Billy Batson

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"*If a superhero can't save his family, he's not much of a hero.*"
―Billy Batson to Freddy Freeman[src]
**William Joseph "Billy" Batson**, also known as the superhero **Shazam**, is a foster child chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his final champion, granting him immense magical power from six legendary sources to help protect the entire world from the forces of evil.

With the guidance of his foster brother and best friend Freddy Freeman, he would use these incredible powers to become a superhero in Philadelphia, defeat rejected champion candidate Thaddeus Sivana in battle, and bond with his new foster family, eventually sharing his powers with them to become a superhero team to defend the innocent and protect their home from those who would threaten it.

## Biography

### Early life

Billy is the son of C.C. and Marilyn Batson in 2004. He was born when his mother was seventeen and married the child's father soon after. It was a rocky and brief marriage; C.C. ended up in jail and Marilyn was cut off by her family. She struggled to raise Billy as a single mother in Philadelphia, though she tried to give him all she could.

### Searching for his mother

#### Becoming an orphan

 File:Billy Batson becomes an orphan.png  Billy was separated from his mother at the Chilladelphia Winter Carnival. Billy was found by the police and Marilyn decided the foster system could take better care of him than she ever could. She started using her maiden name again and started a new life, never mentioning that she had a son.

Billy was raised by the foster systems in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and quickly gained a reputation as a problem child. He ran away, always searching for his real family, and never emotionally attached to any family. His search brought him in problems with the police. He kept searching, looking up all women named Batson in the right age range. It never occurred to him that no one ever came looking for him.

When Billy was 9, he was running in a parking lot when he was hit by a car, sending him flying into the air before hitting the ground. The accident left him with a broken arm and several months of nightmares, with the accident permanently being affixed to his memory.

 File:Billy in a police car.png  Several years later in 2018, Billy set up a break-in at a pawn shop in order to get the police to arrive. After acting innocent and telling the police, the perpetrators went through the back of the building. The police search the premises and came to find that there was no one there. Once inside, Billy quickly dropped the act and revealed that he set up the whole situation, and then closed the gate to the door, locking the police in.

He then quickly acted innocent again to get into the police car and gain access to the police's computer system. In Billy's notebook, it is shown he's been looking up several different women with the last name "Batson", in hopes of finding his mother. After finding the address to a Batson, he quickly jots down her address and steals the police officer's lunch, after the police begged him not to take it away. Billy made his way to the woman's house, but to his disappointment, he found she is not his mother and is then caught by the same police officer that he fooled earlier.

#### Meeting the Vasquez family

After being taken to the foster system again, E. B. Glover informs Billy that his latest foster family doesn't want him back after he disappeared two weeks ago, prior to his incident with the police. Billy states that he has run away from every home within six counties and that he knows his biological mother is out there, and that he has to do all he has to do to find her. E.B. tells him that he shouldn't try to find someone who doesn't want to find him.

 File:Billy meets Freddy.jpeg  She informs him of a couple outside that is eager to take him in, but Billy quickly rejects them, stating he can take care of himself. E.B. reminds him he has to wait till he's 18 to legally be able to live on his own. She encourages him to give them a chance cause they are giving him one, having no other choice, Billy accepts and is taken in by the Vasquezs, who seem like a loving couple to him. He meets Victor and Rosa Vasquez, who reveal they were foster kids themselves and were stubborn like him. On the way to the Vasquez house, they tell him about how the other foster kids they have taken in are expecting him, and are excited to meet him.

### Being chosen as champion

"*Look, man, maybe this is magic and, I don't know, but the people you're looking for, good, pure people, I'm not one of them. I don't know if anyone is, really.*"
―Billy Batson to Shazam[src] File:Billy meets Shazam.jpg  Arriving at his new home, the Vasquezs introduce Billy to his new siblings: The young but kind and accepting Darla, the eldest Mary, the mostly silent Pedro, the intelligent young Eugene, and finally Freddy Freeman, a fan of the Justice League in particular Superman and superheroes in general. On the first day of school, Freddy is attacked and bullied by the Breyer siblings, Brett and Burke, until Billy comes to his foster brother's defense when one of them insults Freddy for not having a mother. Briefly getting the upper hand on them, Billy then flees, thanks to a distraction from Eugene and makes it to safety onto a subway. File:Shazam receives powers from wizard (2).jpg  However, while on the subway, Billy was transported to a mysterious cave and is confronted by the wizard Shazam. The Wizard informed Billy that he is his last and only chance to find someone noble and good enough to replace him as champion. Billy is reluctant at first, but eventually is convinced by the Wizard to accept his offer. Saying the Wizard's name, Billy is transformed into an adult and receives Shazam's powers. After the Wizard gave him his powers, he disintegrated in front of him. He was then transported back to where he was.
#### Confiding in Freddy

