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Magic Words

Everyone knows "Shazam!" But how many other magic word spouting characters are there in the DCU? And are there any whose powers might be magic word based, that have never been portrayed as such? Let's check.

List items

  • aka Captain Marvel (or <sigh> Shazam). MAGIC WORD: "Shazam."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Shazam."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Shazam." At one time, Billy Batson changed Adam's word to "Chocolate Egg Cream."

  • aka Captain Marvel Jr. MAGIC WORD: "Captain Marvel." Making him a superhero who can't say his own name, because he'll change back to Freddy Freeman.

  • There have been a few versions of this duo, but their MAGIC WORDS are "Hawk" and "Dove," respectively. Curious that speaking those names while in costume doesn't change them back.

  • aka Hawk. MAGIC WORD: "Hawk."

  • aka Dove. MAGIC WORD: "Dove." Plagued with much the same problem as Wonder Woman, writers didn't know what to do with a superhero whose motivation is peace. So they killed him off heroically, in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

  • aka Dove II. MAGIC WORD: "Dove." In the worst retcon I've ever seen, it's revealed that Don Hall's death, although he was performing a heroic act, was actually a victimization, as his power was taken from him at that crucial moment, to be given to Dawn Granger. She's a cool character and all, but I felt it was a slap in the face to the legacy of the Don Hall character.

  • aka Hawk II. MAGIC WORD: "Hawk."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Condor" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Swan" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Kestrel" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Osprey" (assumed). [I'm not sure this Justice League Task Force villain is correctly associated with the New 52 Osprey, from Hawk & Dove]

  • MAGIC WORD: none. Her power is that she can cause anything to explode, just by saying the name of the object. Is it a magically induced power? She was a villain associated with Hawk & Dove, so maybe.

  • MAGIC WORD: none. His is the power of persuasion, through his voice. Is it an enhanced mental power, or magic? As he is a New God, it's hard to be sure.

  • MAGIC WORD: none. However, is it possible that her sonic power (her "canary cry") is an unfocused version of Shellshock's power?

  • MAGIC WORD: all of them, as long as he says them backwards. Father of Zatanna.

  • MAGIC WORD: all of them, as long as she says them backwards. Daughter of Zatara. Have you ever wondered who her mom is?

  • MAGIC WORD: "Thunder."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Enchantress."

  • aka Captain Marvel Bunny. MAGIC WORD: "Shazam."

  • MAGIC WORD: "O Mighty Isis."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Black Adam."

  • MAGIC WORD: "Shazam" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Shazam" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Captain Marvel."

  • MAGIC WORD: "IBAC."

  • MAGIC WORD: "SABBAC."

  • aka Blue Beetle I. MAGIC WORD: ""Kaji Dha" (Silver Age version).

  • MAGIC WORD: (To transform from Jason Blood to Etrigan) "Gone, gone, O form of man. Arise the Demon, Etrigan!" (To transform from Etrigan to Jason Blood) "Gone, gone, O Etrigan. Return again, the form of man!" (Longer versions exist)

  • MAGIC WORD: "3X2(9YZ)4A." Maybe it's not what Johnny says. Maybe it's just a magical way to access the Speed Force.

  • aka Jesse Quick. MAGIC WORD: "3X2(9YZ)4A."

  • MAGIC WORD: "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power... Green Lantern's light!" *Is* it just an oath? The other Rainbow Corps have their own oaths, but who cares? That just further enforces my theory of the ring-slinger powers being magic word based at heart.

  • MAGIC WORD: "...and I shall shed my light over dark evil. For the dark things cannot stand the light, The light of the Green Lantern!" Scott's origin is embroiled in magic. Maybe it's *not* just an oath.

  • aka F-Sharp Bell. MAGIC WORD: "In loudest din or hush profound, my ears catch evil's slightest sound. Let those who toll out evil's knell, beware my power: The F-Sharp Bell!" He still has to recite an oath when recharging his powers. The fact that he focuses them as sound, rather than as light, makes me wonder again if Black Canary's sonic scream is actually a magic word type power.

  • MAGIC WORD: "Lady of Liberty, hear my plea, for the land of the brave and the home of the free!"

  • MAGIC WORD: "Lady Liberty" (assumed).

  • MAGIC WORD: "Wonder Twin powers, activate." Or maybe it's just "Activate." I think I've seen their powers initiated with just that word.

  • MAGIC WORD: see Wonder Twins.

  • MAGIC WORD: see Wonder Twins.

  • MAGIC WORD: "Yz" backwards is pronounced "Cei-U" (sounds like "say you").

  • MAGIC WORD: "Lkz," pronounced "So Cûl" (sounds like "so cool"). Later, a combination of two djinn forms "Ylzkz," still controlled by the phrase "So Cûl" ("so cool").

  • The 5th dimensional djinn controlled by Johnny Thunder/ Jakeem Thunder. The Thunderbolt eventually merges with Johnny Thunder, whose personality takes over the djinn, granting the aged Johnny Thunder an eternal spot in the DCU.

  • MAGIC WORD: (none). This J Thunder got her power from a statuette that may have been made by the Incan god of lightning. This was a sort of attempt at updating the character of Johnny Thunder, but with no connections to her legacy, the character limped along, making appearances in Infinity Inc. and other titles. Johnny & Jonni were finally linked in a story somehow, but she's pretty much faded into limbo. Considering the H-Dial, and GL rings, I think it's plausible to say that the lightning-figured statuette is another attempt at a tactile transfer of magic that was meant to be channeled by the spoken word.

  • MAGIC WORD: (none). Congo Bill can trade bodies with an enchanted golden gorilla by rubbing a magic ring. When his human body died, he permanently inhabited the gorilla. Going with the other ringbearers on this list, the ring could be a tactile way of accessing magic.

  • MAGIC WORD: "Eternity." At one time, Kid Eternity was related to Freddie Freeman. I think that was retconned years ago, but I don't know for certain.

  • MAGIC WORD: "Black Power."