Mary Marvel
Encyclopedia
Mary Marvel is a fiction
al character
, a comic book
superheroine, originally published by Fawcett Comics
and now owned by DC Comics
. Created by Otto Binder
and Marc Swayze
, she first appeared in Captain Marvel
Adventures #18 in (December 1942). The character is a member of the Marvel Family
of heroes associated with Captain Marvel
.
She is the alter ego of teenager Mary Batson (adopted name Mary Bromfield), twin sister of Captain Marvel's alter-ego, Billy Batson. Like her brother, Mary has been granted the power of the wizard Shazam, and has but to speak the wizard's name to be transformed into the superpowered Mary Marvel.
Mary Marvel was one of the first female spin-offs of a major male superhero, and predates the introduction of Superman
's female cousin Supergirl
(also created by Otto Binder) by more than a decade.
Mary Marvel was introduced into Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family franchise a year after a young male counterpart, Captain Marvel Jr.
, made his debut. Artist Marc Swayze based Mary Marvel's design and personality upon American actress Judy Garland
. Mary was introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 as Mary Bromfield, a girl who discovers she is the long lost sister of Captain Marvel's alter ego Billy Batson.
Soon after her introduction, Mary Marvel headlined Wow Comics
, and by 1945 had her own Mary Marvel book. She also appeared in The Marvel Family
book with Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. In her solo adventures, Mary soon gained sidekicks in her kindly Uncle Marvel
, who was not actually her uncle nor a Marvel, and his similarly nonpowered niece, Freckles Marvel. Uncle Marvel was eventually made the Marvel Family’s manager, and also served as Mary’s guardian.
Just before the Marvel Family
's adventures ceased publication in 1953, Mary Marvel’s costume and appearance were altered: the neckline of her blouse was lowered slightly, her hair was shortened, and she now wore yellow slippers instead of the customary Marvel Family yellow boots. After Fawcett canceled their superhero comics line because of a copyright infringement lawsuit with National Comics (later DC Comics)
, Mary Marvel and her teammates went unseen for years.
(from 1979 to 1982) and Adventure Comics
(from 1982 to 1983). After the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths
miniseries, Captain Marvel’s origin was rebooted in the Shazam: The New Beginning miniseries in 1987. The Marvel Family was written out of the Shazam! mythos, and neither Mary Batson nor Mary Marvel appeared in DC Comics for several years.
graphic novel by Jerry Ordway
in 1994. An ongoing series followed in the next year, and Mary Marvel was introduced into the modern DC Universe
with a new origin story in Power of Shazam! #4.
When calling upon her powers, Mary is transformed into an adult resembling her late mother (in the same way that Billy resembles his father when in Marvel form). Mary shares the title of Captain Marvel with her brother. Various characters in the series distinguish the two by gender when addressing them, addressing Mary as "the lady Captain Marvel".
At first, Mary’s costume was the same as her original one. However, beginning with Power of Shazam! #28, Mary donned a white costume to distinguish herself from her brother. The color change was retained for most future uses of the character during the next decade.
Comics". Since then, she has guest-starred in both Superman and Supergirl comics. In 2003, Mary became a member of an offshoot of the Justice League
known as the Super Buddies
in the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries, which juxtaposed her Golden Age
-era personality with the modern-day world for comic effect.
Mary Marvel appears briefly in several stories relating to DC's 2005-2006 Infinite Crisis
crossover. Mary also appeared in DC's weekly limited series 52
, with her most substantial appearance being in 52 #16 as the maid of honor at the wedding of Black Adam
and Isis
, two Shazam!-related characters. She was defeated by Black Adam during World War III (DC Comics) along with the other Marvels.
In 2006, DC began a revamp of the Shazam! mythos with Judd Winick
and Howard Porter
's Trials of Shazam! limited series. The series began with a preview within the pages of Brave New World #1 in June 2006, in which Mary Batson loses her powers, suffers a three mile fall, and falls into a coma. This set up Mary's appearances as a main character in Countdown, a weekly DC series which served as the successor to 52. During the course of the series, head writer Paul Dini
and his collaborators had Mary acquire the powers of Black Adam, which give her a new look including a form-fitting long-sleeved black uniform and skirt with black lace-up boots. While the series tracked the character's struggle between good and evil, due to manipulation by supervillainesses Eclipso
and Granny Goodness
(promotional material for the series used the catchphrase "Seduction of the Innocent," a reference to Fredric Wertham
's book of the same title
), Mary emerged from the series under the influence of Superman
villain Darkseid
.
This darker Mary Marvel appears in DC's 2008 crossover series Final Crisis
, written by Grant Morrison
and illustrated by J.G. Jones, as a Female Fury
, with another design change (to match the styles of the other Furies) and a fully evil personality due to possession by the New God
Desaad
. Though defeated by Freddy Freeman/Shazam
before end of the Final Crisis miniseries, the evil Mary appeared again in the "Black Adam and Isis" arc featured in Justice Society of America
(vol. 3) #23–25, by the end of which she has lost her powers and returned to being a normal teenage girl.
in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 also relayed her origin story.
As infants, twins Billy and Mary Batson were nursed by a woman named Sarah Primm. When the Batsons' parents die in a car accident, Primm was required to send both children to an orphanage. However, Primm is determined to at least give one of the children a home, and arranges for Mary to secretly take the place of another baby girl who had suddenly died while under Primm's care. As a result, Billy is sent to an orphanage while his sister is raised by the wealthy Mrs. Bromfield.
Several years later, Billy Batson becomes a teenage radio announcer. While hosting an on-air quizbowl
, he receives an urgent letter from Sarah Primm, now on her death bed, requesting his presence. Billy goes to see her during a break, and Primm tells him the secret of his long-lost sister. To help him find Mary, Primm gives Billy a locket broken in half and tells the boy with her last breaths that Mary wears the other half.
After the quizbowl broadcast is over, Billy tells his best friend Freddy Freeman about his sister and the locket. Billy then recalls that one of the quizbowl contestants, a rich girl named Mary Bromfield, wore a broken locket. He and Freddy trail Mary’s limousine in their superpowered forms of Captain Marvel
and Captain Marvel Jr.
and find themselves called into service to save Mary from a gang of kidnappers.
Captain Marvel then learns that Mary's locket matches his own, and that she is indeed Billy’s sister. The Marvels reveal their secret identities to Mary, who wonders if, since she is Billy’s twin, she could become a Marvel by saying the magic word "Shazam". Billy, however, is assured that “Old Shaz—er—you know who—wouldn’t give his powers to a girl!”
Just then, the kidnappers awaken then bind and gag Billy and Freddy, preventing them from saying their magic words. Mary realizes that Billy cannot say Shazam, inadvertently saying the word. She is then struck by a magic lightning
bolt and transformed into a super-powered version of herself, later christened "Mary Marvel" by her brother. She then defeats the thugs by herself, realizing that she is invulnerable to bullets when they fire at her and has super strength, and frees Billy and Freddy. Shazam then reveals the 'goddesses' she gets her powers from.
Mary Marvel's current DC origin was presented within the pages of the Power of Shazam! graphic novel and ongoing series, written by Jerry Ordway.
Prominent archaeologists C.C. and Marilyn Batson are assigned by the Sivana
expedition on an excursion to Egypt. They take along their young daughter Mary, but are forced to leave their son Billy in America with C.C.'s half-brother. The elder Batsons are killed by their associate Theo Adam
, who then kidnaps Mary. Upon Theo Adam's return to the United States, Adam’s sister, a maid named Sarah Primm, takes Mary into her care. Primm arranges for her childless employers, Nick and Nora Bromfield, to illegally adopt Mary. As Mary Bromfield, the young girl grows up living an idyllic life in a wealthy family, but continuously has dreams of another family with a brother she has never seen.
