Billy Batson

**William Joseph Batson**, also known as **Billy Batson**, **Captain Marvel** and **SHAZAM!**, is one of the major characters from the *DC* comics.

Deemed worthy of becoming the champion of the ancient Wizard Mamaragan and whenever he utters the word "Shazam", the young Billy Batson is struck by a magical thunderbolt and gains vast divine powers and abilities, transforming him into Magic's Champion, the World's Mightiest Mortal, Shazam!

In the AWA fics, Billy is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

Billy is a boy with a small physique, he has a short black hair and has blue eyes.

As Captain Marvel, Billy is tall and muscular with a slick-backed hair and has blue eye. He wears a white cape with a yellow trimmings, red bodysuit with a yellow sash wrapped around his waist and a yellow lightning symbol on his chest. He wears a yellow arm gauntlets with black lines and yellow boots.

## **Personality**

Initially, Billy seems to be a cynical trouble maker boy who doesn't respect authorities and prefers to be on his own and even 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 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. 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 Shazam for their own entertainment. In his Shazam 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 Shazam. It isn't until Thaddeus Sivana attempted to kill Shazam 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 Shazam 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 their all their problems. Billy somewhat empathized with Sivana over their similarities and chose not to let the doctor die and instead depower him.

When Billy is finally reunited with his mother, but learned that she had willingly abandoned him due to him being a teenage pregnancy child, 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 sibling's hostage, who had figured out he was "Captain Sparklefingers" Billy was willing to give up his Shazam powers to protect them. Billy apologized to Freddy over his previous bad behavior and grew to appreciate the rest of Vasquez family, so much that he gave all of them Shazam 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 Shazam, 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.

## **Abilities**

The wizard's name, SHAZAM, is an acronym with each letter standing for an Elder who grants his power to Shazam's champion.

When young Billy Batson speaks the wizard's name, a magical lightning bolt charged with the power of the Shazam Elders transforms Billy from an adolescent boy into the adult hero, Captain Marvel/Shazam, empowered by the gods. As Captain Marvel/Shazam, he is granted powers from these Elders:

### **S for Solomon**

S is for the wisdom of Solomon. The wisdom of Solomon gives Billy great knowledge, perception, comprehension and insight. By mystical means, Solomon is actually able to speak to Billy during his times of need. The wisdom of Solomon gives Billy many intellectual abilities, some known and other yet unknown. Some of these specific abilities are a photographic memory, omni-linguistic and advanced knowledge of war strategy and tactics.

* **Superhuman Knowledge -** Captain Marvel posses a vast amount of knowledge about facts that he had no encountered previously. Billy is able to make guesses about subjects that he had no prior knowledge to but is able to answer with incredible accuracy.
* **Clairvoyance** - Captain Marvel is able to change disadvantages to advantages even though he is not fully aware of the situation at hand.
* **Hypnosis -** Marvel is able to hypnotize his opponents but this does not work on people who are of a very strong mind.
* **Omni-lingual -** Cap has the ability to speak any language and can even communicate with aliens.
* **Good Conscience -** Marvel always has help from Solomon with making decisions, an example would be when he wanted to divulge the info of his identity to the JSA, Solomon strongly advised against it.

### **H for Hercules**

H is for the strength of Hercules, strongest of the gods. Billy is empowered with Hercules' nearly limitless superhuman-strength which is often compared to that of Superman. As such, Captain Marvel's strength is of the highest level and is sufficiently vast enough that it enables him to lift/move unbelievably massive and/or heavy objects possibly on a planetary scale or higher with little effort. Because his strength level is so high and potentially dangerous, Billy Batson constantly uses great restraint, thus he usually only uses as much strength or force as is necessary to accomplish whatever his given task or challenge requires. Because of this he is not often seen moving objects of a planetary scale though accomplishing such tasks are well within his abilities.

