I'm okay with the name change, but why the hoodie?

i have always called him shazam and his sister miss shazam

I like it. Name change and hoodie. Of course, I like the original naming... but I get the rationale, and changing the name makes a cleaner break from the precedents of the character. Again, I'll always love the old big red cheese... but to return to a level of high popularity, this kind of character needs to take some dramatic chances to get the ball rolling again. The old Billy was great. Let us hope the new can be even better.

They'd better not alter him too much. How will he introduce himself now? Quite the quandary.

@SurelockeHomes said:

They'd better not alter him too much. How will he introduce himself now? Quite the quandary.

Well technically most encounters will begin with him announcing his name with the sound of thunder... and it isn't like he is going to be walking around at tea and crumpet parties, politely shaking hands and engaging in formal introductions... don't need to introduce yourself to villains in combat and I think most heroes will be pretty quick on the uptake.

i am all pumped up for this....i was never a BIG....fan of dc's magic base heroes...but this shows potential, i just hope that DC will not drop the ball on this one,

Hmmm....if Superman is still vulnerable to magic, as I saw in a J.L Dark preview once, Shazam should be able to kill him right?

Let the Worlds Mightiest Mortal show his true power to the Dc universe.Love the new threads, maybe it's time for (When Lightning Strikes) all over again!

I still don't understand how people keep calling it a hoodie? Do they know what a hoodie is? Is it little Red Riding Hoodie? Not last time I checked. I love all those going crazy over the hood. He's not the same anymore. Except everything else looks very similar. And the whole "his name is now his magic word, how can he say it now" is so old it was addressed by Captain Marvel Jr TWICE. First he changed it to CM3. Then in Trials of Shazam, he didn't even have to say the word anymore.

Not sure about the cowl but it'll probably grow on me.

And, yes, introducing himself will likely be awkward.

Can't wait.

@The Dark Huntress said:

@mr.obvious said:

@Morpheus_: You mean... he doesn't read it?!? :O

He read the first issue, at least. He has a scathing hatred of Geoff Johns, though.

So he's only five issues behind? Mon dieu. I was mistaken. The man is an expert!

SHAZAM!

@The Impersonator said:

SHAZAM!

@wowylied: The hell is wrong with you?

Is Jim Lee drawing this, and will Shazam have a collar like the rest of the team??

I'm having this troubled feeling that I'll be liking this more than new52 Supes. Meh. I liked "Shazam" before the retcon anyway so whatever happens happens. :D

Liking a cowl, and that he'll no longer get confused with so many Marvel Catain Marvels. Wonder what's happened to Freddie Freeman, and the Ancient Shazam himself (if he'll be included at all). I still like the idea of Batson ascending and having that white suit, while Freddie lives one Earth but whatever, awesome characters nonetheless.

This is the new , excuse me, Shazam?!

Bleh... too much Assassin's Creed in the hood, not enough old school flying mystery man with a cape anymore...

All the people complaining about this have probably never even read any of the Shazam books

I like the new look a lot. It's Jay Garrick I have problems with and Earth-2 in general.

@wowylied You know by posting a comment like that, that's left open to interpetation that comment of yours could be seen as rascist. Anyway when I first saw the image I thought Infamous for a second but it looks pretty cool

This isn't really new since Cap Marvel Jr took over the mantle and called himself Shazam. But still looking forward to it.

@FadeToBlackBolt: LOL. It's okay FTBB, you're not alone! I hate the JL series too! ;D

Can't believe it's taken this long to bring Billy back. Since they are going for a more mystical take, I have to admit I am a fan of the hooded look. Gives him less of an obvious "Wish I were Superman" look and more of a mystic warrior kinda feel.

What?...He is associated with Captain Marvel, or the big red cheese, hardly is he referred to as "Hey it's that Shazam guy"

I am really not enjoying this "NEW" 52, gimmie the old DC anyday

I don't have a problem with them changing his name to Shazam I actually think it fits him alot better than Captain Marvel and it keeps him from being associated with Marvel. I just hope they keep Billy Batson and Marvel's kiddish charm.