Meanwhile, Billy eventually finding himself on the streets, and is given the power to become Captain Marvel. He learns that Mary is still alive, but after four years of searching, neither he nor his benefactor, the wizard Shazam
, can find the girl. The only thing Billy has to remember Mary by is her favorite toy, a "Tawky Tawny" doll, which was shipped to America with the Batsons’ possessions after their murders.
As a young teenager, Mary enters a regional spelling bee
held in Fawcett City
and emceed by Billy, who works as an on-air reporter for WHIZ radio. After saving Mary from kidnappers twice as Captain Marvel, Billy notices how much Mary Bromfield reminds him of Mary Batson and has an undercover cop named “Muscles” McGinnis retrieve the girl’s forged adoption record. Learning that Mary is indeed his sister, Billy tries to figure out a way to let Mary know he is her brother. The old "Tawky Tawny" doll suddenly transforms into a full-sized humanoid tiger and comes to life, instructing Billy to take it to Mary. As Captain Marvel, Billy flies out to the Bromfields’ hometown of Fairfield to deliver the doll and the adoption papers to Mary.
Captain Marvel arrives at the Bromfield estate and changes back to Billy Batson to deliver the package, but is immediately kidnapped by the thugs who helped Primm forge Mary’s adoption records. Mary, not having seen Billy, takes the package and opens it, discovering the adoption records and the Tawky Tawny doll. Once again, the doll comes to life and instructs the bewildered girl to say the magic word "Shazam" and save her brother. Mary complies and is transformed by a bolt of magic lightning into a superpowered doppelganger of her deceased mother. She saves Billy, who transforms into Captain Marvel to help Mary defeat the thugs, but the two Marvels cannot save Sarah Primm, who is murdered by one of the thugs.
In the eleven page preview to Judd Winick
and Howard Porter
's Trials of Shazam! limited series appearing in DC's Brave New World one-shot comic (June 2006), Mary Marvel loses her powers in mid-flight as an after-effect of the death of the wizard Shazam by the Spectre in Day of Vengeance
#6, and falls from a height of three miles. Mary survives the fall but goes into a coma, and Freddy Freeman, who lost the power to become Captain Marvel Jr. in the same way, has her transported to a hospital in New York City where he can keep watch over her. He spends all his money to help her.
In Countdown
#51, Mary is released from the hospital. She finds that she is still powerless and a note left by Freddy Freeman with a nurse asks her not to look for him as he is trying to get the powers of Shazam back, per the orders of Marvel. Making her way to Gotham City
(despite being warned by Madame Xanadu
to avoid the place in Countdown #50), Mary stumbles upon the former Kahndaq
i embassy while being chased by violent criminals from the subway, who are killed by Black Adam. Black Adam
angrily threatens her. Mary tells Adam how much she valued her powers and how she desires to regain them. Adam, bitter over the loss of his wife Isis and brother-in-law Osiris
during the events of 52 as well as his failure to resurrect the former, gives Mary his powers instead of killing her. He is transformed into the mortal Teth-Adam, whom Mary rescues from a wall toppling on him. Mary wears a black form-fitting costume and wields Adam's powers as a darker, angrier character. While searching for a tutor to help her harness her power at the reformed Riddler's advice, she encounters Klarion the Witch boy in a market for dark magic, who tries to take her power, then Zatanna, who banishes her from her home after a fight, and then Eclipso, who only fuels her wild abandon. She uses a rougher justice, such as turning soldiers to stone and shrinking poachers so their quarries chase them.
Their alliance, however, seems to break down when Eclipso, hoping to please her master Darkseid
, offers the young and pretty Mary as his new concubine, reasoning that the two women could always leech Darkseid's arcane knowledge, slay him, and take his place. Mary refuses to sell herself for more power, beats Eclipso with her own crystal, and flees, enraged. Eclipso catches up to her and regains the diamond. Eclipso then departs, leaving Mary alone again. Some time later, Eclipso returns hoping to finish her off, but Mary is too strong for her.
Mary experiences a change of mind, and upon realizing that Black Adam's powers are as responsible for her corruption as Eclipso, divests herself of them by feeding the lightning bolt into Eclipso, who tries to kill her and take her power. Both women lose their powers and fall into the ocean. However, an unpowered Mary lands on Themyscira
n soil, where Queen Hippolyta drafts her in the rebellion against Granny Goodness
, who is posing as the goddess Athena
.
Mary, Holly Robinson
, and Harleen Quinzel
manage to reveal Goodness' deception, and the trio follow her to Apokolips
. After escaping the Female Furies
, Mary starts to hear the voices of the gods. The group manages to free the Olympian gods from an Apokoliptan chamber, and Mary Marvel's powers are restored along with her white costume, which now has a gray lightning bolt and long sleeves.
After journeying with the Challengers to Earth-51 and witnessing the Great Disaster occurring there, Mary finally returns home to find Darkseid waiting for her. Reminding her of how strong she felt using Black Adam's powers, and claiming the gods do not trust her as much now, he returns them to her, restoring her black costume. She then confronts Donna Troy
, Kyle Rayner
, Forager
, and Jimmy Olsen
, seizing Jimmy to take him back to Darkseid. When Donna questions Mary's use of the powers, Mary insists that she is not evil, merely "driven". After Darkseid's defeat, Mary returns to Black Adam, asking to be a part of a new Black Marvel Family. Adam refuses her and, after a big tantrum, she decides to become a solo superheroine.
, scratching the Amazon's upper arm and infecting her with an unknown virus delivered from a broken glass vial bearing a gold Omega
symbol. Later, when the heroes of Earth attack Blüdhaven
, Black Adam notes that she's been possessed by one of the New Gods, a "leering old man". The possessed Mary claims to have a new dirty magic word, a blasphemous name of power, and to have new gods. During a heated battle with Supergirl
, Black Adam learns that the evil god Desaad
was the one who possessed Mary. Black Adam tries to kill her but is stopped by Freddy. Later, distracted by hordes of Anti-Life followers about to attack, Freddy Freeman, the new Captain Marvel, grabs Mary and uses the last of his magic to transform them back to normal. Though horrified by her actions while possessed by Desaad, and saying that she never meant for this to happen while crying, she is seen standing with Freddy with clubs in their hands, awaiting the end of the world.
The two now evil Black Marvels join Adam and Isis, who are intent on using the power of Shazam to destroy the modern world, in fighting the Justice Society. When Isis begins attacking the citizens of Adam's native Khandaq and Adam's friend Atom Smasher, he switches loyalties and joins the Justice Society's Flash and the spirit of Mary and Billy's father in helping resurrect the wizard Shazam from the Rock of Finality, where he has been sealed in stone. Black Adam gives up his powers to restore the wizard to life. Shazam promptly and angrily takes his powers back from Mary, Billy, and Isis, turns Teth Adam and Isis to stone, and closes off all contact to the Rock of Eternity to the Batson kids upon stating that Billy and Mary failed him. He also threatens to go after Freddy for stealing his name. The two Batsons are later seen wandering the streets of Fawcett City, homeless, and wondering what happened to their father's spirit.
Mary and Billy are briefly seen during the events of Blackest Night, now living in an apartment in Fawcett City. While watching news reports of the various heroes and villains being reanimated as Black Lanterns
on their laptop, Mary remarks how scary it is to not have her powers anymore.
Mary is approached by Blaze
, who offers to restore her and Billy's powers in exchange for her killing Freddy. Mary seems to go along with the deal, appearing to poison Freddy. However, when Blaze arrives to claim Freddy's powers, he gets up and attacks her. With a little help from Mary and Billy, Freddy defeats Blaze and sends her back to hell, later promising them that he will find a way to restore their lost powers.