 File:Shazam first look.jpg  Not knowing what to do, Billy decided to go to Freddie for help in figuring out what to do in this predicament. After convincing Freddy that he was indeed Billy, the two worked on figuring out Billy's powers where Billy learned he possessed the ability to generate electricity from his hands. When going to a convenience store to purchase alcohol, Billy and Freddy stumble upon a robbery where they discover that Billy has super strength and invulnerability to gunfire. Shortly after this discovery, Billy easily overpowers them and subdues them. Returning home, Billy and Freddy are discovered by Darla where, during his trying to explain to her the situation, Billy learned he could change back to his child self by saying the words "Shazam".

 File:Shazam! and beer.jpg  Over the next few days, Billy and Freddy test more of the formers power while stopping small crimes across town. However, the power quickly began to go to Billy's head and he ended up abandoning Freddy after promising to show up at school in his adult form to help increase Freddy's popularity. Freddy located Billy, accused Billy of abusing as well as wasting his powers on juvenile activities, and angrily walked away.

#### Meeting Thaddeus Sivana

 File:Sivana meets Shazam.jpg
"*You're like a bad guy, right?*"
―Billy to Thaddeus Sivana[src]
Billy was then confronted by Thaddeus Sivana, a man who once attempted to gain the Wizard's powers as a child only to be denied who then absorbed the Seven Deadly Sins. Sivana, wanting to take the power of Billy still decides to do so by force when he punches Billy, who was shocked to have been pained. He punches back only for Sivana to lift him up in the air and drop him, but Billy awakened his power of flight close to impact with the ground, much to his relief.

 File:Shazam and Sivana.png  Freddy noticed Billy fighting in the background, confused with who the villain was. The battle dragged on inside a mall with Billy severely outmatched and still not fully understanding his powers. Sivana finally pinned Billy to the ground, once more asking for the wizard's power. But the latter decided to turn back into his teenage self again, which blinded Sivana with the bolt of lightning briefly, and blended in with the panicked crowd. Freddy was inside the mall looking for Billy and Sivana saw him, remembered his connection to him, and demanded to know where he went.

#### Finding his mother

 File:Shazamily (2).jpg  Billy went back to the Vasquez household, where he was confronted by Victor and Rosa. As Victor was furiously lecturing him for his recklessness and Rosa was treating his injuries, the other foster kids were listening idly. Mary saw the news about this new superhero and noticed how he was talking to Freddy and realized that Billy is that superhero. The kids went to Billy about this revelation and told him they knew about his search for his mom as Pedro found the notebook he threw away. Eugene said that he managed to actually locate his mother, who just so happened to live a few blocks down the street. Billy immediately rushed out with the written address and left the household, with Victor and Rosa chasing after him.

When he reached the apartment number, he was scared and uncertain of himself. After he knocked on the door, he had finally met his mother, who initially didn't recognize him. He told her that she was his son that she lost. Upon hearing this, she admitted to Billy that she was not ready to take care of him due to his father being arrested, kicked out of her own home, and being a young mom at the time. She told him that when she lost him that day at the fair, she saw her son with the police officers and decide to leave Billy in their care, saying he could be raised better without her. Billy was extremely shocked and heartbroken upon this revelation and said that he needed to go back to his real family and left her mother with the prize she won for him all those years ago saying she'll need it.

#### Skirmish in the Rock of Eternity

 File:Sivana confronts Shazam!.jpg
"*I get it. I get what that's like. Feeling like you're all alone in the world. Feeling like there's that one thing, and if you could just find it, then you'd finally be good enough.*"
―Billy to Thaddeus Sivana[src]
Billy received a phone call from Freddy, which he answered and immediately apologized to him. He realized it was Sivana who managed to use Freddy to track down his foster family and take them hostage and promised to them go if he gave him what he wanted. Billy then went to the roof of the apartment complex where he ran and jumped out of it as he transformed into a superhero and flew back home.

Billy arrived to see Sivana and his family there and decided to willingly abide to his demands. Sivana proceeded to create a spell on one of the doors that transported them to the Rock of Eternity in which the two left the Vasquez household. The two arrived at the site where the seven wizards held counsel as Sivana picked up the wizard Shazam's staff. He commanded Billy to hold the staff and say the wizard's name as the Seven Deadly Sins watched them. They were interrupted by Mary, Darla, Pedro, Eugene, and Freddy who used the still active portal and told them to let go of their brother.

