and succinct. But should you wish to seek out more information on this topic, it's a very interesting read! As noted earlier, DC Comics sued Fawcett Comics over their Captain Marvel character, which they claimed was a copyright infringement of their costumed hero, Superman. The lawsuit between DC (then called Detective Comics) and Fawcett commenced in 1941 and went on for seven years until a trial commenced in 1948. The trial was decided in favor of Fawcett when it was revealed that several of Superman's comic strips had failed to include a copyright, indicating that DC had abandoned its copyright, and thus it was no longer valid. This decision was appealed in 1951. A Second Circuit Judge reversed the previous ruling regarding the copyright, stating basically that while the newspaper strip may have ceded copyright, Detective Comics and their comic titles had not. It should be noted that in the early 1950s, comic book sales had decreased dramatically (there are several factors for this that we'll dive into in a later blog entry!). Fawcett decided that it was not worth going on with the legal battle, which was now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. They agreed to settle with Detective Comics out of court. They paid Detective Comics $400,000 in damages and agreed to cease publication of Captain Marvel and his supporting Marvel Family characters. The Marvel Family #90 (cover date January 1954) brought an end to the Marvel Family. Or more correctly, The Marvel Family #90 brought a temporary end to the Marvel Family!

In the late 1950s and especially during the 1960s, comic books began to slowly increase in popularity as they entered what is now referred to as the Silver Age of comic books. Much of this is attributed to the advent of science fiction, which stemmed from the advancements that society was making by leaps and bounds (space travel, television, the computer, vaccines, etc.). DC rolled out new and updated versions of older characters like Flash (now a police scientist), Hawkman (now an alien police officer), and Green Lantern (now a test pilot and intergalactic law officer). There were also new characters for the first time in years. Martian Manhunter and Captain Comet... both rooted in space travel. Comics were making a come back baby, and DC was going to take full advantage of its growing readership! In 1972, DC licensed the rights to use Fawcett Comics superheroes. That's right! After forcing Fawcett out of business, DC was ready to put their characters back on the shelves, but under their own label. And of course, the first of the characters they rolled out was Fawcett's previous big man on campus, Captain Marvel. But there was a big problem that had to be overcome. Fawcett had let the copyright of the title Captain Marvel lapse, since they were no longer publishing his adventures. In 1967, Marvel Comics created its own character named Captain Marvel, and it owns the rights to any title bearing this name. To overcome this obstacle, DC introduced Captain Marvel and other members of the Marvel Family to a whole new generation of comic book readers in their new periodical titled Shazam! Shazam! #1 was cover-dated February 1973. Interest in the character was initially very strong; in fact, a television version of Shazam!, featuring Captain Marvel, began airing on Saturday morning television from 1974 through 1977. However, by branding both the comic and the show with the title Shazam!, DC inadvertently created lasting confusion about the hero’s actual name, particularly among audiences unfamiliar with comic book lore. DC also obtained the reprint rights to all of Fawcett's old publications so that they could feature older tales of Captain Marvel in some of its repeat titles, as well as in issues of Shazam!, thus helping new readers learn even more about this seemingly new character. In Shazam! #1, we learn that the Marvel Family, along with most of their supporting characters, and their arch enemies, had all been in suspended animation since 1953 when their original adventures ceased publication! The Marvel Family existed in a reality outside of standard DC continuity, thus they didn't interact with, or recognize, Superman, Batman, or the Justice League. These new Shazam! tales were initially lighthearted, like the Fawcett originals. This would change over time, with more serious tones being brought to the Marvel family adventures. Eventually, readers learn that the Fawcett cadre of characters exists on yet another Earth in DC's expanding multiverse. This Earth was dubbed Earth-S.

DC's deal with Fawcett required a per-use fee, so once interest in the characters began to wane in the late 1970s, the Fawcett characters were rarely seen for a while after Shazam! ended publication in 1978. In 1991, DC finally purchased full rights to all of Fawcett's superhero characters. From here, we will take a side road back to our initial tour and pick up with the Marvel Family character entries! ( Keep your eyes out for a future tour that will cover the remaining Fawcett superheroes who were not/are not part of the Marvel Family!)

