The Wizard Shazam, also known as Shazam () or The Wizard, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics, first appearing in Whiz Comics #2 (February, 1940) created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker. A major supporting character in Shazam!-related comic book titles, he often serves as a wise old man archetype who empowers champions to fight evil.
The original version of the character was Jebediah, a young boy of Egyptian and Canaanite origin who served as the Champion, gaining his power through Canaanite gods. In his later years, he forgoes their powers and learned magic before seeking a successor to empower. A revised version of the character is introduced after The New 52. At first introduced as a Kahndaq native who ascended to godhood, this origin was retconned and he is revealed to be Mamaragan, a figure based upon the deity in Kunwinjku culture. This version served as a adjudicator on Earth's supernatural matters as leader of a cabal of six other wizards, making up the Council of Eternity until a betrayal forces him to seek a successor to both his power and that of the fallen Council. Although the charactersâ motivations and background histories differ, they are intended to be the same character.
The character is an ancient sorcerer who battled the forces of evil for centuries until the betrayal of Black Adam, one of his earliest champions and proposed successors. Shazam was forced to magically imprison Black Adam and seek another champion to take his place. This would eventually come in the form of Billy Batson, who becomes the hero known as Captain Marvel (later also known as Shazam) and subsequently the rest of the Marvel Family (currently known as the Shazam Family). He often serves as a mentor to the group and is a notable member of the Quintessence, a powerful group of beings who watch over events unfolding in the universe.
The Shazam character has been featured in various media. The original Golden Age incarnation appeared in the live action serial, Adventures of Captain Marvel, portrayed by Nigel De Brulier. He also appeared in animated features such as ', voiced by James Garner. Djimon Hounsou portrayed the character in DC Extended Universe films Shazam! (2019), Black Adam (2022), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), in which the character's appearance and portrayal is inspired by his The New 52 incarnation.
Created in the 1940s by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, he is an ancient wizard (Whiz Comics #2 gives his age as 3,000 years) who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into Captain Marvel. Despite the new comic's popularity and theatrical success, Captain Marvel was similar enough to Superman that a court ruled against Fawcett in 1952. Two decades after gaining the rights to Captain Marvel, DC Comics began publishing new stories under the title Shazam!. This became a problem for DC's lawyers, as the company had abandoned any rights to the Captain Marvel name, and it was now owned by rival Marvel Comics.
While not part of the first wave of DC's The New 52 2011 line wide relaunch, it was announced at New York Comic Con on October 15, 2011, that Billy Batson would be featured in a backup story, "The Curse of Shazam!" beginning in Justice League (vol. 2) #7 in March 2012. It was confirmed by Geoff Johns, DC Comics' chief creative officer and the author of the story, that Billy Batson's alter ego would be called "Shazam" rather than "Captain Marvel" from now on. In DC's, 2012 Free Comic Book Day offering called The New 52 FCBD Special #1, it was revealed that seven wizards representing seven different mythologies occupied the Rock of Eternity at the dawn of time in The New 52. They harnessed the power of magic to cast out a "Trinity of Sin", which acted as a precursor to the 2013 Trinity War crossover event. A younger version of the Wizard is part of this group of wizards.
Both the wizard and his champion shared the name "Shazam" in the comic book stories published from then until June 2013. The Wizard later revealed that "Shazam" is an adopted name, and that his original name is Mamaragan.
Originally, the wizard's name was Shazamo, the last letter standing for the hero of magic Oggar. However, Oggar became corrupt and tried to take power from Shazamo. The wizard defeated Oggar and cursed him to live in the world of mortals. He was given cloven hooves as a sign of his inner evil, and could cast each magic spell only once. Shazamo then dropped the last letter of his name.
Shazam informs Billy that he is an ancient Egyptian wizard who has been using his powers for many centuries to fight the forces of evil, but that he is now old and not long for this world. He therefore passes along part of his power to Billy, who shouts his nameâÂÂ"SHAZAM!"âÂÂto transform into Captain Marvel/Shazam. He explains to Billy that his name is an acronym for six ancient heroes. Each letter empowers him with a certain attribute:
Although Shazam is killed, as prophesied, by a giant granite block falling on him, Billy/Captain Marvel/Shazam can summon the ghost of Shazam for guidance by lighting a special brazier in Shazam's lair (the Rock of Eternity). More superheroes soon joined the superhero Shazam in carrying on the legacy of the wizard Shazam, including Shazam Family members Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. Shazam tells Captain Marvel that, 5000 years before, he gave powers to Black Adam, but Black Adam was killed while turning back to his regular self. In the Marvel Family series, he was shown in some early issues carving the Marvel Family adventures into the Rock of Eternity.
