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Shazam (wizard)

Shazam (/ʃəˈzæm/), also known as The Wizard or Wizard Shazam, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics, first appearing in Whiz Comics #2 (February, 1940) created by C.C. Beck and Bill Parker.

A major supporting character in Shazam comics, he often serves as the wizened mentor of the character, Billy Batson, the alter-ego of Captain Marvel/Shazam, whom he shares his name with following the renaming of character in 2012. In his original depictions, Shazam (originally Shazamo) is an ancient hero and the guardian of the Rock of Eternity whom is of Egyptian and Canaanite origin. The character is later revealed to be named Jebediah, a young boy who was bestowed superpowers through the magical abilities of his Canaanite gods as the Champion. In his later years, he learned magic and became a wizard before he sought a successor and chose Black Adam, a native of Kahndaq (originally Egypt). However, Jedediah came to regret his decision upon Adam's betrayal, forcing him to banish him and chose another, eventually settling on Billy Batson and becomes a member of the Marvel Family as their mentor.

After Flashpoint, the character is initially re-introduced as a Kahndaq native whose magic led him to attain godhood before this origin was retconned, portraying him as Mamaragan, based upon the deity of Australian Aboriginal mythology, specifically the Kunwinjku culture. This version served as both keeper of the Rock of Eternity, an adjudicator of Earth's mystical matters, and protector of various realms thousands of years ago in the past alongside the Council of Eternity, joined by other wizards in which he led whom selected champions to represent them. Unbeknownst to them, a champion, Black Adam, secretly kills the chosen champion in secret to consolidate power for himself and ascends to be the primary champion and eventually betrays them, forcing Mamaragan to banish Black Adam. With no council or champion, the wizard seeks to re-establish successors to his power and Council. Mamaragan would reluctantly settle upon teenaged Billy Batson in the 20th century, who in turned empowered his foster siblings as the Shazam Family, the spiritual successors to the Council of Eternity.

The character of the Wizard Shazam has made appearances in various DC comics series and adaptations in different media. Notably, Djimon Hounsou portrayed him in the DC Extended Universe films Shazam! (2019), Black Adam (2022), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023).

Publication history
Created in the 1940s by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, he is an ancient wizard (Whiz Comics #2 gives his age as 3,000 years) who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into Captain Marvel. Despite the new comic's popularity and theatrical success, Captain Marvel was similar enough to Superman that a court ruled against Fawcett in 1952. Two decades after gaining the rights to Captain Marvel, DC Comics began publishing new stories under the title Shazam!. This became a problem for DC's lawyers, as the company had abandoned any rights to the Captain Marvel name, and it was now owned by rival Marvel Comics.

While not part of the first wave of DC's The New 52 2011 line wide relaunch, it was announced at New York Comic Con on October 15, 2011, that Billy Batson would be featured in a backup story, "The Curse of Shazam!" beginning in Justice League (vol. 2) #7 in March 2012. It was confirmed by Geoff Johns, DC Comics' chief creative officer and the author of the story, that Billy Batson's alter ego would be called "Shazam" rather than "Captain Marvel" from now on. In DC's, 2012 Free Comic Book Day offering called The New 52 FCBD Special #1, it was revealed that seven wizards representing seven different mythologies occupied the Rock of Eternity at the dawn of time in The New 52. They harnessed the power of magic to cast out a "Trinity of Sin", which acted as a precursor to the 2013 Trinity War crossover event. A younger version of the Wizard is part of this group of wizards.

Both the wizard and his champion shared the name "Shazam" in the comic book stories published from then until June 2013, but the Wizard later revealed that "Shazam" is an adopted name, and that his original name is Mamaragan.

Fawcett Comics history
Originally, the wizard's name was Shazamo, the last letter standing for the hero of magic Oggar. However, Oggar became corrupt and tried to take power from Shazamo. The wizard defeated Oggar and cursed him to live in the world of mortals. He was given cloven hooves as a sign of his inner evil, and could cast each magic spell only once. Shazamo then dropped the last letter of his name.

Shazam informs Billy that he is an ancient Egyptian wizard who has been using his powers for many centuries to fight the forces of evil, but that he is now old and not long for this world. He therefore passes along part of his power to Billy, who shouts his name– "SHAZAM!"– to transform into Captain Marvel/Shazam. He also then explains to Billy that his name: is an acronym for six ancient heroes. Each letter empowers him with certain attributes:

 * S The wisdom of Solomon;
 * H The strength of Hercules;
 * A The stamina of Atlas;
 * Z The power of Zeus;
 * A The courage of Achilles;
 * M The speed of Mercury.

Although Shazam is killed, as prophesied, by a giant granite block falling on him, Billy/Captain Marvel/Shazam can summon the ghost of Shazam for guidance by lighting a special brazier in Shazam's lair (the Rock of Eternity). More superheroes soon joined the superhero Shazam in carrying on the legacy of the wizard Shazam, including Shazam Family members Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. Shazam tells that once, 5,000 years before, he gave powers to Black Adam, but Black Adam was killed while turning back to his regular self. He died due to his advanced age. +In the Marvel Family series, he was shown in some early issues carving the Marvel Family adventures into the Rock of Eternity.

