10 Best Shazam Comics in DC History, Ranked

Originally created for Fawcett Comics as a magical analog to DC Comics’ Superman, Shazam has stood out for being one of the most wholesome superheroes in comics. In his regular form, he is the young boy, Billy Batson who, when he speaks the magic word “Shazam” can transform into Earth’s Mightiest Mortal. As the guardian of Fawcett City in DC, he has joined the Justice League, JSA and more in defending the world.

Shazam has been one of the most iconic comic book heroes since the Golden Age. Naturally, that leaves plenty of excellent stories in his history for readers to enjoy. While the protagonist does have one of the most consistently-entertaining libraries of comics in his past, some stand out above and beyond the rest. From his earliest days in print to recent adventures, the Captain gives readers an optimistic, lighthearted world to explore. These are some of the best Shazam comics you can read today.

10 Superman/Shazam: First Thunder (2006)

DC’s two heavyweights join forces for an unforgettable magic adventure

Superman and Shazam have long shared a rivalry in DC, but their team-up in First Thunder saw them form a great team against their signature villains. After thwarting a museum robbery and fighting off giant robots, the heroes learn of an alliance between Lex Luthor and Doctor Sivana. With a supernatural cult threatening Fawcett City, the two heroes have their work cut out for them.

First Thunder stands out as a great team-up comic between the two heroes (as opposed to their many grudge matches), pitting them against monsters, machines and their arch-nemeses. For readers who love a good supernatural monster story as well as a classic team-up, this is one of Shazam’s best.

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9 Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil (2007)

A one-of-a-kind adventure steeped in Golden Age fantasy and magic

Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil

When Billy Batson follows a mysterious stranger onto the subway, he never imagines he’s entering a strange world of powerful wizards, talking tigers, kid eating monsters, political intrigue and mysterious villains. Now, he must use his extraordinary new abilities to face an incoming invasion of alien creatures and to stop mad scientist Dr. Sivana and his Monster Society of Evil from taking over the world!

Writer

Jeff Smith

Penciler

Jeff Smith

Colorist

Steve Hamaker

In The Monster Society of Evil, Bone creator Jeff Smith reimagines the origin story and world of Shazam through his own style of storytelling. In a series that feels ripped from the Golden Age itself, the story follows Mr Mind leading the society of villains in a plot to conquer the world. The series focuses on the Captain and Mary Marvel as the main heroes, focusing on their sibling relationship both as kids and heroes.

Smith’s Monster Society of Evil brought a fun approach to the hero, with Bone‘s style proving a brilliant fit for the hero and his original adventures. The book also explores Billy Batson’s life in Fawcett City, casting Billy and Mary as homeless kids, who use their magic to save the world, while working to keep one another safe.

8 Shazam And The Seven Magic Lands (2019)

The Shazam family takes on a wild magic mission, perfect for fans of the movies

Shazam And The Seven Magic Lands

When Shazam unlocks a shocking secret deep within the Rock of Eternity, it challenges everything he knows about the worlds of magic and his family’s future as its champions! Speaking of family, Billy’s father in trouble, and he’ll have to not only use the power of Shazam to help him, but also fend off the lethal team of Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind!

Writer

Geoff Johns

Penciler

Dale Eaglesham, Marco Santucci, Mayo Naito, Scott Kolins

Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham 2019 Shazam series began with “The Seven Magic Lands,” a story that followed the Marvel family as they journeyed into the titular realms. While debating the family’s future leader, the heroic siblings explore everything from the Funlands, where they encounter a man claiming to be a champion of Shazam, to the competitive Gamelands.

“The Seven Magic Lands” is full of interesting plot threads, from the apparent return of Billy’s long-lost father to Doctor Sivana battling Black Adam. The series feels like a direct translation of the tone of the Golden Age comic to the present day, and Eaglesham’s art adds a vibrancy that fits the story’s dynamic worlds.

7 The Multiversity: Thunderworld Adventures (2014)

All-star creative’s standalone epic pitting the hero against gigantic threats

During the New 52, Grant Morrison created the Justice League Incarnate, a team of superheroes pulled from various alternate Earths and led by Calvin Ellis Superman. The event itself covered a range of alternate Earths, and among the best stories was Thunderworld Adventures, which focused on a Golden Age Captain Marvel taking on a superpowered Doctor Sivana.

Multiversity was one of the best things to come from the New 52 era, and Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s handling of the Captain in this miniseries was a light move away from the otherwise gritty tone of the 2010s. With Kaiju-level monsters, robot armies and creative villains, the book is one of the most visually-stunning in the hero’s history, and offers up a fun done-in-one adventure.

6 Superman vs Shazam (1978)

One of the most discussed superhero battles, finally given its own spotlight

Superman vs. Shazam!

It’s the Man of Steel vs. the World’s Mightiest Mortal in this collection featuring Mr. Mxyzptlk, Mr. Mind, Captain Nazi, Black Adam and more! Collects ALL-NEW COLLECTOR’S EDITION C-58, DC COMICS PRESENTS #33-34 and 49, and DC COMICS PRESENTS ANNUAL #3.

WRITER

Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Joey Cavalieri, Paul Kupperberg

Artist

Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, Dick Giordano, Adrienne Roy

Superman vs Shazam, true to its name, delivered readers one of the biggest and most epic superhero grudge matches of all time. The story begins when Black Adam and Karmang the Sorcerer form an alliance, with the former Champion being disguised as the respective heroes to fight the other, thereby conjuring up a rivalry. When the two heroes finally clash, they deliver one another one of the biggest beatings of their lives.

