Shazam’s Adult Form is One Of DC’s BEST Secrets

Shazam is one DC superhero with a literal list of awesome superpowers. Simply by saying the magic word, SHAZAM! young Billy Batson transforms into the adult superhero Captain Marvel (aka Shazam) and gains the Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Power of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, and Speed of Mercury. He can fly, summon powerful bolts of lightning, and even cast magic spells.

But when Shazam was originally released in 1939, the power most young fans probably wanted was Billy’s ability to turn into an adult anytime he wanted. Kids often feel overlooked and undervalued by the people around them – so the power to become a handsome, strong adult who could walk among the grownups appealed to many children who shouted out the word hoping they’d age up in the same way. For Billy, however, the adult form he chose had much greater meaning than simple wish fulfillment.

During writer/artist Jerry Ordway’s run on The Power of Shazam!, readers learned that Billy didn’t just transform into any adult – he became the idealized version of his father. In The Power of Shazam! C.C. Batson was an archaeologist who, along with his wife Marilyn Batson, was killed by their assistant Theo Adam (who would later become Black Adam in this continuity). As a result, Billy Batson is orphaned and separated from his sister Mary. Made homeless by his greedy uncle, Billy supports himself as a paperboy until a man in a hat and trench coat guides him to the Wizard Shazam’s Rock of Eternity.

It turns out that the Wizard Shazam intended to grant his power to Billy’s parents. With their deaths, however, the Wizard bestows the powers to Billy instead. When Billy shouts the word, “SHAZAM!” for the first time, he transforms into the adult Captain Marvel, the spitting image of his father, which was essentially Billy’s idea of what a hero should look like. In a further twist, the man who guided Billy to Shazam turns out to be the spirit of C.C. Batson – something Billy always knew as he stated he wouldn’t just follow a complete stranger.

Billy later uses his father’s likeness to his advantage to pose as his own uncle, making it easier for him to get a better place to live and show up as his own guardian at school. Later, he found his sister Mary, who learned that she could also say the word “SHAZAM!” and transform into a superpowered woman resembling her mother Marilyn.

At one point in The Power of Shazam! series, history was rewritten so C.C. and Marilyn Batson weren’t killed – and instead became the recipients of the power of Shazam. In this new timeline, the Shazam heroes looked identical to how Billy and Mary looked as Captain Marvel, although they were adults and not children. Billy and Mary were able to live under their parents’ care and knew about their superhero lives. Unfortunately, when C.C. learned about the damage to the timestream, he had to let history revert back to normal, orphaning Billy and Mary again.

Ironically, in the current DC continuity, C.C. Batson is alive – but instead of being an admirable father, he appears to be a petty criminal whose brain was taken over by the mind-controlling worm Mr. Mind. Billy, however, ignored the warning feelings from the Wisdom of Solomon and decided to empower his father with the Power of Shazam – accidentally creating a powerful supervillain. Whether or not C.C. reforms in this timeline remains to be seen, but it’s telling that his superpowered form resembles Billy’s adult form, revealing how Billy still views his father as a hero.

It’s said that a child’s first superhero is his or her father – the person who appears to have all the power in the child’s world and (hopefully) chooses to use it to grant the child a good life. In Billy Batson’s case, he took this belief to the extreme by making his father the physical model for his superhero identity. Sadly, not all versions of Billy’s father fit this ideal – yet this doesn’t stop Billy from wanting this to be true every time he shouts the word, Shazam!

About The Author

Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

See also  Friends: 10 Jokes That Everyone Completely Missed

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20^th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

Visit Michael Jung’s website for information on how to hire him, follow him on Twitter Michael50834213, or contact him directly: michael(at)michaeljungwriter(dot)com.

More From Michael Jung