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Lieutenant Marvels
LieutenantMarvels
Gallery
General Information
First Appearance: Whiz Comics #21 (1941)
Created by: C.C. Beck
Founder(s): Billy Batson
Leader(s): Captain Marvel
Current Members: None
Former Members: Lt. Tall Marvel ("Tall" Billy Batson)
Lt. Fat Marvel ("Fat" Billy Batson)
Lt. Hill Marvel ("Hill" Billy Batson)
Status: Defunct
Base of Operations: Fawcett City
Rock of Eternity


History[]

Brooklyn, New York City has its own Billy Batson, and he travels to the W.H.I.Z. radio station with two other Billy Batsons, one from the Western United States and one from the Southern United States, to visit the "real" Billy. To prevent confusion, the western Billy suggests he be called "Tall" Billy, the southern Billy is renamed "Hill" Billy and Brooklyn's Billy is given the title "Fat" Billy. At the "real" Billy's suggestion, all four Billys form the Billy Batson Club.

The nefarious Dr. Sivana hatches a plan to kill the "real" Billy Batson and sends his henchmen to find out where Billy lives. Sivana's goons mistakenly find the other Billy Batsons instead and capture them. Sivana uses them as bait to trap the real Billy.

Sivana and his henchmen gag Billy and tie him and the other Billys to a buzzsaw. Billy is able to remove his gag but his shout of "Shazam" can not be heard over the roar of the buzzsaw. With seconds to spare, Billy enlists the aid of his club members and they all shout "Shazam" together.

When the smoke clears, Captain Marvel sees that the other Billys have transformed as well, into Tall Marvel, Hill Marvel, and Fat Marvel. Hill Marvel remarks that they have each changed into Captain Marvel but Fat Marvel counters that by saying that there is only one Captain Marvel. Tall Marvel suggests that they are really Lieutenant Marvels, hence the trio's name.

The Captain and his three Lieutenants easily defeat Sivana and his henchmen. After shouting "Shazam" and transforming back into their civilian identities, the three Billys head back home. The Lieutenants returned from time to time during the Fawcett Comics era to aid their hero.

When the characters were revived by DC Comics in the 1970s under the title Shazam! They were retconned out of existence during the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. Some people, such as Jonathon Woodward in his Annotated Crisis on Infinite Earths website, suggest that the Lieutenant Marvels died in the last battle of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, although Who's Who in the DC Universe claims they survived but lost their powers.

The characters were recently reintroduced in Trials of Shazam! #2, only to lose their powers in the same issue.

Powers and Abilities[]

By shouting "Shazam!", the three Billy Batsons are transformed into the Lieutenant Marvels. In this form, they each have the powers of Captain Marvel: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. Since they have to share the power, they are each only one-third as powerful as Captain Marvel.

Others versions[]

Earth-5 (The New 52)[]

The Lieutenant Marvels are young men also named William Batson who came to aid Captain Marvel during a time of need. They continue to function as a squad of young men who assist and support the Marvel Family whenever needed. They, along with Uncle Marvel and Tawky Tawny, came to the aid of the marvelous family during Sivanaday where they were pitted with their weaponry against the Monster Society and were instrumental in defeating them.

In other media[]

Television[]

In the TV series Young Justice, Freddy Freeman and Mary Bromfield, under the names Lieutenant Marvel and Sergeant Marvel, joined the Team AND left the Team in between Seasons One and Two, leaving the characters' fate unknown.

See Also[]

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