 File:Shazamily.jpeg  Billy managed to strike Sivana and reunited with his siblings and tried to find a way out of the Rock of Eternity. Upon realizing the door Sivana made no longer worked, they came across numerous other doors and tried opening those, only to discover they led to entirely different worlds and locations. Billy, trying to see if he can teleport them himself, ended up bringing them to a strip club in Philadelphia he and Freddy once went to. Billy transformed back and decided that he and his siblings should hide at the Christmas Village, but Sivana noted his location from the summoned lighting bolt. He arrived at the scene and called out Billy for being a coward for jeopardizing the lives of everyone at this event, and demanded he showed himself. Although his family warned against this, he replied that he needed to protect the ones most important to him and confronted Sivana as the champion.

#### Empowering the family

 File:The Shazam Family.png
"*All hands on deck. Say my name."
"Billy!"
"No, not my name! No, say the name that I say to turn into this guy!"
"Shazam!"*"
―Billy to Freddy, Mary, Darla, Eugene, and Pedro[src]
Unfortunately, their fight was cut short as Sivana unleashed the Sins to round his siblings and used them as hostages to force Billy to surrender his powers. As Sivana recalled the Sins, Shazam remembered the wizard telling him to fill the thrones of their "brothers and sisters". Seizing the staff and repelling Sivana with it, Billy tells his siblings to take hold, and say his name, echoing the words of the Wizard. After saying "Billy", he told them to say "Shazam" instead. By saying "Shazam", a burst of lightning appeared.

Like Billy, Freddy, Mary, Darla, Eugene and Pedro have all now gained the powers of Shazam. Seeing that Sivana is in disbelief, Billy breaks the staff, leaving Sivana unable to steal the Wizard's powers. While the others face off against six of the Sins, Sivana and Billy have their second fight, racing through the city to try and best one another. In a brief pause during their duel, Sivana began threatening Billy and claiming it would take more than a group of juveniles to save him. However, Billy playfully ignored him and taunted him for monologuing before lunging at him. They unleashed discharges of energy upon each other, but they were too evenly matched. Realizing this, Billy had a split-second to contemplate his next move, but it was all his adversary needed to seize him in a chokehold and rocket into the air with him. However, this move would not work a second time: unintimidated, Billy grabbed his face and the two struggled. Ultimately unable to best Sivana in close combat, he was thrown onto a roof.

Billy takes note that his foster siblings are only facing six of the sins, and mentions the last remaining Sin possessing Sivana's body, the only one still giving him any power: Envy. Insulting Envy, the Sin emerges from Sivana's body, leaving Sivana completely mortal and holding on for dear life on the edge of the building. Envy attacks Billy, but Billy uses the word "Shazam" to vaporize Envy into mist, before saying the word again to quickly save a falling Sivana. Billy brings Sivana back to the carnival, and precedes to pull out the Eye of Sin, sucking back in all of the Sins. The Eye then seemingly began tempting Billy with his deepest desire but he reveals he was merely teasing his siblings, having the common sense not to put a demon ball in his eye. Around them, the crowd cheers, and soon after, Billy and the others return to the Rock of Eternity to return the Eye and the Sins. Freddy points out to Billy that they now have a superhero lair.

### A new life

#### A new hangout

"*Lair! We got a lair!*"
―Billy Batson[src] File:Shazam Family sitting in Rock of Eternity.png  After their fight with Sivana and the Sins, Billy finally felt like he has found a home, with the Vasquez' and his foster siblings, calling all hands on deck over dinner. Later, he and his brothers returned to the Rock. Billy put the Eye back and re-imprisoned the Sins. Freddy was thrilled they had found a place of their own. They proceeded to sit down on six of the thrones before noticing there was an empty seventh throne.
#### Living with the Vasquezes

"*Freddy Freeman! This guy taught me everything I know about being a dope superhero! True story. You should get some pointers from him. What's goin' on?! My best bud in the whole world and also new kids that I'm meeting for the first time but seem very cool. Uh, ha. I invited another friend. I hope that's okay.*"
―Billy as the champion[src] File:Superman Freddy and Shazam.jpg  The next day, Billy came to the school cafeteria as the superhero while Mary, Eugene, Pedro and Darla changed their lunch schedules to eat with Freddy and Billy. As the superhero, he impressed the other school kids, telling them that Freddy taught him everything he knows. He also told Freddy he invited a friend. Looking over, Freddy saw Superman standing right next to him, and is shocked that the Man of Steel is actually there.
#### Rescue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

 File:Superheroe Hooky moment.jpg  While listening to a police scanner in class, Billy and Freddy heard of a police blockade in response to a museum heist. The pair texted Darla, Eugene, Pedro, and Mary to meet at the lockers, where they transformed into their superhero alter-egos and headed for the museum. They arrived and quickly intervened. Billy shielded the police from the spray of a minigun while his brothers stopped the other thugs. The robbers were detained and the art was returned.