In a story written by E. Nelson Bridwell for World's Finest Comics #262 (cover date April/May 1980), the character was a young Canaanite shepherd who becomes the Champion by speaking the magic word "VLAREM!" (an anagram of "Marvel"), one of the world's first superheroes over 5,000 years ago. This background is later explored further in the Power of Shazam! series, in which details his tenure as the Champion. The Champion is seduced by a demoness disguised as a beautiful woman, and they conceive two half-demon offspring, Blaze and Satanus, much to the displeasure of the gods. The Champion later creates the Rock of Eternity from two large rock formationsâÂÂone from Heaven and one from HellâÂÂto hold captive the Three Faces of Evil, a dragon whose mother is the same demoness as the one who seduced the Champion. Shazam also later trapped demons of the Seven Deadly Sins as statues and imprisoned them at the Rock of Eternity.
Many centuries later, the Champion, now going by the name of "Shazam", feels the need to pass along his powers to a successor. He selects the pharaoh's son Teth-Adam to receive the power to become the superpowered Mighty Adam by speaking the word "SHAZAM!" However, Blaze interferes with this succession and Adam is given powers from the Egyptian deities instead. As her mother did, Shazam's daughter Blaze takes on the form of a beautiful woman and seduces Adam, convincing him to kill the pharaoh and take over the kingdom. An angry Shazam draws Mighty-Adam's powers out of him and into a large jeweled scarab, thereby killing Adam as he ages to death. Shazam then seals his remains and the amulet in a tomb. A wicked reincarnation of Teth-Adam named Theo Adam would steal the scarab many centuries later and use the power of Shazam to become Black Adam. Shazam was upset by this and did not consider passing on his powers for millennia. The wizard resurfaces as an aide on the 1940 Malcolm Expedition, one of many archaeological expeditions into the tombs and pyramids of ancient Egypt. The sarcophagi of Ibis the Invincible and his mate Princess Taia are uncovered and brought to the United States. Shazam follows the sarcophagi. Once they are on display at the Fawcett City Museum, Shazam uses ancient spells to resurrect Ibis. Ibis then joins Bulletman, Spy Smasher, Minute-Man, and others to fight evil during the World War II era. In 1955, a thug knocks a weakened Shazam across the head with a crowbar and causes him to lose his memory. A clueless Shazam wanders around Fawcett for the next forty years until C.C. Batson, a young man Shazam had met on the Malcolm Expedition, recognizes the old man and brings him to the museum to restore his memory. Shazam feels that he has truly found his successor in the upstanding Batson, but before he can act on this, a possessed Theo Adam murders Batson and his wife Marilyn for the magic amulet. He therefore decides to enlist C.C. Batson's young son, Billy, as the successor to his power.
In Superman (vol. 2) #216, Shazam calls upon the Spectre to free Superman from being controlled by the demon Eclipso. This action breaks a covenant between Eclipso and the Spectre and sets Eclipso permanently at odds with the wizard. Possessing the body of Jean Loring, the Atom's ex-wife, Eclipso corrupts the confused Spectre into joining forces with her, and begins a war against all magic-powered beings in the DC Universe.
Because of his previous action, Shazam is one of the duo's primary targets. In the Day of Vengeance mini-series, Shazam enlists Captain Marvel to keep the Spectre at bay while the wizard gathers all of his power to battle him. With the assistance of the newly formed Shadowpact, a band of magic-based heroes, Captain Marvel fights the Spectre nearly to a standstill, but the Spectre escapes and makes his way to the Rock of Eternity to confront Shazam directly. While Shazam is preparing for his bout with the Spectre, he is confronted by Mordru who has just escaped the Rock of Eternity. Mordru and the wizard fight for a short time while the Spectre begins to approach, despite being delayed by fighting Captain Marvel. More concerned with escaping and staying out of the Spectre's way, Mordru leaves a slightly wounded and tired Shazam to fight the Spectre, who is already more powerful than him at full power. The Spectre overpowers the wizard, absorbs his magics, and kills him. As a result, the Rock of Eternity disintegrates above Gotham City into "a billion pieces" and explodes, freeing the Seven Deadly Sins along with many other demons and sending a depowered Billy Batson falling into the city.