Post-Crisis origin and early history.
In a story written by E. Nelson Bridwell for World's Finest Comics #262 (cover date April/May 1980), his gave him a backstory in which he was a young shepherd who becomes the Champion, one of the world's first superheroes in ancient Canaan, over 5,000 years ago. By speaking the magic word "VLAREM!" (an anagram of "Marvel"). This background is later explored further in the Power of Shazam! series, in which detailed during his tenure as a Champion, At one point, the Champion is seduced by a demoness disguised as a beautiful woman, and the two of them conceive two half-demon offspring, Blaze and Satanus, much to the displeasure of the gods. The Champion later creates the Rock of Eternity from two large rock formations – one from Heaven and one from Hell – to hold the Three Faces of Evil, a dragon-like demon whose mother is the same demoness as the one who bore his children, captive. Shazam also later trapped demons of the Seven Deadly Sins in statues of themselves and imprisoned them at the Rock of Eternity.

Many centuries later, the Champion, now going by the name of "Shazam", feels the need to pass along his powers to a successor. He selects the pharaoh's son Teth-Adam to receive the power to become the superpowered Mighty Adam by speaking the word "SHAZAM!" However, Blaze interferes with this succession and Adam is given powers from the Egyptian deities instead. As her mother did, Shazam's daughter Blaze takes on the form of a beautiful woman and seduces Adam, convincing him to kill the pharaoh and take over the kingdom. An angry Shazam draws Mighty-Adam's powers out of him and into a large jeweled scarab, thereby killing Adam as he ages to death. Shazam then seals his remains and the amulet in a tomb. A wicked reincarnation of Teth-Adam named Theo Adam would steal the scarab many centuries later and use the power of Shazam to become Black Adam. Shazam was upset by this and did not consider passing on his powers for millennia. The wizard resurfaces as an aide on the 1940 Malcolm Expedition, one of many archaeological expeditions into the tombs and pyramids of ancient Egypt. The sarcophagi of Ibis the Invincible and his mate Princess Taia are uncovered and brought to the United States. Shazam follows the sarcophagi. Once they are on display at the Fawcett City Museum, Shazam uses ancient spells to resurrect Ibis. Ibis then joins Bulletman, Spy Smasher, Minute-Man, and others to fight evil during the World War II era. In 1955, a thug knocks a weakened Shazam across the head with a crowbar and causes him to lose his memory. A clueless Shazam wanders around Fawcett for the next forty years until C.C. Batson, a young man Shazam had met on the Malcolm Expedition, recognizes the old man and brings him to the museum to restore his memory. Shazam feels that he has truly found his successor in the upstanding Batson, but before he can act on this, a possessed Theo Adam murders Batson and his wife Marilyn for the magic amulet. He therefore decides to enlist C.C. Batson's young son, Billy, as the successor to his power.

Day of Vengeance
In Superman (vol. 2) #216, Shazam calls upon the Spectre to free Superman from being controlled by the demon Eclipso. This action breaks a covenant between Eclipso and the Spectre and sets Eclipso permanently at odds with the wizard. Possessing the body of Jean Loring, the Atom's ex-wife, Eclipso corrupts the confused Spectre into joining forces with her, and begins a war against all magic-powered beings in the DC Universe.

Because of his previous action, Shazam is one of the duo's primary targets. In the Day of Vengeance mini-series, Shazam enlists Captain Marvel to keep the Spectre at bay while the wizard gathers all of his power to battle him. With the assistance of the newly formed Shadowpact, a band of magic-based heroes, Captain Marvel fights the Spectre nearly to a standstill, but the Spectre escapes and makes his way to the Rock of Eternity to confront Shazam directly. While Shazam is preparing for his bout with the Spectre, he is confronted by Mordru who has just escaped the Rock of Eternity. Mordru and the wizard fight for a short time while the Spectre begins to approach, despite being delayed by fighting Captain Marvel. More concerned with escaping and staying out of the Spectre's way, Mordru leaves a slightly wounded and tired Shazam to fight the Spectre, who is already more powerful than him at full power. The Spectre overpowers the wizard, absorbs his magics, and kills him. As a result, the Rock of Eternity disintegrates above Gotham City into "a billion pieces" and explodes, freeing the Seven Deadly Sins along with many other demons and sending a depowered Billy Batson falling into the city.

In Infinite Crisis #1, Billy finds he is still able to transform into the Captain before he strikes the ground by saying the wizard's name as usual. It is also revealed that the entire affair was orchestrated by Alexander Luthor Jr. and the Psycho-Pirate to reduce magic to its raw form, the death of Shazam turning his name into a tether for the rest of the raw magic that Alexander could harness to power his tower by acquiring one of Shazam's champions, eventually forcibly 'enlisting' Black Adam for that purpose after failing to capture any of the other Marvels.

In Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special, the Shadowpact teams up with the majority of the DC Universe's surviving magical characters to rebuild the Rock of Eternity and reseal the Seven Deadly Sins. The final piece of the reconstruction, revealed by Zatanna, is that a new wizard has to be appointed to guard the Rock. Billy, as the only real candidate, is chosen to succeed Shazam as the Rock's new caretaker.

In the comic series 52, Captain Marvel is revealed to be currently headquartered at the Rock of Eternity, acting in Shazam's stead. He has already imprisoned the Sins again, although he claims they cause trouble at the full moon.

Earlier history
Since the character's reintroduction in the New 52, there have been multiple origins that give the character different backgrounds. However, notable events and elements involving the Wizard prior to Flashpoint have been incorporated into the modern version of the character over time. Within the comics, he is initially portrayed as a powerful wizard named "Shazam" hailing from the Middle Eastern/African kingdom of Kahndaq, giving the character an Egyptian-related background. He flees the kingdom prior to its turbulent history and subsequently becomes a member and leader of the Council of Eternity. However, his background was later retconned to reveal that he is actually the Aboriginal (Kunwinjku) deity known as Mamaragan. According to this retcon, Mamaragan's songlines guided him to a seat on the Council of Eternity, where he adopted the title of "Wizard" and later Shazam. Efforts have been made by other sources to reconcile the inconsistencies by suggesting that both origins exist within the DC Universe, but the latter is considered to be the character's true origin whereas the other is false. Another source indicates that Mamaragan was once a Kahndaq-born wizard whose magic eventually became powerful enough to become a divine being, making the character have both Kahndaqi and Aboriginal ties.

