History IAmNotShazam / ComicBooks

* BirdsOfPrey is not the team's official name, and was not even spoken in dialogue until issue #86 of the series, wherein [[{{Blackhawk}} Lady Blackhawk]] sugested it as a potential name. In later issues the characters ''specifically said'' that it was not their team name when Zinda Blake continues to use it, and it has never been used on "official" business (i.e. the induction of new members or cooperations with other superteams). However, the writers themselves often seem to forget this point, as numerous characters (Both on and off the team) refer to them as 'the birds' on a semi-regular basis, and the full "Birds of Prey" title itself makes an occasional appearance.

** CaptainMarvel has recently had his name changed to "Shazam" in the {{New 52}}, along with some design changes to make him DarkerAndEdgier looking. He stars in the ''Curse of Shazam!" back-up feature in ''[[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]]''.

* Neither Eric, nor any of the later vengeful souls from the comics or films of ''TheCrow'', are ever referred to as "The Crow". The title refers to the bird that brings them back to life. They go by the names they held in life, if anything (though the crow in the original comic constantly refers to Eric as "Musician" or "Kid").
** In the TV series, "Crows" are what the series calls the "good" avenger-type revenants like Eric, whereas the "evil" sadist/hedonist-type revenants are referred to as "Snakes".
** Eric actually does refer to himself as "The Crow" in the comic when speaking to police, although it's more of a thinly veiled clue than a superhero alter-ego. (His last words, heard by the police captain, were "The crow said don't look!")

*** This seems to be the case for ''almost any'' DC-licensed product he appears in, as promotional material for ''MortalKombat vs. DC Universe'' referred to him as "Shazam" as well, but the game itself used "Captain Marvel".

**** It didn't. Shazam, the wizard, returned from the dead; stripped Billy and Mary of their Powers; and planned to find a way to "Deal with" Freddy. This was all rendered null by ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} of course.

**** As of the New 52, he IS named Shazam! And will appear in the Curse of Shazam! back up feature in Justice League.

**** It won't. Shazam, the wizard, has returned from the dead; stripped Billy and Mary of their Powers; and is currently planning a way to "Deal with" Freddy. How he will do that, since Freddy is empowered by Shazam's bosses and not Shazam himself (Freddy was originally powered by Billy who was powered by Shazam who was powered by some deities. Freddy has recently cut out the middlemen.) It is likely that the two will fight to the death. It won't be pretty.

** CaptainMarvel has recently had his name changed to "Shazam", along with some design changes to make him DarkerAndEdgier looking.

**** As of the New 52, he IS named Shazam! And will appear in the Curse of Shazam! back up feature in Justice League.

**** It won't. Shazam, the wizard, has returned from the dead; stripped Billy and Mary of their Powers; and is currently planning a way to "Deal with" Freddy. How he will do that, since Freddy is empowered by Shazam's bosses and not Shazam himself (Freddy was originally powered by Billy who was powered by Shazam who was powered by some deities. Freddy has recently cut out the middlemen.) It is likely that the two will fight to the death. It won't be pretty.

** TVTropes itself is now playing into this trope since Marvel occasionally churns out stories about a few minor characters that hold that name strictly so Marvel can keep the rights to it away from DC. CaptainMarvel shares the main page with these characters even though he precedes all of them by at least a quarter century and is better known.
** ''[[{{WesternAnimation/Mad}} Mad]]'', produced by Warner Brothers (which owns DC) averts this trope, but in a couple of sketches they refer to Cap as "Shazam" for the sake of a joke; for example, in the "Superfriends" song, they use it because it fit the song better than "Captain Marvel".

** [[Film/{{Watchmen}} The movie]] actually does rename the Crimebusters "the Watchmen", thereby both averting ''and'' exemplifying this trope.

* The lead character of NeilGaiman's ''TheSandman'' goes by many names, but "the Sandman" is never one of them. The closest he comes to acknowledging this name occurs when he is moved to laughter -- for the first and only time in the series, and even then, with a mask covering his face -- by the presumption of a human superhero calling himself "the Sandman". There's a certain irony in this, as the superhero Sandman comes from an older, defunct DC series; although in the continuity of ''Sandman'' Morpheus is of course much, much older than Hector Hall, in real chronology Hall had the title first.

** Other characters refer to them as "Those Runaways" or "Those kids in LA" or "The Pride's Kids" keeping with the idea that they don't have an official superhero team name.

* Technically, the official name of the city is ''Basin City''. SinCity is simply the knickname everyone including the inhabitants of said city call it, so, yeah, this one's OK.
* "Witchblade" is the name of the weapon/bracelet/thing, not the person wielding it. But plenty of people seem to think [[Comicbook/{{Witchblade}} Sara Pezzini]] or [[{{Anime/Witchblade}} Masane Amaha]] are named "Witchblade".