When the Marvel Family migrated over to DC Comics, there were a few changes that are important to note: 1) For a brief time, Billy is sent out on assignment by WHIZ-Television to report on events around the country. WHIZ gives him a large red van to undertake this assignment, and he is joined by slimmed-down Uncle Dudly, who has also grown a mustache. These changes were intended to have the comic book more closely resemble the live-action television series that was being aired on Saturday mornings during the title's publication. Uncle Dudley steps in as a quasi-substitute for the television supporting character of "Mentor". 2) Black Adam returns in Shazam! #28 (April 1977). He is reincarnated by the evil Dr. Sivana. And though he's defeated by the end of the tale, he doesn't die this time. He's reverted to his human form and undergoes amnesia, forgetting his ability to transform into Black Adam. This amnesia is short-lived. In fact, Black Adam becomes a major player in the DC Universe over the decades that follow. First, he's utilized as a major threat and top-tier villain not only for the Marvel Family, but eventually for all the DC heroes and teams. Eventually, his origin is updated, and rather than being from Egypt, he is from the fictional country of Kahndaq. He takes over as ruler of the country and is beloved by the people of the country, who do not see him as a villain at all. Black Adam eventually morphs into more of an anti-hero type of character. He does what he thinks is best for his people, but does not apologize for stepping outside of civil norms to accomplish his goals. In some continuities, he has been a member of the Justice League and a member of the Justice Society. His character became interesting enough that DC opted to have a feature motion picture film made about him. Black Adam (starring Dwayne Johnson) premiered in theaters in 2022 to tepid critical reviews but to extremely well-received public feedback. The film has an audience score of 87% positive on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate website. 3) Freckles Marvel did not make the transition from Fawcett Comics to DC Comics. Though she's never appeared in print within DC's titles, she did make a single cameo appearance on the 1981 animated series, The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!

ISIS

The first addition to DC's Marvel Family was Isis. The character of Isis has some unique origins. She first appeared on television in the life action Filmation series, The Secrets of Isis (1975 -1976). The character was created to provide a female counterpart to their popular live-action Shazam! series. There was talk of creating a Mary Marvel series, but Filmation balked at paying more to use another copyrighted character, so they created their own female superhero. (As a side note, The Secrets of Isis became the first U.S. ongoing series to feature a female superhero! She predates both Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman and Lindsay Wagner's Bionic Woman.)

School teacher Andrea Thomas discovered an Egyptian amulet that allowed her to call upon the powers of "Oh Mighty Isis". Calling upon her ancestor, Andrea would be transformed into the white-clad heroine, complete with lengthy hair extensions! Her powers were vast, including super strength, super speed, flight, telekinesis, control of the elements, remote viewing, and the ability to reverse time. When her live-action series concluded, she then appeared in animated form as a member of the Freedom Force, a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7. She and Captain Marvel would guest-star on each other's respective TV series, and in animation on The Kid Super Power Hour With Shazam!.

Though DC Comics did not own the rights to the character, they paid to use her in their comics. Isis debuted in Shazam! #25 (October 1976) before being given her own short-lived title. Isis lasted 8 issues (1976 - 1978). Upon cancellation, the character did not appear again in any DC comics for decards. She wasn't even included in the 1985/1986 groundbreaking maxi-series "Crisis on Infinite Earths" which featured nearly every single character DC Comics had ever published.

Finally, in 2006, a superhero version of Isis appeared in the pages of 52 (issue #3, May 2006). Her name is Adrianna Tomaz (an homage to the Filmation original). She is an enslaved Egyptian woman who is rescued by Black Adam. Holding the long dormant amulet of Hathetsup and uttering "I am Isis", she is transformed into her superhero identity. She and Black Adam eventually wed. She is later killed, then revived by the Lazarus pit. Her origins have been modified with subsequent DC Comics retcons.

KID ETERNITY This entry is another unique one! Kid Eternity was originally published by the Quality Comics company. He debuted in Hit Comics #25 (Dec 1942). He was a nameless child who was killed along with his grandfather when their fishing boat was sank by a Nazi u-boat. But, when passing to the next realm, it is realized that his death was not scheduled for another 75 years.

