12 Unfairly Hated DC Comics Characters
2. Shazam
Shazam (or is it Captain Marvel?) can bring a continuity freak’s blood to a boil. His character history is obnoxious and mind-boggling, with disputes about rebrands and knockoffs going back to the 1950s, encompassing such publishers as Fawcett, DC, L. Miller and Son, Marvel, Warrior Magazine, and Eclipse. Is Captain Marvel also Marvelman, and is Marvelman the same as Miracleman? (Make the voices stop.)
Beyond that, Shazam has always been a bit of a doof. He’s a kid named Billy who turns into a super-powered adult, who goes on optimistic adventures with a rock solid group of family and friends. He’s like a goofy, juvenile Superman. Anyone who's played "Injustice" knows he sticks out from the crowd a bit, mostly because of his doof qualities.
And hey, that’s okay. We could use a purely upbeat character every now and then in our superhero stories. Why hate Shazam just because he's happy?