Shazam

Template:Spoiler

For the Wizard's champion, see Billy Batson.

"*I open my heart to you, Billy Batson. And in so doing, choose you as champion.*"
―Shazam to Billy Batson[src]
**Shazam**, commonly referred to as **The Wizard**, was a powerful sorcerer who lived in an otherworldly lair called the Rock of Eternity, and the only survivor of the Council of Wizards after a massacre orchestrated by Teth-Adam, who after granting his powers to Hurut as his champion, he eventually transferred them to Adam, to which Shazam managed to bury him. Thousands of years later, Shazam continued his search for a champion, meeting Thaddeus Sivana, but upon seeing that he was tempted by the Seven Deadly Sins, the wizard declared him impure in heart, only for decades later Sivana to take revenge and set free the sins. As his last hope, Shazam decided to transform Billy Batson into his champion by tasking him with stopping Sivana, disintegrating in front of him shortly after.

Despite his apparent death, Shazam's spirit continued to linger within the Rock of Eternity, interceding to save the Shazam Family when they were almost defeated by the Crocodile-Men. Following the defeat of Kalypso and Ladon, Shazam, who had been still alive but trapped on Mount Olympus, decided to stay on Earth and enjoy a life of freedom, adopting a more modern appearance.

## Biography

### Council of Wizards

#### Choosing Hurut

"*The Council of Wizards, the magical guardians of the earth, sought to restore the balance. They empowered him with the gifts of the ancient gods. And turned a boy into a champion.*"
―Amon Tomaz[src]
 File:Shazam conjures to transform Hurut into a champion.jpg
Around 2600 B.C., Shazam along with six other wizards, decided to choose Hurut as their champion because of the heroic acts he had done for the freedom of Kahndaq. Having summoned him in a cave saving him from being executed by King Ahk-Ton, the sorcerers began to conjure, granting Hurut the powers of the Egyptian Gods, transforming him into his fullest potential.

When the champion's family was attacked by men under the orders of the ruling king of his nation, Hurut was unable to save his mother, however, he found his father still alive. Thus, the champion chose to bestow his power to his father, saving his life. But immediately after the exchange of power occurred, Hurut was felled by an arrow leading to his death. His father therefore became vengeful and ruthless and released the Seven Deadly Sins upon the men who killed his family and the people of the city of Kahndaq, killing millions.

#### Massacre of the Council of Wizards

 File:Shazam claims to have recklessly chosen Teth-Adam.jpg
"*We have chosen recklessly, and humanity has paid the price. And now, Teth-Adam, you must pay.*"
―Shazam to Teth-Adam[src]
Because of this, Shazam and his brethren summoned Teth-Adam to imprison him and bury him in a tomb, with Shazam proclaiming that they had chosen recklessly, with humanity paying the price. The sorcerers then proceeded to conjure around Adam who was not willing to give up, quickly began a massacre.

 File:Shazam uses all his power to bury Adam.jpg
During the attempt of imprisonment, all seven of Shazam's brethren were quickly electrocuted and killed by the champion that they had no say in choosing, leaving only Shazam alive, who used all his power with the magic staff to entomb him, giving a huge scream as he buried him in the grave. After the event, Shazam swore to only choose a champion pure of heart to succeed him. Eventually, the Seven Sins became imprisoned once more.

### Searching for a champion

#### Meeting Thaddeus Sivana

"*Only the purest of hearts can resist their temptations. But you, you will never be worthy.*"
―Shazam to Thaddeus Sivana[src]
 File:Young Sivana meets the wizard.jpeg
By modern times, the wizard had grown old and weak. In 1974, he summoned young Thaddeus Sivana to the Rock of Eternity to determine his worthiness as his successor. The imprisoned Seven Deadly Sins tempted Thaddeus to touch the Eye of Sin, forcing the wizard to declare the boy unworthy and banish him back to Earth.

