The Power of Shazam!

The Power of Shazam!
Season 2, Episode 10
Air date	April 2, 2010
Written by	Steven Melching
Directed by	Ben Jones
Episode guide
Previous The Super Batman of Planet X!	Next Chill of the Night!

Summary

• Teaser: The Faceless Hunter is shown fighting and putting several heroes under Starro control preparing for a full-scale invasion as he recaps his preparation for the Great Starro Invasion.
• Main Plot: Batman teams up with Captain Marvel to battle Doctor Sivana (including his Sivana Family) and Black Adam when they wish to usurp the magic of Shazam that gives Marvel's alter ego, Billy Batson, his power.

Appearing in "The Power of Shazam!"

TEASER Featured Characters:

• Aquaman
• Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
• Flash (Jay Garrick)
• Green Arrow
• Plastic Man
• Red Tornado (Destroyed in this episode)

Villains:

• Faceless Hunter
• Speedy

Other characters:

• Starro-controlled heroes
  • Aqualad
  • Arthur, Jr.
  • Atom (Ryan Choi)
  • Big Barda
  • Black Canary
  • Black Lightning
  • Bronze Tiger
  • Challengers of the Unknown
    • Ace Morgan
    • Prof Haley
    • Red Ryan
    • Rocky Davis
  • Doctor Mid-Nite
  • Dove
  • Elongated Man
  • Fire
  • Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
  • Hawk
  • Hawkman (Carter Hall)
  • Hourman
  • Huntress
  • Katana
  • Mera
  • Metamorpho
  • Mister Miracle
  • Nightwing
  • OMAC
  • Wildcat

Items:

• Aero-Discs

Locations:

• Desert

MAIN EPISODE Featured Characters:

• Batman
• Captain Marvel

Supporting Characters:

• Shazam (First appearance) (flashback and main story)

Villains:

• Black Adam (First appearance) (flashback and main story)
• Seven Deadly Enemies of Man (First appearance)
• The Sivana Family
  • Dr. Sivana (First appearance)
  • Georgia Sivana (First appearance)
  • Thaddeus Sivana Junior (First appearance)

Other characters:

• Mary Bromfield (First appearance)
• Ms. Minerva (First appearance)

Locations:

• Fawcett City

Items:

• Mister Tawky Tawny

Vehicles:

• Batmobile

Synopsis

Faceless Hunter, the advance scout for Starro, unleashes psychic starfish parasites upon the heroes of Earth. From the Challengers to the Unknown to Aquaman, to Green Arrow and Speedy, Faceless Hunter takes control of the heroes in the name of his master. The only hero immune to mind control, Red Tornado, is ruthlessly destroyed. Now Faceless Hunter and an army of heroes stand ready to do Starro's bidding.

Dr. Sivana and his villainous offspring, Thaddeus Jr. and Georgia, launch an attack on the WHIZ Radio's tower. He claims that he's going to charge the atmosphere and shut off all forms of communication, and Batman arrives to stop him. At a nearby orphanage, Billy Batson listens to the battle over the radio and goes to help. However, two bullies come in and take his heart pendant, which only has one half of the heart. Miss Minerva, the woman in charge, interrupts and blames Billy for starting a commotion. She tells him that he has to clean up his room before he can do anything, and then leaves. Billy utters the magic word, "Shazam!", and mystic lightning transforms him into Captain Marvel. He cleans his room at superspeed, and then reverts to Billy to ask Miss Minerva for permission to leave.

Batman and Sivana's children engage in an aerial dogfight while Sivana completes his modifications to the tower. Captain Marvel arrives just in time to save Batman, and then goes after Sivana. Sivana creates an energy cage, trapping Captain Marvel within the radio tower. When he transforms back into Billy to slip through the bars, the magic lighting is partially siphoned off into the tower. Sivana laughs in triumph and leaves with his children, while Batman frees Captain Marvel and goes in pursuit.

Sivana retreats to his laboratory and explains to his offspring that the entire thing was a trap to trick Captain Marvel into summoning the lightning so the mad scientist could analyze and duplicate it. Sivana then transmits the energy to a distant planet where a lone human figure sits, powerless. The man is Black Adam, exiled from Earth. The lightning restores his powers and he flies to Earth. Tracking the mystic energies, Black Adam travels to Sivana's lab and prepares to destroy him for his insolence. Sivana quickly explains that Captain Marvel is the wizard Shazam's new champion, and that they can work together to defeat the Big Red Cheese.

