Shazam! Trivia Facts - ShareTV.org

Shazam!

- Trivia Facts

The character of Captain Marvel was originally created by Fawcett Comics in the 1940s as a rival to Superman. A successful lawsuit by Superman's owner, DC Comics, resulted in the character disappearing for more than a quarter-century. DC, which had acquired the rights to the character, relaunched him in the comics in 1973. However, during Captain Marvel's long hiatus, DC rival Marvel Comics launched its own, unrelated Captain Marvel character, which prevented DC and the producers of this series from using Captain Marvel as a title. As a result, the title "Shazam!" was introduced. As of 2007, Shazam! is still used on all DC publications featuring the original Captain Marvel.
Because this show and "Isis" (1975) were produced by the same company, both shows would often have crossover episodes.
The six letters in the word Shazam stood for the six elders who granted Billy their powers: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.
In the comic book, the wizard Shazam grants Billy Batson the power of Captain Marvel, not the six gods themselves as in the TV show.
The character Mentor was more or less based on the character Uncle Dudley in the Captain Marvel comic books.

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