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in: Superhero, Parahuman

Shazam

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“ SHAZAM! ”

—Billy Batson

Shazam
SHAZAM!!!
Billy Batson as Shazam
Name William "Billy" Batson
Born Philadelphia, 1999
Family Marvel Family
Race Parahuman
Citizenship American
Headquarters No information

Billy Batson was a normal child who ended up being granted powers by the Wizard. The powers would end up turning Batson into the superpowered vigilante known as Shazam whose powers would rival those of Superman. Although initially quite childish and immature, as his experiences in the League went on, Billy grew into his role as a protector. As the world changed around him, so did Billy, becoming a true protector and guardian of the people. However, his approach became much more direct and forward. After the Earth 2 War, Billy replaced Kal-El and became the Masked Superman.

Simply by saying the word Shazam, Batson could transform from a normal 14 year old boy to an immensely powerful, seemingly grown up hero. Batson was given his empowering abilities by the deities who represent each of the letters in the word Shazam. He's also the founder of the Marvel/Shazam Family.

Biography[]

Billy Batson and his parents would normally go to a Philadelphia zoo, where Billy would befriend a tiger named Tawky Tawny. Eventually, though, Billy was orphaned and left in foster care. As he got older, nobody was able to find a foster home for him and he got ruder and ruder. Billy would, nevertheless, continue visiting Tawny, seeing the tiger as the only thing left that reminded him of his parents.

Eventually, though, at the age of 14 he would once again be adopted by the Vasquez Family, though he negated the fact that he was a part of the new family, as none of them were related by blood. Of his new "siblings", the only one Billy got along with was Freddy Freeman, who he often defended from bullies. After receiving several signs from the Wizard, Billy eventually met him in a subway station and was transported to the Rock of Eternity. There Billy got into an argument with the Wizard, who ended up seeing the potential of a hero in Billy, bestowing him with the remaining powers needed to transform him into a champion. To become this champion, all Billy had to do was say Shazam and he became an adult with spectacular powers. After he transformed, Billy learned from the Wizard that he was the only champion remaining to save the world from the evils of magic. Although initially using his powers to help others, Freddy and Billy then decided to use them to get rich, though he inadvertendly ended up stopping a bank robbery, becoming the newest superhero at the time, coincidentally known as Shazam. As Shazam and Freddy continued their shenanigans, they also continued to help others, until a mysterious woman named Fransesca contacted Shazam. However, Shazam was soon attacked by Black Adam, the original champion of the Wizard, a fallen hero. Fearful of Adam, Shazam soon reverted back to Billy and fled the scene. As Billy watched Adam destroy Philadelphia, he learned from Fransesca only part of the tragic story of the original champion and decided to confront Adam as himself, not Shazam. The confrontation went sour and to save his friends, Billy became Shazam and gave some of his powers to his foster siblings. Whilst they went out to stop the Seven Deadly Sins, Shazam was forced to deal with Adam. The old champion, however, got the better of Billy and nearly killed him. It was when Tawky Tawny intervened that sense returned to Shazam, transforming the tiger as well. Becoming Billy again, the boy managed to trick the old champion into transforming, ending Adam's threat to Philadelphia. Taking Adam's power for himself, Billy once again became Shazam and stopped the Seven Deadly Sins' threat, much like Adam had in years long past. With the threat done, Billy decided to enjoy his life with his new foster family.

