10 DC Characters Derived From Ancient Myth
3. Shazam
Originally going by the name ‘Captain Marvel’ when first created in 1939, Shazam, like many prominent comic book characters, is rooted in the fertile storytelling ground of ancient mythology.
In 1972 DC purchased the character, going on to later acquire the rest of his unit from Fawcett Comics, then to introduce them in the DC universe.
While Billy Batson (Shazam) is an original character in his own right, his fantastic powers are each derived from ancient mythological figures, and in fact his name is an acronym composing the first initials of each of these characters:
S – for the wisdom of Solomon.
H – for the strength of Hercules.
A – for the stamina of Atlas.
Z – for the power of Zeus.
A – for the courage of Achilles.
M – for the speed of Mercury.
The character has now been introduced to mainstream audiences in his recent cinematic debut, allowing him to take his place in the collective public consciousness along with the other mythic figures he is derived from.