First version In
Whiz Comics #21, the name had been applied to the somewhat obscure
Marvel Family members known as the
Lieutenant Marvels. Three young men from different areas of the country (
Texas, the
Ozarks and
Brooklyn) all named
Billy Batson were reading
Captain Marvel’s comic book adventures and happened to wonder if saying "
Shazam" would work for them as well. As it happened, Tall Billy, Hill Billy, and Fat Billy all said the word at the same time and were each transformed into one of the Lieutenant Marvels, having powers akin to Captain Marvel. They could only change if all three said the magic word at the same time along with the real Billy (in later appearances of the Lieutenant Marvels such as
Shazam #30, this limitation was ignored, though none of them operated singly as a Marvel).
Second version The "modern" Squadron of Justice appears in one storyline, in
Justice League of America #135-137 (October–December 1976). Though the team was never called "Squadron of Justice" formally, it was referred to as "Shazam's Squadron of Justice" on the cover of
Justice League of America #135. Based on the parallel Earth known as
Earth-S, the Squadron's members are the following superheroes: King Kull plans to completely destroy mankind on all three Earths so that his subjugated Beast-Men could once again rule over all, as humanity had rebelled and killed most of then. Superman, Wonder Woman, Spy Smasher and Green Arrow headed to Earth-Two to battle King Kull's agents there:
Queen Clea of Earth-Two,
Penguin of Earth-One,
Blockbuster of Earth-One, and
Ibac of Earth-S. Queen Clea was planning to take over the entire continent of Atlantis (on Earth-Two, Atlantis had recently risen from the depths and was inhabited by two nations ruled by women; the inhabitants also learned to survive without mutating into water-breathers, like the inhabitants of
Aquaman’s city on Earth-One did). The heroes give a sample of the Joker's poison gas to Jim Barr (Bulletman) for analysis, as now Pinky's hair has also turned to diamond during the fight, but the analysis reveals that the gas was nothing but
nitrous oxide, which means that some other force is at work on all the inanimate objects. Bulletgirl and the Hawks review photographs from a news service of more super-villains causing trouble on the dark side of the world. The heroes of Earths One and Two identify them as
Doctor Light of Earth-One and
Shade of Earth-One. The flying heroes switch partners to hopefully confuse the villains, with Bulletman and Hawkman heading after the Shade, and Bulletgirl and Hawkgirl tackling Doctor Light. At the
Louvre, the Shade is causing all the figures in the classical paintings to become real people and move off their canvasses. Bulletman finds that as he gets close to any of the figures, his hand began changing, becoming two-dimensional. Hawkman's wings blow the painted people away, and the two heroes pursue the Shade. Bulletman uses his Gravity Helmet to repel the Shade's darkness cane from his hands. As Hawkman attempts to use it to stop the darkness (which is being caused by an overhead satellite), even the Shade is surprised that nothing happened. Hawkgirl and Bulletgirl face Doctor Light at
Yellowstone National Park. After Dr. Light's holographic duplicates trick them into the paths of some geysers, the two reach the villain, who is already petrified into solid stone. Bulletgirl's arm is also turned to stone when she gets too close. Light's duplicates are sentient and tell them to get Light's weapon to make a satellite "turn day back into night". One of the satellites is revealed to be acting as a second sun. Bulletgirl retrieves the weapon (apparently with her already petrified arm) and Hawkgirl shoots the gun at the satellite in the sky above them, but again nothing happens. As the heroes regroup to discuss their options, they decide to use each weapon to move the satellites until they crash together. The destruction of the two devices causes everything to revert to normal, including the transformed body parts of the heroes. The Green Lanterns, the Flashes, Ibis and Mercury headed to Earth-One, where an enlarged
Mister Atom of Earth-S and
Brainiac of Earth-One are attacking a futuristic model city called Tomorrow. A strange black feedback aura prevents the heroes from attacking the giant Mister Atom directly, and the Green Lanterns are able to trace the source of the aura to Brainiac's spaceship, hovering above the domed city. Ibis and both Green Lanterns attempt to stop Brainiac. Ibis creates an aura around himself and other heroes to protect them. The three speedsters work overtime, repairing the damage and saving the people that Mister Atom's rampage was endangering. Green Lantern of Earth-One passes through the side of Brainiac's ship and is subjected to the "Barium Effect", which transforms him into a living skeleton. Ibis arrives in time to stop Brainiac from killing the hero, turning the robot villain's own weapon against him. Ibis changes Green Lantern back to normal, and the two heroes destroyed Brainiac's machines, causing the black aura around Mister Atom to disappear. It is revealed the falling people are really being caused by the rotation of the Earth being increased by the speedsters as they try to repair the city as fast as Mister Atom can destroy it. The two Green Lanterns attempt to stop the device that is making gravity act strangely, while Ibis returns to the city of Tomorrow. Ibis is attacked by a blast from Mister Atom and stunned before he can finish instructing the Ibistick how to contain the robot. Mister Atom attempts to use the Ibistick to send the hero to a distant star, but a fail-safe in the magicks of the Ibistick cause Mister Atom to suffer the fate he had wished on Ibis. He is later returned by the evil alien worm
Mister Mind. Soon after, all of the heroes headed to the Rock of Eternity, where King Kull has the Elder Gods and Shazam as prisoners. Taking the lead, Superman flies inside. He is surprised by King Kull who has a hunk of
Red Kryptonite. The unpredictable element influences Superman's mind, filling him with a raging desire to kill. In the meantime, Mercury had sent Johnny Thunder to find the alter-egos of the Marvel Family, though they were first worried he would reveal their identities. After Johnny inadvertently says his magic word "Cei-U", his Thunderbolt appears and transforms the three kids into their Marvel counterparts. The Thunderbolt then takes all four heroes to the Rock of Eternity, where Captain Marvel knocks out the King of the Beast-Men, Junior destroys the Red Kryptonite, and Mary frees the Elders. Superman remains in a murderous rage; this dose of Red Kryptonite has also made him immune to the deadly effects of Green Kryptonite, which the Green Lanterns had tried to use to stop him (manufacturing it with their power rings). Remembering that Superman is vulnerable to magic, Captain Marvel flies directly at Superman and says his magic word "Shazam" as he approaches. The magic lightning breaks the spell of the Red Kryptonite, returning Superman to normal who saves Billy before he is injured from falling. King Kull is imprisoned with magic chains that supposedly even
Hercules cannot break, and the heroes returned to their own worlds. ==References==