* **Superhuman Strength -** Captain Marvel has the ability to lift well over 100 tons with minimal effort and has battled top tier beings such as Superman, Wonder Woman and Black Adam. Captain Marvel has stalemated Superman in an arm wrestling contest and has at least matched Wonder Woman in raw strength. The limits, if there actually are any, of Captain Marvel's strength are unknown.
* **Corporal Enhancement** **-** When Billy Batson transforms into Shazam he gains the added muscle of a very well developed full-grown man as well as the accompanying height and weight, often appearing larger and more muscularly bulky than Superman himself.

### **A for Atlas**

A is for the stamina of Atlas, Titan who bears the heavens on his shoulders. This means he doesn't need to sleep or eat as Captain Marvel and has virtually limitless superhuman endurance. Due to Atlas' stamina, Captain Marvel doesn't fatigue during or after any exertion; no matter how strenuous or how long in duration.

* **Self-sustenance -** While in the form of Captain Marvel, Billy Batson does not need to eat. sleep or breathe. The godly energies that transform his body into Earths Mightiest Hero is enough to sustain his body. From Black Adam, who also shares the same powers as Billy Batson (but from different sources) we have seen that he was able to survive crossing the universe in his return to Earth which took him 5,000 years to accomplish.
* **Super-human Stamina -** Captain Marvels godly energies do not require him to rest because they prevent any kind of fatigue toxins from building in his body. This grants him a virtually inexhaustible amount of endurance regardless of how strenuous the physical activity he engages in or how long it lasts. His endurance may indeed be limitless.

### **Z for Zeus**

Z is for the power of Zeus, most powerful of the gods. Though the term "Power of Zeus" is vague, this grants Billy many abilities, with many possibly unknown as of yet. Through Zeus, Captain Marvel has high-level magic resistance and can call down the lightning that changes him back and forth between his two personas. He has even used the lightning as a weapon before; calling it down and then dodging it while allowing it to strike an enemy. Captain Marvel has also stated that with this power also comes the "Wrath of Zeus." This implies supreme, righteous anger/rage, though it's unclear how this ties into Billy's powerset. The power of Zeus is vast and hard to define completely. It may augment some of Captain Marvel's other powers and abilities and it may grant him powers and abilities even he has yet to discover. From Zeus Captain Marvel inherits sheer unbelievable power rendering him utterly invulnerability (Captain Marvel Adventures 144, DC Comics Presents Annual 03). The power of Zeus adds to the other powers of Captain Marvel giving him the wisdom of Solomon and Zeus, the strength of Hercules and Zeus, the stamina of Atlas is beeded up with the immortality of Zeus (World's Finest 254 and Shazam the Monster Society 04). Captain Marvel can still blend all the strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas and power of Zeus to increase his strength (Adventure Comics 492 and Power Of Shazam 46).

* **Magical Resistance -** The power of Zeus gives Captain Marvel a resistance against magic and only magic of the highest order is able to harm him.
* **Lightning -** Captain Marvel gains his power from a lightning bolt, and can use it as a weapon as well by interrupting the flow between the bolt and himself. In certain situations, Marvel has been known to spark lightning off of his body, and even direct it as a projectile at a target.
* **Sorcery -** Captain Marvel is a being of pure and ancient magic. This gives him the ability to resist the negative effects of magic.
* **Healing -** Although Captain Marvel has the power of the Gods it is possible to harm him. Captain Marvel is able to call down the lightning that gives him his powers in order to heal his body if he is injured. Captain Marvels healing factor is also of a godly level and is able to heal himself from almost all injuries in an incredible amount of time.

### **A for Achilles**

A is for the courage of Achilles, greatest hero of the Trojan War. This grants him an inner strength and confidence.

