With the Shazam film just on the horizon, we’re really excited to see where the DC
Extended Universe will take this golden age hero.
Shazam, originally known as Captain Marvel of Fawcett Comics, has quite the long history,
littered with legal battles, name changes, and a slew of retconning.
But, like another other hero with as long as a history as Shazam’s, he’s appeared
throughout DC’s multiverse many a time, and has a handful of interesting alternate
versions.
So today, we’re counting down those versions with our list of the top 10 alternate versions
of shazam!
10 Captain Thunder The first of a handful of Captain Thunders
that we’ll be discussing on this list, this one came to be in 1983 when a proposal was
submitted to DC to update Captain Marvel.
Prior to this, the character had been listing as one belonging to Earth-S – the Earth
where all of the unused Fawcett Comics properties resided.
Spearheaded by Roy Thomas, Don Newton and Jerry Ordway, Captain Thunder was meant to
be an inhabitant of Earth 1, and would be an African American version of the character
named Willie Fawcett.
The idea didn’t take off though, and the character never saw the light of day.
9 Kingdom Come (Earth 22) The 1996 four issue miniseries Kingdom Come
depicted an alternate future timeline and a growing conflict between out of touch superheroes
and irresponsible younger vigilantes, who are primarily the kids of the ‘traditional’
superheroes.
Billy Batson has grown up in this version, looking identical to his Shazam counterpart,
and feeling the hostility towards superheroes, he has refused to transform for years.
He’s brainwashed by Lex Luthor as used as a weapon against Superman, and threatens to
destroy the world.
Human authorities decide to launch nukes to stop him and the ongoing superhero conflict
. Superman manages to break through him though, and Billy realizes what’s happening.
He triggers his lightening, sacrificing himself and destroying the bomb while its airborne,
which inadvertedly soothes the conflict.
8 Just Imagine Shazam – Earth 6 Just Imagine was a DC alternate timeline series
written by Marvel’s Stan Lee.
In 2002, Just Imagine Shazam was released, and featured a Shazam named Robert Rogers
who transformed into a large red demon rather than the typical Captain Marvel we’re used
to.
When he transforms, he gets a surge of magical energies, draconian wings and superhuman durability
and strength.
Earth 6 features the same heroes we’re accustomed to, except they all take very different physical
forms, and is a direct continuation of the 52 Multiverse’s Earth 27.
7 Superman: Distant Fires Distant Fires is set during a world scarred
by nuclear war.
Clark Kent is one of the few survivors, and so Bill Batson, now an adult.
Like several other superheroes, the mass nuclear radiation has depowered him – but in secret,
he practices calling out Shazam, which transforms him only temporarily.
He continues to do this, building his powers, but, unknowingly causes the Earth more damage
each time his lightning is summoned.
Eventually, consumed by jealously and rage, Batson leaves their refuge of the city of
Champion, and sides with mutants to overpower Champion.
He kills Wonder Woman, who at this point has married Superman, and he and Superman fight
on top of a volcano.
Bill’s own powers betray him though, causing him to die when the lightning strikes him.
6 Captain Thunder (Flashpoint) Back in 2011 during the Flashpoint miniseries,
we were introduced to a new timeline accidentally created by the Flash.
This timeline’s Shazam is known as Captain Thunder, and he has six alter egos rather
than one; six children who each enable one of the hero’s powers, making up the word
SHAZAM.
His face is all scarred up due to a fight with Wonder Woman, who in this timeline, is
a villain, and he helps The Flash stop the war between Aquaman’s Atlantean army and
Wonder Woman’s Amazonian army before ultimately being killed, and Clark chucks his body into
the volcano.
5 Justice League: Generation Lost Generation Lost’s version of Shazam is a
woman.
She’s a member of the Justice League.
Not a whole lot is known about the character, or rather was revealed in the comic, but her
civilian name is Sahar Shazeen, and she wields a pair of swords in battle.
She’s unfortunately killed in battle against an army of OMACs alongside her teammates.
