“I like who I am. I’m great! But you know what I also liked? Having friggin’ superpowers!”
Since the series began last April, Shazam! has been very apt at casually introducing subplots to revisit down the line. After several sparse references from Billy and Mary’s de-powered siblings about how they miss their share of the powers, Shazam! #13, part one of “Where in the World is Billy Batson?”, is tackling that very subplot. And with Freddy going as far as weaponizing his envy towards Billy to trick the gods of Shazam in the “Meet the Captain” arc, it’s quite appropriate that we finally get that story, and from Freddy’s somewhat egocentric perspective nonetheless.
Notably, the main thematic plot of the last arc — Billy and the Captain’s personalities diverging — stretched back to Mark Waid’s run as writer. Now, having said that, that is to be expected early on, and Josie Campbell counterbalances that reliance on the previous run by reintroducing themes and concepts from her New Champion of Shazam that help to bolster the lore revamp the series has been intent on, which is far more present here than in her previous issues. This is further emphasized by the return of a classic villain from the Captain’s Fawcett Comics era rogues gallery.
Campbell’s love of the Shazamily feels very true, but her love and view of Mary is easily her greatest strength when focusing on the more self-reflective aspects of the narrative.
Expanding upon this sentiment, how the de-powered plot is tackled makes this feel like a true direct continuation of New Champion, particularly in regard to Mary coming to terms with the fact that she has aged out of the system and must anxiously await the uncertain adoption process with the Vasquezes. Tangentially, Freddy poorly masks his envy towards her and Billy’s powers, which complements the continued disillusionment that Billy has had with his powers since Solomon boosted the Captain’s wisdom in Shazam! #6.
Team “Find Billy” hits the road, courtesy of DC Comics.
In short, powers have been a sore spot in the Vasquez home for a while, and it’s safe to say that these developments are now on their way to the boiling point.
Bringing all of this to life is returning artist Mike Norton, who gives the heroes of the issue a more squarish albeit less refined edge than Emanuela Lupacchino that complements her style while lending itself to the more traditional super heroic action sequences; Trish Mulvihill’s softish rosy coloring aids in making that possible. Also on display is Freddy’s self-indulgent yet reflective inner monologue, something portrayed with humor lined with a deep sadness that unifies Norton’s exaggerated visuals with Campbell’s balanced and consistently clever script. And to top it off, artist Gleb Melkinov takes over main cover duties from Dan Mora, switching gears from the previous artist by giving us an appropriately moody image of a morally ambiguous Captain to signify the shifting tone of the run.
At the core of Shazam! #13 rests the understated theme that looking out for others can be quite difficult when you feel you have lost the ability to take care of yourself, but that doesn’t always mean you’ll hesitate to do so. All in all, the focus being turned onto Freddy’s grief and coping mechanisms makes for an effective tool for Campbell in enhancing the authentic emotional spin her writing injects into these characters. And with the intertwining plots that are slowly being set up between Billy, Mary, and Freddy, these developments prove crucial to this new era’s tone and have the potential to lead to some very interesting status quo mix-ups.
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