History ComicBook / Shazam

You have to understand this before you proceed: comics weren't always just {{superhero}}es.

[[caption-width-right:346:Captain Marvel and his alter ego Billy Batson, keeping it real in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks.]]

Look -- guys in masks [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks only showed up]] around, say, the mid-Thirties. {{Superhero}}es only go as far back as ComicBook/{{Superman}} in 1938. Comics about detectives and daredevil pilots had been inherited from the [[PulpMagazine pulps]] to great success. ''[[ItWillNeverCatchOn No one]]'' [[ItWillNeverCatchOn thought costumed heroes would take off like they did.]] So when [[Creator/DCComics National Comics]] hit paydirt with their costumed super heroes, the initial reaction of [[Creator/FawcettComics Fawcett Publications]] was "Oh boy! [[FollowTheLeader We've got to get some of these!]]"

This was Captain Marvel's [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]. His own title regularly sold over a ''million'' copies a month (for comparison, the best selling comics of today usually top out at around 100,000), and Mary and Junior had their own titles when most heroes had to settle for eight-page backups in anthology books. There was even a movie serial, ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainMarvel'', which was the first superhero film ever produced. He was arguably the most popular and recognizable superhero of the [[TheForties 1940s]].

Then there was a problem. On the one hand, there was Captain Marvel, a black-haired all-American feller in a costume with a lot of bright red, who can punch through cars and stop robbers... and on the other hand, there was Superman, a black-haired all-American feller in a costume with a lot of bright red, who... well, you get the idea. Admittedly, this described a ''lot'' of superheroes back then (and even today), but Marvel had the flaw of selling ''more'' than his inspiration. Creator/DCComics brought the case to court, and Fawcett fought it out for a while (it didn't help that there was a Fawcett editorial memo directing the artist to make Captain Marvel look "more like Superman"). Eventually, though, the superheroes [[UsefulNotes/TheInterregnum stopped selling so well]], and Fawcett decided to throw in the towel; they closed down their comics division and moved on. The final appearance of the character was ''Marvel Family'' #89 (January, 1954). The name "Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}}", however, would return to haunt DC Comics.

A few years later, UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks started up, and superheroes became popular again. Fawcett couldn't take advantage of this, because the settlement with DC had specified that they never publish a Captain Marvel comic again, but eventually, DC themselves expressed interest in the character. Fawcett licensed the whole shebang to DC (with the latter eventually buying the rights lock, stock and barrel), and after a couple of tryouts, they put out a new series in 1973. Unfortunately, they couldn't actually ''call'' the series "Captain Marvel", because Creator/MarvelComics had snapped up the name trademark in the meantime (and created [[ComicBook/CaptainMarvelMarvelComics their own character]], and eventually a string of characters, by that name), so they titled it ''Shazam!'' and went ahead.

The series, though never a hot seller, did fairly well and even found a way to update its look from the [[https://myfavouritefunnies.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/shazam1-coverbinder.jpg simple, but dated, cartooniness of C.C. Beck]] to the [[https://ultraboy8888.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/adv_492_001.png rich illustrations of Don Newton]] to fit in the UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks. The series, finally relegated to being in the back of ''World's Finest'', had the Marvelverse ([[Franchise/MarvelUniverse no relation]]) slotted into DC's [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]] as Earth-S, and he occasionally crossed over with DC's other heroes -- naturally, the [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny long-debated fight]] between Cap and Superman was one of the first. Incidentally, it's rather ambiguous who has the edge since Captain Marvel doesn't have Supes' [[EyeBeams vision]] and [[BreathWeapon breath powers]], but his powers are magic based which is a traditional [[KryptoniteFactor weakness]] for Superman.

So after a few comics and a brief membership spot in the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, Captain Marvel became part of the wider DC continuity. Whenever they needed a Superman-level fighter who was immune to kryptonite or magic, particularly when Superman is being mind-controlled or a similar emergency, he was there. Whenever ComicBook/WonderWoman needed to hit someone we didn't care about, he was there. Whenever villains needed someone hokey to fight, thus proving they were a Superstitious And Cowardly Lot, he was there. His standard shtick was to represent the sunny, old-timey virtues of [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] comics in the darkness of UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

* After the copyright lawsuit shut down the original American Captain Marvel, the comics' British publisher created their own CaptainErsatz Marvelman, whose comic strip ran for many more years. In the 1980s, it was revived in DarkerAndEdgier style by Alan Moore as ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'', helping to set the agenda for UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.

** Over the years, Billy has improvised gag-removal implements as varied as a jagged piece of glass, a burning stick, a human skull (this was pre-[[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code]]) and Freddy's leg brace, with Freddy in it and swinging his legs at Billy with that in mind (they were hung by their wrists).

* SuperWeight: Cap, Mary, Junior and Black Adam are all about a 5 on this scale. The Marvel Family generally exercise extreme caution and restraint in their power, holding back unless they know they're up against someone they can cut loose on. Black Adam has shown what can happen when that power isn't restrained, wherein he went on a global rampage that left an entire country destroyed and required every then-able superhero on the planet to stop. Sometimes it's important to remind people that everyone wielding the Power of Shazam is powered by no less than six godlike beings, reinforced by the magical power of a wizard older than human civilization.

