Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More

Read this before you see Shazam!

Close your eyes (metaphorically, that is — please keep reading) and imagine, for a moment, the prototypical superhero: square-jawed, dark hair, lots of primary colors and an instantly recognizable emblem on his chest. You know him. Kids love him. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a sweet psych out to anyone who didn't read the title at the top of the page!

Yes, at a glance, Shazam has more than a few characteristics in common with Superman — so many that Detective Comics successfully sued his original publishers, Fawcett Comics, in the 1950s and wound up taking control of the character once commonly known as Captain Marvel. And that's the story of how DC wound up with two outside-underwear-wearing, super-strong, cape-clad vigilantes.

So what separates Shazam from the Man of Steel? Who is he? What makes him unique? And why, in an era when superhero movies come out with ever-increasing frequency, did it take so long to bring him to the big screen? Let's take a look at The World's Mightiest Mortal with a roundup of all the stuff you need to know before you see Shazam!