Eventually ascending to leadership of the Council of Eternity, the Wizard would adjudicate on Earth's mystical matters alongside peers he considered family. Noteworthy actions included punishing the Phantom Stranger, whose character is portrayed as an interpretation of Judas Iscariot, for his betrayal of Jesus Christ on behalf of the Presence. The Wizard also punished Pandora, based on Greek mythology, by granting her immortality and scars that constantly burn as a consequence of unleashing the Seven Deadly Sins upon humanity. In a turn of events, the Council and the Wizard experience a betrayal by Teth-Adam, a former hero who had previously killed the original champion in secret. Despite serving the Council for an extended period, Teth-Adam ultimately turns against them, leaving the Wizard as the sole survivor. In response, the Wizard makes the decision to seal Teth-Adam away, aiming to prevent further harm.

Shazam! (2013)
Many years later, the Wizard appeared before Pandora. He is very weak and tells her that he has just given his power to a new champion of magic who will take his seat on the now destroyed council. The Wizard says that he has come to tell Pandora that he and the council were wrong for punishing her. He says that the other two members of the Trinity deserved their punishment but she was just a curious girl and he asks for her forgiveness. He then tells her that she can no longer open the box and that what had been released could not be put back. But there was still power within the box and it would take the strongest of heart or the darkest to open it. Then the vision disappears before Pandora can find out who that person might be.

When Doctor Sivana opens Black Adam's tomb and frees Black Adam, the Wizard begins abducting people one by one via magic and bringing them to the Rock of Eternity to assess them for the job of inheriting his powers only to dismiss each of them for not being pure of heart. The Wizard then summons Billy to the Rock of Eternity as his last candidate, but upon meeting him sees how rotten a child he is and dismisses him as well until Billy argues that perfectly good people "really don't exist" and that the Wizard may never find what he is looking for. Agreeing with Billy and aware that he is dying, the Wizard sees that Billy has the potential to be good and passes on his powers to the boy by asking him to speak the magic word "Shazam" with "good intentions" as merely saying the word has no effect. After saying the magic word, Billy is struck by a bolt of lightning which transforms him into Shazam, a super-powered being possessing super-strength and flight. The Wizard then passes away and transports Shazam back to Earth.

Justice League: Darkseid War - Power of the Gods
After Darkseid's death, Billy Batson found his powers disrupted, forcing the formerly deceased Wizard to return to life and hastily brokering deals with other new entities. This later puts him in conflict with Zonzsu, who is revealed to be Darkseid's father Yuga Khan, as he sought a god whose acronym started with the letter "Z" per the "SHAZAM" acronym. The Old God attempts to steal the Wizard's power but is stopped by Billy Batson using the new powers he gained from the newly associated gods that patron his power and his knowledge of how the Magic of Shazam works. The Wizard then reveals that the final god who empowers him is none other than himself, Mamaragan, who explains his origin and state the two will now be closer to one another than ever, even If he comes to regret it. The two then set off to a new adventure, with Billy empowered by a new set of gods.

DC Rebirth
In the DC Rebirth relaunch, Mamaragan is depicted as an important member of The Immortals, a group established by Hawkman and Hawkgirl to delve into the mysteries of the Dark Multiverse. Mamaragan and the group provide guidance to Lady Blackhawk/Kendra Saunders, suggesting the use of the brain of the Anti-Monitor to eliminate the Dark Multiverse. Additionally, his knife is acquired by Batman and later by Talia al Ghul, as they prepare for the impending threat of Barbatos.

Shazam! and the Seven Magiclands (2018-2020)
Mamaragan later appears in the Gamelands part of the Magiclands where he picks up Pedro and Eugene. He teleports them to the Wozenderlands where he saves the White Rabbit from the winged monkeys that work for the Wicked Witches of the North, South, East, and West. Then he asks the White Rabbit where Alice is. As the White Rabbit comes along with them to meet up with Alice and Dorothy Gale, Mamaragan explains that all will be explained shortly. But right now, the trees are listening. While roasting apples and cucumbers at their campfire with the White Rabbit learning about Pedro and Eugene's experiences in the Funlands and the Gamelands, Mamaragan explains that the disruption in the transformation is on Billy's part as the seventh's champion needs to be found.

Mamaragan later teleports Billy, Mary, and C.C. away from Black Adam and the Seven Deadly Sins and brings them to the Wozenderlands. He then teleports the rest of Billy's foster family after Billy and Mary fought off the Cheshire Cat. After explaining that he needed Billy to believe that he passed away after their first meeting, Mamaragan explains that the error in the power-sharing spell is because of the conflict of his foster family and the return of C.C. where it can be remedied by sharing it with those that he deems family. Billy was able to remedy this by declaring that he'll share his powers with anyone he considers family. After the Shazam Family defeated King Kid, Billy brings Mamaragan the dinner that Tawky Tawny made. When asked about King Kid, Mamaragan states that King Kid has been returned to the Funlands where the adults will decide how to deal with him. He sends Billy on his way so that he can uncover the latest disturbance in the Magiclands. After seeing what he has to do later that night, Mamaragan strikes down C.C. as he states that he can't have him interfering.