### Aftermath

Billy and the Shazam family captures the CIA agent, Wolfe, for revealing the identity of four intelligence operatives.

 File:FOTG Trailer 045.jpg  Later, Billy visits pediatrician Dario Bava for therapy, asking him for advices to be a better leader. When Batson began to talk about his problems by not considering himself worthy of his powers, Bava made Batson notice that he was a pediatrician, showing him his salon, however Batson commented that they had recommended the place and asked for help again. Bava then stated that he believed Batson had imposter syndrome, stemming from childhood trauma, and asked about his childhood, Batson then mentioned abandonment by his parents and receiving powers from a wizard who died in front of him. Billy then went home and plays videogames with Eugene.

### Destruction of the Ben Franklin Bridge

 File:Shazam Family FOTG.jpg  During the Destruction of the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Billy and the Shazam Family quickly attend to the place and save the people who were crossing the bridge, using their speed to take them to a safe. Once all the civilians are saved, the Shazam Family reunites to try to prevent the bridge from collapsing, failing in the attempt. Later, Billy summons his brothers to the Rock of Eternity to review their performance in saving the people on the bridge, however he is frustrated when they don't pay attention and decide to retreat. Mary tries to reason with him about the activities they had to carry out and that they could not always be operating.

### Revenge of the Hesperides

#### Wizard's Warning

 File:Billy talks to Freddy.jpg  Billy eventually dreams of a date with Wonder Woman, but is interrupted in his dream by the wizard Shazam, who warns him about the arrival of the daughters of Atlas. So Billy searches the internet for them and calls a meeting with his siblings. While Freddy Freeman was having lunch with "Anne", Billy then interrupts Freddy while he was having lunch with Anne, to ask him to be in the meeting, explaining his dream, but Freddy refuses to attend the meet. During the meeting, Batson explains his dream and his searches. Pedro introduces his siblings to the Library of the Eternity and Steve the Pen to investigate the daughters of Atlas but they end up finding out about the theft of the magic staff by the daughters.

#### Sacrifce

 File:Billy with the magic staff - FOTG.jpg
"*We end this now!"
"Yeah, we do.*"
―Kalypso and Billy Batson[src]
With the dome lowered and having decided to sacrifice himself to save Philadelphia, Billy says goodbye to Freddy and his family saying that he must sacrifice himself to stop Kalypso. The hero confronts Kalypso and Ladon, shooting lightning bolts around the dome, charging the magical staff with energy and flying at Ladon, but the dragon throws the staff to the ground. Billy soon strikes Ladon, retrieving the staff and embedding it in Ladon's chest, causing an explosion inside the dome that kills Kalypso, Ladon, and himself.

### Resurrection

After knowing of Billy's sacrifice to save Philadelphia, Wonder Woman would decide to travel to Mount Olympus to restore the power of the magical staff and bring him back to life. The next day, the Shazam Family were soon surprised by the presence of the heroine, who approached to take the staff and invoke lightning over it, restoring its power and bringing Billy back to life, who came out of his burial, also restoring the powers of Anthea and the fauna of the place. Seeing Wonder Woman, Batson briefly spoke to her, trying to ask her out of it, something she refused as she withdrew. Batson then used the staff to restore his family's powers.

### Invitation to the Justice Society

Having Billy Batson alive again, Amanda Waller began to take an interest in him for which she began to investigate him, considering him to join the Justice Society as he was too powerful, sending Emilia Harcourt and John Economos to Philadelphia to try to recruit him in the team.

### Family dinner

During the family dinner, the Billy and his family were visited by the wizard Shazam who comes looking for the magic staff, surprising everyone with his new appearance. When Billy asks for his superhero alias, he replies that Billy's alias was Shazam.