''ComicBook/DCFutureState'' introduced a near-future version of Shazam who was connected to the whole "Nevermore" situation with the Titans, and therefore ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier introduced Billy to ''ComicBook/TeenTitansAcademy'' with his powers on the fritz (and the rest of the family casually revealed to have lost their powers because he can't risk sharing them right now), to set this up. Once that future had been unhappened, a series called ''The New Champion of Shazam!'' began in 2022, starring Mary, with Billy having once again taken the position of empowering entity rather than active hero. The various [[ComicBook/DCRebirth Crisis]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal level]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal events]] seem to have altered his history yet again, with several references to his Pre-Flashpoint adventures. A new series began in May 2023 written by Mark Waid and drawn by Dan Mora where Billy is now referred to as "the Captain" in his superhero form, with all of his foster siblings depowered except for Mary, now once again calling herself Mary Marvel after an adventure with Wonder Woman.

Look -- guys in masks [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks only showed up]] around, say, the mid-Thirties. {{Superhero}}es only go as far back as Franchise/{{Superman}} in 1938. Comics about detectives and daredevil pilots had been inherited from the [[PulpMagazine pulps]] to great success. ''[[ItWillNeverCatchOn No one]]'' [[ItWillNeverCatchOn thought costumed heroes would take off like they did.]] So when [[Creator/DCComics National Comics]] hit paydirt with their costumed super heroes, the initial reaction of [[Creator/FawcettComics Fawcett Publications]] was "Oh boy! [[FollowTheLeader We've got to get some of these!]]"

This was Captain Marvel's [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicbooks Golden Age]]. His own title regularly sold over a ''million'' copies a month (for comparison, the best selling comics of today usually top out at around 100,000), and Mary and Junior had their own titles when most heroes had to settle for eight-page backups in anthology books. There was even a movie serial, ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainMarvel'', which was the first superhero film ever produced. He was arguably the most popular and recognizable superhero of the [[TheForties 1940s]].

''Comicbook/DCFutureState'' introduced a near-future version of Shazam who was connected to the whole "Nevermore" situation with the Titans, and therefore Comicbook/DCInfiniteFrontier introduced Billy to ''Comicbook/TeenTitansAcademy'' with his powers on the fritz (and the rest of the family casually revealed to have lost their powers because he can't risk sharing them right now), to set this up. Once that future had been unhappened, a series called ''The New Champion of Shazam!'' began in 2022, starring Mary, with Billy having once again taken the position of empowering entity rather than active hero. The various [[ComicBook/DCRebirth Crisis]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal level]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal events]] seem to have altered his history yet again, with several references to his Pre-Flashpoint adventures. A new series began in May 2023 written by Mark Waid and drawn by Dan Mora where Billy is now referred to as "the Captain" in his superhero form, with all of his foster siblings depowered except for Mary, now once again calling herself Mary Marvel after an adventure with Wonder Woman.

* BigGood: Captain Marvel is often treated like this, even in comparison to Franchise/{{Superman}}, possibly due to ChildrenAreInnocent. It's explicitly stated in the comics that Billy Batson would be Marvel full-time to help people, if not for the wizard Shazam insisting that Batson himself deserves some happiness in his life, too.

* CaptainErsatz: One of the weirder Golden Age stories [[note]] In ''Captain Marvel Adventures #22'' for the curious [[/note]] was full of characters like these, such as "[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Clubman and the Bird]]", "[[ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} Flapear]]" and "[[Literature/{{Tarzan}} Zartan the jungle man]]" who were treated like actors in the stories of their respective comic strips, but were getting fed up with their roles and tried to branch out into other pursuits. The story was about Captain Marvel forcing them to return to their routines because of all the G.I.s serving overseas who depended on their stories to maintain morale. Yeah, weird.

* DynamicAkimbo: He does this trope often, for two reasons. One, he's a Franchise/{{Superman}} {{expy}}, so of course he uses one of his most famous stances. And two, the dynamic pose helps contrast him with the younger and more modest Billy Batson.

** PlayedForLaughs in ''Superman/Shazam: The Return Of Black Adam,'' when Billy pauses to pick between multiple identical outfits hanging in his closet. He has a Franchise/{{Superman}} shirt that he wears to bed, though.

** The Wozenderlands are a mashup of the ''Literature/LandOfOz'' and ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. Pre-Crisis, a similar dimension was the setting of the ''Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'' miniseries ''The Oz-Wonderland War'', which co-starred Hoppy the Marvel Bunny.

* SuperheroSpeciation: The obvious redundancy with Franchise/{{Superman}} has finally been worked out in modern times with Supes valuing an ally whose similar, but magic and gods based, powers makes him very welcome company against supernatural foes while Cap enjoys him as a mentor.

--> '''Comicbook/{{Superman}}''': ''"The Marvels are responsible to a fault! My Series/{{Smallville}} days make me look like a drunken sailor in comparison.”''

* DaddysLittleVillain: Two of Sivana's children, daughter Georgia and son Thaddeus Jr. (to give Mary and Freddy, respectively, archenemies of their own). His other two kids, Beautia and Magnificus, turned good.
** Played with when the Sivana Family was brought back in ''52''. Georgia and Thaddeus are both budding evil scientists, but they're mostly just harmless and want to use their dad's inventions to go back in time and warn their younger selves about certain stuff so they won't become socially awkward. They're treated like crap by their mother and older siblings, and the mom is pretty much racist while Beautia and Magnificus are beautiful and vapid morons.

* DemonLordsAndArchDevils: Sabbac is powered by six of them: {{Satan}}, Any, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Crateis.

** Although played with. In the Golden Age nearly all of Cap's foes were ones he could defeat with a single punch once he got close enough. Whenever he fought someone with super-powers of their own, they tended to be '''exactly''' as powerful as he was so battle was pointless, and he had to get tricky.