Shazam (/ʃəˈzæm/), also known as The Wizard or Wizard Shazam, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics, first appearing in Whiz Comics #2 created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker.
The Question is a name used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the Question first appeared in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #1, and was acquired by DC Comics in the early 1980s and incorporated into the DC Universe.
Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam, is a superhero in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker created the character in 1939. Captain Marvel first appeared in Whiz Comics #2, published by Fawcett Comics. He is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a boy who, by speaking the magic word "SHAZAM!", is transformed into a costumed adult with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight, and other abilities. The character battles an extensive rogues' gallery, most of them working in tandem as the Monster Society of Evil, including primary archenemies Black Adam, Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind. Billy often shares his powers with other children, primarily his sister Mary Batson and their best friend/foster brother Freddy Freeman, who also transform into superheroes and fight crime with Billy as members of the Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family.
Black Adam, real name Teth-Adam, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' The Marvel Family comic book in December 1945. Since DC Comics licensed and acquired Fawcett's characters in the 1970s, Black Adam has endured as one of the archenemies of the superhero Captain Marvel / Shazam and the Marvel Family, alongside Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind.
The Crime Syndicate are teams of supervillains from one of DC Comics' parallel universes where they are the evil counterparts of the Justice League. The original team was specifically known as the Crime Syndicate of America and is sometimes abbreviated as CSA. This first superpowered Crime Syndicate team appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964. The primary successive incarnation, known as the Crime Syndicate of Amerika, first appeared in the 2000 JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel.
The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an eponymous comics anthology published in August/September 1952.
Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #60. The second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, was created by John Byrne and first appeared in Wonder Woman #105. Both are protégées of Wonder Woman and members of different incarnations of the Teen Titans. The alias has also been used in reference to a younger version of Wonder Woman as a teenager. In the 2020s, DC introduced a third Wonder Girl in Yara Flor, who hails from a Brazilian tribe of Amazons and was shown in a flashforward to one day succeed Diana as Wonder Woman.
The Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family, are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by Fawcett Comics and were later acquired by DC Comics. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and artist Marc Swayze, the team was created as an extension of Fawcett's Captain Marvel franchise, and included Marvel's sister Mary Marvel, their friend Captain Marvel Jr., and, at various times, a number of other characters as well.
Giganta is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman, and an occasional foil of the superhero the Atom. She debuted as a brutish strongwoman in 1944's Wonder Woman #9, written by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston and illustrated by Harry G. Peter, and went on to become one of Wonder Woman's most recognizable and persistent foes, appearing during every major era of the hero's comic book adventures, and adapted frequently for television and animation.
Madame Xanadu is 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.
Earth-Three, or simply Earth-3 or Earth 3, is a “partially-reversed” Earth, where supervillainous counterparts of the mainstream DC superheroes reside. It first appeared in Justice League of America #29, and the concept has been rebooted several times.
Element Girl is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Metamorpho #10, written by Bob Haney and drawn by Sal Trapani. Element Girl's death was featured in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series in issue #20, "Façade". A similar character named Element Woman appeared during the events of Flashpoint and later appearing in The New 52 as part of the Justice League. Both characters are similar in design to Metamorpho and have the same powers.
DC Universe Presents is the name of two DC Comics publications. The first was part of the UK 'Collector's Edition' line of DC Comics published by Titan Magazines. Beginning March 2007, it was originally titled Superman Legends and was published alongside Batman Legends. Titan also later released several other DC comics following on from the success of Superman and Batman Legends. The book was retitled as DC Universe Presents at issue 33 but continued the issue count of Superman Legends, despite the change in title and in some of its content. The title reprinted DC Comics from the United States including Justice League, Superman and Green Lantern and was edited by Mark McKenzie-Ray.
In most of the DC Comics media, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC media take place in. The worlds in the multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the history of DC Comics.
The Outsider is the name of three different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC cancelled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series in September 2011. Among the renumbered series were Action Comics and Detective Comics, which had retained their original numbering since the 1930s.
Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team made their debut in Justice League Dark #1. The team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deemed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters. Two animated films were produced based on the team: Justice League Dark (2017) and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020).
"Forever Evil" is a 2013–2014 crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David Finch. It is the first line-wide crossover since The New 52 reboot of the DC Universe. It focuses on all the villains of the DC Universe. The miniseries spins out of the events in "Trinity War".
"Trinity War" is an 11-issue comic book story arc first published in 2013 by DC Comics, featuring the fictional superhero teams the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. The arc spans several titles, including Justice League, Justice League of America, Justice League Dark, Constantine, Trinity of Sin: Pandora and Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger. The story is an action-mystery that sees the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark clash, in order to solve the mystery of Pandora's Box. The event also introduces the Crime Syndicate and the reveal of Earth-3 to The New 52.
"Forever Evil: Blight" is a 2013–2014 crossover storyline published by DC Comics that began in October 2013, set within the larger "Forever Evil" storyline. The story, which is seen in the series Constantine, Justice League Dark, Trinity of Sin: Pandora, and Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger, sees John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Nightmare Nurse, Pandora, and the Phantom Stranger attempt to defeat Blight, who is the manifestation of evil itself, and rescue the missing members of the Justice Leagues. The announcement of "Forever Evil: Blight" promised changes to the status quo for the titles involved at its conclusion, with each having major changes.
