Mary Marvel, also known as Lady Shazam and Shazam, is a superheroine originally appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and now by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (cover-dated Dec. 1942). An ancillary character of Shazam, she is among the earliest known female contemporary of a male superhero in comic books.
While her alter ego is Mary Bromfield, her origin and background have been retroactively altered throughout her publication history. In classical stories, she is the fraternal twin sister of Billy Batson (born Mary Batson), separated from him at a young age and adopted by the Bromfield family, relatives of the Batsons. After being reunited with her brother, she discovers that she possesses powers similar to his but derived from a different set of goddesses, becoming a superhero of Fawcett City alongside Billy and Captain Marvel Jr., the latter occasionally serving as her love interest, as the three form part of the Marvel Family. Modern stories instead portray Mary as the oldest foster sibling of Billy Batson, having come from an abusive household before being taken in by the Vazquez family. She initially receives her powers from Billy alongside the rest of the Shazam Family. Later stories establish her as the Wizard Shazam's Champion of Magic and then her powers instead being granted through Hippolyta and a female pantheon of goddesses, similar to earlier continuities.
Mary Bromfield and her superhero alter-ego both made their cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe 2019 film Shazam! played by Grace Fulton and Michelle Borth respectively, and the former returned in the 2023 sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods playing both parts. She also appears in the Young Justice animated television series, voiced by Erika Ishii and is alternatively referred to as Sergeant Marvel.
Publication history
Fawcett Comics
Mary Marvel was introduced into Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family franchise a year after a young male counterpart, Captain Marvel Jr., made his debut. Artist Marc Swayze based Mary Marvel's design and personality upon American actress Judy Garland.Hamerlinck, Paul (ed.) (2001). Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA. Raleigh, NC: TwoMorrows Publishing. Mary was introduced in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 as Mary Bromfield, a girl who discovers she is the long lost twin sister of Captain Marvel's alter ego Billy Batson.
In Superhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton writes:
Soon after her introduction, Mary Marvel headlined Wow Comics, and by 1945 had her own Mary Marvel book. She also appeared in The Marvel Family book with Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. In her solo adventures, Mary soon gained sidekicks in her kindly Uncle Marvel, who was not actually her uncle nor a Marvel, and his similarly nonpowered niece, Freckles Marvel. Uncle Marvel was eventually made the Marvel Family's manager, and also served as Mary's guardian.
Just before the Marvel Family's adventures ceased publication in 1953, Mary Marvel's costume and appearance were altered: the neckline of her blouse was lowered slightly, her hair was shortened, and she now wore yellow slippers instead of the customary Marvel Family yellow boots. After Fawcett canceled their superhero comics line because of a copyright infringement lawsuit with National Comics (later DC Comics), Mary Marvel hosted a puzzle page drawn by C. C. Beck on page 33 of Mysteries of Unexplored World issue 1 (Charlton Comics August 1956). After that, Mary and her teammates went unseen for years.
DC Comics
1973–1985 In 1972, DC Comics licensed the rights to the Marvels, and a new comic series called Shazam! began. Mary, Cap, and Junior appeared in both new stories and reprints of their classic stories. According to Shazam! #1, the Sivanas had put the Marvel family into suspended animation for 20 years, along with themselves (by mistake) and much of the supporting cast. The comic book was canceled by 1978, and the Shazam! stories were relegated to the back pages of World's Finest Comics (from 1979 to 1982) and Adventure Comics (from 1982 to 1983). After the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries, Captain Marvel's origin was rebooted in the Shazam: The New Beginning miniseries in 1987. The Marvel Family was written out of the Shazam! mythos, and neither Mary Batson nor Mary Marvel appeared in DC Comics for several years.
1994–1999 Mary Batson was reintroduced in The Power of Shazam! graphic novel by Jerry Ordway in 1994. An ongoing series followed in the next year, and Mary Marvel was introduced into the modern DC Universe with a new origin story in Power of Shazam! #4.
When calling upon her powers, Mary is transformed into an adult resembling her late mother (in the same way that Billy resembles his father when in Marvel form). Mary shares the title of Captain Marvel with her brother. Various characters in the series distinguish the two by gender when addressing them, addressing Mary as "the lady Captain Marvel".
At first, Mary's costume was the same as her original one. However, beginning with Power of Shazam! #28, Mary donned a white costume to distinguish herself from her brother. The color change was retained for most future uses of the character during the next decade.
2000s After the Power of Shazam! series ended in 1999, Mary's superpowered alter ego was officially rechristened "Mary Marvel." In 2002 she had lunch with Supergirl in "The Clubhouse of Solitude", in the spoof graphic anthology "Bizarro Comics". Since then, she has guest-starred in both Superman and Supergirl comics. In 2003, Mary became a member of an offshoot of the Justice League known as the Super Buddies in the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries, which juxtaposed her Golden Age-era personality with the modern-day world for comic effect.