** Well the title DOES refer to the defining flaw of each of the two leads which keep them from getting together until the end of the story (she is prejudiced, he is prideful) so despite his ignorance, Homer's question still would have made sense and could have been answered simply.

* In ''Comicbook/TheMask'', anyone who wears the title artifact is called "Big Head" - unlike in [[Film/TheMask the movie]] and derivated material, where masked Stanley goes by "The Mask".

* In addition to all of ''TheSimpsons'' examples below, one of the comic books has Homer asking Lisa "[[PrideAndPrejudice which character is Pride and which one is Prejudice]]" while watching TV. This naturally is a perfectly reasonable question to Homer, who is clearly well versed in buddy cop shows and movies like ''StarskyAndHutch'', ''TangoAndCash'', ''TurnerAndHooch'', ''StrokerAndHoop'', etc.

** Other characters refer to them as "Those Ruanways" or "Those kids in LA" or "The Pride's Kids" keeping with the idea that they don't have an official superhero team name.

** An episode of ''[[{{WesternAnimation/Mad}} Mad]]'' had the Superfriends singing a song about how {{Superman}}, {{Batman}}, and WonderWoman aren't very friendly; they refer to Cap as "Shazam" there, but given that the series is actually produced by Warner Brothers (which owns DC), it's more likely this was done for the sake of a rhyme.

* The star of ''UsagiYojimbo'' is actually called Miyamoto Usagi. The title, which translates to "bodyguard rabbit" is what Usagi does. The series isn't helped by the fact that, during the character's appearances in the first ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon, he was referred to as UsagiYojimbo.

** An episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/Mad Mad]]'' had the Superfriends singing a song about how {{Superman}}, {{Batman}}, and WonderWoman aren't very friendly; they refer to Cap as "Shazam" there, but given that the series is actually produced by Warner Brothers (which owns DC), it's more likely this was done for the sake of a rhyme.

** An episode of ''WesternAnimation/Mad'' had the Superfriends singing a song about how {{Superman}}, {{Batman}}, and WonderWoman aren't very friendly; they refer to Cap as "Shazam" there, but given that the series is actually produced by Warner Brothers (which owns DC), it's more likely this was done for the sake of a rhyme.

** Also, the two different "Stark becomes an alcoholic" stories often get conflated as one arc, "Demon In A Bottle". That story is only the early one from 1980, in which he kills the Carnelian ambassador and sobers up rather quickly. The multi-year arc in the mid-80s where Obadiah Stane is the villain and Rhodey becomes Iron Man for the first time has no real name, although some fans call it "Demon In A Bottle II".

** [[{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]] has probably come the closest, since at the end of one crossover, he walks away from an encounter with Morpheus singing "Mister Sandman."

* John Constantine is not called "{{Hellblazer}}". Except in an AlternateUniverse where the VertigoComics setting mixes with SilverAge tropes, and he's a sort of magic-using {{Batman}} under that name (with Tim Hunter as his sidekick, Sparky).

**** A recent promo on CartoonNetwork for ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' showcased several of Batman's allies, such as Aquaman, Green Arrow, and..."Shazam". Poor guy.

** [[Film/{{Watchmen}} The movie]] actually does rename the Crimebusters "the Watchmen", thereby both averting ''and'' exemplifying this trope.
** Though even in the movie, the title ''Watchmen'' is something of a misnomer. The five main characters never actually make up an organized superhero team -- for the most part, they're just independent vigilantes who form some close personal relationships. Nite Owl and Rorschach are the only characters who regularly fight crime as a team.

** Interestingly he never goes by Morpheus either, even though he's always called that outside of the comics.
*** This would be an interesting fact if it were true. But, in fact, in "Season of Mists" Lucifer (for one) calls Morpheus by name several times, both to his face and to others. And in "The Doll's House", [[spoiler: at the climax of a major sequence, Rose Walker summons Morpheus by name]].
*** He does get called Morpheus once, obliquely, near the end of the series. Actually, someone calls [[spoiler: the ''new'' Dream]] 'Morpheus,' and he rejects that name since [[spoiler: [[ThatManIsDead it belonged to his predecessor/former self]]]]. But his siblings, when they refer to him by name, just call him Dream. Interestingly, the Endless seem to have an aversion to calling Death by her name; they just call her their sister. They also avoid naming their brother [[spoiler:Destruction]] for the first few books, but that was probably for suspense.
*** In "A Game of You", he's referred to as [[spoiler: "Murphy." Thessaly makes the Murphy=Morpheus connection after he reveals himself.]]
*** Also, he's frequently referred to in the comics as ''Shaper'', which is simply ''Morpheus'' translated from Greek to English.

* "Witchblade" is the name of the weapon/bracelet/thing, not the person wielding it. But plenty of people seem to think [[{{Witchblade}} Sara Pezzini]] or [[{{Anime/Witchblade}} Masane Amaha]] are named "Witchblade".

*** A 1970s "dry look" hair product commercial featured labeled Captain Marvel as "Shazam."