As Billy's twin, Mary shared Billy's ability to transform into a superhero by speaking the name of the wizard Shazam. In her petite superpowered state, Mary Marvel originally wore a red short-sleeved blouse and red skirt lined with gold trim, which included a lightning bolt insignia and cape.
The Fawcett and pre-1985 version of Mary Marvel did not derive her “Shazam” powers from the male mythological figures who empower Billy, but from a set of female benefactors: Selena
for grace, Hippolyta
* for strength, Ariadne
( later changed to Artemis
, Greek Goddess of the hunt) for skill, Zephyrus for fleetness (and flight), Aurora
, (later changed to Greek Goddess Aphrodite
) for beauty, and Minerva
for wisdom.
Although these deities
were originally described and depicted as goddesses, Zephyrus is actually a male god. In addition, the list does not account for all of the superhuman
traits shared by Billy and Mary, specifically Captain Marvel's powers of invulnerability, stamina, and courage. The original Mary Marvel remained a teenager when she transformed rather than becoming a mature adult like Billy. Pre-Crisis, it is revealed she cannot call on her power for 24 hours every 1,000 years, as Shazam loses his powers during that time (although he is still able to send his spirit to contact her), and therefore so must she. In one story she is able to call on the goddesses to send an even greater lightning blast to blast away earrings that are drawing her lightning away.(Mary Marvel Comics 1
) Pre-Crisis if the Elders who power her are incapitated she cannot call down the magic lightning to transform. It is shown a recording of her voice can transform her, once Georgia Sivana took advantage of this with a jukebox, turning Mary back, knocking her out with a cosh, then binding her to a chair and gagging her. However, Mary knocked the jukebox over setting it of, then for the first time with her mouth gagged Mary's voice summons the lightining. She then destroys the jukebox. In one story it is claimed Mary is weaker on Earth-1 then Earth-S.
The current version of Mary Marvel, originating in The Power of Shazam!, has the same powers from the same benefactors as her brother (Solomon
, Hercules
*
, Atlas
, Zeus
, Achilles
, and Mercury
). A power-sharing element was added to the mythos in the Power of Shazam! series; one finite source of power was shared between Mary, Captain Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr. It should be noted that this power-sharing element has not been honored by all later appearances of the Marvels. Mary loses these powers in the 2006 Brave New World
one-shot special. In early stories, if she had lost her memory or been transformed, her transformation would restore her.
In Countdown to Final Crisis
(2007–2008), Black Adam
gives Mary his powers. Since Adam was not sharing his powers with anyone else when he granted them to Mary, and had also been carrying the powers of his dead wife Isis
(who had granted them to him with her death), Mary is now more powerful than she's ever been. Mary's patron deities become seven Egyptian gods: Shu
, Heru
, Amon
, Zehuti
, Aten
, Mehen
, and the "most powerful" Egyptian deity, Isis
, which increases her other powers and allows her to perform magical feats like weather control and transforming others. Mary's powers continue to expand rapidly as she and her mentor Eclipso
seek new sources of magical power for her, gaining various new magical powers. She became sufficiently powerful to withstand Darkseid's Omega Beams. Eventually realizing she had been corrupted by Eclipso and the powers of Adam's gods, Mary relinquished these abilities. Mary's powers were restored when she aided the Olympian Gods in retaining their freedom from Apokolips. Later, her Black Adam powers were restored, given to her by Darkseid
.
In the later Final Crisis
miniseries (2008–2009), Mary's body was further enhanced with genetic technology stolen by the Atomic Knight
s. In addition to her impressive magical powers, her empowered form is now "aged" from late adolescence to adulthood, with clawed hands able to slice through metal. Later Black Adam restores her powers from the Egyptian gods. She is able to bestow part of it upon Billy, making him Black Billy.
Power of Shazam: Formerly, in order to change form, Mary had to call upon the name of Shazam, thereby invoking spells involving the energies of those extradimensional beings once known as gods on Earth. When Mary Batson said the magic word "Shazam!", she would be transformed into Mary Marvel. In her Mary Marvel form, Mary possessed the following attributes:
S for the Wisdom of Solomon: As Mary Marvel, Mary had instant access to a vast amount of scholarly knowledge, exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing her to read and decipher hieroglyphics, solve long mathematical equations instantaneously and make intuitive guesses based on limited data to the point her guesses were almost always correct. The wisdom of Solomon also gave Mary clairvoyance and provided her with counsel and advice in times of need. She had knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern, and could hypnotize people.
H for the Strength of Hercules: Mary Marvel had incredible amounts of super strength, was strong enough to lift at least 100 tons, and was able to effortlessly bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects. Mary's strength is enough that she has fought beings such as Captain Atom to a standstill. Her Olympian flesh and bone was about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.
A for the Stamina of Atlas: Using Atlas' endurance, Mary Marvel could withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults. If she were somehow wounded, her godly energies would enable her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might have been possible for a god of significant power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo, or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together, to revive her. Additionally, her Olympian metabolism ensured that she did not need to eat, sleep, or breathe when in Mary Marvel form.
Z for the Power of Zeus: Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transformed Mary Marvel, also enhanced Marvel's other physical abilities, provided physical invulnerability and resistance against most magic spells and attacks, and allowed her to access the Rock of Eternity. Marvel could use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or target. The magical lightning had many other uses, including creating apparati, restoring damage done to Marvel, or acting as fuel for magical spells.
A for the Courage of Achilles: Like the wisdom, this aspect is primarily psychological and gave Marvel superhuman amounts of inner strength from which to draw. She was always supported by an innate and harmonious presence of good will and strength of perseverance so that she never backed down from a challenge.
M for the Speed of Mercury: By channeling Mercury's speed, Mary Marvel, while not as fast as the Flash, could fly and move at hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 10 (2 miles a second) while in Earth's atmosphere and could fly at close to light speed through space. She could move fast enough to not register in the normal peripheral range of humans and seemingly vanish and disappear at will. At this speed, her mind processed information on par to a computer or at least on a subliminal level that she was aware of her surroundings. She could also mystically fly through the atmosphere through sheer act of will, enabling her to soar through the atmosphere at sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet. She was immune from the effects of extreme height, such as dizziness and lightheadedness. With effort, she could travel from the earth to the moon, but required extra-precautionary paraphernalia for interstellar travel. Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for "thrice-great Hermes"), an occultist aspect of Hermes/Mercury, also gave her the ability to wield magic and cast spells, though she never used this as Mary Marvel, apparently because she did not know how.
, a new Multiverse
is revealed consisting of 52 identical realities. Earth-5 is depicted as home to the Marvel family characters. As a result of Mister Mind
"eating" aspects of this universe, it takes on aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-S. Although the characters are not named in the panel in which they appear, a character looking like Mary Marvel is shown. 52 co-author Grant Morrison
has made clear that this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-S.
An evil version of Mary Marvel exists in an alternate universe as a member of the "Power Posse" (evil analogues of the Super Buddies). Mistress Mary, as she is called, wears a black variant of Mary's traditional outfit, almost identical to her costume during the 2007/2008 Countdown series.
, Mary Batson is depicted as a prepubescent child who does not age when she transforms into Mary Marvel.
Mary meets her lost brother in the circus that is attacked by Alligator Men and is rescued by Captain Marvel. With the help of Talky Tawny, a trickster spirit who changes into various forms but prefers being a tiger
when convenient, the siblings learn they are related. When Billy transforms into Captain Marvel, Mary stands too close to her brother and is struck by the fringe of the magic lightning. As a result, Mary gains her Marvel form (which is still at her actual age) that is apparently based on the aspects of various goddesses, including superior flying speed to her brother, and powers stemming by a female set of benefactors. For example, Athena's wisdom is different from Solomon's, allowing Mary to perceive "life vibrations" and distinguish between living and non-living beings.