Superman vs Shazam isn’t just a great fight between the respective heroes, it’s also a good Supergirl and Mary Marvel story, with their proactive attitude standing in contrast to their partners’ brash aggression. The over-sized graphic novel kicked off one of the most iconic superhero feuds in comics, and proved the two characters a true match for one another.

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5 “The Monster Society of Evil”

CC Beck, Otto Binder & Al Liederman, Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46 (1943)

The original introduction of the Monster Society of Evil was told in serialized format in the original Captain Marvel Adventures. Here, the likes of Mister Mind and Captain Nazi made their debut in an epic ongoing storyline that showcased the villains and their alliance against the Captain. In each story, the villains made a play to defeat the hero, who would prove triumphant.

“The Monster Society of Evil” is a crucial story in the history of Shazam for its depiction of one of the most eccentric rogues galleries in comic history, as well as the formation of his key rivalries. It also incorporates the Second World War into the story, with some of the Golden Age’s best artwork showing the hero taking on fascists and monsters.

4 “With One Magic Word”

Roy Thomas, Julius Schwartz & Gil Kane, DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1982)

After making his entrance into the DCU, Shazam quickly found friendship with fellow wholesome hero Superman. In the story “With One Magic Word,” the pair team up when Doctor Sivana steals the power of Shazam, turning him into a villainous champion who does battle with the heroes — including Earth-2 Superman.

Told in the pages of DC Comics Presents Annual #3, the story was one of several crossovers between the Man of Steel and Earth’s Mightiest Mortal in the series. The issue is best enjoyed alongside stories like “Man and Supermarvel,” which sees Clark Kent suddenly wake up to discover that he’s the new champion of Shazam.

3 “Lightning and Stars”

Jerry Ordway, James Robinson, Pete Krause, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris & Wade von Grawbadger, Starman #39-40 & Power of Shazam #35-36 (198)

One of the finest traditions in superhero comics is the crossover comic, something often at its best when the heroes teaming up share little in common. This was the case in “Lightning and Stars,” a crossover between Shazam and Starman centered around the former being tasked with capturing Bulletman, a hero revealed to have worked with the Nazis. When the fugitive turns to his old pal, the Golden Age Starman for help, it forces a confrontation between Earth’s Mightiest Mortal and the JSA co-founder.

“Lightning and Stars” is one of the best — and most underrated — crossovers of the ’90s, merging two of the best-written and brighter titles of a time known for dark and edgy tales. Found in the pages of Starman #39-40 and Power of Shazam #35-36, the story is a great return to the Golden Age, a bright spot in an otherwise dark decade.

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2 The Power of Shazam! (1994)

A brand new origin story for Billy Batson, painted by a master

The Power of Shazam!

A word is spoken. Lightning strikes! For young Billy Batson, the adventure of a lifetime begins, and Captain Marvel–the world’s mightiest mortal is born. This graphic novel reintroduces the Captain Marvel character, who has been given the magnificent powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Writer

Jerry Ordway

Penciler

Jerry Ordway

Jerry Ordway’s graphic novel, Power of Shazam!, kicked off the official ownership of Captain Marvel / Shazam by DC Comics. The story reintroduces readers to the Shazam mythos, following Billy Batson as he meets the Wizard and gains his powers, with it also being revealed that Black Adam was responsible for the death of his parents. The story also introduces him to Sivana, laying the groundwork for one of his greatest rivals.

Masterfully illustrated by Ordway, Power of Shazam! led the way for DC’s ongoing title of the same name, and this story set the stage for almost fifty issues of adventures. From here, the hero’s friendship with Mary Marvel begins as the pair become the wholesome heroes of Fawcett City.

1 Kingdom Come (1996)

The legendary masterwork with Billy Batson at the heart of its tragedy

Kingdom Come

In the near future, the DC Universe is spinning out of control. The new generation of heroes have lost their moral compass, becoming as reckless and violent as the villains they fight. The previous regime of heroes—the Justice League—returns under dire circumstances, which sets up a battle of the old guard against these uncompromising protectors in a conflict that will define what heroism truly is.

Writer

Mark Waid

Penciler

Alex Ross

Kingdom Come takes place in a future where Superman has retired and a new generation of reckless heroes run amok in their battle against villains. When they prove too destructive, Clark Kent comes out of retirement, and reforms the Justice League. At the same time, the Legion of Doom plots their own comeback, with a mind-controlled Billy Batson forced to work for them. When Batman and the JLA confront Luthor and his goons, Batson is freed from his mental prison, and summons the power of Shazam. As an epic battle rages between two factions, the government launches a nuclear weapon — and the Captain sacrifices himself to try and save his friends.

By no means is Kingdom Come solely a Shazam story, but the fourth issue remains one of the greatest chapters in DC history for the hero. Both his rematch with the Man of Steel and his noble sacrifice elevated him in the minds of readers, landing him squarely on par with Superman. In the years after, the publisher added the Captain to the JSA, where he went on to find a new home as the magical counterpart to Kal-El.

Shazam

Originally known as Captain Marvel, the magical champion Shazam is a DC Comics superhero who gains his powers from various mythological figures: Solomon’s wisdom, Hercules’ strength, Atlas’ stamina, Zeus’ power, Achilles’ courage, and Mercury’s speed. When child Billy Batson utters the phrase “Shazam,” he transforms into an adult superhero with these combined abilities. Shazam fights villains alongside the Marvel Family, embodying the ideals of heroism, justice, and magic in the DC Universe.

Alias

William Joseph Batson

Created By

Bill Parker , C.C. Beck

First Appearance

Whiz Comics