## Personality

"*Dude, I get it. I get it. You've been screwed over way too many times. You don't trust anyone.*"
―Freddy Freeman to Billy Batson[src]
Initially, Billy seems to be a cynical troublemaking boy who doesn't respect authority and prefers to be on his own and advising Mary Bromfield to not worry about everybody else and "always look out for number one," even firmly believing that families are "for people who can't take care of themselves"; it is soon shown, however, that Billy's behavior is the result of him being separated from his mother at a very young age and he's spent years trying to reunite with her. Having grown as an orphan, Billy is dismissive of the idea of families, as he ran from multiple foster homes before and when he was adopted by the Vasquezes he had no interest in socializing with any of his foster siblings and didn't consider himself to be part of the family, as he'd rather go back to his real mother. Billy can be reserved and quiet, not interacting with others at school and rejecting any friendship attempts from the Vasquezes. Billy has a rather low opinion of himself, as when the wizard Shazam chose him as his successor and described him as a "pure soul", Billy disagreed and stated that he was not a good person and even believed that truly pure people didn't exist. Despite his flaws, Billy is an inherently good person, as he was willing to step up for his foster brother, Freddy when the latter was being picked on by bullies, an act that convinced the Wizard that he was the right person to inherit his powers.

Upon obtaining the powers of Shazam, Billy was initially overwhelmed but promptly went to Freddy for advice. Freddy and Billy quickly became best friends over Billy's newfound powers as the two used it for their own entertainment. In his champion form, Billy is more optimistic and willing to have fun. Initially, Billy was rather irresponsible with his powers, using them for his own amusement not paying any attention to the consequences of his reckless behavior and not considering Freddy's own opinion of the superhero. It isn't until Thaddeus Sivana attempted to kill Billy and steal his power that Billy understood that superpowers aren't simple power fantasies and can be dangerous for himself and the others around himself, after which he starts being more responsible with his powers.

Billy sees some of his own flaws reflected in Thaddeus Sivana, mainly in that both of them were disillusioned by the idea of families and spent their lives obsessively trying to find something believing that it'd fix all of their problems. Billy somewhat empathized with Sivana over their similarities and chose not to let the doctor die and instead depowered him.

When Billy is finally reunited with his mother, he learned that she had willingly abandoned him due to him being a teenage pregnancy child. Following this brief reunion, he realized that his obsession to find his mother had made him selfish and that he was hurting those around him by neglecting them. When Sivana held his foster siblings hostage, who had figured out he was "Captain Sparklefingers", Billy was willing to give up his powers to protect them. Billy apologized to Freddy over his previous bad behavior and grew to appreciate the rest of the Vasquez family so much that he gave all of them powers so they could help him defeat Sivana and the Deadly Sins.

Following Sivana's defeat, Billy and his foster siblings resolved to continue being active superheroes and protectors of the Rock of Eternity. As the champion, he later publicly admitted that he never could have become the superhero that he is without Freddy's mentoring. Billy also went out of his way to get Superman to visit his school in order to fix Freddy's reputation.

## Powers and abilities

### Powers

"*Electricity manipulation, hyper-speed, super-strength. Dude, you're stacked! You're almost as cool as Superman. Almost.*"
―Freddy Freeman to Billy Batson[src] File:Shazam! transformation on rooftop.jpeg
* **Divine empowerment**: After being chosen by the wizard Shazam as his champion, Billy Batson was granted the ability to transform into his "full potential" with the powers of the wizard by calling out the latter's name (described by Freddy Freeman as "verbally triggered body-manipulation properties"), which summons a bolt of lightning from the sky and imbues him with all the greatest powers of the gods: 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, with the invocation also being a combination of the first letters in each gods' names. As the champion, Billy has many powers and abilities, which surpass the capabilities of humans, and most other metahumans, to the point where he was noted by Freddy to have powers almost comparable to that of Superman. Thaddeus Sivana came to recognize Billy as "the Chosen One," a "perfect man," "pure of heart," and "flawless in every way." Following Billy's defeat of Kalypso and Ladon, Hespera recognizes him as "a true god after all" while Anthea calls him "a hero and a god."

#### Wisdom of Solomon

"*With your heart, unlock your greatest power.*"
―Shazam[src]
* **Genius-level intellect/Superhuman intelligence**: While Shazam is initially inexperienced in using this ability, he began to tap into it during his final battle with Sivana and the Seven Sins - the wisdom of Solomon allowed Billy to simultaneously come up with a way to permanently keep his power from Thaddeus Sivana, and even the battlefield against the Sins, by using the Wizard's staff to transform his foster siblings into the Shazam Family, after which he broke the staff, while also allowing Billy to see how Sivana was being exploited by the Seven Sins, and to trick Envy into exiting Sivana's body to attack Billy directly, thus stripping Sivana of the latter's powers. Solomon's Wisdom also makes Billy an amateur strategist, as he used the wizard's name to summon lightning to not only distract Sivana so he could escape into a crowd, but also to use the name as a weapon to strike the Seven Deadly Sins. He also appealed to Sivana's loneliness in an attempt to make peace.

