#eventually Bill and the League will settle into a strange sort of arrangement of letting him be independent but still giving him help

[redrobin-detective]

I know this is influenced by the Shazam movie (my beloved) but it still makes me sigh when I see posts about “oh Billy/Captain Marvel uses a lot of teen slang/ understands TikTok, memes and other child centric things adults don’t get.” Because while that’s fine, it’s the exact opposite of what I find so interesting about Billy.

We all flail about how Bill is a young child with immense power and responsibility but he doesn’t really act like a child. He was orphaned at an early age and cruelly abandoned by the man supposed to care for him. Bounced from dingy orphanages to abusive foster cares, seeing some of the worst of humanity and made to feel so unloved, he decides to make his own way on the streets. Despite all this loss and grief, Billy inexplicably remains good and kind. This is why he is worthy of being Captain Marvel, because beneath all his hurt and sass, he cares so damn much about the people around him.

So Bill becomes force for good and eventually joins the Justice League and they just, don’t know what to make of him. Because Bill is strange mix of child & adult, human & godlike being but even as himself, Billy is NOT a normal child. He’s worried about housing and food security, he’s thinking about the upcoming Midwest winter and his threadbare coat, he’s stressing about being a good influence as Marvel, about not screwing up on missions, about the latest supervillain threat to world. These are all very adult concerns that Billy, with his child body and underdeveloped brain are forced to deal with. 

So the League quietly tilts it’s head at Captain Marvel because he is a conundrum. He has such intimate insight into human suffering and has a wealth of compassion that leaves them breathless. But he has odd ticks, such strange, out of context smatterings of human culture (because Bill has been on the outside for so long and so out of touch with human people). It’s why they can never get a good read on Cap, because he doesn’t fit into any neat categories simply because Billy exists so far outside the norm. When the secret does come out, the largest clashes will not be over petty generational dispute but Billy’s lack of support, his unaddressed trauma, and the realization that this kid grew up way too fast and isn’t much of a child anymore and, after so long, resents being coddled. 

That is what makes Billy Batson such a fascinating, compelling character to me. Not simply that he’s a child, DC has hundreds of child heroes, but because Billy is an adult in a child’s body long before he ever becomes a child in an adult’s body.

#I try not to be bitter about it bc its a valid and fun interpretation of Billy #but god seeing posts where Billy explains Tiktok or w/e drive me insane #(I guess it strikes different after Shazam 2019 where he actually has a home and is surrounded by kids) #but whole *flails* adult/child dichotomy playing out both physically and mentally #like yes Bill can become a magical adult with magic and stable brain chemistry #but even as himself he's dealing with adult problems and managing himself #he maintains his childlike optimism the desperate faith in concepts like family and care and just general lack of knowledge #(not saying Bill is stupid but he has Wild gaps in knowledge like he knows intricate alien tech but struggles with fractions) #(simply bc he hasnt attended school in years and is missing out on actual instructions but has so much real world/JLA knowledge) #and you know we curse the wizard out for his minstrations #but i firmly believe Billy would have died without outside forces acting (he's too kind and kindness can kill) #but by bringing Cap (and Bill) to the JLAs attention he can now get care and support even if he doesnt want it #eventually Bill and the League will settle into a strange sort of arrangement of letting him be independent but still giving him help #Also once more will die on the hill of Billy existing around the time of Jay Robin #for many reason but one is Caps behavior reminds Bruce of something and it nags at him #only to find out the secret and realize oh OH Cap was showing the same signs of a homeless abused child that Jay had