Although she and Billy are kidnapped in their regular form by Doctor Sivana
and Mr. Mind and gagged, Billy escapes and rescues her as Captain Marvel when she is thrown from the top of a robot by Doctor Sivana and removes a piece of duct tape from her mouth, allowing her to transform. When Billy accidentally loses his Marvel powers due to a wormhole drawing them away, Mary restores them to him by calling down the lightning and touching him as it strikes.
print, Mary was one of three superheroines (the others being Madame Xanadu
and Lori Lemaris
) who masqueraded as a heroic version of The Joker
.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superheroine, originally published by Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s...
and now owned by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Created by Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
and Marc Swayze
Marc Swayze
Marc Swayze was an American comic book artist from 1941-53 for Fawcett Publications.He is best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during the Golden Age of comic books for Fawcett Comics, and is the co-creator of Mary Marvel with writer Otto Binder...
, she first appeared in Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
Adventures #18 in (December 1942). The character is a member of the Marvel Family
Marvel Family
The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
of heroes associated with Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
.
She is the alter ego of teenager Mary Batson (adopted name Mary Bromfield), twin sister of Captain Marvel's alter-ego, Billy Batson. Like her brother, Mary has been granted the power of the wizard Shazam, and has but to speak the wizard's name to be transformed into the superpowered Mary Marvel.
Mary Marvel was one of the first female spin-offs of a major male superhero, and predates the introduction of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's female cousin Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
(also created by Otto Binder) by more than a decade.
Fawcett Comics
Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel Jr. is a fictional character, a superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently in the . A member of the Marvel Family team of superheroes, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 in December 1941.Captain Marvel Jr.'s...
, made his debut. Artist Marc Swayze based Mary Marvel's design and personality upon American actress Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. Mary was introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 as Mary Bromfield, a girl who discovers she is the long lost sister of Captain Marvel's alter ego Billy Batson.
Soon after her introduction, Mary Marvel headlined Wow Comics
Wow Comics
Wow Comics was a monthly ongoing comic book anthology series, which was published by Fawcett Comics from winter 1940 to March 1952. From issue #9 to #58, the book's cover features were the solo adventures of Fawcett's Mary Marvel character...
, and by 1945 had her own Mary Marvel book. She also appeared in The Marvel Family
Marvel Family
The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
book with Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. In her solo adventures, Mary soon gained sidekicks in her kindly Uncle Marvel
Uncle Marvel
Uncle Marvel is a fictional comic book character originally created for Fawcett Comics, and today owned by DC Comics, who appears in stories about the Marvel Family team of superheroes...
, who was not actually her uncle nor a Marvel, and his similarly nonpowered niece, Freckles Marvel. Uncle Marvel was eventually made the Marvel Family’s manager, and also served as Mary’s guardian.
Just before the Marvel Family
Marvel Family
The Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
's adventures ceased publication in 1953, Mary Marvel’s costume and appearance were altered: the neckline of her blouse was lowered slightly, her hair was shortened, and she now wore yellow slippers instead of the customary Marvel Family yellow boots. After Fawcett canceled their superhero comics line because of a copyright infringement lawsuit with National Comics (later DC Comics)
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications
National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications, 191 F.2d 594 , was a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a twelve-year legal battle between National Comics and the Fawcett Comics division of Fawcett Publications, concerning Fawcett's Captain Marvel...
, Mary Marvel and her teammates went unseen for years.
1973-1985
In 1972, DC Comics licensed the rights to the Marvels, and revived them in a new comic series called Shazam!. Mary, Cap, and Junior appeared in both new stories and reprints of their classic stories. According to Shazam #1 the Sivanas had put the Marvel family into suspended animation for 20 years, along with themselves (by mistake) and much of the supporting cast. The comic book was canceled by 1978, and the Shazam! stories were relegated to the back pages of World's Finest ComicsWorld's Finest Comics
World's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
(from 1979 to 1982) and Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
(from 1982 to 1983). After the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
miniseries, Captain Marvel’s origin was rebooted in the Shazam: The New Beginning miniseries in 1987. The Marvel Family was written out of the Shazam! mythos, and neither Mary Batson nor Mary Marvel appeared in DC Comics for several years.
1994-1999
Mary Batson was reintroduced in The Power of Shazam!The Power of Shazam!
The Power of Shazam! is a 1994 hardcover graphic novel, written and painted by Jerry Ordway for DC Comics. The 96-page story, depicting the revamped origins of former Fawcett Comics superhero Captain Marvel, was followed by an ongoing series, also titled The Power of Shazam!, which ran from 1995 to...
graphic novel by Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
in 1994. An ongoing series followed in the next year, and Mary Marvel was introduced into the modern DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
with a new origin story in Power of Shazam! #4.
When calling upon her powers, Mary is transformed into an adult resembling her late mother (in the same way that Billy resembles his father when in Marvel form). Mary shares the title of Captain Marvel with her brother. Various characters in the series distinguish the two by gender when addressing them, addressing Mary as "the lady Captain Marvel".
At first, Mary’s costume was the same as her original one. However, beginning with Power of Shazam! #28, Mary donned a white costume to distinguish herself from her brother. The color change was retained for most future uses of the character during the next decade.
2000s
After the Power of Shazam! series ended in 1999, Mary’s superpowered alter ego was officially rechristened "Mary Marvel." In 2002 she had lunch with Supergirl in "The Clubhouse of Solitude", in the spoof graphic anthology "BizarroBizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
Comics". Since then, she has guest-starred in both Superman and Supergirl comics. In 2003, Mary became a member of an offshoot of the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
known as the Super Buddies
Super Buddies
Super Buddies are a team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe who appeared in the six-issue Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League...
in the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries, which juxtaposed her Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
-era personality with the modern-day world for comic effect.
Mary Marvel appears briefly in several stories relating to DC's 2005-2006 Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
crossover. Mary also appeared in DC's weekly limited series 52
52 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, with her most substantial appearance being in 52 #16 as the maid of honor at the wedding of Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
and Isis
Isis (DC Comics)
Isis is a DC Comics superhero, as well as a separate Egyptian goddess also living in the DC Universe. The recent superhero character is modeled closely after the main character of The Secrets of Isis, a live-action American Saturday Morning television program that served as the second half of The...
, two Shazam!-related characters. She was defeated by Black Adam during World War III (DC Comics) along with the other Marvels.
In 2006, DC began a revamp of the Shazam! mythos with Judd Winick
Judd Winick
Judd Winick is an American comic book, comic strip and television writer/artist and former reality television personality...
and Howard Porter
Howard Porter
Howard Porter is an American comic book artist from southern Connecticut.-Biography:Porter graduated from Paier College of Art in Connecticut where he majored in illustration. One of his teachers there was Frank McLaughlin...
's Trials of Shazam! limited series. The series began with a preview within the pages of Brave New World #1 in June 2006, in which Mary Batson loses her powers, suffers a three mile fall, and falls into a coma. This set up Mary's appearances as a main character in Countdown, a weekly DC series which served as the successor to 52. During the course of the series, head writer Paul Dini
Paul Dini
Paul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
and his collaborators had Mary acquire the powers of Black Adam, which give her a new look including a form-fitting long-sleeved black uniform and skirt with black lace-up boots. While the series tracked the character's struggle between good and evil, due to manipulation by supervillainesses Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
and Granny Goodness
Granny Goodness
Granny Goodness is a fictional character, a deity and supervillain published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Granny Goodness was modeled on comedienne Phyllis Diller and first appeared in Mister Miracle vol...
