The return of Freddy Freeman‘s powers, and a new attitude to go with them, is the focus of SHAZAM! #17. At the Rock of Eternity, Billy and the Captain meet Hephaestus who built the talisman Freddy found there fashioned from an alien and meant as a test to determine the worthiness of a hero and whether or not they can be corrupted by great power. So… what are the chances Freddy is found wanting?
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Billy‘s internal battle versus the Captain comes to an end, and it’s a good thing because the world being invaded by monsters needs all the heroes it can get. The finale of the arc reveals that the Captain is just an older and wiser, but not necessarily more intelligent, version of Billy Batson. Realizing he’s been fighting himself, and not some entity created by the gods, Billy speaks the magic word and gets back to work and helps push the invading monsters back to the underworld.
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Although Mary has successfully found Billy in the subway system, we don’t get an appearance by our Captain in this issue (except in the outside realm he resides between times Billy utters the magic word) despite a growing need for him the hero to appear. The Submen are invading our world, despite a captive Freddy Freeman‘s attempts to argue for peace by pretending to be the ruler of Earth, and without the Big Red Cheese to stop them what will happen to Fawcett City and the world?
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An Absolute Power tie-in issue, Wonder Woman #11 opens with Diana playing poker with an add assortment of characters including Billy Batson, Detective Chimp, John Constantine, Mary Bromfield, Madame Xanadu, and Jim Corrigan. Some robot, randomly quoting Charles Dickens attacks the group stealing power and magic from various characters as it continues to get stronger.
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The “Moving Day” arc concludes with a confrontation between the Captain and Billy Batson, the reveal of what the Big Red Cheese was attempting to hide and why, and a conclusion that puts the future of both characters in doubt. The action of the issue comes from real life crashing down on Billy as he makes a discovery about his birth mother. Tied to the Rock of Eternity, Billy’s strong emotions have negative impact causing cracks and fissures to form, enough of these finally shatter reality letting the monsters in and Billy calling on the help of the hero he left trapped back on the Rock.
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