In the old Captain Marvel comic books published by Fawcett in the 1940s and 1950s, Mary Batson was Billy Batson's sister. Billy Batson, of course, was given the ability to transform himself into the super-powered Captain Marvel by the ancient Egyptian wizard Shazam, whose name was the magic word Billy needed to say to cause the transformation. At the time he was first granted this power, Billy was an orphan living on the street, but eventually he was reunited with his long-lost sister, and she was granted a similar ability to transform herself into a super-heroine, Mary Marvel. Along with Captain Marvel, Jr., they formed the Marvel Family. In recent versions of the character, as published now by DC Comics, Mary has begun referring to herself as Captain Marvel, which is very confusing given that her brother also continues to use the name.