Billy investigates what happened and asks Mamaragan why he struck down his father. Mamaragan claims that C.C. is corrupting the magic which will interfere in stopping the upcoming threat while claiming that he chose poorly with Billy like he did with Black Adam. The rest of the Marvel Family join in the fight and suspect that he is not the real Mamaragan. As C.C. regains consciousness, he informs Victor, Rosa, and Tawky about a vision he had about the Magic War where Mamaragan slaughtered creatures throughout the lands and sealed them off from one another. Billy and C.C. use their powers to send Mamaragan back to the Rock of Eternity just as Black Adam arrives. Shazam figures out that Mamaragan attacked C.C. because he is the actual host of Mister Mind and not Doctor Sivana as they have freed the Monster Society of Evil. When Mamaragan witnesses the spell that Doctor Sivana cast to bring the Book of Champions out of the Rock of Eternity, Mamaragan comments that he made a big mistake. Mamaragan watches the fight between Shazam and Mister Mind from the Rock of Eternity. Following the defeat of Mister Mind and Superboy-Prime, Mamaragan has left the Rock of Eternity. From an unknown location, Mamaragan states that he is proud of Billy and that he would eventually lead Black Adam to a full redemption.

Shazam! (2021)
Although the character does not make an appearance in the story, he is mentioned by Billy and an alternate version of Black Adam, known as Black Adam Jr. The simultaneous existence of the character leads to the events of Future State affecting the present time. In this altered reality, the Wizard is defeated by the Unkindness, a future version of Raven who has taken the Powers of Shazam from an alternate version of Shazam and additional powers from the Seven Horsemen of Apocalypse. The Wizard sends the future Black Adam back in time to prevent Raven from becoming the Unkindness, resulting in a cosmic cataclysm that displaces the Rock of Eternity from the center of the Multiverse to the depths of hell, causing disruption to the powers of the Shazam Family. As Billy teams up with the future Black Adam, it is implied that the Wizard had foreseen these events and that Black Adam Jr. was meant to protect the Rock from falling into the wrong hands. The transformation and shared nature of the power further complicate Billy's attempts to use his powers. Billy also mentions his familiarity with Hell, having previously encountered Blaze and Satanus, referencing events from the Power of Shazam! comics and restoring aspects of the Wizard's history from the Golden Age version of the character.

Infinite Frontier
During the Infinite Frontier event, the Wizard appears alongside other members shortly after the defeat of the Batman Who Laughs at the hands of Wonder Woman, who was chosen to ascend and was offered a position as a member of the Quintessence. Wonder Woman was wary the request, as she was informed of a grave threat appearing as a consequence of restoring the multiverse from the Batman Who Laugh's damage to it. The Quintessence claims they sensed no kind of threat but Wonder Woman nevertheless kindly rejected it to experience the new direction of the Multiverse herself. However, despite their claims, the group was later seemingly killed by an empowered Darkseid.

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022)
Later, it was revealed that the Quintessence was under the control of the Great Darkness (namely Pariah's manipulation of a fraction of its power), eventually leading to the seemingly death of the core members of the Justice League. At the end of the event, after Pariah's defeat and restoration of the Justice League members, the Quintessence, including the Wizard, was revived by the Spectre.

Black Adam: East of Egypt (2022)
In the Black Adam limited ongoing series. The "East of Egypt" storyline includes the Wizard in flashbacks set thousands of years before the present day, in which the events depicted are an altered version of the flashbacks depicted in Marvel Family #1 (December, 1945). These flashbacks also explore Black Adam's history as Mamaragan's champion, Mighty Adam, with several changes made to previous accounts expressed earlier in the New 52 and DC Rebirth, including the methodology of how Black Adam was sealed away. After killing his nephew Aman, Black Adam deceived the Wizard and kept the truth hidden although he remained suspicious. He later betrayed the Council of Eternity, eliminating the others but sedates Mamaragan through magical potions. As pharaoh under the name "Userkare," Black Adam was confronted by his vizier, Mereruka, who employed Ibac to force him to step down. Black Adam prevailed, but Ibac freed the Wizard and he banished Black Adam from Earth after a confrontation over Aman's fate, sent among the stars.

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods (2022)
In the Lazarus Planet crossover, the Wizard is unexpectedly ousted from his role as Keeper of the Rock of Eternity and believes Billy to be responsible. He aligns himself with Hera, who plans to depose Zeus and seek revenge on mortals. Billy and Yara Flor unite to stop Hera, but are surprised to find the Wizard on her side and Billy is subsequently depowered and captured. The Wizard is later summoned by Hera to enhance her powers against Wonder Woman, but when Hera's agenda becomes unpopular, he doubts her and abandons her. Billy later calls upon the Wizard through the Rock of Eternity, where it is revealed that the Wizard initially believed Billy had betrayed him. However, witnessing Mary sacrifice her powers to aid Wonder Woman, the Wizard realizes his mistake and deems Mary worthy to be the Champion. Despite his intention to empower both Billy and Mary, Hippolyta intervenes and chooses to bless Mary's powers through her and seven other gods. Both Billy and Mary regain their powers, with Mary's connection maintained through the blessings of the seven goddesses instead of the Wizard's magic, despite still utilizing the "SHAZAM" method.

