Shazam: Alternate Superman?

What are the key differences between Shazam and Superman, both being incredibly iconic superheroes of the DC franchise?

Almost 2 weeks since the official release date of Shazam! (April 5th), the Warner Bros. superhero movie has garnered just over USD$221 million. Not only was it a fresh air from DC’s usual dark and gritty tone to which a portion of viewers (including me) do enjoy, the film itself works.

The progression of the story, the character development arc, the little quirks and jokes sprinkled along, the whole movie just felt right — something we haven’t yet seen from the DCEU.

Of course, every movie has it flaws but that’s not what we’re here to talk about today! This article was meant to discuss the key differences between Shazam and Superman.

Yes, today we’re asking what the differences between the super strong, fast, powerful, courageous Billy Batson with another super strong, fast, powerful, (you get it) Kal-El.

Don’t worry, Shazam isn’t just another Superman lookalike or what you would call a “Budget Superman”, they have way more unique differences than you think!

Even though Shazam is after all a comic relief in the DCEU with his witty jokes and quirks, do not underestimate his strength as his magic is one of the most powerful there ever is in the DC comics!

Powers

Young Billy Batson got his powers from the wizard Shazam, and his name is in fact an acronym with each letter standing for one of the six immortal elders from whom his powers are magically derive. The letters spell out Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Wisdom of Solomon — Billy possesses an excellent mental acuity and nearly infallible wisdom, including an innate understanding of virtually all known languages and sciences. He has photographic memory and perfect recall, able retain full knowledge of all he experiences with such acuity.

Strength of Hercules — Immense amounts of super strength (being able to rival that of many of DC’s strongest characters)

Stamina of Atlas — Atlas’ stamina grants near-limitless resilience. He never feels fatigue or tired and as such does not require rest or sleep. Billy’s empowered form never ages, making him biologically immortal and can potentially live forever with no decline in performance, however his normal self will continue to age.

Power of Zeus — Zeus’ power fuels the magic thunderbolt that transforms Shazam and greatly enhances his other physical and mental abilities, including his five senses, and grants him resistance against all magic spells and attacks.

Courage of Achilles — Gives him superhuman levels of inner strength, willpower, discipline and resolve from which to draw upon in times of hopelessness, and great fighting skills. It also aids the hero’s mental fortitude against telepathy, mind control, and other mental attacks.

Speed of Mercury — By channeling Mercury’s speed, Shazam can move at superhuman speeds and fly at the speed comparable to The Flash.

In short, his powers are flight, super strength, knowledge, great endurance and he can throw lightning bolts. You know, the usual stuff.

An interesting but important note is that Shazam isn’t magic, he is powered by magic — a huge difference (except for New 52’s Shazam who is able to cast spells as a part of his power set)! Shazam’s powers are magic-caused, not magic-based. When Captain Marvel lifts a heavy object, he uses pure brute strength to do so, not magic.

Now onto the big boy in blue. Superman (Kal EI) is a Kryptonian, an alien, whose body cells acts like a solar battery under yellow sun (like ours, the Sun) giving him incredible superpowers and abilities.

Abilities like flight, super strength, super speed, heat vision, x-ray vision, freeze breath, and extreme hearing. Even after all this he’s known to have no limits to his powers and strength.

Let’s talk weaknesses.

Shazam physically doesn’t have many weaknesses as his powers come from magic. Here are his major weaknesses:

1. High Order Magic: Shazam’s own power derives greatly from the use of magic, especially since it was a powerful wizard that granted him his abilities. Only the highest of magics can affect Shazam. It would take the power of someone like The Spectre to have a chance to taking Billy out with magic.

2. Electricity: It may seem strange, but despite his reliance on lightning for his power, Billy is highly susceptible to electricity. This means that if he is hit with a powerful enough blast of electricity, Shazam will be transformed back into Billy Batson. This is a strange weakness to have, as you’d think a hero with such a powerful connection to lightning would be impervious to electricity.

3. Immaturity: After all, Billy Batson is a child thus he isn’t as mature as many other superheroes. He is impressionable, childish and sometimes impulsive.

