Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is one of the most efficient transformation words in comics: one shout, six legendary patrons, and a child becomes the World's Mightiest Mortal. The word is also a naming tangle. The hero was Captain Marvel for decades, and DC eventually relaunched him under the name of the word itself, so the shout now names the man. It is a child's wish made literal, which is why the character has outlasted the publisher that created him.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Whiz ComicsShow the scene
In the first story of Whiz Comics #2 (cover date February 1940), the orphaned newsboy Billy Batson is led by a shadowy stranger into a disused subway station, where a driverless train carries him to the Rock of Eternity. There an old wizard named Shazam tells him he has been chosen as his champion and shows him the names of six mythological elders on the wall: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury. Billy only has to speak the wizard's name. He says it, a bolt of magic lightning strikes, and the twelve-year-old becomes the adult hero soon christened Captain Marvel.
Sources (3)
- DC Database: Billy Batson (Earth-S)Origin sectionReference checked
- Wikipedia: Whiz ComicsLead and publication historyReference checked
- Wikipedia: Shazam (DC Comics)LeadReference checked
Context reviewed