WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Future State: Shazam #1, by Tim Sheridan, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Marcelo Maiolo and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

Of all the superheroes active in the DC Universe, the one with the purest soul of them all isn't Superman or Wonder Woman, but Shazam. Possessing the heart of a child in his human host Billy Batson, the Earth's Mightiest Mortal has been identified as someone coveted by the DCU's evil incarnate for this untarnished soul before, most notably in the 1995 crossover event Underworld Unleashed.

And in the grim, dystopian timeline presented in Future State, Shazam might have sacrificed his soul in order to maintain his superhero status and defend the Earth by making a deal with his old enemy, the demonic Neron in Future State: Shazam #1.

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Future State Shazam Billy

Underworld Unleashed had Neron offer the various supervillains and heroes their greatest wish in exchange for their souls. As Neron rises from Hell to menace the DCU, word spreads that the devil is hunting for the noblest soul among the superhero community. Many of the heroes assume that Neron is searching for Superman, who was off-world at the time of the event only for Shazam to be revealed as the true target all along. The Wizard's champion weakens Neron with a magical lightning bolt and offers his soul in exchange for the release of his friends. Faced with a selfless wish, Neron is defeated and the heroes and villains are freed from Hell.

Future State revisits this confrontation with a twist: The Shazam Family's headquarters, the Rock of Eternity, now houses a particularly dangerous prisoner. Shazam is worried that if he transforms back into Billy Batson, the magical energy fueling his powers will redirect back to the Rock and be channeled to the mysterious inmate. Running out of options, Shazam arrives in Hell and makes a deal with Neron to separate himself from Billy, with Shazam and his young alter ego truly meeting each other for the first time. After having their first conversation, Billy begs his alter ego to prevent him from acting on his temptation to abandon his post guarding the Rock of Eternity and its prisoner in Hell. With that in mind, Shazam chains Billy to the Rock's gateway, leaving him at the mercy of Hell's demons as the superhero returns to Earth.

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Shazam Future State Billy Batson

Without Billy and his boyish innocence to ground him, Shazam is a much darker, more violent figure as he defends the DCU his way. The loss of Billy also robs Shazam of his personal connection to the rest of the Shazam Family, cutting off all ties with his adoptive siblings as he leads his own team to defend the world in the wake of a disaster at Titans Island. And well-aware of Billy's fiery fate in the bowels of Hell, Shazam no longer identifies as the young boy, sharply reprimanding anyone who mistakes him for his former alter ego.

For years, the one thing that Neron coveted the most was the soul of Billy Batson, the noblest, purest soul among the DC Universe's superhero community. And with the situation becoming increasingly dire in Future State, Shazam has decided to make a deal with the literal devil to keep a sinister villain locked away at the expense of Billy himself.

With such a steep sacrifice, the prisoner inside the Rock of Eternity must be an especially powerful one but, with Shazam now toeing the line of villainy himself, the price may not have been worth the trade.

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