As the Sins taunted the wizard's progressively weakening powers, he invoked a seeking spell to find a pure soul, no matter how long it took. Over the next few decades, the wizard was known to have abducted at least around 56 more unwilling individuals, but could find none of them to fit his criteria, thus forcing him to return them to their homes unchanged except for the knowledge of their own strange encounters.

#### Escape of the Seven Deadly Sins

 File:Shazam meets Thaddeus Sivana again.jpg
"*Through you, they'll spread their poison to everything they touch! Make mankind turn on each other!*"
―Shazam to Thaddeus Sivana[src]
By Christmas of 2018, Thaddeus figured out a way to enter the Rock of Eternity after researching various accounts of people who encountered the wizard, eventually finding a repeating sequence of symbols from a video given by a woman named Kwan. Initially, the wizard did not recognize Thaddeus until he was reminded of their first encounter years ago and grew angry at his intrusion.

 File:Shazam attempts to stop Sivana.jpg
In turn, Thaddeus rebuked the wizard for mentally scarring him as a child by telling him that he was unworthy before taking the Eye of Sin, carrying the Seven Deadly Sins within it. The wizard warned Thaddeus that the Sins were merely using him in order to destroy mankind. In desperation, he attempted to stop him as he cast a lightning bolt from his staff, but a now mystically empowered Thaddeus merely repelled his attack back at him, mocking that no soul's truly pure before departing.

#### Choosing Batson

 File:Shazam! - wizard talking to billy.jpg
"*You have been transformed to your full potential, Billy Batson. With your heart, unlock your greatest power. The thrones of our brothers and sisters await.*"
―Shazam to Billy Batson[src]
Finally, the wizard chose Billy Batson, an orphan and a foster kid, as his final champion. Naturally, the boy was confused and assumed that the wizard wanted money from him. Upset at being patronized, Shazam used his magic to explain the history of Black Adam and the Sins, as well as his quest to find a pure soul to succeed him.

 File:Wizard Shazam is disintegrated.png
Billy admitted that he was not pure of heart and that no one can truly possess the qualities he's looking for. Shazam insisted that Billy was all he had left and instructed to take the staff and say his name. After transforming Billy to his fullest potential, he instructed him to share his powers to fill the thrones of the Council of Wizards then crumbled to dust in front of him.

#### A Lingering Presence

Despite the Wizard's apparent death, his presence could still be felt within the Rock of Eternity. The various members of the Shazam Family soon became used to his presence, even finding comfort in it. When the Crocodile-Men emerged from one of the doors to attack the family, the Wizard himself interceded by influencing the mind of the Crocodile-Men's leader, convincing them to reverse their magic and return through the portal.

### Revenge of the Hesperides

#### Imprisoned by the daughters of Atlas

 File:FOTG Trailer 049.jpg
Despite it looking like Shazam had died when he crumbled into ash in front of Batson, he really coudn't hold his form in the Rock of Eternity any longer. After Shazam crumbled in front of Batson, he was taken to Mount Olympus, and would be put inside of Olympus' prison for him taking Atlas' power by Atlas' daughters, Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea.

Over two years later, Shazam would wait inside of his cell, when Hespera and Kalypso would make their way to the cell. Shazam begged them to leave him alone, until Hespera showed him that she had her elemental powers back. Concerned, Shazam asked her how she was able to do that since the Staff shouldn't allow them to escape or have their powers. Kalypso would reveal that they had the fractured staff. Shazam demanded that they tell him who did it, but Hespera would put the Staff's pieces in his hands and tell him to say his name and fix it, but he would refuse. Kalypso would use her influencing powers to force him to say the word. Despite Shazam trying hard not to give in, he eventually said Shazam causing the Staff to be reforged into one. Afterwards, Hespera and Kalypso would try to yank the Staff from Shazam's hands. However, before they succeeded, Shazam was able to splinter a long piece of wood into his finger from his staff, before Hespera used her abilities to force him away.

