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| I really like the look of the cape on the loose chain. It's just a good look. |
“How do you follow up after a ‘hero’
like Black Adam?” It’s a question that the wizard Shazam took a very long time
to ponder. Who could possibly handle the power granted by Shazam without being
corrupted if the greatest hero of the day could not? After a few millennia, the
wizard Shazam came to a unique conclusion. A bit of
technical information, until recently this character’s name was Captain Marvel.
It was changed to Shazam at the start of the New 52, a universe wide reboot of
DC comics. I’m gonna just call him Shazam to not mix him up with Marvel’s
Captain Marvel.
That’s where Billy Batson comes in.
Remember C.C. and Marylin Batson I mentioned in the last post? They had a set
of twins, Billy and his sister Mary, who understandably had it rough after Theo
Adam snapped and killed their parents. Mary went to live with other family,
while Billy had the “good fortune” of living with his Uncle Ebenezer, C.C.’s half-brother.
With a name like, I’m sure nothing could go wrong. Like the Charles Dicken’s
character, Ebenezer is a greedy, hate filled man. Unlike Scrooge, there weren't any ghosts to make him a better person. He stole his nephew’s trust
fund and tossed him out onto the street. Billy did his best to etch out a
living on the street. Do I need to go into detail about how well that works for
a ten year old?
 |
| Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, and Power of Zeus Kind of seems like extreme overkill. |
It was awful, but Billy survived
long enough for an encounter with the ghost of his dead father. It’s a comic
book, weird stuff like happens A LOT. Especially with the magic themed guys. C.C. Batson brought his son to a magic subway
train that took him on an amazing journey. Instead of meeting Santa like those kids on the Polar Express, Billy
got to see stone effigies of the seven deadly sins. Pride, Envy, Lust, Greed,
Gluttony, Sloth, and Wrath, for those who never saw Fullmetal Alchemist. Check
it out, great anime, just saying. The ghost led Billy farther into the cavern
where he found the ancient wizard Shazam atop an ancient throne. Sensing a pure
heart and a desire to help humanity, Shazam chose the boy to be his successor. After Billy promised to do everything in his immense power to protect the world from the aforementioned deadly sins. Billy
spoke the wizards name and transformed into Shazam. The magic aged him to his
physical prime, as well as granting him all of Shazam’s power. His first major
fight was with his parent’s murder, Black Adam. They fought an intense battle,
but the new Shazam got the upper hand when he ripped the magic amulet from
Adam. Black Adam returned to Theo Adam, and rather than taking righteous vengeance
against his parent’s murderer, Shazam saved Adam and turned him over to the authorities.
Shazam’s heroic career began. He vowed to 1. Protect humanity, and 2. Find his
sister. I like this kid’s priorities.
 |
| Billy and Shazam, throw in a lightning bolt and you've got awesome. |
Like Black Adam, Billy has no
powers in his mortal form. Furthermore, Billy’s ten. Very few things you can do
when you’re ten. Upon saying the word Shazam, he transforms into his adult form
and is granted immense power. Unlike Adam, Billy derives his powers from Greco-Roman
gods. And Solomon. His powers are: 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. I know what you’re thinking, yes I’d prefer Achilles invulnerability
too, but ya got to work with what ya have. He can also weaponize his magic
bolt, but he uses it sparingly. Since, you know, if he times it wrong and gets
hit, he’ll be turned into back into a ten year old. Very dangerous to be ten
and on the receiving end of a super punch.
Shazam has appeared in a number of
the DC expanded universe. He’s a major recurring character on the Young Justice
series, where he serves as an advisor to the sidekick’s team. Shazam adds a
good deal of humor to the series. It’s pretty hilarious to see a thirty plus
looking man trying to win people over like a ten year old. There’s a pretty
hilarious bit where the episode begins with a few of the teen heroes promise to
meet him outside to play fetch with the team’s pet wolf. At the end of the
episode, several hours later, Shazam flies in, drenched and looking annoyed and
asks “Are they coming out to play or not?” It’s pretty funny to watch.
Shazam is perhaps the most interesting
character conceptually. A ten year old with near god like power? It’s pretty
cool. He has the wisdom of Solomon, and yet still has the innocents and naiveté
of a ten year old. Sounds like an oxymoron, but just watch him for ten minutes
and you’ll get it. He has a great tenacity and fights to the finish. He kicks a
lot of butt and I can’t wait to see who they’ll pick to be his adult and
childhood form. Part of me wanted to the Rock to do both and have them do a Jet
Lee’s the One style fighting, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A man can
dream. Next time… still figuring that out, but I’ll be back soon.
 |
| POWER, UNLIM- oh wait I already made that joke... The monster found this quite Shocking? |
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Marvel
http://dcmovies.wikia.com/wiki/Captain_Marvel_%28Superman/Shazam!%29
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/ben-10-vs-captain-marvel-dc-1466707/
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131111041539/marvel_dc/images/4/42/Captain_Marvel_0008.jpg
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