4. Speech Impediment: His next major weak spot is the fact that his powers are voice activated. Unless Billy Batson says the word “Shazam!” he won’t transform even if he wants to summon his full power.

Superman’s physical capabilities, willpower and moral values although far greater than Shazam, one of Superman’s major weakness, magic, is the fundamental basis of Shazam’s power. Superman’s four major weaknesses are:

1. Kryptonite: Superman’s most famous weakness, kryptonite originated as radioactive fragments of the planet Krypton, created by fusion during the explosion that destroyed it. Superman’s cells store radiation from the rays of a yellow sun, and converts it into energy, manifesting as his super-powers. When Superman is exposed to green kryptonite (within roughly ten feet or less of any size or amount), its radiation rapidly interferes with this process, causing severe physical pain and the loss of his powers. Long enough exposure to green kryptonite may eventually lead to death. Kryptonite radiation can be blocked using lead.

2. Red Sun Radiation: Natural in Krypton’s planetary system, red solar radiation replaces the yellow solar energy in Superman’s cells, robbing him of the fuel for his powers. This process does not have the painful, crippling and fever-like symptoms of Kryptonite, and essentially leaves him with the normal health and abilities of a human in his size and shape. Exposure to yellow solar radiation causes his powers to return.

3. Magic: While not so much an actual weakness, Superman’s invulnerability offers no protection against magic. The explanation for this is simple; Superman’s powers, extraordinary as they are, are the result of natural phenomenon, not supernatural. As a result, spells cast on Superman affect him the same as they would anyone else. This sometimes goes so far as enchanted weapons being able to subvert his invulnerability as well. Generally, he suffers the vulnerability provided he is directly attacked with magic.

4. Massive Physical Forces: While Superman is extremely resilient to most physical harm, he is not quite completely invulnerable and is susceptible to temporary injury from physical forces usually delivered to him by some of his super-powered enemies. Superman’s ability to gain energy from sunlight may be counter-acted if he is badly beaten so quickly that his body doesn’t have time to heal.

Combat

Finally, combat. I will say this first, that Superman is a flagship character for DC, and that there are many versions of Superman with some that exceed the human understanding of true strength.

As quoted by an IGN article, “Not only is he one of the most powerful beings in superhero comics, his strength seems limited only by the imagination of the writer.”

In the 2013 video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, in what took a gruesome turn, we saw what Superman is capable of. After a heated disagreement, Superman froze Shazam’s mouth shut and gave him a heat vision lobotomy, bringing a quick end to one of the world’s greatest heroes.

Of course, that happens in an alternate universe but still worth mentioning since Superman’s love for his comradery usually holds him back.

On the contrary, despite how vastly powerful Superman is (he has held his own and then some against some gods), he does not possess those traits in unlimited quantities like Shazam’s powers does from celestial/divine beings.

Not to mention, Shazam sucker-punched Superman in JLA #29, knocking him out. As such, the question then becomes, “How can Superman beat Shazam, when Captain Marvel is clearly the theoretically superior character (in terms of power levels)?”

The truth is, DC is historically very much unwilling to let Shazam be anything more than Superman’s equal. So, if DC says they’re on equal footing and Captain Marvel’s powers are not magical, then Superman SHOULD be able to win via raw combat, right?

Yes. In fact, Superman has. In JSA #34, Superman knocked out Captain Marvel before (even though in theory with Captain Marvel’s power levels shouldn’t have been possible).

The question “Can one of them beat the other?” is already out of the picture because they have — on several occasions. The next question is: Is Shazam holding back as much as Superman is during these combat fights? Given the moral compass of both these power houses, I would reckon they very much are.

Conclusion

DC has been matching these two superheroes as equals in fights even though laying out Shazam and Superman’s power levels show Shazam to have the slight upper hand.

The true range of Shazam’s powers have yet to be seen, which is why I am very much excited for the future of the DCEU after watching Shazam! and I hope you are too, even much so after reading this article.

But until the comic writers determines who and when the true winner emerges, I hope you at least somewhat enjoyed this publication and maybe attained some insights about both of these iconic and memorable DC superheroes as I have.

Cheers! :)