* **Courage -** Captain Marvel usually protects others before himself, and also often putting himself in harm's way to protect another. He also tends to stand up for the little guy, and asserts himself between larger fights to find a mutually beneficial solution. Achilles has bestowed on Captain Marvel with the great fighting abilities (Captain Marvel Adventures 144).
* **Invulnerability -** Captain Marvel is virtually invulnerable to all forms of physical harm. His resistance to harm is comparable to that of Superman's but he does not share his weaknesses to Kryptonite or magic.
* **Optimism -** Captain Marvel is a combination of the Wisdom of Solomon as well as the child personality of Billy Batson which create a fairly optimistic character in the DC Universe. He is able to stay positive and keep his spirits up even the most dire and desperate situations.

### **M for Mercury**

M is for the speed of Mercury, swiftest of the gods. This grants Marvel his god-like speed and his power to fly.

* Superhuman Speed - Captain Marvel is able to move at incredible speeds and is able to move so fast that he can seem invisible to the eye of the human being. Captain Marvels speed is said to surpass even that of Superman and rival that of the Flash, and can move at several times the speed of sound while running, swimming, and even performing "mundane tasks."
* Flight - The power of Mercury grants Captain Marvel the ability to defy gravity. With this, he is able to travel through space and through the atmosphere of the Earth at incredible speeds. He tries to limit his atmospheric speed to MACH 10 (so that he will not cause catastrophic damage with his flight wake), but he has the ability to fly at near light-speed.
* Teleportation - Captain Marvel has the ability to transport to the Rock of Eternity from wherever he is at by speeding between the space between dimensions.

### **New 52 Powers**

The wizard passed his magic to Billy he told Billy to utter the word SHAZAM with believe, good intention, and family thoughts to transform into his full potential as the Champion of Magic. When Billy transforms into the champion of magic, he has the following powers:

* **Supernatural Strength**: The Wizard told Billy that he has the strength of a 'demi-god' which makes him far stronger than any human and makes him equal with the likes of other demi-gods like Hercules. He has demonstrated his strength by lifting vehicles with little to no effort and pushed a man several meters before he crashed into a car while he said he never meant to hit him that hard, and knocking Superman and Wonder Woman down with a punch (though they stood up later). His upper limit are still unknown.
* ****Supernatural**Speed**: The Wizard said he would be able to move like the lightning he wields making it possible for him to fly at multi-mach speeds. He has matched Superman's reflexes in battle with him; Billy also raced Diana from Earth to the Watch-tower [22,300 miles above earth] in less than 6 minutes without using his top speed. His top flight speed is still unknown, but it is assumed to be near lightspeed.
* **Supernatural Invulnerabilty**: He has the strength of a demi-god, this also extends to his durability. He has resisted punches from Superman and Black Adam without any strain or noticeable effect. In new 52 he has power of Achilles (not courage) giving him invulnerability.
* **Supernatural Perception**: He can hear and see things only magical beings can hear and see, and he can also speak to entities and spirits only accessible by adepts of magic..
* **Supernatural Guardian**: When he first transformed and left the Rock of Eternity, the first set of places he went to where all needed his help (a woman was being robbed at his first place, the bank beside him was being robbed by masked men, the store he decided to go to was in the middle of a stick up and finally where a carjacker was hot wiring a convertible).
* **Magical Lightning Manipulation**: He can project magical lightning from his hands and fingers. He could not control it at first as any electrical device overloads then explode (even car lights) when he touches them (but he seems to have had control as nothing he electrical he touches overload then explodes). He has recently been seen having greater mastery over this ability, being able to use it as an offensive projectile blast, or bolt, and to also manipulate the energy to give him some telekinetic ability (as seen in the animated film, "Justice League: Throne of Atlantis").
* **Magic**: His powers are magical. Before the Wizard died he told Billy that he is the Champion of Magic as he wields the Living Lightning. During his fight with Black Adam, Billy transformed his foster family, giving them not only his but their own unique powers as well seemingly without any effort. He did not become weaker after he transformed them, he also transformed Tawny who helped him against Black Adam. He created a ping-pong table in the Watch Tower with magic. Billy can control what happens when he says Shazam. He can transform, stay the same or cast a spell.
* **TELEPORTATION:** Billy can teleport from underground to the Rock of Eternity and also uses teleportation to get out. He also teleported out of Star Labs after seeing Victor Stone to battle grodd in Metropolis.
* **Flight**: The magic bestowed unto him by the wizard enables billy to fly unaided at will, how proficient he is with the ability is still in question, but he has shown capable of moving, bolting and dodging rather acrobatically with little to no difficulty at all and while flying with passengers no less.