Shazam makes a better name considering DC isn't even legally allowed to put 'Captain Marvel' on the cover of anything that's not a comic book. So I'm all for it.

Also, complainers about dark and gritty; would that image make any sense at all if he were beaming and cheery? I wouldn't jump the gun on this one.

I am sooooo picking this up. I'm really wondering how they're going to deal with the Billy Batson half of his persona, though...

Assassin's Creed: Shazam!

What?...He is associated with Captain Marvel, or the big red cheese, hardly is he referred to as "Hey it's that Shazam guy"

I am really not enjoying this "NEW" 52, gimmie the old DC anyday

Dat hoodlum.
BB

@spiderbat87: Hmmm....Not so sure about that, He had a book titled The Power of Shazam, and he did take over for the Wizard once, but I am not sure how often he gets "mistaken" for Shazam when he is in the red and yellow...still not buying the logic on this one

I always liked KC Shazam better then anything. Jus sayin

@spiderbat87: Hmmm....Not so sure about that, He had a book titled The Power of Shazam, and he did take over for the Wizard once, but I am not sure how often he gets "mistaken" for Shazam when he is in the red and yellow...still not buying the logic on this one

@spiderbat87: As I said, I wasn't sure about what he was being called,as I stopped reading once they screwed with the mythos with the Trial of Shazam that you mentioned

so whatever went down in that book I would not know since I choose not to read it

Meh. Gimme the original anyday.

@spiderbat87:

Actually it wasn't changed to Shazam, Billy was never Called Shazam in any version of him before the reboot, During Trials it was Freddy Freeman who was called Shazam, Billy was called Lord Marvel.

This is stupid, ok I'm fine with the Wizard being called Shazam but the hero himself? why didn't they just call him Captain Thunder like they did during Flashpoint?

@spiderbat87:

Actually it wasn't changed to Shazam, Billy was never Called Shazam in any version of him before the reboot, During Trials it was Freddy Freeman who was called Shazam, Billy was called Lord Marvel.

This is stupid, ok I'm fine with the Wizard being called Shazam but the hero himself? why didn't they just call him Captain Thunder like they did during Flashpoint?

@spiderbat87:

Maybe it is, but still should have called him Captain Thunder.

Can we please get this Wildstorm Iron Age Drek out of my good comics and favorite characters before they end up going the same direction Wildstorm did. Into the Crapper.....

~Rex....HATES this look, and their reasoning's....Despises even.....

@spiderbat87:

Maybe it is, but still should have called him Captain Thunder.

@spiderbat87:

Yeah that was a good read... But again. If The Captain ain't smiling and having fun with what his doing... it's not the Captain I like. If you like it dark and gritty... then Shazam to you friend.

@spiderbat87:

Yeah that was a good read... But again. If The Captain ain't smiling and having fun with what his doing... it's not the Captain I like. If you like it dark and gritty... then Shazam to you friend.

I'm not thrilled with the whole 'make cheery characters gritty' aspect of the New 52. Billy was always cheerful, naïve, and lighthearted. I can tell from the picture that that will NOT be the case in the reboot.

@Icarusflies said:

I'm not thrilled with the whole 'make cheery characters gritty' aspect of the New 52. Billy was always cheerful, naïve, and lighthearted. I can tell from the picture that that will NOT be the case in the reboot.

Or it just might be him trasforming by invoking the wizard's name. There are plenty of instances of that happening without Billy looking cheery or carefree at that time. Johns has said it's an all ages story, and he is known for encapsulating the core of the main characters he writes well without drastically altering their personality, if at all (his runs on Superman or the Flash, for instance).

@Morpheus_: HUZZAH! :D

@Icarusflies said:

@Morpheus_: HUZZAH! :D

: )

Shazam looks badass! Gotta love those hoods!