 File:FOTG Trailer 048.jpg
That night Shazam, alone in the cell would slowly pull out the splinter from his finger before using his magic to reach to the one who broke the staff. Eventually the spell reached to Billy Batson, who was dreaming of him in his champion form dating Wonder Woman. When Batson attempted to kiss the dream Wonder Woman, Shazam's spell would make his head appear on Wonder Woman's body. After realizing what happened, Shazam would question Billy if he broke the staff, which he confirmed. Frustrated, Shazam would declare how he was mistaken for choosing Batson as his champion but would warn him of the daughters of Atlas coming for him, but the spell would fade causing Shazam to cause a power surge, waking Batson from his dream and Shazam's consciousness returning to his body.

#### Teaming up with Freddy Freeman

On the following afternoon, Freddy Freeman would be put in Shazam's cell and would have to listen as Freddy who after waking up would begin to panic with Shazam shushing him to allow him to sleep. Despite his panic, Freeman realized that he was actually speaking to The Wizard, telling him that Billy Batson had told him about Shazam. Shazam would then question Freddy of how he knew Billy, with Freeman explaining that he was his foster sibling. Believing that Shazam was a traditional wizard, Freeman would question Shazam if he had any potions or items to help them out, but Shazam would explain that he doesn't work like that to Freeman's disappointment.

Eventually, Hespera and Kalypso would finish getting the info they needed from Freeman, and now having no use for either of them, the two would throw Shazam and Freddy into the pit. After recovering from the fall, Shazam and Freddy would hear a growl from the shadows. Concerned, Freeman would ask what it was, Shazam would inform Freddy that they were trapped in the pit to be killed by the dragon Ladon. Ladon, would emerge from it's hiding area, with it beginning to use his paralyzing roar to stun Freeman and Shazam in fear. Luckily for them, Anthea, who had grown close to Freeman, decided to secretly turn on her sisters and use her powers to allow them to escape Ladon's pit.

Shazam and Freeman would begin to explore the labyrinth in order to use a doorway to the Rock of Eternity to get out, with them eventually finding the doorway. However, before they made their way out, Hespera would emerge from the door with a seed from the Tree of Life as they hid from her. After Hespera made her way across the Labyrinth, Shazam would urge Freeman that they needed to get the seed back from her, which Freddy would be confused by, but Shazam would follow Hespera anyway. The two would follow Hespera to the sister throne room, where after Shazam declared that he'll steal the seed as the sisters were bickering, but Freddy would point out how Shazam's joints have been making cracking noises when he moved, which Shazam would check. Instead, Freeman would go grab the apple as fast as he could with his crutch occasionally slowing him down. Surprisingly, though Freeman would successfully grab the seed from its pedestal, however he blew his cover as the crutch knocked over an item down.

 File:FOTG Trailer 093.jpg

#### Sacrifice and Resurrection of Billy

 File:FOTG Trailer 103.jpg
Billy decided to sacrifice himself to save Philadelphia and stop Kalypso. He charged the magical staff with energy and later strikes Ladon, retrieving the staff and embedding it in Ladon's chest, causing an explosion inside the dome that kills Kalypso, Ladon, and him.

Later, the Wizard, accompanied by Anthea and Billy Batson's family, travel to Mount Olympus to bury Batson at his funeral. Wonder Woman then appears and restore the power of the magic staff and revive Batson, also restoring Anthea's powers and the flora of the place, once Batson wakes up from his grave and hugs with his family.

### A New Life

The Wizard eventually decides to stay in Philadelphia for a time, shaving his beard and buying tuxedo clothes. He later visits the Shazam Family during the family dinner. After being complemented over his new look after arriving, Batson would ask him why he was there. Shazam would tell Batson that he was there to turn into ash, which confused the family. The Wizard would then explain that he was joking and revealed that he was about to wonder the world, noting how he had spent too much of his time confined to the Rock of Eternity and prisons before admitting that he cames looking for his magic staff, surprising everyone with his new appearance. When Billy asks for his new superhero alias, the Wizard replies that Billy's alias was Shazam.