Dawn of DC (2023 - Current)
In the Shazam! 2023 comic book series, the Wizard makes a brief appearance and is mentioned by Billy Batson as he recalls his transformation into Shazam. The series reaffirms Billy's previous origin of falling asleep in a subway, but with some subtle changes. These changes include acknowledging Billy's status as a foster child from his New 52 origin and expressing reluctance regarding the Wizard's intentions. It is revealed that the character eventually entrusts Billy with the Rock of Eternity, hoping that he will treat it with reverence.

Characterization
The character is depicted as an ancient wizard who bestows powers upon the superhero Captain Marvel/Shazam through his own magical abilities. Throughout the DC Universe, he is portrayed as a long-standing defender against the forces of evil, spanning thousands of years. While the character's histories and backgrounds differ between the original continuity (including Fawcett Comics) and the Post-Flashpoint era, these variations are considered the same character. A recurring theme surrounding the character is the search for a worthy successor to inherit his power. Due to his significantly advanced age, he is limited in actively engaging in combat himself.

Throughout the character's history, the Wizard is depicted as a member of the Quintessence, a council of influential beings within the DC Multiverse. The Quintessence is both renowned and considered among the most formidable entities in the universe. As such, the Wizard stands as a peer to other notable beings within the council, including the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre, with whom the Golden Age version has once battled and was retroactively revealed to be among the Lords of Order.

Significant relationships
One of the most significant relationships in the Captain Marvel/Shazam-related comic book series is between Billy Batson and the Wizard Shazam. The Wizard often assumes the role of a mentor to Billy and provides assistance in the form of a ghost when needed, utilizing his supernatural knowledge to aid the young hero. In the Power of Shazam! comic book title, the Golden Age version of the character extensively explores his connection with Billy. Alongside his mentorship, the character also expresses his thoughts on Billy's worthiness of his power and even acts as his guardian, assuming the identity of "Jebediah O'Keenan," posing as Billy Batson's grandfather. In the modern version, the Wizard's relationship with Billy Batson differs from previous iterations. Reluctantly, the Wizard grants Billy the power, considering his selfish tendencies resulting from a difficult upbringing. However, recognizing Billy's potential for goodness and influenced by specific circumstances, the Wizard chooses him as his champion. Writer Steve Orlando, discussing their relationship in Darkseid War, described it as initially antagonistic but evolving into a "pseudo father-and-son relationship." This makes the Wizard another parental figure in Billy's life, alongside the Vasquez family.

Powers and abilities
The Wizard Shazam is portrayed as a sorcerer with vast magical abilities and immortality. In a diminished state, he is only capable of utilizing thunderbolts offensively and advising the Shazam/Marvel Family. At the peak of his power, the character possess godly level magical abilities, in which includes reality alteration. Within the modern depictions of the character, he is described as transcending conventional notions of space-time, allowing for the simultaneous existence of different versions of him across the multiverse as a singular being and was potent enough to be one of the few characters to break Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth.

Powers of Shazam
The character's most reoccurring power is the Powers of Shazam, a set of diverse superpowers acquired from different divine entities and notable figures, such as Solomon. These combinations consist of deities and renowned figures, either from mythology or original creations within the DC Comics universe, whose names align with the "SHAZAM" acronym. They have the ability to grant power to a chosen champion, whether willingly or under the coercion of the Wizard. When a champion is empowered, the associated divine entities are bound by specific parameters and rules that govern their connection to the champion. Notably, the Golden Age version of the character uses a predated version of the abilities known as "VLAREM", in which the combination aligns within that specific acronym. Alternatively, while able to possess the power at will, the modern version of the Wizard instead ops out to broker deals with divine entities and grant other power.

Living Lightning
In the New 52, the Wizard Shazam is portrayed as the originator and closely connected to the Living Lightning, a unique form of magic in the DC Universe. The Rock of Eternity acts as a conduit for this magic. The Living Lightning can take the form of a lightning bolt or lightning itself and possesses a wide array of magical abilities. These include spell-casting, enhancing specific powers, and more. It is considered impossible to replicate, despite attempts by villains like Mister Mind and Ibac to gain its power through trickery or create inferior imitations. The Living Lightning has safeguards in place that deter usurpation, resulting in the slow demise of the usurper, even with the enhanced stamina provided by the Powers of Shazam. The Living Lightning is intrinsically tied to the Wizard, with the death of the Wizard would result in the and disruption and/or cessation of these powers for any chosen empowered champion lest he has chosen a new heir to bear the power.

Equipment and resources

 * Staff of the Living Lightinng: Mamaragan possesses a mystical staff that acts as a focal point for his powers, although he is not reliant upon it. Contrary to its name, as pointed out by Billy Batson, the staff does not actually contain the Wizard's power that grants the Power of Shazam.
 * The Wizard's Dagger: Mamaragan crafted a magical dagger that contains a portion of his magical power. Over time, the dagger has been in the possession of various individuals, including Batman and Ra's al Ghul, but it has since been reclaimed by the Wizard. The power of the dagger grants him the capability to defeat powerful gods, as exemplified by his use of it to fulfill Hera's request to slay Zeus.

Other versions

 * In the Kingdom Come reality, Shazam is a member of the Quintessence and has been displeased that Billy Batson has been corrupted by Lex Luthor's influence.
 * In the Flashpoint timeline, the power of the six Elders is divided up between six children who say Shazam together to transform into Captain Thunder, similar to the Lieutenant Marvels. They claim to have gotten on the subway car to Shazam's lair.

Marvel (Billy Batson)
After the events of Infinite Crisis, Billy assumes the role of the wizard Shazam, now known as Marvel, while Freddy Freeman, without powers, attempts to prove himself worthy of the Shazam powers and becomes the new Captain Marvel. Mary loses her powers and falls into a coma but later accepts power from Black Adam. In this new incarnation, Shazam resembles the original Captain Marvel, with only having long, white hair.

