Captain Marvel's Powers: The Power of Zeus!

The wizard Shazam gives Billy Batson the powers/abilities of six gods.  Billy gains them by uttering the magically mystic word, "Shazam!" which transforms him into Captain Marvel - the World's Mightiest Mortal!

I want to examine Captain Marvel's power, which he gets from Zeus, in this article.  Who was Zeus?  What is power and when has Captain Marvel displayed this power?  I will answer those questions below!

Zeus is a character from Greek mythology who was the king and ruler of the Olympian gods.  His weapon of battle was the thunderbolt and at his command thunder would sound and lightning would flash from the sky!

According to mythology, the Cyclopes gave Zeus his thunderbolts as weapons.  One of his great displays of power was when he fought the monster Typhon.  Typhon hurled mountains at Zeus but he repelled them - knocking them back with the power of his thunderbolts!  (As I wrote in a previous article, it's Zeus that throws the magic lightning, transforming Billy Batson into Captain Marvel!)

Zeus was the most powerful god, and Captain Marvel gets his power from him.  When we think of power, we need to distinguish it from strength.  Power is similar to strength, but it has the added dimension of speed.  Power is the combination of speed and strength, or as one web site put it, "power can be seen as the explosive force exerted." (wiseandfit.com)  Or, to put it more simply, Captain Marvel's strength let's him pick up a car, and his power gives him the ability to throw the car!

The power of Zeus also makes Captain Marvel indestructible!  Cap is impervious to all harm because of the power he gets from Zeus.

There are many examples of Captain Marvel's power that can be seen throughout the pages of his comics, I'll give a few examples.

The first example comes from the cover of Whiz comics #2 and I hinted at it above!  Here we have Cap using his power to throw a car!

Another example of Cap's power comes from Captain Marvel Adventures #137 where he fights Kull.  We see Cap's powerful punch knocking Kull off his feet!

One of my favorite examples of Cap's power is in his classic battle with Mr. Atom.  Mr. Atom is an atomic powered robot, but as you can see, he was no match for the power of Captain Marvel!  Cap's power allows him to throw Mr. Atom and Cap's powerful punch ultimately defeats him.

The last example of Cap's power comes from Captain Marvel Adventures #148 where a huge comet is plunging towards earth.  Cap uses his mighty power to push the comet back into space and into the sun - saving the earth from sure disaster!

Finally, we learn from Captain Marvel Adventures #144 that it is the power of Zeus that makes Cap indestructible.  Here we see Cap survive the blast of a nuclear rocket, sent special delivery from Dr. Sivana!

The fourth power Shazam gives Captain Marvel is the power of Zeus and we see Cap display this power throughout his adventures.  Captain Marvel's power allowed him to throw a car, knock Kull of his feet, defeat Mr. Atom, and to save the world from disaster!  The power of Zeus also makes Captain Marvel utterly indestructible!  Captain Marvel's power truly makes him the World's Mightiest Mortal!