At the orphanage, Billy wistfully looks at a happy family across the street. The bullies return to pick on him, but Batman easily scares them away. Buildings in the distance topple and Billy transforms into Captain Marvel so that he can help Batman. Black Adam, with all the powers of Captain Marvel, is destroying the city when the heroes attack. Batman, in his transformed battle bot, lends a hand but Black Adam rips him free of the suit and Batman barely escapes in time. As the fight progresses, the heroes are unaware that Sivana and his children are watching. Sivana shoots a tracking device onto Captain Marvel's soldier. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel realizes that Black Adam is his predecessor. Black Adam explains that the wizard removed his powers when he refused. Batman uses a sonic stunner to briefly immobilize Black Adam, who flees. Realizing the depth of Captain Marvel's feelings, Batman warns that he can't let his desire for a family overwhelm his judgment.

Captain Marvel transforms back to Billy and says that they need to talk to Shazam and get some answers. He takes Batman to a subway station and they ride a magical train to the tunnel where Shazam resides on Earth. They walk past statues imprisoning the Seven Deadly Sins and confront the wizard's astral projection. He explains that 5,000 years ago, he had chosen Teth Adam as his champion. However, Teth Adam was corrupted and took the name Black Adam, and sought to rule the world. Shazam had no choice but to strip him of his powers and banish him from Earth.

Black Adam and the others arrive, following the tracking unit's signal. They gag and tie up Billy and subdue Batman, but are unable to touch Shazam's astral self. Sivana finds a tunnel to the Rock of Eternity, where Shazam's physical form resides, and they depart. First, however, Black Adam unleashes the Seven Deadly Sins. Batman is quickly overwhelmed but manages to throw a Batarang, freeing Billy so that he can remove his gag, speak the magic word, and transform into Captain Marvel. He makes short work of the Sins and they depart for the Rock of Eternity, floating in limbo.

The villains arrive at the Rock of Eternity and quickly subdue Shazam. However, Sivana takes the wizard's throne, betraying Black Adam. When Black Adam tries to stop him, Sivana takes his powers, leaving him a withered 5,000-year-old man. The heroes arrive just in time to witness Sivana transform into Captain Sivana. He attacks Captain Marvel while his children engage Batman. Batman quickly defeats them but can only watch as Captain Marvel goes down. The Caped Crusader throws a punch, which is useless against Sivana's superior strength. Thinking quickly, Batman misspeaks the name of the wizard. When Sivana reflexively corrects him, he speaks the magic word and transforms back into his human self. Captain Marvel knocks him out before he can speak away. The heroes realize that Black Adam has managed to slip away, and Captain Marvel admits that his hopes of having any kind of family are hopeless.

However, Batman does some investigation and finds the Bromfield family. They adopted a young girl, Mary, when she was young, and she holds the other half of the heart pendant. Batman introduces Billy to his twin sister and giving him the family he's never had.

Quotes

• Faceless Hunter: (Narrating) The time came that my master's eyes upon a new prize a blue-green jewel glittering in the ocean of space. This world was warm and inviting and the primitive inhabitants could be controlled by his psychic-parasitic clones. [Starros throws at Challengers of the Unknown's faces] My master learned that this was a planet of heroes beings with the power to resist the star conqueror. [Starro throws at Aquaman's face] It became my mission to subdue the heroes of Earth and bring them into his evil thrall. [Faceless Hunter use a Starro at Blue Beetle's face] [Green Arrow sees Faceless Hunter and Speedy got mind control by Starro and Speedy take a shot with Starro at Green Arrow's face] [Faceless Hunter use a Starro at Jay Garrick/Flash's face] They fought bravely, but in the end all were forced to submit to the star conqueror's will. [Faceless Hunter throws a Starro at Plastic Man's face] Those not susceptible to mind control were destroyed.
• [To be continued...]

Trivia

• Heroes Taken Over By the Starros: Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Green Arrow & Speedy, Flash (Jay Garrick), Plastic Man, OMAC, Black Canary, Hawk and Dove, Bronze Tiger, Huntress, Wildcat, Doctor Mid-Nite, Hourman, Mister Miracle & Big Barda, the Outsiders (Black Lightning, Katana, and Metamorpho), Fire, Hawkman (Carter Hall), and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan).
• The main plot pay homage to various stories. The name (Power of Shazam!) is reference to the homonymous comic book title starred by Cap. Marvel in the 1990s; Sivana's plan to silence the radiocommunications is similar to the story in Whiz Comics #2 (1940), his 1st appearance; Black Adam's death by old age is similar to his 1st appearance in Marvel Family #1 (1951); Sivana as Captain Sivana is a homage to the story in DC Comics Presents Annual #3.