The Captain and Billy
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
After scrapping his Shazam team concept, writer Bill Parker had to come up with a single character to challenge Superman's dominance in the comic book market. Parker took his six heroes and blended them into one. The hero would gain his power by shouting a magic word, "Shazam!" The word would grant him wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage, and speed — the individual talents of heroes in the team, now rolled into one.
But it would be Parker's idea to make the hero's alter ego a young boy that would be the most endearing and popular aspect of the new character's lore. By tying into the wish fulfillment of any kid to instantly become powerful and to tackle challenges that were the province of adults, Parker had a ready-made audience. And it wasn't long before kids everywhere were shouting "Shazam," in the hope of transforming into the mighty hero.
Shazam! Fun Fact Text
After his Team Shazam idea was shot down, Bill Parker combined his team of six into the single super-hero required by Fawcett.
The Captain's alter ego would be a boy, named Billy Batson, who could magically transform into the mighty hero by shouting the magic word!
The Captain's powers would come from Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury — via the wizard, Shazam!