Shazam!
In DC ’s infamousFlashpointreality , lecturer get together a dark interlingual rendition ofShazam , one that flipped the script on the family aspect so inbuilt to the character . This edition of Shazam , referred to as “ Captain Thunder , ” skewered thetraditional conception of the Shazam Familyby merging its individual member into one - a laCaptain Planet- as opposed to the item-by-item member being concede powers by Shazam .
Family has been an important part of the Shazam mythos from its earlier days ; indeed , Shazam was one of the first characters to have a “ Family , ” with characters such as his sister Mary Marvel and his best champion Freddy Freeman , who go by the name Captain Marvel Junior ( and was adirect inspiration for Elvis Presley ’s stage persona . ) Then there was Uncle Dudley , Tawky Tawny and the Lieutenant Marvels . Many of these persona also derived their powers from the thaumaturge Shazam , a concept that has stayed true in every reboot of the concept , ranging from Jerry Ordway ’s seminalPower of Shazamto Geoff Johns ’ reinvention of the lineament during the New 52 era . Flashpoint(written by Geoff Johns , eviscerate by Andy Kubert , inked by Sandra Hope , colored by Alex Sinclair and lettered by Nick J. Napolitano ) serve usher in the New 52 , but before it did , it presented dark visual modality of some of DC ’s most beloved heroes , including Shazam !
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InFlashpoint # 1 , readers encounter a realism created when the Flash unintentionally breaks the timeline . There , they receive Captain Thunder , thebroken timeline ’s version of Shazam . The tike comprising the family : Billy , Mary , Freddy , Darla , Eugene and Pedro , along with Tawny the Tiger , are each penetrate with an expression of Shazam ’s top executive ; that is , Eugene has Solomon ’s soundness , Billy the courage of Achilles , and so forth . When they say the wizard word “ Shazam , ” they combine to form Captain Thunder . Unlike his Earth-0 counterpart , however , Captain Thunder is much darker , with a stoical demeanor and deep scars on his face . The children bring Captain Thunder off to ask for his help in the Atlantean - Amazon war . Captain Thunder , whose scars came from a fight with Wonder Woman , agree to avail .
Captain Thunder upend everything readersknew about the Shazam Family . Since the Family ’s inception in the former 1940 ’s , they have share their abilities and an unshakable James Bond . Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior were just as strong and tight as Billy . Captain Thunder was a radical reinvention of the conception , turning a syndicate of superbeings into a single hero sandwich . The comer of Captain Thunder pointed out one of theShazam ’s family neat strengths- that they ’re able-bodied to ferment together and stomach each other , regardless of their powers . None of this was present with Captain Thunder .
alternatively , the Shazam Family were at odds with each other , unable to genuinely reach a decision . Captain Thunder was a grim hero who wore scars of battles misplace , and was talk about by his constituent parts as a separate being that not all of them seemed to wish . At the same sentence , the children bring up not get word each other as a true family - a world by from the unshakable bonds the character usually enjoys . Easily separated , the event includes the decease of Billy Batson as the makeshift group fall apart .
However , all was not doomsday and gloominess . Flash ultimately bring off to create a Modern timeline where the kin were together again , and this storyline was the first coming into court of Darla , Eugene and Pedro , who would join Billy , Mary and Freddy informing the New 52 Shazam Family , which followed a more traditional exemplar . Yet theFlashpointShazamremains one of the darkest takes on the persona to date , emphasizing how good the hero is specify by his genetic bonds in DC ’s main persistence .
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