In Infinite Crisis #1, Billy finds he is still able to transform into the Captain before he strikes the ground by saying the wizard's name as usual. It is also revealed that the entire affair was orchestrated by Alexander Luthor Jr. and the Psycho-Pirate to reduce magic to its raw form, the death of Shazam turning his name into a tether for the rest of the raw magic that Alexander could harness to power his tower by acquiring one of Shazam's champions, eventually forcibly 'enlisting' Black Adam for that purpose after failing to capture any of the other Marvels.
In Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special, Shadowpact teams up with the majority of the DC Universe's surviving magical characters to rebuild the Rock of Eternity and reseal the Seven Deadly Sins. The final piece of the reconstruction, revealed by Zatanna, is that a new wizard has to be appointed to guard the Rock. Billy, as the only real candidate, is chosen to succeed Shazam as the Rock's new caretaker.
In the comic series 52, Captain Marvel is revealed to be currently headquartered at the Rock of Eternity, acting in Shazam's stead. He has already imprisoned the Sins again, although he claims they cause trouble at the full moon.
The Wizard Shazam is late reintroduced within the New 52 onward, having several origins: his original origin was a Kahndaqi native who ascended to godhood and led the Circle of Eternity while acting as a keeper of magic. His origin is alternatively and retroactively changed, revealing himself to be the Kunwinjku deity Mamaragan whose songlines guided him to a seat on the Council of Eternity, where he adopted the title of "Wizard" and the name Shazam. To reconsolidate his prior history, once source suggest both origins are known but the latter is the true one while another suggests he was a Kahndaqi-born wizard who became powerful enough to ascend to godhood early in his life, granting him both Kahndaqi and Aboriginal ties.
During his tenure as leader of the council, the character would be responsible for numerous incidents such as being the one to punish Phantom Stranger, an interpretation of Judas Iscariot, for his betrayal of Jesus Christ on behalf of the Presence and Pandora, based on Greek mythology, by granting her immortality and scars that constantly burn as a consequence of unleashing the Seven Deadly Sins upon humanity. In the latter case, he later believed his and the council's punishment was too harsh. He was also responsible for empowering the young Aman as his champion, who shared his with his uncle, Teth-Adam. Teth later killed his nephew to consolidate his power and became the Wizard's primary champion. Teth eventually betrays the council and kills them off save Shazam, who seals him away in a tomb.
Following DC Rebirth, aspects of his prior incarnation has also been implied in his history, having once more fathered Blaze and Satanus due to his parenthood playing a role in the previous Reign in Hell that allowed the pair to ascend to Hell's rulers. However, Black Adam was claimed to have been a disciple of a Lord of Chaos, implying Mamaragan having once served as such. A silhouette of Mamaragan supposedly depicts him as, alongside Nabu, being one who once opposed Xanadoth at a time frame long before Teth's time.
A flashback during the "Endless Winter" storyline showcases a younger Mamaragan in the 10th Century having been request by Hippolyta and Viking Prince to allow Black Adam to help stop the Frost King. He frees him but due to his actions in attempting to stop the Frost King using his family, he finds him unworthy and re-seals him in a tomb.
During the Black Adam "East of Egypt" storyline, various flashbacks establish a similar versions of events depicted in Marvel Family #1 (December, 1945) while consolidating previous stories; retaining Aman's being his chosen champion and Adam slaying him, it is revealed Adam deceived Mamaragan although he was always suspicious and when Adam defeated the Circle of Eternity, he kept Mamaragan sedated for thousands of years through potions until he was freed by Ibac to pit him against Adam, who ascended to pharaoh under the name "Userkare" as part of the Circle of Crow's plot to usurp the throne. Confronting Adam over his lies and apparent evil, he sends him away "among the stars" for a thousand years.
In the Shazam! backup storyline in the 2011 Justice League comic book, an older Shazam later apologizes to Pandora for giving her a harsh punishment as his demise nears and Black Adam is resurrected by Dr. Sivanna. He is forced to bestow his powers onto Billy Batson, whom is more abrasive and ill-mannered than previous incarnations but sees potential goodness in him, as a last resort due to running out of candidates and has him transform by saying the world "Shazam", transferring his powers before seemingly dying.
