So, here it is. The final chapter in the new origin of Billy Batson’s superhero life comes to a close in Justice League #21. He is no longer Captain Marvel. He is naught but Shazam. I was one of the most outspoken critics of Geoff Johns’ new take on Batson – the snotty little jerkwad brat I came to call “Billy Bathole,” although I suppose “Billy Bratson” would have been a more clever turn of phrase, now that I think of it. Now that Johns has finished otelling his tale, has that severe annoyance I had at the outset abated at all?
Yeah, I guess.
From the get-go, I knew what Johns was going for – the Billy Batson of yore was “too nice” and “not a regular kid,” never mind that part of Billy’s appeal was that unshakable core of compassion and goodness in the face of adversity. He really didn’t have to be all “golly gee whiz!” like he used to be, but he didn’t have to start as a conniving, sneering brat, either. Even in this finale issue, Gary Frank still sometimes draws Shazam with this detestable sneer that kind of makes you want to smack him, even though his artwork is otherwise pretty great.
All that said, now that Billy has shed most of that shell of assholery, the New 52 Shazam has become more palatable. In JL #21, Black Adam is staring down Shazam, threatening Billy’s adopted family because he wants Billy’s power to add to his own. Thanks to Dr. Sivana, he’s also got the power of the Seven Deadly Sins of Man laying waste to the town as well – having sought out the most rotten soul to inhabit and found it in Bryer, the one-dimensional rich guy whose bully family has been harassing Billy, Freddy and the rest from the get-go, transforming him into Sabbac – a big red demon monster. Sivana, however, was unable to control them, and where once he was beefy, now he’s whithered, the dark magic too much for him.
So, anyway, Black Adam says ‘gimme power!’ and Shazam says ‘okay, don’t hurt anybody, but how do I even do it?’ and Black Adam says ‘we are family, power flows through family’ and then mysterious reflection-mentor reminds Billy what Shazam (the old wizard, that is) said about family being what could be, not should be, and Billy realizes he can totally Shazam up all his new siblings. Thus, we’ve got Mary Marvel (although without Captain Marvel, will she be Mary Zam?), Pedro Marvel who is green, strong and beardy, Darla Marvel all purple and fast, Eugene Marvel in grey who can hear machines talking to him, and Freddy Marvel in blue, the former Captain Marvel Jr. who is the only one who actually gives himself a name: King Shazam. That’s pretty fun. Fighting ensues, Billy pulls a sacrifice ploy to get Black Adam to zap back to his human form, which instantly crumbles to dust because of how old he is. So, uh, Black Adam’s dead. But we’ve got the Seven Sins on the loose, and Dr. Sivina has met Mr. Mind. Ta-dah!
Not a bad end to the Shazam origin saga, really. The end result is that we have a less naive Billy who talks like a normal kid (which he could’ve done without the Batholery, but I digress) and who has a big adopted family and a slew of potential Shazammers. Thankfully, they don’t merge like Voltron as seen in Flashpoint. There’s no real Wisdom of Solomon involved, because Billy is always clueless about his power even when he’s in Shazam form, so I guess that old acronym is out the window, too. I do miss that unapologetic earnestness he used to have (which now may belong to Darla and Mary instead), but I guess I can deal with this Shazam.
Besides, the original Billy Batson would want me to give the new kid a chance and let go of all those bad feelings. That’s why he was so great.
