Did You Know...

Did you know that in Whiz Comics #87 (published May 9, 1947) both the wizard Shazam and Captain Marvel had to end a quarrel among the gods?

It turns out that Mars, the god of war, had sneaked into Mount Olympia and was giving some of the gods (Zeus and Mercury) his nectar of evil!  This caused them to quarrel and fight among themselves.  Mars' malicious plot is uncovered and Shazam banishes him to the nether realms!

Captain Marvel's Magic Lightning Facts

I've discovered some amazing facts about the magic lightning that transforms Captain Marvel as I've been reading through his comics.  Here are the facts that I've discovered so far.

1)  Vulcan* creates and Zeus throws the magic lightning that transforms Billy Batson into Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel into Billy Batson.  (Captain Marvel Adventures #50, Whiz Comics #125, *Shazam #12)

2)  Hippolyta creates and throws the magic lightning that transforms Mary Batson into Mary Marvel and Mary Marvel into Mary Batson.  (Mary Marvel #1)

3)  If the magic lightning strikes someone other than Billy Batson, they will transform into Captain Marvel!  (Captain Marvel Adventures #73)

4)  There is more power in one magic lightning bolt than in all the lightning storms on earth put together!  (The Marvel Family #10)

5)  There are several types of magic lightning bolts:

🗲A lightning bolt that only gives Shazam powers (Mary Marvel #28 Note: Uncle Marvel doesn't transform, he only receives power!)

🗲A lightning bolt that is extra powerful (Mary Marvel #1)

🗲A lightning bolt that transforms Billy into Captain Marvel and gives him Shazam powers (Captain Marvel Adventures #50)

🗲A lightning bolt that gives no powers but transforms Captain Marvel into Billy Batson (Captain Marvel Adventures #50)

These are the facts on the magic lightning according to Captain Marvel comics!

Captain Marvel and the Twisted Powers

In Captain Marvel Adventures #50 (published October 24, 1945*) we have an awesome adventure for Billy and Captain Marvel.  We also learn a little bit more about the magic lightning bolts that transform them!  In the story "Captain Marvel and the Twisted Powers" Billy somehow ends up with Cap's powers while Captain Marvel is powerless.  How did this happen?  Let's take a look at the story!

The story begins with Billy taking a vacation at Pine Valley Hotel.  Billy's hoping to have a quiet week away from station WHIZ and from the pressures of his celebrity status as boy newscaster.  Billy's sadly mistaken as he has barely made it to his room before he hears a cry for help.  Billy says the magic word, "Shazam!" and is transformed into Captain Marvel who rushes to the scene of a robbery at the hotel lobby.  But unbeknownst to Captain Marvel, there's a problem with the magic lightning bolt that transformed him.  

Cap confronts the hotel hoodlums but soon learns that while he has transformed into Captain Marvel, he isn't the world's mightiest mortal as he has no powers! He can't punch, he can't take a punch, and he can't fly!  Bystanders soon think Cap is an overrated fake.  Even Captain Marvel himself is perplexed by his missing powers!  Cap says the magic word and is transformed back into Billy Batson.  However, once again we are shown that in the realm of the gods, they are trying to get Zeus' attention about a problem with the magic lightning bolts!

Billy is just as perplexed as Cap is and doesn't even notice that when he kicks a large rock, he sends it flying.  That's our first clue about what's happening with the powers of Captain Marvel!

In their hideaway in the woods, we soon learn that the crooks that robbed the hotel have cooked up a new plan - a plan to get rid of Captain Marvel.  The leader, Joe Bloe, figures that since Cap is always around Billy Batson, if they bother Billy, Cap will show up.  And since Cap is powerless, they'll take care of him for good!  The mob makes their move and sneak in to Billy's hotel room and toss him to the ground several floors below - but Billy hits the ground unharmed!  Billy says the magic word, transforming himself into Captain Marvel.  But since Cap is now powerless, the crooks capture him and are now ready to deal him a death blow.

Captain Marvel has figured out what has happened with his powers and now he transforms back to Billy.  Billy has also figured out that he has Cap's powers, and sure enough, bullets bounce off of him, he has a powerful punch...and he can fly!!  In short order, Billy captures the crooks.

The scene shifts to the realm of the gods where we learn what caused the mixup giving Billy the powers of Shazam.  Vulcan** tells Zeus that the magic lightning bolts were defective because they transformed Billy into Captain Marvel as they should have, but they didn't contain the powers of Shazam!  The lightning bolts that transformed Cap back to Billy were the ones that contained the magic powers, that's why Billy was having Cap's powers and Captain Marvel was powerless!  

Billy says "Shazam!" once more and this time Zeus throws a corrected lightning bolt, transforming Billy into Captain Marvel and giving him his powers.  Billy closes the adventure by letting us know that he was able to enjoy the rest of his vacation and got a kick out of having Cap's powers, but he doesn't think Captain Marvel enjoyed the little adventure!

Holy Moley what a great story!  It was great to have a role reversal with Billy being powerful and Cap having lost his powers.  It also gave us a little more insight into the magic lightning that transforms them.  Based on this story we learn that there are different magic lightning bolts that Zeus uses:  one bolt transforms Billy into Captain Marvel and gives Cap his powers, and another bolt transforms Cap into Billy but does not give Billy any powers!  All in all this was a tremendous story and has become a new favorite of mine.


*According to Mike's Amazing World of Comics
**Shazam! #12 (February 19. 1974) references this story and gives the name of Vulcan to the character that creates the magic lightning

The Indestructable Captain Marvel

I've written before about Captain Marvel's power coming from Zeus.  And, I've written that Captain Marvel's indestructibility comes from the stamina of Atlas.  After reading Captain Marvel Adventures #144 I've just learned that what makes Captain Marvel truly indestructible comes from the power of Zeus!

In Captain Marvel Adventures #144, Sivana has just launched an atomic rocket strong enough to blast through two and a half mountains.  Captain Marvel takes the full blast of the explosion and is unharmed - except for his hair getting a little mussed!

I'm sure the stamina of Atlas can contribute to this, but for the most part it is the power of Zeus that makes him incapable of being harmed.  Now we know the true secret behind Captain Marvel's indestructibility is the power of Zeus!

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!

Did You Know...

Did you know that the magic lightning that transforms Billy Batson into Captain Marvel is thrown down to earth by Zeus?  We learn this in Whiz Comics #125!!

In Whiz Comics #125, we find Billy Batson out for a walk when a horrible storm comes up all of the sudden.  Billy sees a young lady about to be killed by a falling tree and he says, "Shazam!" - but nothing happens!  Billy rescues the young lady himself.  Billy says, "Shazam!" multiple times and still there is no magic lightning and no transformation into Captain Marvel.  Billy asks, "Why doesn't Zeus hear me and send down the lightning bolt?"

We soon find out that Zeus is preoccupied with practicing his lightning bolt throwing for an Olympic event held among the gods!  Mercury interrupts Zeus and tells him that Billy is calling for the lightning and finally Zeus lets a bolt fly to earth, transforming Billy into Captain Marvel.

Did you know that Zeus throws the magic lightning down to earth, transforming Billy Batson into Captain Marvel?  I didn't until I read this edition of Whiz Comics!  For an additional article on Billy's transformation, click here!