Billy kept Adam's ashes and bent on doing the right thing, decided to scatter the old champion's ashes in his homeland, Kahndaq. Arriving at the country prompted an international  emergency, leading to the battle that became known as Trinity War. Upon arriving, Shazam was attacked by the Kahndaqi army and then Superman. Shazam proved he could hold his own against Superman, but was then confronted by the rest of the Justice League, Zatanna and the Justice League of America. In the spiral of events that happened afterwards, the Justice League went to war with the JLA. However, both Leagues were immediately neutralized by Superman who demanded he be taken into custody. Shazam later accompanied both Leagues at the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters. Joining an ensemble team led by Batman, Shazam travelled to the House of Mystery, where he was confronted by John Constantine. Joining up with John, Shazam was later tricked by the mage into becoming Billy Batson. After the transformation, Constantine swapped voices with Billy, denying the latter the ability to become Shazam. After the two were attacked by Mopmop, Constantine and Billy were forced to work together. After defeating the demon, Constantine warned Billy not to touch Pandora's Box, with that, the two parted ways. Shazam refused to heed Constantine's advice and grabbed the box, triggering a global bomb that afflicted magical beings across the Multiverse and corrupting Shazam to make him resemble Black Adam. By the end of the Trinity War, Shazam, like the rest of the Leagues, was defeated by the Crime Syndicate. Placed by the Syndicate in prison, Billy despite the power to break out, chose to instead release his inner child. Eventually freed, Billy, as Shazam, was given a permanent position in the Justice League, where he found himself becoming fast friends with Cyborg. With the rest of the League, Shazam participated in trying to quell the Amazo Virus. Billy also came into conflict with Batman after stopping him from going to Apokolips in the Battle of Nishapur.

Powers & Abilities[]

Given his powers by a dying Wizard, Billy Batson was granted the powers of Shazam. This included the ability to transform himself into an adult version of himself with powers. As this adult, Billy has superhuman strength matching that of Superman's, great durability, flight, speed and the ability to generate and absorb electricity. Billy was also given control over magic, allowing him to cast spells. However, the magic imbued within Billy also made him the trigger for the bomb that was Pandora's Box.

Powers[]

