DC Just Brought Back the Daughter of a Fan-Favorite Villain
The "Dawn of DC" initiative is now underway, crafting a year-long story involving a surprising crop of heroes and villains. In and amongst that has been the conclusion of some existing stories, including the critically-acclaimed miniseries New Champion of Shazam!. The four-issue miniseries has followed the adventures of Mary Marvel operating as the new Shazam! — and as the series' final issue revealed, that has included a fight with a familiar villain. Spoilers for New Champion of Shazam! #4 by Josie Campbell, Doc Shaner, and Becca Carey below! Only look if you want to know!
As Mary investigates the string of disappearances in her hometown, including her foster parents going missing, she ultimately discovers that they are stuck within the basement of her community college. She learns that the culprit behind the disappearances is her professor, "Dr. G", who is none other than Georgia Sivana. As Georgia explains to Mary, the shortcomings of her father motivated her to combine magic and technology, and to create a power battery called The Circle of Endings.
Who is DC's Georgia Sivana?
Created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck in 1945's Mary Marvel #1, Georgia was originally established as the precocious genius daughter of Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. Armed with a genius intellect and the ability to mimic anyone's voice, Georgia gets into schemes with her twin brother, Thaddeus Jr., to the chagrin of the Shazam! family.
In a 2015 spinoff of Multiversity, Georgia and the rest of her family were given transformative superhero abilities like the Shazam! family, but were thwarted if they said their own last name, "Sivana."
Will Dr. Sivana return in Shazam! 2?
Georgia's return in the comics comes just a few months before the launch of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the big-screen sequel to 2019's Shazam!. After Mark Strong portrayed Thaddeus Sivana in that first film, and teamed up with the hyper-intelligent caterpillar Mr. Mind in its post-credits scene, there's been the question of whether or not he could factor into the sequel.
"You're not going to see me in the sequel," Strong told ComicBook.com in 2021. "Finally, I'm finally allowed to say it. I've had to sort of bite my tongue for so long, but I think they're about to start filming in Atlanta and I'm very happy to give way to Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, who I think are going to make a couple of fantastic villains. I mean, judging by the performances by Emma Thompson and Emma Stone in Cruella, it's time for the female villains, I think. Well, you know, maybe he's gone unfinished with Mr. Mind and we'll be back further down the line, who knows."
What do you think of DC bringing back Georgia Sivana in New Champion of Shazam!? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!