Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel was introduced in February 1940 in Whiz comic books. An orphan named Billy Batson met the wizard, Shazam, and whenever he said the magic word he was transformed into a superhero. A movie serial was released in 1940. The comic was discontinued in 1954. A second Captain Marvel appeared in 1966, a third in 1967. Only the original was transformed by shouting "Shazam." DC Comics got the rights to Captain Marvel and the Marvel family of characters in 1991, but because Marvel Comics got the rights to Captain Marvel in 1972, since then their comic books have been titled Shazam! DC Comics featured Captain Marvel in a recent 12-issue series titled The Trials of Shazam! For more information, explore our identification guides for action figures, other toys, paper, and prints.