Shazam Family Explained: Who Plays The Adults & What Are Their Powers?

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Shazam!

Here's everything you need to know about the Shazam! movie's family of children-turned-superheroes, known as the Shazam Family - formerly known as DC's 'Captain Marvel Family' before the publisher was forced to change it (for obvious reasons). And most importantly, what their arrival into the DCEU could mean for future movies.

As the star of the show, it's Billy Batson and his Shazam! alter ego that are taking up most of the spotlight. Movie audiences have also gotten more than a few looks at Freddy Freeman, Shazam's closest friend in the movie's trailers and TV spots. But before you start thinking that Billy's foster brothers and sisters qualify as "sidekicks," let's set the record straight: they've been with Billy and the Wizard Shazam ever since the first days of the famous Captain Marvel.

With Shazam! now in theaters, it's clear that the creative team behind the latest DC movie took their time in making sure Billy's foster siblings - Freddy, Mary, Darla, Eugene, and Pedro - stayed true to the source material, and that includes transforming them into their superhero counterparts, collectively known as the Shazam Family.

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Last updated: April 4, 2019

Billy Batson's Foster Family & Adult Superhero Actors

Once it became clear just how closely the movie was based on DC's modern Shazam! comic series, it went without saying that the foster brothers and sisters would be adapted. In Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's re-imagining of Billy's story, the elements of family were at the heart of the new Shazam mythology. And to drive that home, Billy was re-imagined as one of an entire household of foster children in Philadelphia. A family he shrugs off at first, but soon learns to embrace as he understands the power that they possess in connection to his own... more on that later.

Fans should familiarize themselves with the kids already being fostered by Rosa and Victor Vasquez (played by Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews, respectively). Fans will already be familiar with Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), superhero superfan who uses humor to protect himself, instead of Billy's aloofness. Then there's Mary Bromfield (Grace Fulton) who takes her position as the oldest of the kids to heart, caring for the youngest of the family. That would refer to Eugene Choi (Ian Chen) and Darla Dudley (Faithe Herman), with the quiet Pedro Peña (Jovan Armand) rounding out the team.

At the end of the Shazam! movie, Billy uses the Wizard's staff to imbue his foster siblings with unique powers he possesses. In doing so, each of the siblings transform into adult superheroes, thereby becoming the Shazam Family. In the movie, the Shazam Family is comprised of actors and actresses Michelle Borth (Mary), Meagan Good (Darla), Ross Butler (Eugene), Adam Brody (Freddy), and D.J. Cotrona (Pedro).

Freddy & Mary Are The Key Players in Shazam!

We're not showing any bias when it comes to the children welcoming Billy Batson into his new foster family, simply stating the facts: it's Mary and Freddy who share the most screen time with Billy (and Shazam) in at least the hero's origin film. Freddy is welcomed into Shazam's confidence due to his wisdom when it comes to superheroics. But Mary's role is different for one major reason.

Where Freddy helps Shazam play the part of a superhero, it's Mary more than anyone else who pushes Billy Batson to become a hero at heart. The trio of Billy, Freddy, and Mary has been a fundamental part of the Shazam story from the beginning, so in order to appreciate how the film pays homage to the comic book history - and start theorizing all the ways future Shazam sequels can make use of their past adventures - let's dive a bit deeper into the mythology and lore behind the old (and new) versions of The Shazam Family.

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The Original Shazam Family of DC Comics

Trying to search for the comic book origin story and history of the Captain Marvel Family is going to be tricky for a few different reasons. For starters, DC is no longer allowed to market either Billy Batson as 'Captain Marvel,' or the larger group of backup characters as 'The Marvel Family' due to Marvel Comics introducing and popularizing their own version.

Ironically, it was DC (then National Comics) who first killed Captain Marvel by suing Fawcett Comics, alleging that their lightning-bolt-ed superhero was a Superman knockoff. DC won the case, and would acquire the rights to Captain Marvel decades later. As we said before, there was a whole lot more than just Billy Batson who helped launch the 'Captain Marvel' name into households. Within just two years of Captain Marvel's debut, DC Comics had created two separate characters with their own origins and identities tied to Billy Batson.

First was Freddy Freeman, a disabled boy whose life was saved by Captain Marvel. After learning that Freddy would succumb to his injuries, Billy learned that he could share his magical powers with Freddy, if he chose. And so Freddy Freeman uttered his first "Captain Marvel!" and transformed into his healthy, but still teenage form - with a blue suit all his own - as the hero Captain Marvel, Jr.. And almost two decades before Superman would meet his cousin Supergirl, Billy Batson discovered he had a twin sister who he never even knew existed. And once that sister realized her twin could call down magic lightning, she did the same herself - and Mary Marvel was born.

They were the first to turn the Shazam! magic into a family, even if their origin stories were slightly altered over the next half-century. But when the New 52 was launched with the intention of rebooting and re-imagining almost all of DC's classic heroes, writer Geoff Johns decided to put a new spin on the idea of the orphaned Billy Batson, and the friends who would become his family, and fellow superheroes...

The Shazam Family is Billy's 'Secret Spell'

The Shazam! movie clearly adapted a big part of Billy's New 52 story. While the movie didn't throw Shazam up against his famous villain Black Adam, instead putting Dr. Sivana into the role, the odds were still stacked against him. After all, Billy is just a kid, going toe to toe with an adult. Which is exactly why he loses... at first.

In the comics, Billy only learns his lesson when a magical being offers him advice, reminding him that "family is what it can be, not what it should be." At first taken as sappy sentiment, it's only when Billy is down and out that he realizes the truth of the magic, as the Wizard's secret spell. Embracing the rest of his foster family (something his villain would never understand) the new, re-imagined version of The Shazam Family is born, transforming all of the children into older, stronger, and uniquely gifted champions just like Billy.

Together, they manage to save the day, before returning all of the magic to Billy so he can take on the villain once and for all. And despite the film's best efforts, leaks and rumors hinted that the adult version of the Shazam Family would join the DCEU. In the end, it really did happen - and it was terrific.

Will The Shazam Family Be Stars of The Sequel?

Geoff Johns' long awaited follow up to that first Shazam run may provide some of the answers, if only in explaining how the kids moved forward from their brief experience as superheroes. With artist Dale Eaglesham, Geoff Johns has begun his new Shazam! comic series by confirming that it's no longer Billy who plays the hero. Whether it was explicitly agreed upon, or never needed be said aloud, all of the foster family children can now transform by calling upon "Shazam" as a group. But before fans can expect to see Shazam! turn from an origin story to a team-based movie franchise, the studio will need to see how the first movie performs at the box office.

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