#### Strength of Hercules

 File:Shazam catches bus.jpg
* **Superhuman strength**: With the strength of Hercules, Billy has incredible superhuman strength, able to easily lift people single-handedly and send them flying, and punch through concrete pillars. He is also able to lift vehicles off the ground, such as the Breyer brothers' pickup truck and even a 13.75-ton bus, and push a heavy barrel away with a flick of his finger. When discovering what powers he had, Billy was able to jump into the air in an attempt to fly, launching himself ten feet over a skateboard halfpipe ramp. However, he can jump even higher, noted by Freddy Freeman to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (much like Superman). Indeed, Billy's strength is such, that the only times he is ever seen straining are when he battles equally strong opponents (like the empowered Sivana), or when he slowly pulls a magical sphere containing the Seven Sins from Sivana's eye. His strength was further exhibited when he distributed it among his foster family, with Freddy being able to carry two people at once and Pedro Peña being able to support the weight of a Ferris wheel. Although it wasn't shown on-screen, Billy was able to throw a football into space, which Freddy videoed and posted, according to students of Fawcett Central School. Billy's strength is likely comparable to the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.

#### Stamina of Atlas

* **Superhuman stamina**: With the stamina of Atlas, Billy is capable of not growing tired despite running incredibly fast and flying through the air even for a long period of time. He is also able to take multiple hits from Sivana and continue fighting without needing a break.

#### Power of Zeus

"*His name is Thundercrack, hero to the people with all the power and speed of lightning all in one.*"
―Freddy Freeman[src] File:Shazam and Freddy test electricity.jpg
* **Electrokinesis**: With the mystical power of Zeus, Billy can generate and project electricity. When first discovering his powers as the champion, Billy was able to instantly charge people's cell phones with single respective bolts of energy. Billy can also use his lightning to make electronic devices short out, like vending machines. At full power, Billy's lightning rivaled that of an empowered Sivana. In addition to being extremely powerful, this ability was also extremely precise, with Billy even able to shoot up consecutive lightning bolts, while generating specific sound waves (which he formed into the music from the "Eye of the Tiger.") By overloading the magic staff with electricity and striking Kalypso and Ladon with it, Billy was able to kill them both and destroy the Tree of Life at the cost of his own life.
* **Regenerative healing factor**: While his full healing capabilities were never fully demonstrated, Billy was able to heal the injuries the empowered Sivana inflicted on him within a few minutes.
* **Teleportation**: As the champion of the wizard Shazam, Billy can exit the Rock of Eternity by mentally concentrating on another location of his choice. This way, Shazam was able to teleport himself and his foster siblings from the Rock into a Philadelphia strip club.

#### Courage of Achilles

"*Bullet immunity. You have bullet immunity!"
"I'm bulletproof.*"
―Freddy Freeman and Shazam[src] File:Shazam and Freddy testing strength (1).jpg
* **Nigh-Invulnerability**: With the courage of Achilles, Billy's body is virtually invulnerable to most forms of harm, even warning Doctor Sivana that he is "basically invincible". After Freddy Freeman shattered a wooden baseball bat over his chest, he emerged unscathed from a wooden box that Freddy had doused in gasoline and ignited, repeated crashes into cars left him unscathed, he survived being thrown through multiple skyscrapers and asphalt, and bullets bounced off of Billy on impact, even his face (only slightly "tickling" him). However, Dr. Sivana (when empowered by the Seven Sins to the point that his strength was on par with Billy's) was able to hit and choke Billy hard enough to hurt the latter, and gave Billy a nosebleed with a punch. However, Billy ultimately survived repeated beatings from Sivana and the Seven Sins with minimal injuries. Sivana noted that magical beings at their level can only be harmed by one of their own.