  • Divine Empowerment/Calling: Billy gains his powers from six different heroes and deities: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury/Hermes. He activates these powers by saying the magical word "Shazam" which is the first letter of each of the gods' names combined.
    • Summoning Power Link or Chosen One Link / Lightning-Induced Power Summoning / Transforming Hero
      • Mystical Electric Transformation / The Awesome Power of Shazam: The ability to transform from a mortal to the entity empowered by the 6 extra-dimensional beings once known as "the gods on Earth" (although one of them is the Biblical king of Israel & the others are of Greco-Roman mythology).
        • "S" for the Wisdom of Solomon (3rd king of Israel who was bestowed with supernatural wisdom by the Lord God): Due to Solomon's blessings, Shazam has instant access to a vast level of scholarly knowledge. Billy describes this ability as a feeling and a moral compass.
          • Clairvoyance: The wisdom of Solomon gives Billy clairvoyance and provides him with counsel and advice in times of need.
          • Divine Grace: Billy has the wisdom of Solomon which allows finesse in actions and dealings with others.
          • Eidetic Memory: Through Solomon's wisdom, Batson is capable of memorizing anything he sees.
          • Tactics of War: Through Solomon's blessings, Billy is an accomplished tactician.
          • Mathematics: Through Solomon's blessings, Billy is an accomplished mathematician.
          • Multilingualism: Through Solomon's wisdom, Shazam can speak any language when transformed. He has been shown to speak decent Arabic and Japanese.
            • Omni-lingual: He can speak every language known to humans as well as ancient or dead languages and is able to understand aliens
          • Superhuman Knowledge/Intelligence: Captain Marvel has exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing him to read and decipher hieroglyphics, recall everything he has ever learned and solve long mathematical equations. Instantaneously he can make intuitive guesses based on limited data; to the point his guesses are almost always correct; also he has a great understanding of divine phenomenon in the mortal world.
          • Hypnosis: Through sheer power and magic he can hypnotize people for length of time (undetermined). Only those of great willpower can overcome this ability.
          • Enhanced/Superhuman Senses: Captain Marvel could detect evil in an artifact, or feel where a bad person is.
            • Enhanced Vision: He could calculate the prescription of a pair of eyeglasses, and match them to another pair, simply from casual observation.
          • Science
          • Metallurgy: He created Marvellium, a metal capable to binding ghosts.
          • Charisma: Another facet of his intelligence is ability to talk his way out of situations, as a man with an unprecedented amount of wisdom, he prefers to talk, rather than fight. Once Captain Marvel was able to reason with the goddess Heqt and persuade her to cause no more trouble with the humanity.
          • Instant Learning
          • Personal Formula
          • Intelligence Calling
        • "H" for the Strength of Hercules (god of strength, bravery/courage & Labor; Patron of Heroes): With the blessings of Hercules, Billy's strength is greatly increased. He is able to crack concrete, bend steel, and fight toe-to-toe with Superman. He can lift 36 quintillion to 6 sextillion tons.
        • "A" for the Stamina of Atlas (Titan of Endurance, astronomy and navigation; Bearer of Heaven): With the blessings of Atlas, Billy can endure great physical exertion without tiring while in his empowered form.
          • Self-Sustenance: Because of Atlas' blessings, Shazam is able to survive without food, water or any other sort of sustenance while in his empowered form.
          • Superhuman Stamina: His incredible metabolism endows him with practically infinite endurance and inexhaustible stamina.
          • Superhuman Endurance: His godly metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities.
          • Combat Empowerment
          • Interstellar Travel: Shazam is immune to the nature of space and is not inhibited by its lack of gravity. He can travel the reaches of space where no human body could possibly survive without the aid of technology or protection.
        • "Z" for the Power of Zeus (The ruler of Mt. Olympus and king of the Greek Gods; Mighty God of goodness, the weather, skies, heavens, storms, thunder, lighting, law, order, justice, honor, rain, fate, magic, air, winds, clouds, dust, hospitality, celestial bodies, governance and moral conduct; Lord of the cosmos and universe; Supreme God; Patron of kings and humans): Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transforms Billy, also enhances his other physical abilities and allows for inter-dimensional travel and the casting of various mystical spells. Most notably, this power allows Shazam to manipulate and control the "living lightning".
          • Advanced/Accelerated Healing: He displayed the ability to use the transformative lightning to heal others or himself instantly from wounds inflicted on his mortal form.
          • Dimensional Travel: Shazam can access the Rock of Eternity whenever he wants, which sits at the center of the Multiverse. Shazam was also able to forcibly transport the Wizard to the Rock of Eternity through a bolt of his lightning.
          • Electrokinesis: Shazam is able to generate and manipulate the "living lightning", which is the magical lightning that transforms him into Shazam. He can project the energy from his fingertips and even use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or other target.
          • Magic of Shazam: As the wielder of Shazam's power, Billy is capable of casting magic spells for various purposes. While originally not well-versed in magic, Billy eventually learned to cast precise spells from the Book of Champions. Shazam can weave spells for various purposes. He showcased some skills within it by using the Book of Champions to cast precise spells. Additionally, Billy's status as a "Champion of Magic" allows him to alter the intentions of spells at his beckon. Billy is proficient in utilizing the spell-casting system, the Magic of Shazam, derived from the Wizard and the past members who sat on the Council of Eternity.
          • Weather Manipulation
          • Divinity
          • Energy Power Link
          • Mysticism Combat
          • Sharing Spell: As Shazam, Billy can share a portion of his magical powers with anyone akin to family that he so chooses, giving both similar and different powers of their own based on their personalities. The Wizard considers this "sharing spell" the greatest of Billy's powers. Billy lost this ability due to the Wizard's betrayal and the effects of the Lazarus rain, which kept him from restoring Mary Marvel's powers after she gave them to Wonder Woman.
          • Dimensional Travel: Shazam can access the Rock of Eternity whenever he wants, which sits at the center of the Multiverse. Shazam was also able to forcibly transport the Wizard to the Rock of Eternity through a bolt of his lightning.
          • Light Power
          • Energy Attacks
        • "A" for the Courage of Achilles (Greek Hero of the Trojan War): This aspect is physical and partly psychological, and gives Billy superhuman amounts of inner strength to draw off from, while also making him indestructible to harm. Bullets have no effect on Billy, and conventional weaponry does nothing to his physical body as well. Only the most powerful of superhumans can topple him. He withstood a punch from an enraged Superman without any noticeable pain and injury afterwards.
          • Invulnerability: Captain Marvel is virtually invulnerable, and resistant to all types of physical injuries. His resilience to damage is on par with beings such as Superman, but without the weaknesses.
          • Indomitable Will: Because of Achilles', blessing Shazam is very strong willed in his actions.
          • Immortality: As long as he remains in his empowered form he doesn't age.
          • Optimism: With the Courage of Achilles combined with the Wisdom of Solomon and the boyish personality of Billy Batson this creates a certain kind of optimism of which Captain Marvel is supremely known for. Able to smile down most opponents and using his powers in special ways other than fighting, Captain Marvel will forever remain the staple "boy scout".
          • Fear Immunity
        • "M" for the Speed of Mercury/Hermes (Herald/Messenger of the gods; God of travels, boundaries, shepherds, roads, hospitality, diplomacy, trade, merchants, invention, theft/thieves/thievery, orators, wits/cunning, language, writing, measurements, astrology, astronomy, sleep, dreams, magic, fertility, athletics/athletes, speed, trickery, international trade, commerce, athletes, exploring, mail deliverers, literature, art [including useful arts], transitions, wrestling, travelers, sports, business, gymnastics, cunning wiles, communications, persuasions, messengers, transition, guides, border crossings, transition, games, borders, eloquence, literature and poetry; Patron of Merchants; Guide of the Underworld): With the blessings of Mercury, Billy can run as fast as a bolt of lightning, this means Billy can at least run at the speed of light (671,000,000 miles per hour).
          • Flight: With Mercury's blessing, Billy is able to hover or out right fly at high speeds.
          • Superhuman Speed: He can move at incredible speeds making him fast enough to fight beings such as Superman and Black Adam
            • Superhuman Reflexes: Shazam's reflexes are heightened to superhuman levels. He has even reacted to the likes of Superman in battle.
          • Superhuman Agility: Shazam's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to superhuman levels. This allows him to easily make sharp turns and maneuver while flying and moving at superhuman speed.
          • Super Dexterity
          • Lightning Bruiser
          • Speed Strike
          • Interstellar Travel
      • Age Shifting
      • Superhero Physiology Mode
      • Transcendent Enhancement

