In this review of Shazam! #20, a problem arises when Jon Kent is struck by lightning and reverts to his 10-year old self.
SHAZAM! #20
Written by SINA GRACE
Art by DAN McDAID
Main Cover: GLEB MELNIKOV
Variant Covers: INHYUK LEE and MARK SPEARS
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: February 5, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Shazam! #20 starts off with a normal, average sort of day, with a bit of opening narration about how coincidences can shift someone’s day, perhaps even their whole life. From there, we pick up with Billy, Mary, and Mr. Dinosaur, trying to re-catch the low-level Jinn that was accidentally released when its cage was dropped. Billy goes through his transformation into The Captain, and the lightning from it also hits one in-flight Jon Kent, who just so happens to be flying overhead at the time.
The Captain chases the Jinn, looking to stop it before it could cause any real damage, before coming upon a now de-aged Jon. On the one hand, he, The Captain, and Mary would love to find out just how this happened. On the other, it’s seen as an opportunity for Jon to have some of the fun he’d missed out on in his initial childhood.
The next day, they start looking into retracing everyone’s steps. It turns out the Jinn is still loose, so they take care of finally catching that first. They then hit the theory that the mirror was involved. Billy goes for another transformation, and the mirror shatters. Jon is still in kid-form, and not entirely upset about it. Things had been sort of chaotic for him as of late, so it basically served as a break for him.
But he has found one thing about adulthood to latch onto, to make things make sense: his boyfriend Jay. Jay ultimately pitches in to help get Jon back to an adult form, before offering a suggestion nobody else had tried yet: using the transformation phrase, himself. This ends up working, and Jon flies off for some quality time with Jay.
Okay, so, starting right in on the artwork for Shazam! #20. The art itself is bright, clear, and immediately tells the reader that they’re in for a light adventure. If this issue had darker colors, more dramatic lighting, and a lot more detail, it wouldn’t really serve the story anywhere near as well as what it has now.
Shazam! #20 is about reclaiming that carefree quality that’s generally associated with being a kid, and the art itself is reflective of that. The expressions are well-done, and the poses nice and dynamic. The whole thing just exudes joy.
The plot is a somewhat familiar one: an adult being de-aged and experiencing childhood again with new eyes. But it’s always fun to see how different characters take to that experience. Some might outright panic at the prospect of perhaps reliving puberty, and some might outright relish being a kid again. This take on it also happens to have a dinosaur with a monocle, which definitely earns a few points.
Every so often, people need some relatively low-stakes entertainment in their lives, and this definitely fits the bill. Having done a bit too much doom-scrolling lately, this was a much-needed break.
Thinking about it, there’s a reason the “being a kid again” plot comes up every so often: adulthood is exhausting (particularly when someone’s a superhero and has all of that responsibility on top of the normal grown-up baggage). The narrative itself even leans into that, with the mentions of Jay dealing with some amount of trauma and getting some therapy to deal with that. He’s a normal dude, can definitely understand Jon taking that opportunity to escape the pressures for a bit (while still wanting him back to normal, of course).
Final Thoughts
Need a break from reality? Shazam! #20 is a bright and joyful little shot of wish-fulfillment.
