Shazam possesses numerous superpowers given to him from several godly benefactors. In addition to the Wisdom of Solomon, Billy Batson also gains the Strength of Hercules, The Courage of Achilles, The Power of Zeus, the Stamina of Atlas, and the Speed of Mercury. While most of these gifts are fairly self-explanatory, a few require some additional explanation.
For instance, what does having “The Stamina of Atlas” really mean? In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan, one of the original gods punished by the new gods when Zeus and his brothers and sisters took over. Atlas was condemned to constantly hold up the world without any hope of relief. But while most depictions of the mythological Atlas show him literally holding up an entire planet, DC Comics offered a completely different take on his ordeal…
In The Trials of Shazam! Billy Batson ends up transforming into an even more powerful form when he takes over the Wizard Shazam’s old post and becomes “Marvel,” the new Wizard of the Rock of Eternity. Since the world still needs a hero to protect it, however, Billy reaches out to Freddy Freeman, who had once served as his sidekick Captain Marvel Jr., and askes him to take over as the new Shazam. Rather than simply give him some new powers, however, Billy informs Freddy that he must undergo a series of trials and actually meet the gods (who are walking among the mortals unnoticed) and prove himself worthy of their gifts. As Freddy passes each trial, he would become stronger and stronger – until at last he would gain full mastery over the powers of Shazam.
Freddy finds guides for his new quest and manages to acquire several godly gifts in this manner – but when it comes time for him to meet Atlas, he discovers the god isn’t at all what he expected. Rather than holding up the planet with the strength of his muscles, Atlas aids humanity in a very different way – by literally plugging his brain into a sophisticated helmet that connects his mind and power with every being and structure on Earth.
The helmet informs Atlas of disasters in the making – from a faulty plug about to start an electrical fire to a cop about to shoot an unarmed man (and trigger a riot). Using his power, Atlas subtly averts the disasters by stopping an electrical short or allowing the officer to see the man was going for his wallet and not a gun. He even averts natural disasters – by simply reducing the Pacific Ocean’s temperature by a few degrees and preventing a tropical storm from ever manifesting. Much like the mythological Atlas, the Atlas of the DC Universe never has a chance to rest but must avert disasters a constant basis, requiring endless stamina. However, when a villain seeking his power breaks into Atlas’ stronghold and murders the god, he triggers an event that could potentially lead to numerous disasters on the planet. To avert this, Freddy dons Atlas’ helmet and learns first-hand what it means to “hold up the world.”
As one might expect, the experience is – quite literally – torture. Freddy is forced to reach out to thousands of places and calm down a man’s road rage. He forces a fault line in Mexico to stop moving. He stops a woman from being beaten. He gets a doctor to notice a patient’s fatal allergy. He forces people to stay on the sidewalk to avoid being hit by cars. He cools winds, alters flight paths, and averts so many catastrophes by making the smallest adjustments that his resolve – so strong at the beginning, begins to crack as he starts to weep and go mad with the strain.
Fortunately, Billy arrives to relieve Freddy, letting him know that he can take over holding up the world. When Freddy asks how many months he was wearing the helmet, Billy informs him that he was only preventing disasters for three minutes, showing just how “heavy” the world truly is. While Billy uses his own enhanced might to wear the helmet and take over Atlas’ role, Freddy goes out to find another god – in this case Apollo – to take over Atlas’ role.
Realizing this means he will have to resign himself to a life of eternal torture and servitude, Apollo agrees – but challenges Freddy to a duel, letting him know that if Freddy wins, he will gain Apollo’s power to heal himself, allowing him to purge his body of fatigue toxins and grant him superhuman stamina, but if he loses, Apollo will go free. The two fight, with Apollo hoping to kill Freddy and win his freedom – but when the fight causes a disaster that endangers people, Apollo capitulates, unwilling to let innocent people die, and takes on Atlas’ role.
Strangely, then, while Freddy does gain superhuman stamina, his godly benefactor turns out to be Apollo, not Atlas (changing the nature of the “SHAZAM” acronym). Incidentally, Apollo, hoping to someday be released from his torture, actually only grants Freddy half of his power and gives the rest to Freddy’s enemy. While Apollo hopes this will motivate Freddy to find someone else to take on the mantle of Atlas, Freddy ends up defeating his enemy, taking all of her stolen power, and becomes the new Shazam. This seemingly dooms Apollo to an eternity of suffering – but the DC Universe soon reboots, possibly freeing him from his eternal servitude.
It's a weird reimagining of Atlas, but one that’s oddly fitting. In a world with beings like Superman and Shazam, seeing a man hold up the Earth isn’t particularly that impressive. Seeing a being resigning himself to an endless torturous existence of nonstop, unsung rescues, however, truly shows the pain of being Atlas – and the horrible price of being possibly one of DC’s greatest heroes that no one will ever know.