Abilities[]

  • 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.
    • Smooth Talker: Another facet of his intelligence is ability to talk his way out of situations, as a man with an unprecedented amount of wisdom, he prefers to talk, rather than fight.
    • Photography
    • Journalism: Billy is a competent reporter at WHIZ Radio and takes his job very seriously.
  • 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.
  • 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 11 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.
  • Multilingual: Thanks to the Wisdom of Solomon, he has the ability to understand, comprehend, and speak any language on earth.
  • Occultism
  • Acrobatics
    • Gymnastics
  • Honored/Chosen Superhero
  • Intimidation: Billy once befriended a shy and reserved kid named Brian Bronsky. Upon realizing the boy was beaten and abused by his father, Billy as Captain Marvel visited Mr. Bronsky and delivered a deeply intimidating speech, scaring the man into turning over a new leaf.
  • Swimming: As Marvel, Billy has shown himself to be a skilled swimmer, often diving underwater to rescue innocents or fight foes.
  • Throwing: As Marvel, Billy remarked that he had a 'pitchers arm', allowing him to throw objects a far distance and later threw a man inn such a way to pin down another man.
  • Driving: Captain Marvel was said to be an excellent driver.

Weaknesses[]

  • Inexperience: Despite possessing incredible abilities in his superpowered form, Billy still lacks skill and experience as a crime fighter. He also doesn't really understand the true extent of his mystical abilities. Both of these factors often render him overwhelmed when faced with stronger and more experienced opponents.
  • 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.
    • Speech Impediment: Billy can only access his powers if he says the name 'Shazam' which can also turn him back to his human form. If he is gagged or prevented from speaking while in his human form his powers remain dormant.
  • Magic immunity: Beings, creatures, and other entities that are totally immune to magic are immune to Shazam's magical and physical attacks.
    • Supernatural beings: Supernatural beings can harm Billy like the Seven Deadly Sins or Thaddeus Sivana.
    • High Order Magic: Only the strongest of magics can affect him in any particular way, such as those wielded by the Spectre.
  • Vulnerable to Electricity: A powerful enough electric discharge can transform Captain Marvel back into Billy and vice versa. This has worked both to his advantage and detriment oftentimes.
  • Human Form: In his human form Billy can have the same weaknesses as a normal human.

