Founded in 1934, DC Comics is one of the oldest American comic book companies. All of its well-known faces and characters – such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman – made the company into the great creative titan and financial cash-cow that we know and, mostly, love today. When we look at the mainstream movies of today, we notice that famed trio of heroes along with a few other favourites. One of those favourites is Captain Marvel, better known today as Shazam. Unlike most other DC heroes, Captain Marvel was not created by DC. In fact, he was created by C. C. Beck and Bill Parker for Fawcett Comics, a small company whose existence lasted fourteen years as it failed to make much of an impact. But then in the early-1970s, DC acquired Fawcett’s roster of superheroes, the most famous of whom was the Big Red Cheese (a hammy nickname, I know). The world of Captain Marvel is expansive, but the point is that Captain Marvel very quickly became ingrained within the DC Universe – the Marvel Family first met the Justice League in a three-part adventure. With the New 52 in 2011, the universe of every hero was changed and retold. As the main writer of the Justice League (vol 2) title, Geoff Johns wrote a Captain Marvel back-up strip for the first two years of the title. This was because Johns had big plans – Captain Marvel was to meet the Justice League again!
Captain Marvel stories were to appear in Justice League (vol 2) 0, 7-11, 14-16, and 18-21, published from September 2011 to August 2013. Issues 0 and 21 are the only full-length chapters of the story, with the other issues containing around eight pages of Captain Marvel action. Written by Geoff Johns, the art was pencilled and inked by Gary Frank. This story can be read in the Shazam! Collected edition.
While the Captain Marvel tales were printed in so many different issues of one title, the good news is that Johns writes one simple linear plot. When reading the collected edition, the breaks between issues are virtually impossible to spot. If you’ve seen the Shazam movie from a few years ago, then this story really isn’t anything new. But at the time, this reimagining of Captain Marvel and his origin story managed to be both old and new. Throughout Johns’s Justice League run, it’s made clear that something big and sinister is coming. Hints towards Trinity War and a spy within the team’s ranks mean that the stage is being set for a game-changing event. The Shazam back-up stories – while not featuring the Justice League – exist for that same purpose. This is essential reading before you throw yourself into Trinity War.
It all begins with a God. Across the world, thirty-seven unconnected people are magically transported to a mystical realm where a wizard known as Shazam seeks out the most innocent of the innocent to use in his quest against evil. Shazam can’t find anybody in the whole world who is right for this task, but then came Billy Batson.
When I think of Billy Batson, I think of a kid who is totally innocent, playful, and friendly. After all, that is surely why Shazam bequeathed his godly powers to this young boy. In the first few pages in which Billy Batson is introduced to us, he’s as sweet as you’d expect. An orphan, he is looking for a home and some foster parents. He finds salvation from the orphanage with the Vasquezes family, two lovable parents who look after other children in their house. Convincing them with his kind heart, Billy gets a new home, but it’s quickly revealed (to us) that Billy is a manipulative rude kid.
Apparently, this change in Billy’s personality was met with huge outrage among some fans. That’s understandable, since Captain Marvel has existed for over eighty years and such a change like this one is dramatic. However, I really like how Billy is something of a rude bully. For comic books, the 1940s was an age of childhood innocence. Times have changed and stories have changed. Johns writes Billy to be manipulative, miserable, and entirely ungrateful, and this makes for far more interesting reading than constant kindness.
Constant kindness is what you get with Billy’s new adoptive siblings. We have Mary, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, and Darla. Their kindness clashes spectacularly with Billy’s rudeness, and it’s not long before Billy makes little Darla cry. Johns tries to give some backstory to Billy’s new family, but only really with mixed success. We’re told about the background of Darla and how her family simply didn’t want her, and we learn more about Freddy and how he is bullied at school. Others like Mary and Pedro are more elusive and aren’t really given much time in the spotlight. As for Billy’s new parents, they are shocked by his rudeness, but they do defend Billy when his mouth gets him into trouble. Overall, Johns creates a pretty believable world and family for Billy, but it is really not made enjoyable by the transformation in Billy’s manners. Were he to remain a good kid, then any confrontation or drama would be missing.