During the Trials of Shazam!, Sabina gains some Powers of Shazam with the help of the Council of Merlin. She kills Atlas, leading Freddy and Marvel to temporarily shoulder Atlas's burden. Freddy convinces Apollo to take on Atlas's burden, but Apollo shares his powers with Freddy and Sabina out of bitterness. Sabina and the Council of Merlin plot to assault New York City to disrupt the magical balance. The Justice League intervenes, and Freddy battles Sabina. Freddy sacrifices himself and is deemed the most worthy by Zeus, who grants him the full power of Shazam. Sabina is killed, and the demons disappear.

Later, Black Adam, Isis, and the corrupted Mary Marvel take control of the Rock of Eternity. Billy and Mary's father recruits Jay Garrick to retrieve Shazam's spirit from the Rock of Finality. Shazam is restored, removes powers from Isis and the Marvels, and turns Black Adam and Adrianna to stone. Shazam cuts off Billy and Mary's access to his power, returns Stargirl to Earth, and mentions dealing with Freddy before closing the Rock of Eternity.

Television

 * Shazam appears in The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
 * Shazam appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Power of Shazam!", voiced by Jim Piddock.
 * Shazam (referred to as "The Wizard") appears in the Justice League Action episode "Classic Rock", voiced by Carl Reiner. This version is shown to still be alive. He is banished from the Rock of Eternity and stripped of his powers by Black Adam, but eventually returns with Batman's help, defeating Adam and sending him to the edge of the galaxy.
 * Shazam appears in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Little Elvis", voiced by John DiMaggio.

Animated

 * Shazam appears in the short film Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, voiced by James Garner. This version is regretful for giving Black Adam his powers, and as such imprisoned himself in a cave after empowering Billy Batson.
 * Shazam appears in Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High, voiced by Khary Payton.
 * Shazam is featured in the LEGO films Lego DC Batman: Family Matters and Lego DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters, voiced by Ralph Garman.

Live-action

 * Shazam appears in the film serial Adventures of Captain Marvel, portrayed by Nigel De Brulier.
 * Shazam appears several films set in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), portrayed by Djimon Hounsou. Originally, Ron Cephas Jones was intended to play the character, but had to step down due to scheduling conflicts. This version of the character is inspired based upon the earlier New 52 version.
 * The character is introduced in the 2019 film Shazam!. This version considered Doctor Sivana to be his successor, but rejected him after he was corrupted by the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. Years later, Doctor Sivana returns to Rock of Eternity, frees the Enemies, and defeats Shazam using their power. Subsequently, Shazam chooses Billy Batson as his successor before seemingly dying as he crumbles to dust.
 * Shazam makes a cameo appearance in Black Adam. He and the Council of Wizards were responsible for empowering Hurut to be Kahndaq's champion until he was killed by King Ak-Ton's assassins while reviving his father Teth-Adam with his power. Shazam was the sole survivor of the Council of Wizards after Teth-Adam attacked them in rage when they deemed him unworthy of his power following his massacre of King Ak-Ton and his followers. He imprisoned Teth-Adam within what would become the tomb for both Adam and the Crown of Sabbac.
 * Shazam returns in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Here, he is revealed to be alive, but was imprisoned in the God Realm of the Daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso. They recover his staff in the Acropolis Museum and force him to repair it so they can regain their powers. Shazam then enters Billy's dream to warn him about the Daughters of Atlas, later learning that he broke the staff to separate the God's Realm from Earth. Later, the Wizard meets Freddy Freeman, who is also a prisoner, and the two escape with the help of Atlas's third daughter, Anthea, and reunites with Billy and the Shazam Family. After escaping and Billy's brothers (except him) losing his powers to Kalypso, the Wizard tells him that he chose Billy because of his selflessness and concern for his family and that he must accept himself as a true hero. Later, before a monster attack in the city, the Wizard helps the children to ride unicorns to scare them away. After Kalypso and her monsters were defeated by the Shazam Family and Billy, who also sacrificed his life, he was brought into the God's Realm to attend his funeral with the depowered staff. After Wonder Woman appears and restores the staff's power with her residual power of Zeus, this act revived both Billy and the powers once lost in the God's Realm, including Anthea. The Wizard gives the staff, and Billy uses the staff to restore the powers of his foster siblings. In the aftermath, the Wizard visits Billy's family and Anthea before reclaiming his staff and leaving to travel the world.

Video games

 * Shazam appears in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, voiced by Joe J. Thomas. After Captain Marvel fended off Raiden, the presence of Shazam appears and tells him that Dark Kahn is behind the DC and Mortal Kombat universes merging and that Darkseid's essence has merged with evil magic from the other world. Shazam then tells Captain Marvel to help defeat Dark Kahn by gathering an "army of both dark and light" to fight him before the world merge is complete enough for the Kombat Rage to consume every living being on both worlds. In Superman's ending, Superman seeks the aid of Shazam to help him prepare for any protection against future magical threats, having him create a new costume for him that gives him immunity to magic. In Captain Marvel's ending, Shazam guides him through a focusing ritual to regain control of his powers.
 * Shazam appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * Shazam appears as a support card in the mobile version of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
 * Shazam appears as a playable character and boss in Lego DC Super Villains.

title: Shazam (wizard)


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Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein

Mölln is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by several small lakes (Stadtsee, Schulsee, Ziegelsee, Hegesee, Schmalsee, Lütauer See, Drüsensee, and Pinnsee). The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town. Mölln belongs to the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg.