As compensation for the divine error, he is brought back to life, returned to Earth, and given the ability to summon historical (and sometimes mythical) deceased people to temporarily assist him. To conjure them, he need only say, "Eternity". He is assisted in his new journey by Mr. Keeper, a supernatural entity who was responsible for the clerical error that caused Kid to die at the incorrect time.

Quality Comics ceased publishing in 1956. Most of their characters and trademarks were sold to DC Comics. Almost all the Quality characters were originally said to reside on DC's Earth-X, yet another Earth in the DC multiverse. But not Kid Eternity. When the similarities between how his powers worked (uttering a word and lightning occurring) and his origin to Freddy Freeman's (being on a boat with a grandfather and attacked by a Nazi) were noted, Kid Eternity was retconned into being a resident of Earth-S and given the human name Kit Freeman. He was the long-lost, and presumed dead, brother of Freddy Freeman (Capt. Marvel Jr). He became a regular supporting character in Marvel Family adventures until the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series rewrote the history of the DC Universe.

In the last few decades, the character has been given updated and reimagined, but never as part of the Marvel Family.

THUNDER Thunder made her debut in The Power of Shazam Annual #1 (1996). CeCe Beck was born in the 80th century on the planet Binderaan. When she becomes lost in a magic realm, she is bestowed the powers of Shazam by Captain Marvel, who is now the bearded successor of the Wizard. When CeCe utters the name "Captain Marvel," she is transformed into Thunder.

After a series of events that have her traveling through different time periods, she is flung into the 30th century when the Rock of Eternity is destroyed. After assisting the Legion of Super-Heroes, the team extends an invitation to join the team, and she accepts.

While serving on the team, she also continued her solo efforts to gather and collect the fragments of the Rock of Eternity. She eventually is able to restore the Rock, and after doing so she discovers that when she says, "Captain Marvel", she is not only converted to being CeCe again, but she is transported to the 80th century. So she is able to be CeCe with her foster parents in her own time, and also transport back to the 30th century when she converts back to being Thunder.

This character, and this iteration of the Legion (post Zero Hour), are now established as residing on Earth (multiverse)-247.

WHIZ This entry is a rather obscure one. Whiz is a character that appeared in the seminal 4-issue DC Elseworld's mini-series titled Kingdom Come, published in 1996. This mini-series is set in a possible future timeline.

Whiz is the heir of the powers of Shazam. He is the teenage son of the married couple... King Marvel (Freddy Freeman) and Lady Marvel (Mary (Batson) Bromfield).

TANIST Tanist is the future successor to the powers of Shazam, hailing from the 853rd century. His story begins when his mother discovers a way to access the legendary Rock of Eternity. Soon after, Tanist is chosen by the Wizard, who, by this era, is none other than a transformed Billy Batson, and is granted the powers of Shazam. Tanist made his debut during DC One Million, a major crossover event published in 1998. The event imagined the distant future of the DC Universe, set in the 853rd century—the hypothetical time when Action Comics would reach issue #1,000,000, assuming continuous monthly publication since 1938. As part of the event, every ongoing DC title released a special #1,000,000 issue, offering a glimpse into the far-future legacies of iconic heroes.

OSIRIS Following a cameo debut in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #38 (Sept 2006), Osiris made his official debut in 52 #23 three months later.

Amon Tomaz is the brother of Adrianna Tomaz (Isis). After being repeatedly beaten by members of Intergang, Black Adam shares his powers with Amon to help save his life. When Amon utters "Black Adam", he gains Black Adam's Shazam-based powers.

Osiris is a young man filled with anger who struggles to balance morality and his powers. He is eventually tricked into renouncing his powers by the evil Sobek, who then murders Amon. He is eventually returned to life in the Brightest Day crossover event in 2010/2011.

In the New 52 continuity, Amon existed, but he was never the superhero Osiris.

SAHAR SHAZEEN

Yet another obscure one-off entry for the Marvel Family tour, we have Sahar Shazeen. She is a female version of Captain Marvel from a possible future and alternate version of the Justice League of America.