(promotional material for the series used the catchphrase "Seduction of the Innocent," a reference to Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham was a Jewish German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of violent imagery in mass media and comic books on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent , which purported that comic books are...
's book of the same title
Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent is a book by German-American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was a minor bestseller that created alarm in parents and galvanized...
), Mary emerged from the series under the influence of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
villain Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
.
This darker Mary Marvel appears in DC's 2008 crossover series Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
, written by Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
and illustrated by J.G. Jones, as a Female Fury
Female Furies
The Female Furies are a group of fictional women warriors appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Mister Miracle #6 , and were created by Jack Kirby.-Team history:...
, with another design change (to match the styles of the other Furies) and a fully evil personality due to possession by the New God
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
Desaad
Desaad
Desaad is a fictional comic book supervillain, appearing in books published by DC Comics. He is one of the followers of Darkseid from the planet of Apokolips in Jack Kirby's Fourth World meta-series....
. Though defeated by Freddy Freeman/Shazam
Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel Jr. is a fictional character, a superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently in the . A member of the Marvel Family team of superheroes, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 in December 1941.Captain Marvel Jr.'s...
before end of the Final Crisis miniseries, the evil Mary appeared again in the "Black Adam and Isis" arc featured in Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
(vol. 3) #23–25, by the end of which she has lost her powers and returned to being a normal teenage girl.
Fictional character biography
Original Fawcett origin
Mary Marvel's first appearanceFirst appearance
In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a fictional character.-Monetary value of first appearance issues:...
in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 also relayed her origin story.
As infants, twins Billy and Mary Batson were nursed by a woman named Sarah Primm. When the Batsons' parents die in a car accident, Primm was required to send both children to an orphanage. However, Primm is determined to at least give one of the children a home, and arranges for Mary to secretly take the place of another baby girl who had suddenly died while under Primm's care. As a result, Billy is sent to an orphanage while his sister is raised by the wealthy Mrs. Bromfield.
Several years later, Billy Batson becomes a teenage radio announcer. While hosting an on-air quizbowl
Quizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
, he receives an urgent letter from Sarah Primm, now on her death bed, requesting his presence. Billy goes to see her during a break, and Primm tells him the secret of his long-lost sister. To help him find Mary, Primm gives Billy a locket broken in half and tells the boy with her last breaths that Mary wears the other half.
After the quizbowl broadcast is over, Billy tells his best friend Freddy Freeman about his sister and the locket. Billy then recalls that one of the quizbowl contestants, a rich girl named Mary Bromfield, wore a broken locket. He and Freddy trail Mary’s limousine in their superpowered forms of Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
and Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel Jr.
Captain Marvel Jr. is a fictional character, a superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently in the . A member of the Marvel Family team of superheroes, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25 in December 1941.Captain Marvel Jr.'s...
and find themselves called into service to save Mary from a gang of kidnappers.
Captain Marvel then learns that Mary's locket matches his own, and that she is indeed Billy’s sister. The Marvels reveal their secret identities to Mary, who wonders if, since she is Billy’s twin, she could become a Marvel by saying the magic word "Shazam". Billy, however, is assured that “Old Shaz—er—you know who—wouldn’t give his powers to a girl!”
Just then, the kidnappers awaken then bind and gag Billy and Freddy, preventing them from saying their magic words. Mary realizes that Billy cannot say Shazam, inadvertently saying the word. She is then struck by a magic lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
bolt and transformed into a super-powered version of herself, later christened "Mary Marvel" by her brother. She then defeats the thugs by herself, realizing that she is invulnerable to bullets when they fire at her and has super strength, and frees Billy and Freddy. Shazam then reveals the 'goddesses' she gets her powers from.
Modified DC origin
Prominent archaeologists C.C. and Marilyn Batson are assigned by the Sivana
Doctor Sivana
Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana is a fictional comic book supervillain. Created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, he first appeared opposite superhero Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #2 by Fawcett Comics...
expedition on an excursion to Egypt. They take along their young daughter Mary, but are forced to leave their son Billy in America with C.C.'s half-brother. The elder Batsons are killed by their associate Theo Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
, who then kidnaps Mary. Upon Theo Adam's return to the United States, Adam’s sister, a maid named Sarah Primm, takes Mary into her care. Primm arranges for her childless employers, Nick and Nora Bromfield, to illegally adopt Mary. As Mary Bromfield, the young girl grows up living an idyllic life in a wealthy family, but continuously has dreams of another family with a brother she has never seen.
Meanwhile, Billy eventually finding himself on the streets, and is given the power to become Captain Marvel. He learns that Mary is still alive, but after four years of searching, neither he nor his benefactor, the wizard Shazam
Shazam (comics)
Shazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. He is an ancient sorcerer who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel...
, can find the girl. The only thing Billy has to remember Mary by is her favorite toy, a "Tawky Tawny" doll, which was shipped to America with the Batsons’ possessions after their murders.
As a young teenager, Mary enters a regional spelling bee
Spelling bee
A spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States....
held in Fawcett City
Fawcett City
Fawcett City is a fictional city, and the home of DC Comics' Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family. It first appeared in the graphic novel "The Power of Shazam" by Jerry Ordway in 1994. Its name is derived from the original publishers of Captain Marvel comics, Fawcett Comics...
and emceed by Billy, who works as an on-air reporter for WHIZ radio. After saving Mary from kidnappers twice as Captain Marvel, Billy notices how much Mary Bromfield reminds him of Mary Batson and has an undercover cop named “Muscles” McGinnis retrieve the girl’s forged adoption record. Learning that Mary is indeed his sister, Billy tries to figure out a way to let Mary know he is her brother. The old "Tawky Tawny" doll suddenly transforms into a full-sized humanoid tiger and comes to life, instructing Billy to take it to Mary. As Captain Marvel, Billy flies out to the Bromfields’ hometown of Fairfield to deliver the doll and the adoption papers to Mary.
Captain Marvel arrives at the Bromfield estate and changes back to Billy Batson to deliver the package, but is immediately kidnapped by the thugs who helped Primm forge Mary’s adoption records. Mary, not having seen Billy, takes the package and opens it, discovering the adoption records and the Tawky Tawny doll. Once again, the doll comes to life and instructs the bewildered girl to say the magic word "Shazam" and save her brother. Mary complies and is transformed by a bolt of magic lightning into a superpowered doppelganger of her deceased mother. She saves Billy, who transforms into Captain Marvel to help Mary defeat the thugs, but the two Marvels cannot save Sarah Primm, who is murdered by one of the thugs.
The Trials of Shazam! and Countdown
Judd Winick
Judd Winick is an American comic book, comic strip and television writer/artist and former reality television personality...
and Howard Porter
Howard Porter
Howard Porter is an American comic book artist from southern Connecticut.-Biography:Porter graduated from Paier College of Art in Connecticut where he majored in illustration. One of his teachers there was Frank McLaughlin...
's Trials of Shazam! limited series appearing in DC's Brave New World one-shot comic (June 2006), Mary Marvel loses her powers in mid-flight as an after-effect of the death of the wizard Shazam by the Spectre in Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
#6, and falls from a height of three miles. Mary survives the fall but goes into a coma, and Freddy Freeman, who lost the power to become Captain Marvel Jr. in the same way, has her transported to a hospital in New York City where he can keep watch over her. He spends all his money to help her.
