Yes, Shazam Can Fly! Here’s How Speed of Mercury Works
Have you ever wondered if Shazam can fly? As one of the most iconic superheroes in the DC Universe, Shazam possesses various incredible abilities, including superhuman strength, lightning manipulation, and the power of flight. But how exactly does his ability to fly work? In this article, we will explore the mechanics of Shazam’s flight and delve into the mysterious power of the Speed of Mercury, which grants him this incredible ability.
Shazam can fly due to the blessing of Mercury that he received from the Wizard. The exact mechanics of Shazam’s flight are obviously magical in nature, and a lot of fans have trouble understanding how flying and speed are connected. There’s a simple explanation for this, however, as the DC god of speed, Mercury (that shares many attributes with its Roman equivalent), was often depicted with a winged helmet, being so fast that he could fly. This is why Shazam’s superspeed also grants him flying abilities.
Now that we’ve briefly covered where Shazam’s flying powers come from, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!
Flying powers are often not explained in the comics
One of the most common superpowers in comics, in general, is the ability to fly, and some of the most powerful superheroes can do it. Even though it’s common, most of the time, it’s unexplained how heroes can do it.
Sometimes it’s obvious, like it’s the case for Hawkman, who is able to rise up in the air with the combination of Nth Metal and his artificial wings that allow him to steer. Sometimes accepting that the character can fly requires a stretch of the imagination, like it’s the case for Marvel’s Namor and his small pair of ankle wings. But most of the time, it’s a complete mystery, like it’s the case of Wonder Woman, Shazam, Black Adam, and numerous other heroes.
Most of the time, the only reasonable explanation we have is magic.
Shazam got his flying powers from the Wizard
Those of you familiar with Captain Marvel’s origin story are aware that Shazam was a young boy that got all of his magical powers from the Wizard. Billy Batson had a pure heart, so Wizard decided to bestow his powers upon him. All that Shazam had to do was invoke the Wizard’s name SHAZAM. This is an acronym for the name of six gods, and each of these gods is able to grant magical powers to Billy through different aspects of his being. Shazam has it at his disposal Wisdom of Solomon, the Strenght of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury.
The key to Shazam’s power of flying is in the Speed of Mercury, as this roman God of speed grants Shazam both his superhuman speed and ability to fly. But in the end, Shazam’s flying skill is like any other. Those of you who can recall the first Shazam movie remember that Shazam was extremely bad at flying until he mastered the skill.
Still, this might not be a good enough answer for some of the fans of this incredible character, as plenty of characters in the comics have super speed but are not able to fly.
How is Speed of Mercury related to Shazam’s flight
Super speed and flying are not inherently connected, and Shazam mostly flies through magical means. The Roman God Mercury, that granted his blessing to Shazam was often depicted with a winged helmet due to his association of “running so fast he can fly.” One notable character that carried the mantle of Flash in the past, Jay Garrick, had a helmet in a similar style, complete with small wings on the side, indicating his connection with the whole Mercurian theme.
Shazam is not the only comic character who got his flying power from the gods. Black Adam, his famous adversary and the former champion of Wizard Shazam, likewise owes his power of flight to a deity. The Egyptian God Haru is the God that granted Black Adam his super speed and flying.
Like Shazam and Black Adam, Wonder Woman owes her power of flight to a god, but the one from the Greek Pantheon. Over the long history of Wonder Woman’s existence, there have been several explanations and several theories about how she can fly, including technology and skills. Still, the current explanation is that she was gifted the power of flying by the Greek God of speed, Hermes, who is basically the greek equivalent of Mercury due to both gods having the same roles and serving as messengers of gods due to their incredible speeds. It’s also quite possible that Hermes also gifted his ability to fly to Ares.
All the stated characters are extremely fast, both while running and flying, and Shazam is no exception. He is one of the few rare speedsters in the DC universe that are not connected to the Speed Force.
