Jokes aside, the ability to draw power from divine benefactors through magical words is a popular trope used by both mythological figures and modern comic book heroes like Doctor Strange. By yelling out the patriotic magical word “UNCLE SAM!” (yes, really), Freddy gains the following abilities:įans were left to speculate what the other letters in Captain America Jr.’s magic word stood for or what gifts they bestowed (Courteousness of Ulysses S. While “Captain Marvel” isn’t an acronym like “Shazam,” in a very strange story published by both Marvel and DC Comics, the universe-hopping character Access once merged Freddy with Marvel Comics hero Captain America and transformed them into the “Amalgam” hero “Captain America Jr.” Instead of gods, Captain America Jr. Since Billy (and not the Wizard Shazam) gave Freddy the powers, in the comic books, Freddy shouts the word “Captain Marvel” instead of “Shazam.” Later, however, the comic is rebooted and Freddy just shouts “Shazam!” like everyone else. In both the comics and movie, Billy Batson gives his friend Freddy Freeman some of his power, letting him transform into Captain Marvel Jr. Moreover, he can transfer his powers to another, as he did with Mary Marvel during DC’s Countdown to Final Crisis event, allowing her to draw power from his gods instead of her usual benefactors. He’s also virtually immortal, having survived over 5000 years after being banished to deep space. He gains strength, speed, and invulnerability on par with Shazam or Superman. In the comics, however, the Egyptian gods make Black Adam supremely powerful. Thus, he may not draw power from the same deities. Although Black Adam’s “Shazam” cry originally drew power from the same gods as Billy Batson, he later gained the following Egyptian deities:Īs with many movies adapted from comic books, Dwayne Johnson’s movie version of Black Adam may not be identical to his comic book counterpart. Teth-Adam became the hero Black Adam, before being corrupted and becoming a villain (and later anti-hero) for Billy, Mary, and the rest of the Marvel family. This last gift seemed redundant since Mary originally looked identical to her normal teenage self even when transformed into “Mary Marvel.”īefore Billy and Mary, the Wizard Shazam imbued an ancient Egyptian, Teth-Adam, with his powers. Later, some of Mary’s goddesses were changed, and she gained her skill from Artemis (the Greek goddess of the hunt) and beauty from the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. Oddly, while Mary’s benefactors were said to be female, Zephyrus is the male Greek god of the west wind. Like Billy, most of Mary’s goddesses come from Greek or Roman mythology (with Hippolyta being the Queen of the Amazons – and mother of DC’s Wonder Woman). Originally, Mary gained the following abilities from the deities and heroes below: When Mary shouts the word, “Shazam!” she also gets powers. In the comics, however, Billy discovers he has a blood relative – a twin sister named Mary Batson (renamed Mary Bromfield by her adoptive parents). In the movie, Billy shares his power with his foster brothers and sisters, enabling them to become adult superheroes like himself.
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