In Countdown
Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
#51, Mary is released from the hospital. She finds that she is still powerless and a note left by Freddy Freeman with a nurse asks her not to look for him as he is trying to get the powers of Shazam back, per the orders of Marvel. Making her way to Gotham City
Gotham City
Gotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
(despite being warned by Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
to avoid the place in Countdown #50), Mary stumbles upon the former Kahndaq
Kahndaq
Kahndaq is a fictional Middle Eastern country in the DC Comics Universe. Its real world location is on the continent of Africa, between Egypt and Israel...
i embassy while being chased by violent criminals from the subway, who are killed by Black Adam. Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
angrily threatens her. Mary tells Adam how much she valued her powers and how she desires to regain them. Adam, bitter over the loss of his wife Isis and brother-in-law Osiris
Osiris (DC Comics)
Osiris is the name of three fictional characters published by DC Comics. The first appeared in 1994 as a foil for the Justice League. The second appeared under the Vertigo Comics imprint in a spin-off of The Sandman in 2002. The third debuted in the pages of Teen Titans and 52 in 2006.-Publication...
during the events of 52 as well as his failure to resurrect the former, gives Mary his powers instead of killing her. He is transformed into the mortal Teth-Adam, whom Mary rescues from a wall toppling on him. Mary wears a black form-fitting costume and wields Adam's powers as a darker, angrier character. While searching for a tutor to help her harness her power at the reformed Riddler's advice, she encounters Klarion the Witch boy in a market for dark magic, who tries to take her power, then Zatanna, who banishes her from her home after a fight, and then Eclipso, who only fuels her wild abandon. She uses a rougher justice, such as turning soldiers to stone and shrinking poachers so their quarries chase them.
Their alliance, however, seems to break down when Eclipso, hoping to please her master Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
, offers the young and pretty Mary as his new concubine, reasoning that the two women could always leech Darkseid's arcane knowledge, slay him, and take his place. Mary refuses to sell herself for more power, beats Eclipso with her own crystal, and flees, enraged. Eclipso catches up to her and regains the diamond. Eclipso then departs, leaving Mary alone again. Some time later, Eclipso returns hoping to finish her off, but Mary is too strong for her.
Mary experiences a change of mind, and upon realizing that Black Adam's powers are as responsible for her corruption as Eclipso, divests herself of them by feeding the lightning bolt into Eclipso, who tries to kill her and take her power. Both women lose their powers and fall into the ocean. However, an unpowered Mary lands on Themyscira
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...
n soil, where Queen Hippolyta drafts her in the rebellion against Granny Goodness
Granny Goodness
Granny Goodness is a fictional character, a deity and supervillain published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Granny Goodness was modeled on comedienne Phyllis Diller and first appeared in Mister Miracle vol...
, who is posing as the goddess Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
.
Mary, Holly Robinson
Holly Robinson (comics)
Holly Robinson is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. She was introduced in Batman #404 during Frank Miller's Batman: Year One story arc.Holly is a frequent ally and sidekick of Catwoman...
, and Harleen Quinzel
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn was first introduced as a villain on September 11, 1992, in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, later adapted into DC Comics' Batman comic books. As suggested by her name , she is clad in the manner of a traditional harlequin jester...
manage to reveal Goodness' deception, and the trio follow her to Apokolips
Apokolips
In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips is the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. It is also integral to many DC Comics stories. The planet is considered the opposite of New Genesis....
. After escaping the Female Furies
Female Furies
The Female Furies are a group of fictional women warriors appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Mister Miracle #6 , and were created by Jack Kirby.-Team history:...
, Mary starts to hear the voices of the gods. The group manages to free the Olympian gods from an Apokoliptan chamber, and Mary Marvel's powers are restored along with her white costume, which now has a gray lightning bolt and long sleeves.
After journeying with the Challengers to Earth-51 and witnessing the Great Disaster occurring there, Mary finally returns home to find Darkseid waiting for her. Reminding her of how strong she felt using Black Adam's powers, and claiming the gods do not trust her as much now, he returns them to her, restoring her black costume. She then confronts Donna Troy
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #60 , and was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani...
, Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
, Forager
Forager (comics)
Forager is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in New Gods #9 , and was created by Jack Kirby.-Original Forager:...
, and Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
, seizing Jimmy to take him back to Darkseid. When Donna questions Mary's use of the powers, Mary insists that she is not evil, merely "driven". After Darkseid's defeat, Mary returns to Black Adam, asking to be a part of a new Black Marvel Family. Adam refuses her and, after a big tantrum, she decides to become a solo superheroine.
Final Crisis
Mary returns in Final Crisis, still apparently in Darkseid's thrall, wearing a new black costume with more of a punk look. She attacks Wonder WomanWonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
, scratching the Amazon's upper arm and infecting her with an unknown virus delivered from a broken glass vial bearing a gold Omega
Omega
Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system, it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to omicron, which means "little O"...
symbol. Later, when the heroes of Earth attack Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven is a fictional city in the . Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel in 1996, it was originally intended to serve as a backdrop for the Nightwing comics series.-Fictional geography:...
, Black Adam notes that she's been possessed by one of the New Gods, a "leering old man". The possessed Mary claims to have a new dirty magic word, a blasphemous name of power, and to have new gods. During a heated battle with Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
, Black Adam learns that the evil god Desaad
Desaad
Desaad is a fictional comic book supervillain, appearing in books published by DC Comics. He is one of the followers of Darkseid from the planet of Apokolips in Jack Kirby's Fourth World meta-series....
was the one who possessed Mary. Black Adam tries to kill her but is stopped by Freddy. Later, distracted by hordes of Anti-Life followers about to attack, Freddy Freeman, the new Captain Marvel, grabs Mary and uses the last of his magic to transform them back to normal. Though horrified by her actions while possessed by Desaad, and saying that she never meant for this to happen while crying, she is seen standing with Freddy with clubs in their hands, awaiting the end of the world.
Justice Society of America
After the end of the Crisis, Mary is recruited by Black Adam and Isis, who have taken over the Rock of Eternity formerly lorded over by the wizard Shazam by defeating Captain Marvel and stealing his powers, using the magic scarab Shazam used to take Black Adam's powers. During a battle between Black Adam, Isis, and the Justice Society, who had been summoned by Billy, the evil Mary Marvel abducts a powerless Billy Batson and forces him to become a teenage Black Marvel by sharing her powers and forcing him to say "Mary Marvel".The two now evil Black Marvels join Adam and Isis, who are intent on using the power of Shazam to destroy the modern world, in fighting the Justice Society. When Isis begins attacking the citizens of Adam's native Khandaq and Adam's friend Atom Smasher, he switches loyalties and joins the Justice Society's Flash and the spirit of Mary and Billy's father in helping resurrect the wizard Shazam from the Rock of Finality, where he has been sealed in stone. Black Adam gives up his powers to restore the wizard to life. Shazam promptly and angrily takes his powers back from Mary, Billy, and Isis, turns Teth Adam and Isis to stone, and closes off all contact to the Rock of Eternity to the Batson kids upon stating that Billy and Mary failed him. He also threatens to go after Freddy for stealing his name. The two Batsons are later seen wandering the streets of Fawcett City, homeless, and wondering what happened to their father's spirit.
Mary and Billy are briefly seen during the events of Blackest Night, now living in an apartment in Fawcett City. While watching news reports of the various heroes and villains being reanimated as Black Lanterns
Black Lantern Corps
The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of revenants appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.-Publication history:...
on their laptop, Mary remarks how scary it is to not have her powers anymore.
Mary is approached by Blaze
Blaze and Satanus
Blaze and Satanus are fictional demonic siblings published by DC Comics. Blaze debuted in Action Comics #655 ; she was created by Roger Stern and Bob McLeod...
