'Shazam!' Had a Stealthy 'Captain Marvel' Reference

Given the long and complicated history shared by Captain Marvel and the hero now known as Shazam, [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Given the long and complicated history shared by Captain Marvel and the hero now known as Shazam, fans wondered whether at least one of the two movies, which were released a month apart this year, might reference the other character. As it turns out, Shazam! did -- although it took us a minute to catch on. That is because it wasn't "Captain Marvel" that he mentioned (some fans thought we might get that as a suggested-and-rejected name in the movie, since trailers depicted him being introduced to some beautiful women as "Captain Sparklefingers" and rejecting the moniker). Instead, it seems "Captain Sparklefingers" was the reference itself.

The reference itself is a few years old, but it took an ad for the new mobile game Marvel Strike Force to remind us that it was a thing. In 2012, Kelly Sue DeConnick had a supporting character refer to Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) as "Princess Sparklefists" in a piece of dialogue. As you might expect, the nickname caught on and has been one of the titles that the Carol Corps have used to refer to the hero ever since. Given the legal weirdness around the name of Captain Marvel, it would not be difficult to believe that the closest the filmmakers could get to a reference to that name was an incredibly subtle wink-and-a-nod to the other Captain Marvel. Part of my brain wants to say it's a coincidence, but...that name just does not feel like a coincidence.

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For the uninitiated, Billy Batson was originally called "Captain Marvel" when he debuted in 1940. He gained his powers from a wizard named Shazam and got them from by shouting the wizard's name and transforming into Captain Marvel. Eventually amid dwindling sales and a lawsuit from DC Comics alleging that Captain Marvel was a knockoff of Superman, Fawcett agreed to cease publication on the character's stories -- and ultimately Captain Marvel and his friends and foes went to DC years later when they bought Fawcett's assets. During the years when Captain Marvel stories were not being published, though, Marvel Comics -- who had always wished they had the name and character anyway -- invented a new hero and trademarked the "Captain Marvel" name. They have maintained the trademark ever since, although the actual identity of Captain Marvel has changed relatively often. On the DC side, this meant that while their character could still be called Captain Marvel, but for trademark reasons that name could not appear prominently on the comic book covers. They elected to use "Shazam" as the name of the comics, TV shows, and other things released by DC, although the hero maintained the Captain Marvel name until 2011, when the line-wide DC reboot known as The New 52 saw him rebranded as Shazam completely.

Of course, this means Shazam cannot say his own superhero name without transforming back into Billy. But that's a whole other story...! What do you think? Is this, against all odds, some kind of bizarre coincidence, or was "Captain Sparklefingers" really a deep-cut Easter egg referencing Captain Marvel? Sound off in the comments below or tweet at @russburlingame. Shazam is now in theaters; Joker arrives on October 4, Birds of Prey on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, and The Batman on June 25, 2021.

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