He later appears in the Darkseid War, where he replaces Billy's collection of god following Darkseid's supposed death, which disrupted his connections to his old gods. Both Mamaragan and Billy come into conflict with Yuga Khan (known as Zonzu) when he wishes to usurp the Powers of Shazam. After his defeat, the wizard makes him part of Billy's new pantheon as pentice for his crimes and reveals his aboriginal ties and being among Billy's new set of empowered gods.
During DC Rebirth, he is also a member of the Council of Immortals for a time. He also appears in the "Seven Magiclands" storyline, revealing himself to the Shazam Family as they explore the magiclands. This set into motions of events plotted by Mister Mind and his Monster Society of Evil, manipulating events for the family to choose Billy's biological father, C.C. Batson, as the seventh champion to gain access to their magic as his secret host while pitting the family against him. After the society, and surprise adversary Superboy-Prime is defeated, Mamaragan becomes aware of a potential future with a redeemed Black Adam as the eventual seventh champion.
In Infinite Frontier, Shazam is shown as a member of a reintroduced incarnation of the Quintessence and appears alongside other members shortly after the defeat of the Batman Who Laughs at the hands of Wonder Woman, whom is invited as a member. The heroine rejects it and shortly after taking her leave, the group is seemingly an empowered Darkseid. Later, it was revealed that the Quintessence was under the control of the Great Darkness (namely Pariah's manipulation of a fraction of its power), eventually leading to the seeming death of the core members of the Justice League. At the end of the event, after Pariah's defeat and restoration of the Justice League members, the Quintessence, including the Wizard, was revived by the Spectre.
In the Lazarus Planet crossover, the Wizard is unexpectedly ousted from his role as Keeper of the Rock of Eternity and believes Billy to be responsible. He aligns himself with Hera, who plans to depose Zeus and seek revenge on mortals. Billy and Yara Flor unite to stop Hera, but are surprised to find the Wizard on her side and Billy is subsequently depowered and captured. The Wizard is later summoned by Hera to enhance her powers against Wonder Woman, but when Hera's agenda becomes unpopular, he doubts and abandons her. Billy later calls upon the Wizard through the Rock of Eternity, where it is revealed that the Wizard initially believed Billy had betrayed him. However, witnessing Mary sacrifice her powers to aid Wonder Woman, the Wizard realizes his mistake and deems Mary worthy to be the Champion. Despite his intention to empower both Billy and Mary, Hippolyta intervenes and chooses to bless Mary's powers through her and seven other gods. Both Billy and Mary regain their powers, with Mary's connection maintained through the blessings of the seven goddesses instead of the Wizard's magic, despite still utilizing the "SHAZAM" method.
In the Shazam! 2023 comic book series, the Wizard makes a brief appearance and is mentioned by Billy Batson as he recalls his transformation into Shazam. The series reaffirms Billy's previous origin of falling asleep in a subway, but with some subtle changes. These changes include acknowledging Billy's status as a foster child from his New 52 origin and expressing reluctance regarding the Wizard's intentions. It is revealed that the character eventually entrusts Billy with the Rock of Eternity, hoping that he will treat it with reverence.
A major supporting character in Shazam! titles, the character is an ancient wizard who bestows magical powers onto champions and is a staunch deferender against evil. A powerful entity, he has been affiliated with both the Lords of Chaos and Order and as a member of the Quintessence, he is capable of contending with Darkseid. Although the modern and Golden Age incarnation differ in appearane and details of their background, they share much of the same history. He is also the biological father of twin demons, Blaze and Satanus.
The original Golden Age incarnation was depicted as a lighter-skinned man of Egyptian and Caananite origins. This version would eventually ascended into godhood due to his powers in magic. Alternatively, he has also similarly ascended as a New God during the Power of Shazam! series. After the New 52, the modern incarnation was reinvented as a fictional depiction of Mamaragan, the aboriginal god of lightning with dark skin and Aboriginal Australian (Kunwinjku) origin. In appearance, he would sometimes appear similarly to his prior incarnations' Kingdom Come design but with dark skin. Flashbacks of his deisgn has also showcased him having a dark afro or short hair with a muscular build in his youth. Alteratively, he is also depiced as elderly.
