Shazam (Billy Batson)

Shazam is a name that has been used by Captain Marvel and other members of the Marvel Family. The name originally belonged to an ancient Wizard, who lived in the Rock of Eternity and guarded the Seven Deadly Sins. This wizard bestowed powers on the child Billy Batson. Batson simply had to speak the wizard's name, and he would transform into the adult Captain Marvel. Later on, Billy Batson began using the name Shazam as his alias instead of Captain Marvel. Shazam was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, first appearing in the Fawcett Comics publication Whiz Comics #2 (1940). Captain Marvel has been legally controversial because his name is shared by the company Marvel Comics, DC's largest competitor. Marvel Comics would later go on to publish their own character named Captain Marvel. Because of this dispute, DC has not been allowed to use the name "Marvel" in their publications since 1972. They used the name "Shazam" instead while still calling the character Captain Marvel. This problem was solved in the New 52 reboot. Geoff Johns created a Billy Batson who had never gone by the name "Captain Marvel," and was only called "Shazam", until the Dawn of DC reboot.