#### Speed of Mercury

"*Hyper-speed, check.*"
―Freddy Freeman[src] File:Shazam saves person from truck.jpg
* **Superhuman speed**: With the speed of Mercury, Billy can move at speeds only perceptible to humans as blurry yellow streaks of light, thus being able to knock a criminal down before the latter even knew what happened in under a second, to rapidly rush over to Darla Dudley's bedside and prevent her from yelling by swiftly covering her mouth, to save Mary Bromfield from being run over, and to quickly disarm a robber. Nonetheless, Billy initially had trouble keeping up with equally fast opponents, like the empowered Sivana, but he adjusted fairly quickly, rivaling the speed of Sivana's attacks in their subsequent fights, and ultimately outpacing some of the Seven Sins. However, he isn't as fast as the Flash, Superman or his sister Darla.
	+ **Superhuman reflexes**: File:Shazam catches gun.jpg  Due to his super speed, Billy is able to dodge attacks and move around different objects with ease. He quickly reacted to a gun being pointed in his face and caught a punch from Thaddeus Sivana. A less impressive but still noteworthy feat is when he defeated Freddy Freeman in Mortal Kombat by applying his lightning-fast thumbs on a controller.
* **Flight**: Billy can levitate and fly at fast speeds, being able to keep pace with Thaddeus Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins.

### Abilities

"*I can take care of myself.*"
―Billy Batson to E. B. Glover[src]
* **Gifted intellect**: Even without the Wisdom of Solomon, Billy is quite intelligent on his own - he once came up with and executed a plan to get access to the police database, which worked perfectly.
* **Expert thief**: Billy Batson, due to living on his own for most of his life, has become an immensely skilled thief, able to break into cars without triggering alarms.
* **Skilled combatant**: Billy Batson is a fairly capable combatant in both human and superhero form, able to take down two bullies harassing Freddy Freeman in moments using Freeman's crutch in his human form. In his superhero form, Billy uses his powers to swiftly overpower opponents, though his combat skills were noticeably inferior to those of Doctor Sivana, who (while empowered by the Seven Sins) rather quickly overpowered Billy in their first battle. Nonetheless, Billy managed to adjust and battled more evenly against the empowered Sivana in their subsequent fights, and personally defeated several of the Seven Sins.

"*That is why I vowed never to pass on my magic until I find one truly good person. Strong in spirit, pure in heart.*"
―Shazam to Billy Batson[src]
* **Indomitable will**: Billy Batson has immense willpower and determination, being pure of heart enough to overcome difficult or dangerous situations and overcome strong emotional attachments when necessary. Hence, he tirelessly searched for his mother's whereabouts for approximately eleven years since their separation, having ran away from twenty-three foster homes across six counties and being willing to break the law on numerous occasions, without ever seeming to lose hope in his pursuit. He also stood up for Freddy Freeman when the latter was being picked on by two bullies (albeit he only did this when the Breyer brothers hit close to home by insulting Freeman for not having his mother present). After the wizard bestowed unto him his divine powers, Billy interfered in an armed robbery at a convenience store even before he learned he could not be harmed by natural means. While he was initially afraid of Sivana, even attempting to flee from the latter upon their first encounter, Billy ultimately overcame his fear of the formidable doctor and later stood up for his foster siblings after realizing that his mother did not want him, even going so far as to offer himself to Sivana in order to protect them. At the carnival, he volunteered to single-handedly take on Sivana while his empowered foster siblings fought the Sins and persisted defiantly against the supervillain until he eventually managed to gain the upper hand. Indeed, Billy showcased his incorruptible willpower by resisting the allure of the Eye of Sin without being slightly tempted (merely pretending to be enticed by it), despite generations of chosen individuals having failed to do so when tested by the wizard Shazam.

### Weaknesses

* **Vocal reliance**: The spell that allows Billy to transform into Shazam is purely vocal. Therefore, if he is prevented from speaking, such as being gagged, he will not be able to transform.
* **Supernatural beings**: Supernatural beings can harm Billy like the Seven Deadly Sins or Thaddeus Sivana.
* **Magic immunity**: Beings, creatures, and other entities that are totally immune to magic are immune to Shazam's magical and physical attacks.

## Equipment

### Weapons

* **Batarang**: Billy used a replica Batarang to attack and briefly stun Thaddeus Sivana during a fight to protect his foster siblings.
* **Magic staff**: Originally belonging to Shazam, Billy took the staff from Thaddeus Sivana and used it to empower his foster siblings with the power of the gods to help him fight Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins. Billy then broke the staff to keep its power from being used in the wrong hands.

### Other equipment

"*Dope! My brother, I applaud your choices today. Gold shoes, gold belt, white cape. It shouldn't work, but hot damn, it does!*"
―Subway rider[src] File:Shazam shows off muscle.jpg
* **Shazam suits**: When empowered as the champion, Billy wears red bodysuit with a lightning bolt emblazoned on his chest just like the Wizard had, and a hooded white cape with gold trims.