NOTE: He was not **weaker** after he **transformed his foster siblings to super powered beings**, but they lost their abilities when he decided to transform Tawny.

In the wake of the status quo shaking events of Darkseid War, Billy's powers were revealed in greater context once he had reached The Source of all things. When the dreaded lord of Apokolips breathed his last during the war with the Anti-Moniter, his death echoed throughout the infinite of reality severing Billy's connection to his patron gods who originally empowered him.

Desperate not to leave his champion powerless, the original Shazam (the wizard who gave him his abilities) sought out new gods for him to derive ability from, it is revealed that most any champion is merely a receptacle to channel the power of six gods.

While Billy was given such a title by the mystic it is said beings deal with a pantheon of differing deities that gives him his abilities, initially deriving power from Solomon, Hercules, Achilles, Zeus, Atlas and Mercury. The Ancient Wizard, revealed to be the Aboriginal deity Mamaragan went on a pilgrimage through the Source to find six new gods for young Batson to draw power from. These New Gods are:

### **S for S'ivaa**

S stands for the Strength of S'ivaa the dancer of destruction, an third world shadow elemental. In his words S'ivaa states the strength he has now vastly surpasses that of Hercules as his is the strength of all the Old Gods of Urgrund.

### **H for H'ronmeer**

H is for the Fires of H'ronmeer the martian god of fire, death and rebirth. While disoriented by the numerous entities speaking in his mind, billy finds his hands are wreathed in fire. It has been assumed that with greater practice and mastery, Billy would be able to manipulate this magical fire much like he does with lightning.

### **A for Anapel**

A bestows the compassion of the Siberian Goddess Anapel. The gift of Anapel also bestows him with great wisdom; it is yet to be seen if other clairvoyant gifts are also at his command, as was the case with the Wisdom of Solomon.

### **Z for Zonuz, Yuga Khan**

Z withholds the limitless abilities of Source Manipulation from the Old God Yuga Khan. This now serves as his source for his vast superhuman speed, stamina, and durability. As Billy becomes more familiar with these new powers, it can be assumed that a host of new abilities will also be available to him.

### **A for Atë**

A grants Billy the Boldness of Aite daughter of Zeus and goddess of impulse and ruination.

### **M for Mamaragan, The Wizard**

M lastly bestows the mystical lightning of The Wizard himself to his champion. Which stands to believe that all of his mystical understanding and power now falls under his champion enabling the creative usage of magic to continue weaving various spells.

### **God of Gods**

An entitlement bestowed upon him when Darkseid died at the hands of the Anti-Moniter; as the god of evil lay motionless in the wake of the Darkseid war everyone was gifted with an honorific relating to what power or aspect they represented. Being empowered by Deities Shazam was given the title of the God of Gods, what new powers this bestows upon him remains to be seen.

## **Trivia**

* Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953, partly because of a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. In 1972, Fawcett licensed the character rights to DC, which by 1991 acquired all rights to the entire family of characters.
* Captain Marvel made his first official video game appearance as a playable character in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, played by Stephan Scalabrino and voiced by Kevin Delaney, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles. In the story, Captain Marvel is among several DC superheroes teleported to the Mortal Kombat video game universe when the two universes merge, and characters from each franchise are forced to do battle. He also appears as a "jump-in" hero character in the Wii/Nintendo DS adaptations of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Jeff Bennett.