Paraphernalia[]

Equipment[]

All the mystical items belonging to Shazam.

  • Eterni-Phone
  • Historama: Shazam owned the Historama that adorns the space near his throne at the Rock of Eternity. It functions as a crystal ball, but with Incredible range and accuracy. He activates the Historama by saying, "Historama show me...". The historama has incredible material strength and provides the following abilities:
    • Clairvoyance
    • Clairaudience
    • Remote Sensing
    • Extra-dimensional Detection
    • True Sight
    • Dimensional Viewing
    • Temporal Viewing: ability to look into the past, and functions just like Dimensional Viewing. These powers allow the Historama to "cleave through the barriers" to show the occupants of the Rock of Eternity what transpires in other dimensions and even other times.

Batson had forgone the original historama and has opted for a more up to date version and has redirected the Rock of Eternity with a multitude of different tv screens which portrays whatever he chooses, just as the original historama.

Transportation[]

  • WHIZ Van

The Eye Future[]

BillyBoy

Billy as Superman with Lois Lane.

As the Earth 2 War waged on, Billy was forced to make sacrifices and decisions that changed his perception of the world. Forced to team up with Black Adam only to be betrayed, Billy had no qualms when Superman dumped the villain in the Phantom Zone. With that being the last he ever saw of the real Superman, Billy began to continue to learn his magic. As he became an adult, he became much more direct and forward in an attempt to save the many but always kept a watchul eye out for Lois Lane. Asked by the Justice League to become Superman to keep the symbol of hope alive, Billy used his magic to wear the symbol of the House of El and transform into the Masked Superman. As Superman, Billy attended the funeral of Green Arrow, warned King Faraday and began to track Ethan Boyer. With Rampage being his only link to Boyer, Billy tried to follow her. The solar collector managed to elude him for weeks, however, growing stronger and stronger in the process. Eventually Rampage began to rampage throughout Metropolis and when she threatened Lois, Billy transformed into Superman and attacked her. By this time, however, Rampage had grown too strong and nearly killed Billy, forcing him to say Shazam, with the magical lightning bolt finally detaining the hulking monster. Turning human again, a weakened Billy requested help from Lois as he passed out. Quickly recovering, Billy prepared to leave the scene but was attacked by an awakening Rampage and knocked unconscious due to physical trauma. Saved by Stormguard, Billy's limp body was taken to the Watchtower for healing. After confronting Lois on whether or not she would reveal his former identity as Shazam, their meeting quickly turned into an argument. Exposed as Shazam, Billy continued to operate as the Masked Superman and was once again met by Lois. Halfway through their meeting, Billy was attacked by his old enemy Ibac. After defeating Ibac, BIlly finally decided to temporarily abandon his identity as the Masked Superman, using his magic to transform back into his old costume. Choosing to keep acting as Superman, Billy then helped with tsunami relief. Loving the nostalgic feeling of being Shazam, Billy made sure to play both identities, returning to the Watchtower, he arrived just in time to confront the Madison Payne incarnation of Firestorm. Giving Madison the equipment necessary to try and separate, Billy and Stormguard headed out to try and confront Dr. Polaris.

Although Billy managed to get the upper hand against Polaris, Madison arrived and instead forged a deal with the madman. Allowing Polaris on to the Watchtower, Billy placed him under strict supervision but upon doing so, recieved alerts informing the League of the arrival of the Brainiac God. When Brainiac manifested in New York, Billy, against his better judgment, allowed Polaris to teleport the three of them to Manhattan. There, Brainiac proved too powerful for Billy and the Masked Superman was easily dispatched. Rescued by the original Superman, Billy permanently resumed his role as Shazam. Aiding the fight, when the original Superman defeated Brainiac, Shazam stayed around afterwards to help out with the relief efforts.

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