## Relationships

* C.C. Batson - father
* Marilyn Batson - mother
* Victor Vasquez - foster father
* Rosa Vasquez - foster mother
* Shazam family - foster siblings and teammates
	+ Mary Bromfield - rescuee
	+ Freddy Freeman - best friend
	+ Pedro Peña
	+ Eugene Choi
	+ Darla Dudley

Allies* Rachel M. Batson
* E. B. Glover
* Shazam
* Superman
* Philadelphia Police Department
* Dario Bava
* Steve
* Anthea - temporary enemy
* Hespera † - former enemy
* Wonder Woman - idol and love interest
* A.R.G.U.S.
	+ Emilia Harcourt
	+ John Economos
* Burke Breyer
* Moran
* Thaddeus Sivana - attempted killer, rescuee, and detained enemy
* Seven Deadly Sins
	+ Gluttony
	+ Pride
	+ Greed
	+ Lust
	+ Envy - attempted killer
	+ Wrath
	+ Sloth
* Crocodile-Men
* Zombies
* Kalypso † - victim
* Ladon † - victim

## Trivia

* The name "Shazam" is an acronym of the ancient gods and historical figures who Billy Batson derives his heroic attributes from when in his adult form:
	+ **S**olomon - wisdom
	+ **H**ercules - strength
	+ **A**tlas - stamina
	+ **Z**eus - power
	+ **A**chilles - courage
	+ **M**ercury - speed
* Billy shares the second name "Joseph" with Superman, Lex Luthor and Deathstroke.
* Billy has no social media and does not seem to have an online presence.
* His nickname "Zap-tain America" is a reference to Captain America, a superhero in the Marvel Comics.
	+ Additionally, his other nickname "Captain Sparklefingers" is also a reference to Captain Marvel, his original name and another superhero in the Marvel Comics.
* Most of his unofficial nicknames are named after his electrokinetic powers.
* Billy's personality is based on his New 52 incarnation.
* He is currently 16 years old and he turns 17 in 5 months.

## Behind the scenes

* Shazam's original name was "Captain Marvel", but was changed due to Marvel Comics owning the trademark to the name. Regular use of "Shazam" in the titles of DC comic books and related media and merchandise caused confusion in the general public, leading DC to eventually change his name officially.
	+ Due to this change, the superhero team known collectively as the Marvel Family was renamed the Shazam Family.
	+ However, Captain Marvel's original name was uttered by a bystander played by Michael Gray in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
* Shazam, or Billy Batson, continues the ongoing tradition of orphaned superheroes in DC's lineup.
* Billy Batson/Shazam in the DC Extended Universe is the third live-action incarnation of the character, following iterations portrayed by Tom Tyler as Batson and Junior Coghlan as Shazam in 1941, and Michael Gray as Batson and Michael Gray (replaced by Jackson Bostwick) as Shazam from 1974 to 1976.
* In DC Comics, Shazam is the name of the wizard who gave Billy his powers.
* Dwayne Johnson wanted Armie Hammer to play Shazam.
* Jake McDorman, Parker Young, Joshua Sasse, Derek Theler, and John Cena were the frontrunners for Shazam before the part went to Zachary Levi.
* Kim Fardy and Ryan Handley were stunt doubles for Zachary Levi.
* Shazam in the DC Extended Universe is the fourth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by Junior Coghlan (Billy Batson) and Tom Tyler (Captain Marvel), Michael Gray (Billy Batson), Jackson Bostwick and John Davey (Captain Marvel), and Garrett Craig (Captain Marvel).
* Billy Batson was intended to appear in *Black Adam* post-credits scene, however it was denied by Dwayne Johnson.

## References

1. ↑ Template:Book ref
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Template:Film ref
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:Book ref
4. ↑ Template:Book ref
5. ↑ Template:Book ref
6. ↑ *Shazam!* Deleted scenes
7. ↑ Template:Comic ref
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Shazam! Fury of the Gods Special: Shazamily Matters
9. ↑ Philly Fiascoes Catch Financial Fraudster
10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 Template:Film ref
11. ↑ "Dwayne Johnson Wants Armie Hammer to Play Shazam in the DCEU" - Collider
12. ↑ "DC's 'Shazam!' to Star Zachary Levi (Exclusive)" - The Hollywood Reporter
13. ↑ Shazam Updates (@ShazamNews) - Twitter

## External links

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* Template:DC
* Template:WP

Template:Shazam Family

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