When C.C. Beck and Bill Parker created Captain Marvel aka Shazam, he would recite the one word incantation, the name of the wizard, SHAZAM! Harnessing from the gods of antiquity, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury to battle against the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.
If anyone could control the power of the new gods in the wake of Darkseid’s death, it should be Earth’s Mightiest Mortal, Shazam! Unfortunately when, “…the god of Evil died, his death throes rippled across creation. In that instant Shazam’s connection to the gods blinked. And new gods moved in.”
As the old gods were dismissed, Shazam has acquired new gods, new powers, new abilities and the ancient wizard is the one who facilitated the transition. In that “blink” Shazam must not only deal with accepting his new powers, but voices of these gods arguing amongst themselves within his head, driving the youth to the brink of madness in their attempt to “help” him face a new dangerous enemy, Zonuz (you have to read the book to find out who he really is).
Billy Batson, the young alter ego of Shazam is introduced to his new gods one-by-one as he resolves his new powers, his new abilities, and his new threats. Now harnessing the power of the new gods he has the Strength of S’ivaa, the Fires of H’ronmeer, the Compassion of Anapel, the Source Manipulation of Zonuz, the Boldness of Ate, and the Lighting of Mamaragan, the Wizard. He is SHAZAM!
Rarely, do I like new origins of old, beloved characters, but writer Steve Orlando has done Shazam justice. No longer can I call him, “Captain Marvel.” That’s just holding on to a legacy that no longer exists, like Batson’s old gods. Conquering the main villain of Zonuz was a bit too easy for who he is, but it’s exciting that a whole new take on Jack Kirby’s New Gods being utilized on a character like Shazam will bring a whole new world of stories for this new version of this character.
Scott Kolins was the perfect fit to enhance this story. His design, physical attributes to Shazam and the other gods beat the expectations one has come to hold dear for a character like Shazam.
Justice League: The Darkseid War – Shazam goes on sale today at your local comic bookstores.