History
The town was founded in the 12th century. It rapidly became an important town, due to the Old Salt Route, through which the salt produced in the salt mines of Lüneburg (Lower-Saxony) was shipped to the Baltic harbour of Lübeck, and the Stecknitz Canal, which was a precursor of today's Elbe-Lübeck Canal. Although situated in the midst of the medieval duchy of Lauenburg, the town was mortgaged to the Hanseatic town of Lübeck, which ruled Mölln from 1359 to 1683. Back from this time dates the Möllner Schützengilde von 1407 e.V. which was founded over 600 years ago and still exists today with almost 300 members.

Mölln calls itself the Eulenspiegel town, because of Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought. Eulenspiegel is said to have lived in Braunschweig (Brunswick), but his last year of life he allegedly resided in Mölln. He died from the plague in 1350. Although his existence is not proven, there are several monuments to him in Mölln.

In 1992, right-wing extremists set fire to Turkish-inhabited houses, killing three girls.

Twin cities

 * Hagenow, Germany, since October 2, 1990
 * Maszewo (gmina, West Pomeranian), Poland, since June 29, 1992.

Notable people

 * Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728–1788), composer and noted keyboard virtuoso.
 * Karl Gatermann the Elder (1883–1959), painter and graphic artist
 * Willi Padge (1943–2023), coxswain, and team gold medallist in rowing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
 * Thomas Ahrens (born 1948), coxswain, and team silver medallist in rowing at the 1964 Summer Olympics
 * Axel Meyer (born 1960), evolutionary biologist and professor of zoology at the University of Konstanz

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein


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Gay bashing

Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBT people and LGBT bullying. The term covers violence against and bullying of people who are LGBT, as well as non-LGBT people whom the attacker perceives to be LGBT.

Physical gay bashings sometimes involve extreme violence or murder motivated by the victim's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

LGBT youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBT youth, particularly in schools. Victims of LGBT bullying may feel unsafe, resulting in depression and anxiety, including increased rates of suicide and attempted suicide. LGBT students may try to pass as heterosexual to escape the bullying, leading to further stress and isolation from available supports. Support organizations exist in many countries to prevent LGBT bullying and support victims. Some jurisdictions have passed legislation against LGBT bullying and harassment.

Violence
LGBT people frequently experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws prescribing punishment for homosexual acts, or by individuals. It may be motivated by biphobia, gayphobia, homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia. Influencing factors may be cultural, religious, or political mores and biases.

Bullying
Bullying of LGBT people, particularly LGBT youth, involves intentional actions toward the victim, repeated negative actions by one or more people against another person, and an imbalance of physical or psychological power.

LGBT youth are more likely to report bullying than non-LGBT youth. In one study, boys who were bullied with taunts of being gay suffered more bullying and more negative effects compared with boys who were bullied with other categories of taunting. Some researchers suggest including youth questioning their sexuality in any research on LGBT bullying because they may be as susceptible to its effects as LGBT students.

title: Gay bashing


text:
Digit ratio

The digit ratio is the ratio taken of the lengths of different digits or fingers on a hand.

The most commonly studied digit ratio is that of the 2nd (index finger) and 4th (ring finger), also referred to as the 2D:4D ratio, measured on the palm side. It is proposed that the 2D:4D ratio indicates the degree to which an individual has been exposed to androgens during key stages of fetal development. A lower ratio has been associated with higher androgen exposure, which would be the physiological norm for males but may also occur in some exceptional circumstances in females. The latter include developmental disorders such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

The 2D:4D ratio has been postulated to correlate with a range of physical and cognitive traits in childhood and adulthood, including personality traits, such as assertiveness in women, aggressiveness in men and cognitive abilities such as numerical skills. It has also been shown to vary considerably between racial groups with males having, on average, lower 2D:4D ratio than females.

Studies in this field have drawn criticism over questionable statistical significance and difficulties in reproducing their findings as well as lack of high quality research protocols.

Measurement
The 2D:4D ratio is calculated by dividing the length of the index finger by the length of the ring finger of the same hand. Other digit ratios are also calculated similarly in the same hand.

The digit length is typically measured on the palmar (ventral, "palm-side") hand, from the midpoint of the bottom crease to the tip of the finger. Measurement of the digits on the dorsal ("back-side") hand, from the tip of the finger to the proximal phalange-bone protrusion (which occurs when digits are bent at 90 degrees to the palm) has also recently gained acceptance. A study has shown that, compared to the palmar digit ratio, the dorsal digit ratio is a better indicator of bone digit ratio. Furthermore, the palmar digit ratio is affected by the differential positioning of flexion creases.

It has been alleged that, because academics have accepted a variety of techniques and equipment (such as calipers, radiography and photocopy), researchers record multiple measurements and report only those which have significant findings, a form of reporting bias.

History of research
Various reports in the scientific literature of the late 1800s noted that a greater proportion of men have shorter index fingers than ring fingers as compared to women. By 1930, statistically significant sex differences in digit ratio were established in a sample of 201 men and 109 women, after which time the sex difference appears to have been largely forgotten or ignored.

In 1983, Glenn Wilson of King's College London published a study examining the correlation between assertiveness in women and their digit ratio, which found that women with a lower 2D:4D ratio reported greater assertiveness. This was the first study to examine the correlation between digit ratio and a psychological trait within members of the same sex. Wilson proposed that skeletal structure and personality were simultaneously affected by sex hormone levels in utero.