Mary Marvel appears briefly in several stories relating to DC's 2005–2006 Infinite Crisis crossover. Mary also appeared in DC's weekly limited series 52, with her most substantial appearance being in 52 #16 as the maid of honor at the wedding of Black Adam and Isis, two Shazam!-related characters. She was defeated by Black Adam during World War III (DC Comics) along with the other Marvels.
In 2006, DC began a revamp of the Shazam! mythos with Judd Winick and Howard Porter's Trials of Shazam! limited series. The series began with a preview within the pages of Brave New World #1 in June 2006, in which Mary Batson loses her powers, suffers a three-mile fall, and falls into a coma. This set up Mary's appearances as a main character in Countdown, a weekly DC series which served as the successor to 52. During the course of the series, head writer Paul Dini and his collaborators had Mary acquire the powers of Black Adam, which give her a new look including a form-fitting long-sleeved black uniform and skirt with black lace-up boots. While the series tracked the character's struggle between good and evil, due to manipulation by Eclipso and Granny Goodness (promotional material for the series used the catchphrase "Seduction of the Innocent," a reference to Fredric Wertham's book of the same title), Mary emerged from the series under the influence of Darkseid.
This darker Mary Marvel appears in DC's 2008 crossover series Final Crisis, written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by J. G. Jones, as a Female Fury, with another design change (to match the styles of the other Furies) and a fully evil personality due to possession by DeSaad.Final Crisis #5 Though defeated by Freddy Freeman/Shazam before the end of the Final Crisis miniseries, the evil Mary appeared again in the "Black Adam and Isis" arc featured in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #23–25, by the end of which she has lost her powers and returned to being a normal teenage girl.
2010s In 2011, following its Flashpoint company-wide event, DC made sweeping continuity changes to some comic book series and minor ones to others, as part of its relaunch event "The New 52". Captain Marvel, now known as Shazam, received a new origin story as part of a Shazam! backup feature by writer Geoff Johns and penciler Gary Frank, published between 2012 and 2013 in the relaunched Justice League comic series. Mary does not feature in the new continuity until Justice League #8 (2012), and is not transformed into a superhero for the first time until Justice League #21 (2013), when Billy directs his powers into her, Freddy, and their foster siblings Darla, Pedro, and Eugene during a fray with Black Adam.
Mary was largely absent from the main DC Universe for several years after Justice League #22 in 2013. Versions of Mary Marvel from alternate earths in the DC Multiverse appeared in events such as The Multiversity in 2014 and Convergence in 2015. In December 2018, Geoff John and artist Dale Eaglesham launched a new Shazam! ongoing comic series, featuring Mary alongside Billy Batson and the rest of the Shazam Family. The first issue of the new volume of Shazam! also featured a manga backup focused on Mary by Geoff Johns and Mayo "SEN" Naito.
Fictional character biography
Original Fawcett origin Mary Marvel's first appearance in Captain Marvel Adventures #18 also relayed her origin story.
As infants, twins Billy and Mary Batson were nursed by a woman named Sarah Primm. When the Batsons' parents die in a car accident, Primm was required to send both children to an orphanage. However, Primm is determined to at least give one of the children a home, and arranges for Mary to secretly take the place of another baby girl who had suddenly died while under Primm's care. As a result, Billy is sent to an orphanage while his sister is raised by the wealthy Mrs. Bromfield.
Several years later, Billy Batson becomes a teenage radio announcer. While hosting an on-air quizbowl, he receives an urgent letter from Sarah Primm, now on her death bed, requesting his presence. Billy goes to see her during a break, and Primm tells him the secret of his long-lost sister. To help him find Mary, Primm gives Billy a locket broken in half and tells the boy with her last breaths that Mary wears the other half.
After the quizbowl broadcast is over, Billy tells his best friend Freddy Freeman about his sister and the locket. Billy then recalls that one of the quizbowl contestants, a rich girl named Mary Bromfield, wore a broken locket. He and Freddy trail Mary's limousine in their superpowered forms of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. and find themselves called into service to save Mary from a gang of kidnappers.
Captain Marvel then learns that Mary's locket matches his own, and that she is indeed Billy's sister. The Marvels reveal their secret identities to Mary, who wonders if, since she is Billy's twin, she could become a Marvel by saying the magic word "Shazam". Billy, however, is assured that "Old Shaz—er—you know who—wouldn't give his powers to a girl!"
Just then, the kidnappers awaken then bind and gag Billy and Freddy, preventing them from saying their magic words. Mary exclaims that Billy cannot say "Shazam", inadvertently saying the word herself. She is then struck by a magic lightning bolt and transformed into a super-powered version of herself, later christened "Mary Marvel" by her brother. She defeats the thugs by herself, discovering that she is bulletproof and has super strength, and frees Billy and Freddy. Shazam later reveals the goddesses Mary derives her powers from.
Modified DC origin
Mary Marvel's updated DC origin was presented in the Power of Shazam! graphic novel and ongoing series, written by Jerry Ordway.