, who offers to restore her and Billy's powers in exchange for her killing Freddy. Mary seems to go along with the deal, appearing to poison Freddy. However, when Blaze arrives to claim Freddy's powers, he gets up and attacks her. With a little help from Mary and Billy, Freddy defeats Blaze and sends her back to hell, later promising them that he will find a way to restore their lost powers.
Powers and abilities
The Fawcett and pre-1985 version of Mary Marvel did not derive her “Shazam” powers from the male mythological figures who empower Billy, but from a set of female benefactors: Selena
Selene
In Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon"....
for grace, Hippolyta
Hippolyta
In Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons....
* for strength, Ariadne
Ariadne
Ariadne , in Greek mythology, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and was the bride of the god Dionysus.-Minos and Theseus:...
( later changed to Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
, Greek Goddess of the hunt) for skill, Zephyrus for fleetness (and flight), Aurora
Aurora (mythology)
Aurora is the Latin word for dawn, the goddess of dawn in Roman mythology and Latin poetry.Like Greek Eos and Rigvedic Ushas , Aurora continues the name of an earlier Indo-European dawn goddess, *Hausos....
, (later changed to Greek Goddess Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
) for beauty, and Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
for wisdom.
Although these deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
were originally described and depicted as goddesses, Zephyrus is actually a male god. In addition, the list does not account for all of the superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
traits shared by Billy and Mary, specifically Captain Marvel's powers of invulnerability, stamina, and courage. The original Mary Marvel remained a teenager when she transformed rather than becoming a mature adult like Billy. Pre-Crisis, it is revealed she cannot call on her power for 24 hours every 1,000 years, as Shazam loses his powers during that time (although he is still able to send his spirit to contact her), and therefore so must she. In one story she is able to call on the goddesses to send an even greater lightning blast to blast away earrings that are drawing her lightning away.(Mary Marvel Comics 1
Mary Marvel Comics 1
Mary Marvel #1 is the first issue of the comic series Mary Marvel. It was published in January 1946. The cover shows Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel saying, "Hope you like her." It features the first appearance of Georgia Sivana and features four stories.-Mary Marvel meets Sivana:Sivana, knowing...
) Pre-Crisis if the Elders who power her are incapitated she cannot call down the magic lightning to transform. It is shown a recording of her voice can transform her, once Georgia Sivana took advantage of this with a jukebox, turning Mary back, knocking her out with a cosh, then binding her to a chair and gagging her. However, Mary knocked the jukebox over setting it of, then for the first time with her mouth gagged Mary's voice summons the lightining. She then destroys the jukebox. In one story it is claimed Mary is weaker on Earth-1 then Earth-S.
The current version of Mary Marvel, originating in The Power of Shazam!, has the same powers from the same benefactors as her brother (Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
*
Hercules (DC Comics)
Hercules is a fictional Olympian god in the DC Universe based on the Greek demigod and hero of the same name....
, Atlas
Atlas (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens. Although associated with various places, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains in north-west Africa...
, Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, and Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
). A power-sharing element was added to the mythos in the Power of Shazam! series; one finite source of power was shared between Mary, Captain Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr. It should be noted that this power-sharing element has not been honored by all later appearances of the Marvels. Mary loses these powers in the 2006 Brave New World
One Year Later
"One Year Later" was a 2006 storyline event running through the DC Universe. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Comics Universe following the events of the Infinite Crisis event, to explore major changes within the continuities of the many...
one-shot special. In early stories, if she had lost her memory or been transformed, her transformation would restore her.
In Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
(2007–2008), Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
gives Mary his powers. Since Adam was not sharing his powers with anyone else when he granted them to Mary, and had also been carrying the powers of his dead wife Isis
Isis (DC Comics)
Isis is a DC Comics superhero, as well as a separate Egyptian goddess also living in the DC Universe. The recent superhero character is modeled closely after the main character of The Secrets of Isis, a live-action American Saturday Morning television program that served as the second half of The...
(who had granted them to him with her death), Mary is now more powerful than she's ever been. Mary's patron deities become seven Egyptian gods: Shu
Shu (Egyptian deity)
In Egyptian mythology, Shu is one of the primordial gods, a personification of air, one of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He was created by Atum, his father and Iusaaset, his mother in the city of Heliopolis. With his sister, Tefnut , he was the father of Nut and Geb...
, Heru
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, Amon
Amun
Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...
, Zehuti
Thoth
Thoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was Seshat...
, Aten
Aten
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship in recognition of Aten...
, Mehen
Mehen
In Ancient Egypt the name Mehen meaning 'coiled one' refers to a mythological snake-god and to a game.-Snake god:The earliest references to Mehen occur in the Coffin Texts. Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra during his journey through the...
, and the "most powerful" Egyptian deity, Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...
, which increases her other powers and allows her to perform magical feats like weather control and transforming others. Mary's powers continue to expand rapidly as she and her mentor Eclipso
Eclipso
Eclipso is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. The character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance that turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
seek new sources of magical power for her, gaining various new magical powers. She became sufficiently powerful to withstand Darkseid's Omega Beams. Eventually realizing she had been corrupted by Eclipso and the powers of Adam's gods, Mary relinquished these abilities. Mary's powers were restored when she aided the Olympian Gods in retaining their freedom from Apokolips. Later, her Black Adam powers were restored, given to her by Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
.
In the later Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
miniseries (2008–2009), Mary's body was further enhanced with genetic technology stolen by the Atomic Knight
Atomic Knight
Atomic Knight is a DC Comics superhero and was briefly a member of the Outsiders team. He is sometimes depicted as one of a group of Atomic Knights, which first appeared in Strange Adventures #117 .-Original Atomic Knights:...
s. In addition to her impressive magical powers, her empowered form is now "aged" from late adolescence to adulthood, with clawed hands able to slice through metal. Later Black Adam restores her powers from the Egyptian gods. She is able to bestow part of it upon Billy, making him Black Billy.
Power of Shazam: Formerly, in order to change form, Mary had to call upon the name of Shazam, thereby invoking spells involving the energies of those extradimensional beings once known as gods on Earth. When Mary Batson said the magic word "Shazam!", she would be transformed into Mary Marvel. In her Mary Marvel form, Mary possessed the following attributes:
S for the Wisdom of Solomon: As Mary Marvel, Mary had instant access to a vast amount of scholarly knowledge, exceptional photographic recall and mental acuity allowing her to read and decipher hieroglyphics, solve long mathematical equations instantaneously and make intuitive guesses based on limited data to the point her guesses were almost always correct. The wisdom of Solomon also gave Mary clairvoyance and provided her with counsel and advice in times of need. She had knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern, and could hypnotize people.
H for the Strength of Hercules: Mary Marvel had incredible amounts of super strength, was strong enough to lift at least 100 tons, and was able to effortlessly bend steel, punch through walls, and lift massive objects. Mary's strength is enough that she has fought beings such as Captain Atom to a standstill. Her Olympian flesh and bone was about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.
A for the Stamina of Atlas: Using Atlas' endurance, Mary Marvel could withstand and survive most types of extreme physical assaults. If she were somehow wounded, her godly energies would enable her to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of her bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might have been possible for a god of significant power, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Apollo, or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together, to revive her. Additionally, her Olympian metabolism ensured that she did not need to eat, sleep, or breathe when in Mary Marvel form.
Z for the Power of Zeus: Zeus' power, besides fueling the magic thunderbolt that transformed Mary Marvel, also enhanced Marvel's other physical abilities, provided physical invulnerability and resistance against most magic spells and attacks, and allowed her to access the Rock of Eternity. Marvel could use the lightning bolt as a weapon by dodging it and allowing it to strike an opponent or target. The magical lightning had many other uses, including creating apparati, restoring damage done to Marvel, or acting as fuel for magical spells.
