Why the world's most popular 1940s superhero was forced to change his name

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the 1940s, Captain Marvel outsold even Superman. Yet, a bitter copyright battle and a trademark conflict with Marvel Comics eventually stripped the hero of his original identity. Today, he is known as Shazam, a name derived from the magic word that transforms a young boy into an adult powerhouse.

Created in 1939 by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck, Captain Marvel debuted in Whiz Comics #2 in February 1940. The character was the alter-ego of Billy Batson, a 12-year-old orphan who gained god-like abilities by shouting the name of the wizard Shazam. This magic word was an acronym for six immortal figures: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The concept was an instant sensation, with the debut issue selling over 500,000 copies. By 1944, Captain Marvel Adventures reached a circulation of 1.3 million copies per issue, making him the most popular superhero of the Golden Age.

The character's success triggered a long-running legal battle with DC Comics, which alleged that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman. After years of litigation, Fawcett Comics settled in 1953, agreeing to cease publication of the character and pay $400,000 in damages. This effectively ended the hero's original run. When DC eventually licensed the character in 1972, they faced a new obstacle: Marvel Comics had already trademarked the name 'Captain Marvel' for their own character in 1967. Consequently, DC was forced to market their hero under the title Shazam!, a branding shift that eventually led many fans to adopt the name as the character's own.

The character's mythos underwent significant changes over the decades. Originally, Captain Marvel and Billy Batson were treated as separate personalities. However, a 1987 relaunch by Roy and Dann Thomas established that Billy’s personality is retained during transformation, a change intended to preserve his sunny, Golden-Age optimism in a darker modern landscape. By 1991, DC had purchased the full rights to the entire family of characters, fully integrating them into the DC Universe. Despite various attempts to revive the property, the character remains defined by the complex legal history that necessitated his transition from a Fawcett icon to a DC trademark.

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