4 Captain Thunder (1974) Returning to Captain Thunder one last time,
this version came to be in 1974, in issue 276 of Superman.
The man of steel found himself in conflict with a hero by the name of Captain Thunder
who had been displaced from another time and another Earth.
The character was a thinly veiled pastiche of Fawcett Comic’s Captain Marve, despite
already owning the rights AND printing Shazam comics for two years prior, with that earth
timeline still in a separate universe.
They called the character’s alter ego Willie Fawcett, which is where that nonexistent 1983
version of Captain Thunder got his name.
Way to be subtle, DC.
This version would shout the word Thunder to transform, with the T standing for Tornado
and power, H for Hare and speed, U for Uncas and bravery, N for Nature and wisdom, D for
diamond and toughness, E for eagle and flight, and lastly R for R and tenacity.
Just not the same, eh?
Two years later, the character would pretty much disappear, with the real Captain Marvel
meeting Superman for the first time in Justice League of America issue 137.
3 The Dark Knight Strikes Again (Earth 31) In Frank Miller’s sequel to his critically
acclaimed the Dark Knight Returns, we now get a glimpse further at more of a vast selection
of superheroes who are still alive in this alternate, and rather dark timeline.
Operating as Captain Marvel, the character is now old, and has been forced into working
for Lex Luthor since the villain has captured Mary Marvel, threatening to kill her unless
he cooperates.
When aliens attack Metropolis, Captain Marvel is caught underneath a collapsed building,
and, realizing he has no way out, admits that his alter ego, Billy Batson, died 8 years
ago due to health problems.
If he tries to transform back, he’ll cease to exist.
He decides to go that route, and speaks his final words to Wonder Woman, “give everybody
my best, it’s been nice existing.”
2 Mazahs (Earth 3) Earth 3 is home to the evil counterparts of
the heroes we know and love.
The Shazam of Earth 3 is known as Mazahs, which is Shazam backwards.
His counterpart is Alexander Luthor, one of the only heroes, and had a track record of
killing many a super powered villain, including Will Baston, who Luthor had stolen his powers
from – which is his MO – kills and steals powers.
Brought to Prime Earth by the Crime Syndicate, the character goes on a killing spree, and
eventually Lex Luthor of Prime Earth figures out how to stop him – being counterparts,
they have the same voice, so Lex calls out Mazahs, forcing Alexander to change back to
his human form, and kills him with a knife.
1 Captain Marvel We had to finish off this list by discussing
Shazam’s former self – his Captain Marvel identity back in the days of Fawcett Comics
and the Golden Age of comics.
This version would later be referred to as the Earth-S Captain Marvel.
Back in the day, after National Comics aka the future DC was seeing major success with
Superman and Batman, publisher Fawcett Publications decided to start its own comic division in
1939They recruited Bill Parker to create characters, one of which was a team of six superheroes
who embodies 6 powers.
It was decided that those powers should be combined into one character, which became
a character Parker called Captain Thunder.
After they discovered they couldn’t trademark the name, Captain Marvel was suggested, and
they ran with it.
This Captain Marvel, introduced in Whiz Comics issue 2 in 1940 was a homeless newsboy who
sleeps in a subway station.
One night, a man in a trench coat lures him into the station, he meets a wizard named
Shazam, and is given his powers.
The character would occasionally be accompanied by other kids who shared similar powers, known
as the Marvel Family.
Minus the Marvel Family, most of these elements about his backstory would remain the same
when DC took over the property, until around 2012 when his origins were retconned.
DC sued the company in 1941 claiming that Captain Marvel was too similar to their Superman
– a lawsuit that Fawcett initially won ten years later, although DC appealed, and eventually
in 1953, Fawcett was forced to stop publishing the character and shut its comic division
down after having to pay DC (who was national comics publications at the time) $400, 000
in damages.
There we have it friends!
Oh boy, a lot of Captain Thunders there.
Which alternate version was your favourite?
And are you guys jazzed about the Shazam film?
Let us know in those comments below.
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