Captain Marvel first appeared in 1940 in Whiz Comics #2 published by Fawcett Publications. His powers, appearance and "boy scout" demeanor are similar to his DC colleague Superman. After a lawsuit in the 1940s between DC and Fawcett Publications, Fawcett settled and stopped publishing comic books. in 1967, Marvel Comics created their own Captain Marvel and trademarked the name. When DC acquired the original character in 1973, they were unable to market him under the name Captain Marvel comic books, so they used the word/name Shazam! Consequently, although the character's name did not change, he is sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Shazam". Fans of the hero often refer to Captain Marvel as "The Big Red Cheese", an insult that was originated by his archenemy, Doctor Sivana.

Shazam is actually the name of the egyptian wizard who grants Billy Batson the ability to turn himself into Captain Marvel. In order to do this Billy Batson must speak the name of "Shazam." It also happens to be an acronym for the deities who give their powers to Batson.

• S: the wisdom of Solomon
• H: the strength of Hercules
• A: the stamina of Atlas
• Z: the power of Zeus
• A: the courage of Achilles
• M: the speed of Mercury

• Captainmarvelculture.com: Captain Marvel Culture

• Geek in the City: Man of Steel vs The Big Red Cheese

• The Spoof: Cal-El Mourns Death of Superhero Friend Captain Marvel

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