DC Unveils the SHAZAM Who Laughs

Following the events of Scott Snyder and Jock's The Batman Who Laughs, the devilish Joker/Batman [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Following the events of Scott Snyder and Jock's The Batman Who Laughs, the devilish Joker/Batman hybrid from the dark multiverse will corrupt a half-dozen DC heroes. Each of them will face off against Superman and Batman in the forthcoming Batman/Superman series from Joshua Williamson and David Marquez. In The Batman Who Laughs miniseries, our Batman has been corrupted by Joker toxin and is fighting against his own urges to become more like The Batman Who Laughs. Apparenlty in the event that he lost the battle, the Batman Who Laughs has plan to wage war by creating a new "Secret Six" made up of DC superhero sleeper agents.

The first arc of Batman/Superman -- which is an ongoing and will presumably move away from The Batman Who Laughs eventually -- will follow the two titular heroes as they hunt down the six infected heroes in the DCU who have been infected by the Batman Who Laughs with a deadly pathogen that violently transforms them into the most-evil versions of themselves. The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel must journey into the depths of Gotham City to learn which of their fellow heroes has been transformed into a horrifying horseman of their most dangerous and deranged foe ever.

And the first of those characters? Billy Batson/Shazam, who will appear in Batman/Superman #2, according to Williamson.

"We discover, through the Batman Who Laughs series that the Batman Who Laughs has been working on this massive plan since [Dark Nights: Metal]," Williamson recently told The Hollywood Reporter, referring to the DC Comics event series that first introduced the villain. "What it is is, he has sleeper agents throughout the [DC Universe]. They've been infected, and they're slowly turning into the worst versions of themselves. Some of them know they're changing, some don't. Some aren't aware it's kind of like a Jekyll and Hyde situation where they're not aware of [what] the other side is doing.

Batman/Superman #1 Sneak Preview

Batman/Superman #1 Sneak Preview Gallery

"This is happening to six people — we've been calling them the new Secret Six — who have been turned. But who could be turned? Who are they? [Batman and Superman] have to go out and figure it out. But that means spying on other heroes, friends, allies. We talked about the end of The Thing, where it's the two of them and they're like, 'It could be you, it could be me, but now we have to work together.'"

Batman/Superman #1, written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by David Marquez, will hit shelves August 14, 2019.

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