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Marilyn Batson is the biological mother of Billy Batson.
Biography[]
Family tragedy[]
Marilyn Batson once dated a man named C.C. and became pregnant at a very young age of seventeen, so she married C.C. Shortly after the birth of her child Billy Batson, she was kicked out of her house and C.C. ended up in jail, leaving Marilyn as a homeless teenage mother. Though Marilyn tried to raise Billy on her own, the pressure of being a young single mother soon overwhelmed her.
When Billy was three years old, Marilyn took him to the Chilladelphia Winter Carnival in Philadelphia, during which Billy was separated. Marilyn soon found Billy with the police waiting for her to pick him up, but she then decided to leave Billy behind hoping that he would be taken to a Foster home that could raise him better than she could. Marilyn then went back to using her maiden name to start a new life and never told anyone about Billy. She eventually fell in love with a man named Travis and he became her fiancé. However, it's implied he was a controlling and possibly abusive partner.[1]
A short-lived reunion[]
Marilyn is reunited with her son.
Billy would spend the next eleven years trying to find his mother, running away from multiple foster homes and often getting into trouble with the authorities. Eventually, Billy managed to find her with the help of the Shazam Family; however, Marilyn told Billy the truth about what happened eleven years ago and that this would not be the best moment for now since she predicted that Travis would not accept him to live together. Billy, heartbroken and shocked at this revelation, gives back the keychain that Marilyn gave him, saying she'll need it more than him and leaves her on his accord.[1]
Personality[]
Marilyn Batson appears to be a naïve and shortsighted, yet ultimately well-meaning teenager. However, her mistakes she made when she was young ultimately affected her entire life: she married a man who would become a criminal and she wasn't able to keep a house, so she was hardly prepared to raise an infant. This, coupled with her loneliness, homeless state, and young age caused her to doubt her ability to provide for her son, in spite of her making every attempt to do so. This led to her making a hasty decision to give him up, which she convinced herself was for the best. It is unclear if she was indifferent to his existence after that or if she simply wanted to let the past die out, but she ultimately moved on and fell in love with someone else. Ironically, he turned out to be a mean person as well, indicating she made one of the same mistakes even a decade after her family tragedy. Ultimately, her actions indirectly led to her biological son looking forward to a future far brighter than her own.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Father †
- C.C. Batson - Ex-Husband
- Travis - Fiancé
- Billy Batson - Son
Behind the Scenes[]
- Early plans for the character intended for Billy to discover both Marilyn and C.C.'s grave during the second act of the Shazam! film. Concept art was even drawn up of Billy standing in front of Marilyn's grave.[2] DC Films' head Walter Hamada suggested instead for Billy to find Marilyn but be rejected by her.[3]
- When Hamada suggested the idea to writer Henry Gayden he was initially opposed to it, due to how creatively risky the idea was. However, within an hour of attempting to write the scene, it apparently became his favorite scene in the film to the point that he told a producer that if the scene didn't work, the movie wouldn't work. Gayden's comments were apparently overheard by actor Marilyn Palmer, frightening and putting undue pressure on her.
- According to director David F. Sandberg, it was ultimately decided to keep his mother alive but unwilling to take in Billy to distinguish Billy's story from other orphaned superhero tales while also strengthening the theme of choosing your own family.
