Plot
Following events in Infinite Crisis where the wizard Shazam and the Rock of Eternity were destroyed,[10] Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel lost their powers.[11] Captain Marvel changes his name to "Marvel", assumes Shazam's role as caretaker of the remains of the Rock of Eternity,[12] and gives Freeman a quest to prove himself worthy of replacing Captain Marvel. Each of the six gods who contributed their powers to the hero — Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury — present Freeman with a challenge. As he completes each challenge, he is granted that god's particular power. If he completes all six tasks, he will take on the name Shazam. Zareb Babak, a demoted necromancer, serves as Freeman's guide during his trials. At the same time, a dark organization known as the Council of Merlin is backing its own candidate, a Creole sorceress named Sabina. If she wins the trials, she will earn the power of Shazam instead.
Freeman and Sabina compete equally in many of the trials, eventually becoming equal in power as each earn the various powers of the gods. When Sabina kills Atlas before completing his trial, Zareb convinces Apollo to take his place among the Shazam collective of gods. Freddy is able to claim the powers of Solomon and Achilles, but Sabina steals half the power of Hercules before he can share it with Freddy, Apollo divides his power between Freddy and Sabina as he resents being forced to take on Atlas's role, and Sabina steals Mercury's full power before Freddy can claim it. The competition culminated in a large battle, with Freddy, Marvel, and the Justice League battling Sabina and an army of demons summoned by the sorcerer Merlin, with the goal of sacrificing a million souls (by turning them into demons) to force Zeus to grant Sabina his power. By being willing to sacrifice himself to save the world by throwing himself into the portal used to summon the demons, along with losing the power of Shazam as a whole rather than let Sabina possess it, Freddy proves himself worthy of the power of Zeus, and Zareb reveals himself to be Zeus in disguise. Freddy says the magic word "Shazam" and gains the full powers of Shazam.
