Captain Thunder

History

Pre-Crisis

A group of orphan kids, of which Willie Fawcett was one, had been sent to camp every summer. One night, when his buddies were asleep in their tent, Willie sat outside, with a funny feeling keeping him awake. Suddenly, he heard an owl, which swooped down and flew overhead until Willie followed. He ran off after the horned owl and followed it until he came to a hillside. The owl looked as if it would fly right into the solid rock wall, when suddenly the walls of the hill opened up. Although Willie should have been afraid to follow the owl inside, he wasn’t. What he found was fantastic – Merokee, last of the great medicine men of the Mohegan tribe.

Merokee explained to Willie that he had awaited the youth’s coming. Tribal legends had foretold that one day a boy would come forth who was noble of spirit. He would be invested with great powers by the last of the great Mohegan shamans. Merokee held up a belt with a buckle bearing the image of a lightning bolt. He told Willie that, when he wore the magic belt-buckle, he would have seven spiritual powers.

Merokee pointed to the words inscribed on an animal hide hanging on the wall:

• Tornado– Power
• Hare– Speed
• Uncas– Bravery
• Nature– Wisdom
• Diamond– Toughness
• Eagle– Flight
• Ram– Tenacity

Merokee told Willie to rub the buckle and say the magic word composed of the first letters of every name on the list. Willie rubbed the buckle and spoke the word “Thunder!”. A brilliant starburst and a thunderous “Sha-boom!” filled the torch-lit chamber, changing Willie Fawcett into Captain Thunder! Merokee raised his eyes to a hole in the cavern ceiling, proclaiming to the Great Spirit that his work was done and that he was ready to pass on. Captain Thunder watched in awe as Merokee was transformed into a spirit that rose out through the opening.

Over the next few years, Captain Thunder fought many crimes and injustices all over the world. One memorable battle was against the Monster League of Evil. He had fought them across 1,953 dimensions of time and space. Thunder imprisoned them in a misty dimension, but not before they secretly did something to him which would make him turn evil. He headed back home across the time-and-space barrier, but ended up as Willie Fawcett in an alley in Earth-One’s Metropolis. Sure enough, when Willie transformed into Captain Thunder, he became evil, as the Monster League had planned. After two battles with Superman, Thunder was forced to use his wisdom to override the hold the League had on him.

Now cured, Thunder realized how he got lost and, using his magic word, returned to his own parallel Earth, identified in the Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earhts as Earth-276, named after his first appearance.

Post-Crisis

Following Dr. Sivana changing history, resulting in CC Batson and his wife Marilyn remaining alive and being the Captains Marvel, CC Batson attempts to right history. After briefly being tempted to let Sivana die before he could cause events that would lead to the Batsons death, Waverider shows CC how history could have resulted without Sivana to influence the Batsons.

Among the potentialities include Captain Marvels based on Mar-Vell, Monica Rambeau, and the M.F. Enterprises Captain Marvel. Captain Thunder is among these potentialities.

Flashpoint

In the Reverse Flash altered world of Flashpoint, Captain Thunder appears as the version of Captain Marvel. Instead of being Billy Batson or Willie Fawcet, but instead seven youths: S.H.A.Z.A.M. (Billy Batson, Freddy Freeman, Mary Batson, a young man named Pedro, a youth called Eugene, a girl called Darla) and an alternate version of Tawky Tawny. The six humans transform into Thunder, while Tawny transforms into a large, armored tiger.

At some point, Flashpoint’s Wonder Woman encountered Captain Thunder, injuring him and leaving several large scars on his face. He agrees to join Cyborg’s fight against Aquaman and Wonder Woman, who are ravaging Europe.

In the ensuing fight, Captain Thunder fights Wonder Woman to a standstill. However, he is changed into his components by the Enchantress, who is revelaed as a traitor loyal to the Amazons. Before they can return to being Captain Thunder, Billy Batson is ran through by the Amazon Penthesileia.

Creation

Captain Thunder was created by Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan. He was used to determine who was stronger in a comic after DC acquired the rights to Fawcett Comics rival, Captain Marvel.

The Flashpoint Captain Thunder was based on Bill Parker’s original concept for Captain Marvel. Geoff Johns rectified Parker’s idea of Captain Thunder as a super being formed by a team of six [S.H.A.Z.A.M.] into one hero who would embody all six powers.

Powers & Abilities

Captain Thunder derives his powers from his magic belt buckle. By rubbing the buckle and saying the magic word “Thunder!”, young Willie Fawcett becomes Captain Thunder. Captain Thunder has immeasurable strength, super-speed, invulnerability, the power of flight, and great bravery, wisdom, and tenacity. He can also use his magic word to break the space-time barrier and travel to other dimensions.

Each letter in Thunder represents another power Captain Thunder has;

Tornado– Power

Hare– Speed

Uncas– Bravery

Nature– Wisdom

Diamond– Toughness

Eagle– Flight

Ram– Tenacity

Along with this, Captain Thunder also possesses the same abilities as Captain Marvel, considering that he was made as a response to him. This includes Super Strength, magic, super speed, and invulnerability.