A supporting character often advising Shazam and related characters (Mary Marve<nowiki/>l, Captain Marvel Jr., etc.) akin to the wise old man archetype, stories often also focus on his relation with Billy Batson, his current champion; the Golden Age incarnation later posed as his maternal grandfather Jebediah O'Keenan", allowing his dual life and a focus on parental guardiance. The modern version retains a similar relation, described as a "pseudo father-and-son relationship" but starting out antagonistic, making him one of Billy's parental figures alongside the Vasquez couple. The relation also parallels with Black Adam, whom he once mentored and patroned as a champion and despite their antagonistic dynamic, also viewed him as a father figure.
A powerful wizard with godly-level of magical abilities at the height of his power, he is deity with vast magical powers (manifesting in a lightning theme), affording abilities such as reality alteration. In a diminished state, his powers are limited to utilizing thunderbolts and spiritually advising the Shazam Family. Following the New 52, his inherent divine origin and magic power makes him "transcend" conventional notions of space-time, allowing him and multiple versions of himself to simultaneous exist across the multiverse as a singular being.
The character possess several personal weapons following the New 52 such as the Staff of the Living Lightning, a magical staff which acts as a focal point for his powers akin to a lighting rod but is noted to not posses the Powers of Shazam. He also possess a magical dagger containing a portion of his magical power, able to slay gods such as Zeus.
The Powers of Shazam is a set of superpowers acquired from aspects of different divine entities and notable figure, either from myth, folklore, and/or original creations within the DC Universe, whose names align with the "SHAZAM" acronym. They have the ability to grant power to a chosen champion, whether willingly or under the coercion of the Wizard. When a champion is empowered, the associated divine entities are bound by specific parameters and rules that govern their connection to the champion. Following the New 52, these powers are retroactively associated with the Living Lightning, which is channeled through the distilled essence of six divine entities.
Debuting after the New 52 reboot, the character is intrinsically tied to a magical force both his creation and tied to his own life known as the Living Lightning. The magical force allows for a variety of magical abilities for himself and those empowered as his champions such as generate and control lightning, spell-casting, enhance the power of other's spells, enhance strength, and other healing abilities. The Powers of Shazam also became retroactively connected to the Living Lightning as part of his blessings when empowering champions. This empowerment comes with a caveat, being that each champion empowered by him personally cannot be rescinded. Each champion empowered by him is able to also share their powers through a "sharing spell" through the Living Lightning instead of being an inherent power for the Powers of Shazam as it were prior. In order to deter people usurping his powers, the magic also has safeguards that results in a slow demise of those who manage to steal its powers while in use.
In his younger years, the Golden Age incarnation was empowered by various gods from the Canannite religion as The Champion, making him similar to his future successors; these abilities were utilzied by speaking the magic world ("VLAREM"), allowing him to transform from a youth into a demigod-like adult form. These powers granting him the strength of Voldar, wisdom of Lumian, speed of Ariel, power of Ribavel, courage of Elbiam, and stamina of Marzosh. While the exact extent of these abiliites are unknown, these powers at least grant him superhuman strength, speed, stamina, flight, and other unknown magical abilities.
After the events of Infinite Crisis, Billy assumes the role of the wizard Shazam, now known as Marvel, while Freddy Freeman, without powers, attempts to prove himself worthy of the Shazam powers and becomes the new Captain Marvel. Mary loses her powers and falls into a coma but later accepts power from Black Adam. In this new incarnation, Shazam resembles the original Captain Marvel, with only having long, white hair.
During the Trials of Shazam!, Sabina gains some Powers of Shazam with the help of the Council of Merlin. She kills Atlas, leading Freddy and Marvel to temporarily shoulder Atlas's burden. Freddy convinces Apollo to take on Atlas's burden, but Apollo shares his powers with Freddy and Sabina out of bitterness. Sabina and the Council of Merlin plot to assault New York City to disrupt the magical balance. The Justice League intervenes, and Freddy battles Sabina. Freddy sacrifices himself and is deemed the most worthy by Zeus, who grants him the full power of Shazam. Sabina is killed, and the demons disappear. Later, Black Adam, Isis, and the corrupted Mary Marvel take control of the Rock of Eternity. Billy and Mary's father recruits Jay Garrick to retrieve Shazam's spirit from the Rock of Finality. Shazam is restored, removes powers from Isis and the Marvels, and turns Black Adam and Adrianna to stone. Shazam cuts off Billy and Mary's access to his power, returns Stargirl to Earth, and mentions dealing with Freddy before closing the Rock of Eternity.