8 Things You Need To Know About Shazam

8. Shazam Is One Of The Most Powerful DC Characters

Shazam isn't somebody you want to mess with, even if you happen to be stronger than Superman and faster than The Flash.

He's one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, and coming from a world inhabited by characters like Darkseid and Parallax, that's saying something.

The hero has an unorthodox alter ego, that of a young child named Billy Batson. When Billy utters the magic word 'Shazam', he is transformed into an all-powered adult superhero, and at no point is this ever as dumb as it sounds.

Shazam possesses a wealth of superpowers, taking on the combined abilities of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury in full hero mode - so that includes flight, super strength, spell-casting abilities - there's little he can't do.

These powers were bestowed upon Billy by an ancient, dying wizard during his origin story. He still channels his creator's ghost for advice and guidance from time to time.

Shazam has relatively few weaknesses, one being his immaturity, which isn't really his fault since he is literally a child beneath all of that divine power.

Some storylines have depicted him as vulnerable to powerful magic, and others would have you believe that a high-voltage electrical shock can reverse his transformation.

In modern comic continuity, a new crop of magical patrons from DC lore provide his powers, probably because the original bunch were a mess of conflicting ideologies.