## Personality

"*Listen, I don't have any money."
"Do not patronize me, boy!*"
―Billy Batson and Shazam[src]
Shazam was a wise wizard, being able to tell who was pure in heart by testing them to see if they could resist the temptations of the Seven Deadly Sins. Despite this, he was not merciful or understanding to those he saw as unworthy, as seen when he immediately banished Thaddeus Sivana, a poor child who was a victim of neglect and abuse, when he was tempted to take the eye, with Shazam declaring he would never be good enough, which led Thaddeus onto the path of villainy.

## Powers

"*Lay your hands on my staff, and say my name so my powers may flow through you.*"
―Shazam to Billy Batson[src]
* **Homo Magi physiology**: Like all Homo Magi, Shazam is a being born with superhuman abilities and the ability to naturally harness Magic.
	+ **Superhuman durability**: Shazam possessed inhuman durability, as even in his advanced age, he was able to survive multiple hits, both physical and magical, from the Sins and Sivana, though they did hurt him.
	+ **Longevity**: Shazam possessed a vastly extended lifespan far beyond that of a regular human being, allowing him to live for thousands of years. However, he was not truly immortal like the Olympian gods, and eventually grew older and weaker, and after he transferred his powers to Billy, Shazam passed away and crumbled into dust. His physical aging doesn't appear to be linear or even coordinated with his actual aging, as his appearance hardly changed for millennia, even though it was stated that he has aged.
	+ File:Shazam attacking Sivana.png  **Magic**: Like all Homo Magi, Shazam can naturally harness Magic. He was a tremendously powerful and skilled sorcerer, possessing immense mystical power and mastery over the arcane.
		- **Electrokinesis**: Shazam was able to project powerful lightning bolts from his staff.
		- **Teleportation**: Shazam was able to teleport people to him and to banish them back to where he teleported them from.
		- **Power bestowal**: Shazam was able to bestow the power of the gods upon those he deems worthy. He bestowed Billy Batson with the power to transform into his mighty champion by calling out his name.
		- **Illusion manipulation**: Shazam was able to conjure up golden-colored illusions, which he utilized to better explain his history to his championship candidates.
		- **Energy Projection**: Shazam can project powerful beams of magical energy from his staff, the color of his magic is a sandy yellow.
		- **Curse**: Shazam can cast powerful curses as he cursed Teth Adam with his name Black Adam and then imprisoned him in the depths of the earth.

## Equipment

* **Magic staff**: With his magic staff, he could bestow the power of the gods upon those he deems worthy, as well as project bolts of lightning.

## Relationships

* Hurut † - former champion
* Billy Batson - champion
* Shazam Family - spiritual successors
	+ Freddy Freeman - friend
	+ Mary Bromfield
	+ Darla Dudley
	+ Eugene Choi
	+ Pedro Peña
* Victor Vasquez
* Rosa Vasquez
* Anthea - former enemy
* Steve
* Unicorns
* Wonder Woman
* Seven Deadly Sins - former inmates and attempted killers
	+ Gluttony
	+ Pride
	+ Greed
	+ Lust
	+ Envy
	+ Sloth
	+ Wrath
* Mister Mind - former inmate
* Teth-Adam - former champion
* Thaddeus Sivana - rejected champion and attempted killer
* Crocodile-Men
* Hespera †
* Kalypso †
* Ladon †

## Trivia

* In DC Comics, the wizard was named Shazam before the superhero took the name due to legal disputes over "Captain Marvel". The wizard is now known as **Mamaragan**, originally an ancient sorcerer from Kahndaq, the birthplace of Black Adam.
	+ In the original comics, Shazam was a young shepherd in Canaan named **Jebediah** who was chosen by six of his gods to be their champion, Vlarem, 9000 years ago.
* Mamaragan (also called Namarrkun) is the name of an Australian Aboriginal lightning god who lives in a puddle and "speaks with thunder as his voice". His mythology states that the god rode a storm-cloud and would throw lightning bolts at humans.

## Behind the scenes

* Ron Cephas Jones was originally cast for the role of The Wizard.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Template:Film ref
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Template:Film ref
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:Film ref
4. ↑ Shazam! Fury of the Gods Special: Shazamily Matters

## External links

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