Around the quarter-way mark of the story is when the magic starts to get involved. Now I’ve never been a huge fan of magic in DC Comics, especially when it becomes bogged down by exposition and concepts which are frankly nonsensical. But Johns doesn’t do any of that here. The rogue Doctor Sivana is investigating the Shazam case, trying to find a connection between those 37 random people who met the god. It leads him to find the tale of Black Adam, a slave who was chosen by Shazam to defeat the Seven Deadly Sins, a group of demons who were invading his county. In his quest for knowledge, Sivana discovers Black Adam filled with rage. It’s a great introduction to this villain – little is given away except that he is after Shazam. Sivana offers himself to Black Adam’s quest, thereby introducing us to the two main Captain Marvel foes in their most evil form.
It takes until about the half-way mark before we see Captain Marvel in his true form. Billy Batson and Freddy escape from their orphanage home for just one night to get revenge on some bullies from school. It’s in these action packed – if somewhat pointless – pages that we’re introduced to Tawky Tawny, a tiger at the zoo who becomes something of a close friend to Billy. Although rude and aggressive, there is something depressing about Billy. Obviously, he’s an orphan and isn’t comfortable with other people showing him love. But his fortune changes when he and Freddy attack some of the school bullies. As Billy escapes from the bullies, he joins those 37 other people as he enters the mystical realm of Shazam…
Upon meeting Billy, the wizard knows that he hasn’t found the chosen one. The backchat between a pre-teenager and an ancient immortal god is fantastic, with Billy not taking any prisoners in his confusion and outright distaste of Shazam’s realm. Shazam sees that Billy is not innocent, but the child can actually teach the immortal a lesson here. There’s no such thing as total innocence, nor complete evil. Some people are better than others, but the point that Billy shows it that Shazam’s quest will go on until the end of time. Then, on a bit of a whim, Shazam gives his godly powers to Billy. Why? Well, he needs someone to take out Black Adam, but to also protect the world from the Seven Deadly Sins. It seems that Billy was his choice because he learnt something from him, but his decision still doesn’t make much sense. Surely, one of the other 37 people from before would have been better. Either way, at the half-way mark, Billy is now finally Captain Marvel. It took too long probably, but we finally got there…
Upon shouting “Shazam!”, Billy transforms into Captain Marvel. With the New 52, the hero’s name is now actually Shazam. There are quite a few reasons. One may be because of the Marvel hero called Captain Marvel, and another is because writer Geoff Johns said in an interview that most people have always known Captain Marvel to be Shazam. I’m not sure I agree with Johns there, and it does feel strange that a hero’s name is actually the word he must shout to get his powers, but since I have the mind of a fifty-seven-year-old when it comes to comic books, I’ll just call him Captain Marvel. Upon returning to Earth, we’re treated to some of my favourite scenes in the story, which consist of Captain Marvel playing with his new powers and teaming up with Freddy to take out criminals. These moments are interesting because it focuses on what Billy should use his powers for, whether it be just for moral good or financial gain. It’s the type of argument you’d expect a child to think about, especially since now Billy’s world has been totally transformed. One of the great redeeming features of Captain Marvel is that while – on the outside – he has the strength of Superman and unthinkable powers, mentally and emotionally he is still a child. That can make for fascinating reading and drama. This happens when Billy becomes absorbed in Captain Marvel’s powers and Freddy starts to dislike his selfish friend. And it continues when Captain Marvel has his first run-in with Black Adam.
The first fight between Captain Marvel and Black Adam is very one-sided. Black Adam mops the floor with the young hero, who spends his time talking and trying to work out Black Adam’s past. Billy realises that he is no match for the villain, so he transforms back into his human self and hides at the zoo. Again, I like this because it shows the emotional power of Billy Batson over Captain Marvel. While Black Adam destroys the city in search of him, Billy hides and learns the origin of his foe. Johns consciously draws on comparisons between Captain Marvel and Black Adam, who was a child when his family was murdered, and he became a slave. Although Black Adam was gifted Shazam’s powers, he was corrupted by evil which materialised after years of abuse. It’s an expectedly grim origin.
