Continuing our DC vs. Marvel series which started with Cyborg Vs Iron Man, it’s time for two divinely empowered beings to see who is worthy of the title of Champion of thunder and lightning.
From DC comics, imbued with the power of Greek and Roman gods, titans, demigods, and even heroes: Shazam From Marvel comics, the Norse god of thunder, the mightiest Asgardian, the son of Odin: Thor The two godly champions of Thunder and Lighting of DC and Marvel.
Origins
“Say my name so my power may flow through you. I open my heart to you, Billy Batson. And in so doing, choose you as champion.”
Billy Batson, an orphan living in Fawcett city jumping from one foster home to another. One day while being chased by bullies into a subway, Billy was magically transported to the Rock of Eternity where he was granted powers by a wizard who was looking for an heir who is pure of heart. Billy Batson was granted the powers of SHAZAM which is an acronym for the following: Solomon’s wisdom, Hercules’ strength, Atlas’ stamina, Zeus’ lightning, and thunder, Achilles’ invincibility, Mercury’s speed.
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall posses the power of Thor.”
In the comics, Thor was born to the Asgardian Elder god All-Father Odin and the Elder goddess Gaia centuries ago. He was brought up in Asgard under the tutelage of some of the best warriors in the cosmos. After attaining his famous weapon, Mjolnir the hammer, he was considered one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel multiverse.
Let the battle begin!
On any given day, both can easily beat each other depending on the versions we are talking about. Since both these characters have gone through multiple reboots, we will go with their most canon stories and feats from the comic books.
Round 1: Strength
Technically, Shazam has the strength of Hercules who once lifted the entire world on his shoulders like Atlas. In the comics, Shazam lifted a book containing infinite pages with the help of Superman. The book was said to have the entirety DC multiverse in it.
Thor was able to lift the Midgard Serpent which can wrap around entire world twice i.e. 900 miles wide and 50,000 miles long and weighs up to 17 trillion tons. Since, snakes can apply pressure 16 times the normal weight, Thor didn’t just lift it but also outmatched its constricting pressure of 272 trillion tons of force.
Winner: Shazam
Round 2: Speed
With the speed of Mercury, the roman messenger god, he can travel faster than the speed of light. In the comics, he was able to out speed Flash himself once. It is stated in the comics that he is faster than Superman who can perceive time in femtoseconds. Hence, that makes Shazam more than 133 trillion times faster than the speed of light.
Thor was once able to tag Quicksilver who can run up to 670 million miles per hour. Thor can move even faster than that using hammer, Mjolnir, which can reach the edge of the universe in a minute. Mathematically, it means he can travel around 500,000 times the light speed.
Winner: Shazam
Round 3: Durability
He went blow to blow with Superman on several occasions. He has also survived planet obliterating attacks from a being called the Void hound. He was able to put himself back together a bomb turned his body inside out.
Thor has also survived a bomb capable to blowing up a planet and withstood a dip in the sun which is about 27 million degree Fahrenheit.
Winner: Shazam
Round 4: Intelligence
Note: Knowledge is raw data while intelligence is the deep understanding of that data.
This power is very rarely used by Shazam. Think of it as him learning to fly. He has the potential but he needs to learn it. Solomon’s wisdom allows Shazam to read and understand various ancient languages including the ability to talk to animals.
Given his age, Thor should be the one more intelligent. While Thor may have the knowledge but he is often portrayed as a medieval knight who acts as a power house of the Avengers. He has been outsmarted many times by several humans. But his human form as Dr Donald Blake, gives him an easy edge over a teenager.
Winner: Thor
Round 5: Fighting Prowess
Shazam may have the power of several gods but in the end he is still a young teenager and mostly relies on his powers, not his fighting prowess.
Thor was trained by the best of the best warriors in Asgard, and has been a warrior for thousands of years with most of the time spent in battle fields.
Winner: Thor
Round 6: Weapons and Arsenal
Although, he has access to the Rock of Eternity, Shazam is not known for generally using any particular weapons.
Mjolnir, one of the best, if not the best, weapon in mythology. In Marvel comics, it was forged millions of years ago by harnessing a star, causing the star to explode and the fiery remains ending the entire dinosaur kingdom. Mjolnir is forged from Uru, one of the strongest metals in Marvel Universe also having magical properties. Mjolnir houses a cosmic storm whose might can shake (use synonym) black holes.
Thor wears the belt of strength, Megingjord, which doubles his already impressive strength.
Winner: Thor
Round 7: Better Foes
Loki, Thor’s adoptive brother in the comics has a love-hate relationship with Thor. Plus, there are a plethora of villains derived straight from the Norse mythology like Surtur and Hela and many Frost Giants, sometimes including his own ancestors like Buri.
Shazam has one notable villain, Black Adam which is a copy of Shazam himself but he derives the power from the Egyptian pantheon. His other villains include the likes Mister Mind and Dr Sivanna.
Winner: Thor
Round 8: Tricks
Shazam can share his powers with others he deems worthy and that is how the Marvel family came to be. He also has the ability to communicate with animals and resist magical attacks.
Thor can enter rage mode called “warriors’ madness” which increases his power ten times.
Winner: Shazam
Round 9: Weakness
Being a young teenage boy, Shazam is naïve and not as cunning as he might need to be in battle.
Thor has lost his hammer before. Anyone who is pure of heart can lift Mjolnir and even may use it against him. Sometimes the enchantment of hammer can be tricked like when Thor was holding on to it and Hulk moved his Thor’s arm, smashing the hammer in Thor’s face.
Winner: Shazam
Round 10: Lightning and Thunder
Shazam can generate thunder and lightning due to the power of Zeus surging inside him. Thor is known to because thunder and lightning and use them frequently with or without his hammer
The Verdict
Shazam wins by one round. Thor may be a god but Shazam has the power of gods, titans, demigods, and mythical heroes. His strength, speed, and durability are way ahead of Thor. Although Thor would put up a close fight Shazam comes out victorious 5 out of 9 times.“Here’s a thing about power. What good is power if you got nobody to share it with?” ~Shazam