Her one appearance was in Justice League: Generation Lost #14 (January 2011). This title was part of the company-wide crossover event known as Brightest Day. Sahar is imbued with the powers of Shazam!

In 2011, DC rolled out their New 52 initiative. Every single title (including DC's two longest legacy titles, Detective Comics and Action Comics) was cancelled, and the entire DC Universe started over, with the concept that superheroes had only existed for about 5 years. The New 52 didn't last long, and it was soon replaced in 2016 with the DC Rebirth, where much of DC's history was returned to established continuity again. One change that did stick around from the New 52 into the DC Rebirth and beyond was a reimagining of Billy Batson's story. Billy is still an orphan, but he is one of six foster children living under the roof of foster parents Victor and Rosa Vasquez. His foster siblings include Freddy Freeman, Mary Bromfield as well as Darla Dudley, Eugene Choi, and Pedro Pena. Billy is once again recruited by the Wizard to become a powerful hero, but this time he is called Shazam rather than Captain Marvel. It seems that the powers that be at DC finally gave up trying to make the distinction between the two names. This name change was met tepidly by longtime readers (like your tour guide!). In this revised version of the Marvel legacy, Billy shares his powers with his foster siblings. Each one has the ability to transform into a Shazam level hero with the same basic powers, but each child has one enhanced ability above the others. Mary has increased wisdom, making her the sort of den mother and problem solver for the family, and Freddy's flight abilities are enhanced and more agile.

PEDRO PENA One of the three additional foster siblings in the Vasquez household is Pedro Pena. He is a shy, overweight child with a slight stutter. When he calls upon the powers of Shazam!, he transforms into a tall adult with the body of a powerlifter. He is gifted with additional strength of Hercules beyond that of his 5 other Shazam! siblings.

EUGENE CHOI The next foster child of Victor and Rosa Vasquez is Eugene Choi. Eugene is a highly intelligent tech wiz and a gifted game player. When he transforms he becomes older, but closer to a late-teen age rather than as an adult. In addition to the basic Shazam powers, he has the additional gift of electrokenisis and electro blasts, controlling the Shazam lightning.

DARLA DUDLEY The final new sibling is the young and precocious Darla Dudley. Darla is the youngest of the foster kids and when she transforms it is into a young teenager. When she summons her powers and transforms into her hero persona it is her speed that is enhanced beyond the other Shazam Family members. Her speed is possibly on par with Flash or Superman.

It shoudl be noted that at the time of this blog posting, each of the six Shazam-related heroes operate as a sort of collective Shazam conglomerate. None of them employ a unique codename. C.C. BATSON Clarence Charles "C.C." Batson was originally seen in the DC Comics 1994 graphic novel, The Power of Shazam!. This tale updated the origin's of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family. In this iteration he, along with wife Marilyn, are archeologists, murdered by Black Adam while they are on a dig in Egypt, leaving their young children, Billy and Mary, orphans.

After the New 52 revamp (2011), C.C. Batson is given an updated back story. After Billy's birth, C.C. ran afoul of the law and ended up in prison for 10 years after abandoning Billy. Upon release he seeks to find Billy and discovers him at the home of Billy's foster parents, Victor and Rosa Vasquez. After reuniting with Billy, C.C. is abducted by Black Adam. Billy saves C.C., and then grants him the powers of Shazam, making C.C. the final (7th) champion of the Shazam Family.

Eventually it is revealed that C.C. was under the control of Mr. Mind the entire time. As Mr. Mind reveals, C.C. is a street level pickpocket who had no intention of seeking out Billy. With his powers taken away and having no memory of what occurred while he was controlled by Mr. Mind, C.C. makes it clear that he has no interest in raising Billy as he considers himself an unfit parent. He departs from Billy's life.

And there you have it! Eighty-five years of of the original Captain Marvel and the gaggle of Shazam related characters who have grown from his orbit! I hope you've enjoyed yourself, and that you return for another trip through the world of comic books soon! Shazam, and all related characters, names, and elements and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of DC Comics, Inc.