While Black Adam has been going after Captain Marvel, Sivana has been working in the background scouting out the Seven Deadly Sins. With both Captain Marvel and Black Adam back, those seven foes are back. They consist of Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, and Wrath. These guys may be powerful and what not, but Christ are they dull. They are just so bland and forgettable and take the stage away from the real villain who should really be Black Adam. But the Seven Deadly Sins are crucial – they turn up once again as the villains of Trinity War.
As the story nears its end, Johns needs to clear the stage and tie everything up. Upon learning from Freddy about Billy’s powers, his adoptive family find him in the zoo and urge him to fight Black Adam. It’s pretty basic and ordinary stuff – Billy’s character has changed since the start of the story, and he now listens to them. He becomes Captain Marvel and in order to fight Black Adam and the Seven Deadly Sins, he transfers his powers to his adoptive family (and also Tawny too).
With that, we have the united Marvel family, and they defeat Black Adam, who transforms out of his godly self only to decay into bones and then ashes. Killing off Black Adam is actually quite a good move – not only is he very similar to Captain Marvel in terms of powers, but there was little more than Johns could do for him as a writer. He is a good villain for this one story, and I’m not sure he had that much potential for future tales. As for Doctor Sivana, he escapes to the underground to plot further evil. Does he return? Who knows – and frankly who cares too much since he didn’t really do much here. The Seven Deadly Sins also escape too, but they will return…
Regardless, the story ends with Billy happy in his new family, but his next mission is to bury the ashes of Black Adam in Kahndaq, his birthplace. But the results of this adventure feature in Trinity War. So, in a way, the main purpose of these Captain Marvel back-up stories is to explain how Captain Marvel will meet the Justice League. Geoff Johns sets up Captain Marvel’s world very well, and I still believe that that fundamental change in Billy Batson’s personality made this story much greater and frankly enjoyable than it could have been. Billy does go on an adventure here and his attitude does change, but Johns explores these changes with a friendly kid-like feel that creates a brilliant mood. As for the plotting, it’s a very simple story. There’s something highly cinematic about it – they might be due to the twists and turns that you’d expect from a typical movie starring a once-miserable and negative kid transforming into a good one. Yes, Shazam does contain many cliches and I do think that his foster family – while serving a purpose – weren’t developed enough. When the Shazam movie was released in 2019, it followed exactly the same plot as this story. With the moderate success of that film, I suppose one could say that Shazam is a highly successful reimagining origin story for the New 52. There isn’t much to analyse or really be surprised by here, but it is a pleasant tale.
Thankfully, we have just one artist to thank for transforming Johns’s writing to the page so brilliantly. Usually, with a string of back-up stories or subsidiary tales that may only take the attention of some readers for just a few minutes, there is no regular artist to pencil and ink these stories. Often, it’s an overabundance of talent and no consistent style is set. With Gary Frank, not only is one fantastic style present throughout, but his sense of storytelling is highly creative, and his finishes are detailed, but not over-the-top. He blends aspects of the innocence of childhood experienced by Captain Marvel with the depression of slavery and desolation endured by Black Adam. In short, it’s highly entertaining and impressive.
VERDICT
Overall, Shazam is something of a textbox reimagining of an origin for the New 52. Most of the usual concepts from before remaining the same, but with Johns’s sense of drama and excellent plotting, we’re treated to a rollercoaster ride. Changing the personality of Billy Batson certainly made this story a great deal better, and while this story does lack originality and occasional extra detail when it comes to secondary characters, it’s a great romp. In short, while it does set the story up, it should not be overshadowed by Trinity War…
Next Week: Justice League: Trinity War (Justice League (vol 2) 22-23, Justice League of America (vol 3) 6-7, and Justice League Dark 22-23. Written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire, with art by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, ,Mikel Janin, Walden Wong, and Eber Ferreira.
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