Billy Batson : CAPTAIN MARVEL - " The World's Mightiest Mortal"

“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.” --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
It's time to know the BIG RED CHEESE, Who he is? What are his abilities? What are the changes he underwent? Who has portrayed him in Comic Book Movies?



Who is CAPTAIN MARVEL
CAPTAIN MARVEL is part young Billy Batson and part magical champion for good . His powers were granted by the powerful wizard Shazam, and access them by speaking the wizard's name.

CAPTAIN MARVEL is a magical superhero created by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940).



What are his powers and abilities?
Note: Due to the nature of comicbooks being an on-going tale, the character's powers along with his appearance, is in a constant state of flux.

Power of Shazam: In order to access the powers of CAPTAIN MARVEL, Batson must invoke the name of the Wizard Shazam, thereby summoning the spells and energies of those extra-dimensional beings once known as "the gods on Earth". Batson also has ties to the Quintessence.

CAPTAIN MARVEL possesses the following superhuman and magical powers:
S for the Wisdom of Solomon: CAPTAIN MARVEL has instant access to a vast amount of knowledge. The wisdom of Solomon is sometimes known as the Wisdom of the Ancients. CAPTAIN MARVEL has superhuman clairvoyance and awareness. He is provided with counsel and advice in times of need. CAPTAIN MARVEL has knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern warfare, and can hypnotize or enchant people with his power. The power of wisdom lends him knowledge far beyond mortal comprehension.

H for the Strength of Hercules: In his role as Earth's Mightiest Mortal, Batson has incredible super strength.

A for the Stamina of Atlas: The Titan known as Atlas had limitless endurance. Atlas cradled the Earth for time immemorial. He can overcome tremendous physical resistance. This superhuman ability lends to his ability to stay as CAPTAIN MARVEL for elongated periods of time, survive in space and fight seemingly endless battles.

Z for the Power of Zeus: Zeus was Olympus's high father and the god of magical lightning bolts. Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transform CAPTAIN MARVEL, also enhances CAPTAIN MARVEL's other physical and magical abilities. This power reinforces his physical invulnerability and resistance against magic spells and attacks. CAPTAIN MARVEL can use the magical lightning as a weapon. He can summon Zeus's lighting bolts to strike his opponents. Zeus's lightning may be used to create mythic apparatus, restore damage done to Marvel, and act as a power source for magical spells.

A for the Courage of Achilles: CAPTAIN MARVEL has heroic levels of inner strength from which to draw. He has the courage of the Greek Hero Achilles which in battle and while in the CAPTAIN MARVEL form allows him to wield great bravery and spirit. CAPTAIN MARVEL is blessed with an innate and harmonious good will. A divine cheerfulness that is characterized by his trademark grin. It gives him a perseverance that pushes him to always confront a challenge with a knowing optimism.

M for the Speed of Mercury: By channeling Mercury's speed, CAPTAIN MARVEL can easily fly and move at speeds far exceeding Mach 10 while in earth's atmosphere. This is far from his limit as the Speed of Mercury allows him to move at speeds faster than light. .



What are the costume changes he underwent?
Unlike other heroes we have tackled so far in this featurettes it seems like CAPTAIN MARVEL has the fewest costume changes throughout his career. What he has worn since his first appearance in Whiz Comics Vol 1 #2 (February, 1940) is still the same design that he is wearing up to this day. Aside from the minor tweaks and artist preferences it is pretty much the same look. So, what we will present here are the character renditions throughout the years.

1. 1940 -1953


2. 1973-1978
CAPTAIN MARVEL was absent in the comic scene for nearly two decades because of some legal matters concerning Superman.


3. 1987
Because of lackluster stories we almost have another decade without a CAPTAIN MARVEL on-going series.


4. 1993-1999


5. 2008-2009


6. Marvel
October 2006 Trials of Shazam #1 is the first time we see a different Billy Batson - CAPTAIN MARVEL, the Wizard Shazam has died and we have Billy Batson succeed him to be the protector of magics on Earth. He traded his red costume with a white one and added a hood, his hair also turned white (we could probably call him Billy the White at this point). He dropped the Captain from his name and he is simply known as Marvel.


That is pretty much CAPTAIN MARVEL at this point, he started out as sort of a knock-off Superman, who became more popular than Superman at one point (hence the lawsuit, remember back then they where from different companies).

I like Captain Marvel, because he truly is a character for geeks. Because if you are not a geek you'll find his history very confusing, and you are better off giving up. For one thing many has called this character Shazam, in reality Shazam is the name of the Wizard who gives him his powers. The confusion came because the comics where we see Captain Marvel is entitled Shazam!. If you are new and have a passing knowledge about comic companies you're going to find it odd that there's a Captain Marvel running in DC comics (where's Captain DC in Marvel comics?). The confusion came again at the time where Captain Marvel has that legal issue with Superman, during that 20 odd years Marvel comics licensed the name Captain Marvel, and created a character with that name. After the legal issues where finish, Billy Batson's Captain Marvel has jump to DC comics, they have now the problem of not being able to call their comics Captain Marvel, because the rights are already in Marvel comics. That is where they decided to call the comics Shazam! with the exclamation mark. Now both DC and Marvel has characters named Captain Marvel, but DC has the Original (If you were confused, so was I... a long time ago)



Captain Marvel in Live Media
1. Tom Tyler
1941 - Adventures of Captain Marvel: This was a twelve-part film serial produced by Republic Pictures. Its release made Captain Marvel the first superhero to be depicted in film.




2. Jackson Bostwick
1974- Shazam!: This is a half-hour live-action television program produced by Filmation. The television version of Shazam! departs notably from the comic book and radio versions of the character. The eponymous wizard Shazam does not appear in the series; teenage Billy instead speaks directly to the elders that empowered him via a communication device.




3. John Davey
1975 - Shazam!/Isis Hour!. This was a continuation of the previous show, with John Davey replacing Bostwick in the role of Captain Marvel.


The video below is a fan edit not an actual show, but you could see a segment of the actual Shazam!/Isis Hour! with Captain Marvel and Isis flying around.


4. Garrett Craig
1978 - Legends of the Superheroes: Shortly after the Shazam! show ended its network run, Captain Marvel, played by Garrett Craig, appeared as a character in a pair of low-budgeted live-action comedy specials.

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sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(DC_Comics)#In_other_media : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shazam!_(TV_series) : http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/William_Batson_(New_Earth) : http://www.comicvine.com/billy-batson/29-2350/

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Article requested by:
tracydavis001
Nice read !! How about Captain Marvel (dc) And more villains !!

Ribbonz
Captain Marvel (Billy Baston) needs a feature!


tracydavis001
This is good !! Keep them coming.how about Captain Marvel (dc) he had two live action tv shows

This is the 15th article in my Know Your CBM Character series. Any requests and suggestions for an article for this series write it down in the comment section BELOW.

Note: Any error in the article above, if any, just blame it on my age, humanity and ignorance. Just be sure to check the comment section for the corrections, any error I made will surely be pointed out and corrected by much bigger geeks (because there will always be a bigger geek out there).

-This has been PollMaster inviting you to the geekside.