This is indeed quite late, but I didn't see this thread on the forum. (Trust me, I searched.) As every single Viner knows by now, the, what seems like one month and four day old, Free Comic Book Day issue of DC's the New 52 was definitely not without its shockers. Yes, I know what anyone unfortunately bored enough to read this meek blog is thinking: "Man, I bet KnightRise is a handsome devil." Ok, jokes aside: I'm an 8/10...But seriously: I am. Anywho, back to comic book speculation. One of the biggest reveals was tenderly touched upon in G-Man's article. The issue revealed a group of ominous and adherently powerful players in the magical realm of the DCnU. Who are the Circle of Eternity? Specifically, what are the names of the higher beng that make up this diverse new Pantheon of gods? I've taken the liberty of dubbing them "the Magic Maestros" (Atentive readers will catch tthe two Hulk references). So, which gods are they? And what is their authority over magical affairs and the great and powerful wizard Oz Shazam himself? Its something that been driving me a little crazier than usual (So she grabs a kitchen knife to defend herself...) and rather than take an hour or two to Google ancient world gods, I'm presenting the question here. Who are they? Whoo-oo, whoo-oooo? (I really wanna knowww and I also love the Who.)

I'm seeing Mid Eastern (possibly Sumerian/Mesopotamian), Celtic (based on red-hair and flannel-patterned frock), Chinese, African/Aborhiginee, clearly Egyptian, clearly Japanese, and Meso-American.

Does anyone know for sure? Any mythology buffs that already googled all this? Any guesses? Hell, any comments? Anyone? At all? Please?

I'd say you've nailed the countries pretty well, but my only guess would be that the Egyptian might be Isis. Beyond that, this is going to be a wait-and-see thing. The guy in the middle has a lightning bolt on his chest, and the cape, although longer, hangs in a sort of Captain Marvel fashion. He at least may be connected to the SHAZAM acronymn. I'd speculate that they all are reinterpretations of the gods connected to the SHAZAM power, but there's one too many there for that to be so.

Actually, looking at them even closer, they've all got lightning bolts in their costuming (the Mid Eastern one we can't really see, but he has lightning/energy seeping from his eyes). Maybe these are a collective of lightning/storm gods, from various pantheons? If that's the case though, the Celtic one doesn't make sense, since Thor is male. Then again, the gods frequently changed their forms, even into animals in some cases. Maybe these days, Thor is a woman. That would certainly distance DC's version from Marvel's. ;)

@cbishop: I wish I remembered what i ussed to know abut ancient world. The only Japanese gods I remember are Izanami, Amaterasu, and Susanoo. Susanoo seems plausible for this, Raijin/Raiden too but Raijin is typically just a shinto spirit, not a god.

I think the Celtic looking woman could be pagan god from Scandanavian lore, so a Thor connection isnt out of the question. The Egyptian woman is probably Isis, which would add a new link to Black Adam

I'm not sure they're gods at all. Doesn't it say somewhere that they're all just high level wizards or something?

The only one I can guess is Shazam in the middle..everyone else..dunno, but they look awesome.

@The Stegman said:

The only one I can guess is Shazam in the middle..everyone else..dunno, but they look awesome.

I want to know who the one is to the left of the "Shazam" she kinda reminds me of Black Alice a bit.

@cbishop: yes, it could be that they're all lighting gods.

@AtPhantom said:

I'm not sure they're gods at all. Doesn't it say somewhere that they're all just high level wizards or something?

Or maybe these are all former champions of Shazam? Black Adam's body is apparently immortal - perhaps these folks are too?

@cbishop said:

@AtPhantom said:

I'm not sure they're gods at all. Doesn't it say somewhere that they're all just high level wizards or something?

Or maybe these are all former champions of Shazam? Black Adam's body is apparently immortal - perhaps these folks are too?

Thats a good guess, i see a warrior vibe on all of them.

@The Stegman: @Ms. Omega: They showed Shazam's mouth in Justice League 7, he looked white to me. The man in the center here strikes me as African- or Aboriginal-influenced from the clothing and tribal paint

@The Stegman: I think that the left bottom corner may be shazam, he has the closest resemblance, that or these are the gods that gave Shazam his power, and the egyptian one totally looks like isis

@Ms. Omega said:

@The Stegman said:

The only one I can guess is Shazam in the middle..everyone else..dunno, but they look awesome.

I want to know who the one is to the left of the "Shazam" she kinda reminds me of Black Alice a bit.

First thought was "she looks like Black Alice" lol

It could be the Shazam family from previous years. which its members also seem to make up the number of kids Billy Batson is also living with in his current foster home.... hmmmmm which is also multi-cultural.

Zeus is in the middle.

Maybe they are Gods, and the guy in the middle is Zeus (and the guy on the right is Oggar, since at first the name was Shazamo...).

But I think those aren't gods, but Champions. and the guy in the Middle is Shazam himself (well, he looks like him : http://www.comicvine.com/shazam/29-2365/all-images/108-199574/champion/105-1637509/)

Maybe at first each god chose one mortal...

@Lamenoire: @tgd124: @The Stegman: You're right, the one in the middle is Shazam. I'm guessing he looks ancient in present day because his magic is waning.

Here's a good mythology site that can help http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mythguide/mythguide.html and it incorporates a lot of info from Marvel and Dc Comics -

I think they're gods. The one in the middle could be Zeus, but might be an african god. He could also be shazam, but I thought shazam was white so don't think it is. From the right of him that looks like Isis, left is a Chinese goddess might be Lei Gong. The Japanese God is Susano, the celt might be Cerridean. Muslim and Mayan gods I have no clue.

The only one I'm sure is in there is Isis.