A for the Courage of Achilles: Like the wisdom, this aspect is primarily psychological and gave Marvel superhuman amounts of inner strength from which to draw. She was always supported by an innate and harmonious presence of good will and strength of perseverance so that she never backed down from a challenge.
M for the Speed of Mercury: By channeling Mercury's speed, Mary Marvel, while not as fast as the Flash, could fly and move at hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 10 (2 miles a second) while in Earth's atmosphere and could fly at close to light speed through space. She could move fast enough to not register in the normal peripheral range of humans and seemingly vanish and disappear at will. At this speed, her mind processed information on par to a computer or at least on a subliminal level that she was aware of her surroundings. She could also mystically fly through the atmosphere through sheer act of will, enabling her to soar through the atmosphere at sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet. She was immune from the effects of extreme height, such as dizziness and lightheadedness. With effort, she could travel from the earth to the moon, but required extra-precautionary paraphernalia for interstellar travel. Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for "thrice-great Hermes"), an occultist aspect of Hermes/Mercury, also gave her the ability to wield magic and cast spells, though she never used this as Mary Marvel, apparently because she did not know how.
52
In the final issue of 5252 (comics)
52 was a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen...
, a new Multiverse
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
is revealed consisting of 52 identical realities. Earth-5 is depicted as home to the Marvel family characters. As a result of Mister Mind
Mister Mind and the Monster Society of Evil
Mister Mind is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain created for Fawcett Comics, and now owned and published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and C. C...
"eating" aspects of this universe, it takes on aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-S. Although the characters are not named in the panel in which they appear, a character looking like Mary Marvel is shown. 52 co-author Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
has made clear that this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-S.
An evil version of Mary Marvel exists in an alternate universe as a member of the "Power Posse" (evil analogues of the Super Buddies). Mistress Mary, as she is called, wears a black variant of Mary's traditional outfit, almost identical to her costume during the 2007/2008 Countdown series.
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
In the 2007 limited series Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil, written and illustrated by Jeff SmithJeff Smith (cartoonist)
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone. His current series, RASL, focuses on an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds.-Early life and education:Jeff Smith was born in McKees...
, Mary Batson is depicted as a prepubescent child who does not age when she transforms into Mary Marvel.
Mary meets her lost brother in the circus that is attacked by Alligator Men and is rescued by Captain Marvel. With the help of Talky Tawny, a trickster spirit who changes into various forms but prefers being a tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
when convenient, the siblings learn they are related. When Billy transforms into Captain Marvel, Mary stands too close to her brother and is struck by the fringe of the magic lightning. As a result, Mary gains her Marvel form (which is still at her actual age) that is apparently based on the aspects of various goddesses, including superior flying speed to her brother, and powers stemming by a female set of benefactors. For example, Athena's wisdom is different from Solomon's, allowing Mary to perceive "life vibrations" and distinguish between living and non-living beings.
Although she and Billy are kidnapped in their regular form by Doctor Sivana
Doctor Sivana
Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana is a fictional comic book supervillain. Created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, he first appeared opposite superhero Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics #2 by Fawcett Comics...
and Mr. Mind and gagged, Billy escapes and rescues her as Captain Marvel when she is thrown from the top of a robot by Doctor Sivana and removes a piece of duct tape from her mouth, allowing her to transform. When Billy accidentally loses his Marvel powers due to a wormhole drawing them away, Mary restores them to him by calling down the lightning and touching him as it strikes.
Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!
Mary appears as a main character in this follow-up series. As in Monster Society of Evil, Mary has only a fraction of her brother's powers and remains a child in super form. Although faster, she is far less stronger. As such, her brother is very protective of her, even in her Marvel form, although her great courage and cunning are undisputed. She is also more hyper as Mary Marvel.Tangent Comics
In the Tangent ComicsTangent Comics
Tangent Comics was a DC Comics imprint created in 1997–1998, developed from ideas created by Dan Jurgens. The line, formed from various one-shots, focused on creating all-new characters using established DC names, such as the Joker, Superman, and the Flash...
print, Mary was one of three superheroines (the others being Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu
Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.-Publication history:...
and Lori Lemaris
Lori Lemaris
Lori Lemaris is a fictional character in DC Comics' Superman comic books. Lori is a mermaid from Tritonis, a city in the undersea lost continent of Atlantis.-Silver Age:...
) who masqueraded as a heroic version of The Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
.
Television
- Along with the rest of the Marvel Family, Mary Marvel appeared in the 1981 Shazam! Saturday morning cartoonSaturday morning cartoonA Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
, aired as one half of The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! voiced by Dawn Jeffory.
- Mary Marvel (as Mary Batson) appears in the Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
episode "The Power of Shazam!" voiced by Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
. As with the origin of her appearance, both Mary and Billy are reunited at the end of the episode when they discover a locket that helps them reconect as brother and sister after Batman did some detective work that found her. She returns in "The Malicious Mr. Mind!", this time with the ability to transform into Mary Marvel. She and the other members of the Marvel FamilyMarvel FamilyThe Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
, along with BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, battle the Monster Society of Evil.
Film
- On the forums of Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, writer Dwayne McDuffieDwayne McDuffieDwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic-book company Milestone...
confirmed that the SuperwomanSuperwomanSuperwoman is the name given to several fictional characters published over the years by DC Comics, most of them being, like the popular Supergirl, a woman with powers similar to those of DC's highly popular Superman. The name "Superwoman" was originally copyrighted by Detective Comics in an effort...
(voiced by Gina TorresGina TorresGina Torres is an American television and movie actress. She is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy. She has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys , Xena: Warrior Princess , the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, as well as Alias , Firefly Gina...
) portrayed in the film Justice League: Crisis on Two EarthsJustice League: Crisis on Two EarthsJustice League: Crisis on Two Earths is a 2010 original direct-to-video animated film released on February 23, 2010. It is based on the abandoned direct-to-video feature, Justice League: Worlds Collide, which was intended as a bridge between the then-concluding Justice League animated television...
is the Crime Syndicate of AmericaCrime Syndicate of AmericaFor the concept of crime syndicates in general, see Organized crime.The Crime Syndicate are teams of fictional supervillains, from one of DC Comics' parallel universes, who are the evil counterparts of the Justice League of America. The original team was specifically known as Crime Syndicate of...
's version of Mary Marvel, instead of Wonder WomanWonder WomanWonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
. A second, alternate version of Mary appeared on a computer page of the lesser members of the Syndicate. While initially unnamed in the movie, designer Jerome K. MooreJerome K. MooreJerome K. Moore is an artist best known for his montage-style cover designs for DC Comics' "Star Trek" titles, and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," as well as for Malibu Comics' "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and Innovation Comics' "Lost In Space." Moore primarily credits editor Robert Greenberger...
identified her as Mary Mayhem.
Miscellaneous
- Although she has not appeared in any other television programs or films, Mary Marvel is featured in issue 20 of the Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
comic book, in which she appears in the art style of the Justice League Unlimited television show.
External links
- Mary Marvel's "Who's Who" file at The Marvel Family Web.
- Comprehensive Mary Marvel biography, an in-universe character history at Comicvine.com
- Mary Marvel at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Earth-S Mary Marvel Index
- Earth-S Marvel Family Index
- Captain Marvel Culture.com, the history of the many Captain Marvels
- Counting Down to Countdown V: Mary Marvel, Trickster, Pied Piper - article from NewsaramaNewsaramaNewsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews and essays about the American comic book industry.-History:Newsarama began in Summer 1995 as a series of Internet forum postings on the Prodigy comic-book message boards by fan Mike Doran. In these short messages. Doran shared...
on Countdown. - Read Mary Marvel #1