A group of secondary heroes and members of the Marvel Family. The Lieutenant Marvels were published by Fawcett Comics and first appeared in Whiz Comics #21 in 1942.

Most of us have had the experience of meeting someone who has the same name we do. It is often a bit of a disconcerting experience. A shared name is the basis for the creation of the Lieutenant Marvels.

Billy Batson was a former paperboy and now famous radio announcer. Unbeknownst to the world, Billy Batson is also the alter-ego of the hero Captain Marvel. Because of Billy's fame, the radio station he worked for found three other men in the U.S. who answered to the same name as their famous announcer. The three were quickly given descriptive adjectives at the front of their names to distinguish them from their more famous counterpart. Tall Billy Batson hailed from the Lone Star State, Hill Billy Batson was from the mountains of Kentucky, and Fat Billy Batson was from Brooklyn.

Feeling a familial bond because of the names that all their parents chose for them, Billy Batson revealed to his namesakes his secret, calling out the magic word Shazam! and transforming into Captain Marvel. The three other men agreed never to tell a soul and went their separate ways.

Not long after, a group of villains were sent out to capture Billy Batson, but as their leader didn't specify which Billy Batson, he ended up with four. Like any good villain, he tied his victims to a conveyor belt with a sawmill blade and left them to their inevitable end. The sound of the saw drowned out Billy's cry of Shazam and so all four tried together. They were all transformed into versions of Captain Marvel, but the new ones kept their adjectives to indicate that they were not the original. So they became Tall Captain Marvel, Hillbilly Captain Marvel, and Fat Captain Marvel - the Lieutenant Marvels.

The three Lieutentant Marvels agreed never to use their powers without the original Captain Marvel, but later had to break this oath to help Billy Batson.

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