THE LIEUTENANT MARVELS (Tall, Fat & Hill Marvel, aka Billy Batson, Billy Batson & Billy Batson)
Created By: C.C. Beck
First Appearance: Whiz Comics #21 (Sept. 1941)
Role: Silly Sidekicks
Group Affiliations: The Marvel Family
PL 10 (175)
STRENGTH 12 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 1
Skills:
Deception 3 (+4)
Insight 1 (+4)
Perception 1 (+4)
Persuasion 3 (+4)
Advantages:
Teamwork
Powers:
"Marvel Family Powers- Divided By Three"
"The Strength of Hercules"
Power-Lifting 5 (3,200 tons) [5]
"The Stamina of Atlas"
Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 11) [13]
Immunity 10 (Life Support) [10]
"The Speed of Mercury"
Enhanced Advantages 1: Improved Initiative [1]
Flight 15 (64,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (31) -- [35]
- Dynamic AE: Quickness 6 (Feats: Dynamic) (7)
- Dynamic AE: Speed 12 (8,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (13)
"The Wisdom of Solomon"
Enhanced Advantages 3: Beginner's Luck, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Well-Informed [3]
Comprehend 3 (Languages) [6]
"The Courage of Achilles"
Immunity 2 (Fear Effects) [2]
Impervious Will 3 [3]
"The Power of Zeus"
Features 1: All Attacks Count as Magical [1]
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +6
Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +12 (+5 Impervious), Fortitude +10, Will +6
Complications:
Enemy (Dr. Sivana & Others)
Relationship (Captain Marvel)- All four Billys are close pals, but live in entirely different parts of the country.
Involuntary Transformation ("Shazam!")- Any Billy Batson must say the magic word to transform into Captain Marvel. Similarly, he will transform back if he says it again. This is not always a good thing. Their stats as Billy are ST 0, STA 0, AGI 2, FIGHTING 2, INT 0, AWA 1, PRE 1.
Power Loss (Lightning Bolt)- Billy must speak to call down the Lightning. If struck by the Lightning for any reason, he will revert to non-powered form.
Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 81 / Defenses: 9 (175)
-The Lieutenant Marvels are one of those things that only happens in 1940s comics- Fawcett Comics added three more members to the Marvel Family, basing them off of Fawcett staff members. They were three guys of varied appearance who shared Billy Batson's real name- they all travel to the real Billy's hometown to form a Billy Batson Club, and he gladly reveals his secret identity to them (but of course he has to keep it from other ACTUAL SUPERHEROES). To prevent confusion, they are named Tall Billy, Hill Billy (he's from the South) and Fat Billy. They are kidnapped by agents of Dr. Sivana (he's looking for Billy, knowing his real name), and soon all four Billys shout "Shazam!" together, and amazingly gain powers! Figuring that there's only ONE Captain Marvel, the others decide to be mere Lieutenants. They knock Sivana's airplane out of the sky, killing everyone aboard except the Doctor, and become recurring joke characters.
-They appeared throughout the '40s sporadically, and DC even brought them back briefly in the 1970s! However, they were wiped away by The Crisis on Infinite Earths, as writers tried to de-sillify DC Comics (one writer claims they died, while another book says they survived but lost their powers).
-The Lieutenant Marvels may be silly (ya can't treat a guy named Fat Marvel like any other hero, y'know?), but they're all quite powerful, hitting a third of Captain Marvel's raw capabilities (I didn't want them lifting tens of thousands of tons, so I settled for a mere 3,200).