In 1998, John T. Manning and colleagues reported the sex difference in digit ratios was present in two-year-old children and further developed the idea that the index was a marker of prenatal sex hormones. Since then, research on the topic has burgeoned around the world.

2D:4D digit ratios have been used alongside other methods in an attempt to understand Palaeolithic hand stencils found in prehistoric European and Indonesian cave painting.

Sexual dimorphism and age
Studies measuring the 2D:4D of fetuses have found the ratio to be sexually dimorphic, being lower in males than females.

However, when examining the extent of sexual dimorphism evident after birth, adults were found to demonstrate more dimorphism than children, who show the same extent of dimorphism as fetuses. This has led the authors to suggest that digit ratio is also affected by postnatal development. Similarly, a study of people from Poland found statistically significant variation in 2D:4D between age groups (children, young adults and adults) for both males and females in the left hand, but only for women with the right hand.

Sexual dimorphism is strongest in digit ratios involving digit 2 with palmar measurements. However, when measured dorsally, digit ratios involving digit 5 showed strongest dimorphism, with women having shorter fifth digits on average. Overall, dorsal digit ratios demonstrate stronger sexual dimorphism than palmar digit ratios, including the palmar 2D:4D ratio that has been the basis of most study. Moreover, compared to palmar digit ratio, dorsal digit ratio is a better indicator of bone digit ratio. Thus, while most of the earlier research has focused on palmar 2D:4D ratio, study of other digit ratios is also promising.

A 2009 study in Biology Letters argues: "Sexual differences in 2D:4D are mainly caused by the shift along the common allometric line with non-zero intercept, which means 2D:4D necessarily decreases with increasing finger length, and the fact that men have longer fingers than women", which the authors claim may be the basis for the sex differences in 2D:4D and/or any putative hormonal influence on the ratios.

There has been no reliable correlation reported between 2D:4D and sex hormone levels in adulthood. Marta Kowal has suggested that testosterone levels are correlated with other factors (such as smoking, body weight and diet) that would impact the relationship between 2D:4D and an adult's testosterone level.

Effect of prenatal hormones
It has been proposed that 2D:4D ratio is affected by fetal exposure to sex hormones, in particular to testosterone and other androgens. Lower 2D:4D is found to correlate with higher prenatal androgen exposure. Therefore digit ratio could be considered a proxy variable (indirect measure) for prenatal androgen exposure. Various studies suggest that 2D:4D is also influenced by prenatal estrogen exposure, and that it correlates negatively, not with prenatal testosterone alone, but with the testosterone-to-estrogen ratio.

Prenatal hormone exposure can be measured via amniocentesis (usually performed between 14th and 20th weeks of pregnancy), maternal serum sampling and umbilical cord sampling at birth, the latter being a measure of exposure in late gestation. A 2024 meta-analysis has suggested that digit ratio may be related to amniotic fluid testosterone levels, but not umbilical cord levels, requiring further validation.

A 2011 paper by Zhengui Zheng and Martin J. Cohn reports that "the 2D:4D ratio in mice is controlled by the balance of androgen to estrogen signaling during a narrow window of digit development". The formation of the digits in humans, in utero, is thought to occur by 13 weeks, and the bone-to-bone ratio is consistent from this point into an individual's adulthood. If, during this period, the fetus is exposed to androgens (levels of which are usually far higher in male than female fetuses) the growth rate of the 4th digit is increased. In a 2006 study, digit ratio analysis of opposite-sex dizygotic twins found that the females in these pairings were born with significantly lower 2D:4D ratio, postulated to occur from exposure to excess androgens from their brothers in utero (the hormone-transfer theory). However, an attempt to replicate these findings with a larger sample of dizygotic twins (867 individuals) found no differences in the variance or co-variance of same-sex and opposite-sex pairings to support the theory, though it did confirm female 2D:4D to be significantly higher than male as expected.

Researchers have raised concerns that, although the general trend points towards a correlation between digit ratio and early androgen exposure, many results have not been statistically significant.

Various findings have also challenged the general trend. One study of 66 children that attempted to replicate the findings of a frequently cited paper on the topic found no association between prenatal testosterone and estrogen levels and 2D:4D in childhood. Another paper also found no relationship between 2D:4D ratios and umbilical cord androgen and estrogen levels. A large meta-analysis studying genomic correlations was unable to find evidence for 2D:4D being a marker for prenatal androgen exposure, but did not exclude the possibility given constraints in genomic knowledge (with 3.8% of the variance in 2D:4D ratio accounted for genetically).

Developmental disorders
Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), who have elevated androgen levels before birth, have lower (more masculine) 2D:4D on average  along with other possible physiological effects such as an enlarged clitoris and shallow vagina. Males with CAH also express lower digit ratios than controls. Amniocentesis samples in males with CAH show that prenatal levels of testosterone are in the high-normal range and levels of the weaker androgen androstenedione are several fold higher than in controls,  indicating that males with CAH are exposed to greater prenatal concentrations of total androgens.

A greater (more feminine) digit ratio occurs for men with Klinefelter's syndrome, who have reduced testosterone secretion throughout life compared to their fathers or to controls.

Digit ratio in men may correlate with genetic variation in the androgen receptor gene. Men with genes that produce androgen receptors that are less sensitive to testosterone (because they have more CAG repeats) have greater digit ratios, though there have also been reports of failure in replicating this finding. Men with less sensitive androgen receptors may compensate for this by secreting more testosterone via reduced inhibitory feedback on gonadotropins. Thus, it is not clear that 2D:4D would be expected to correlate with CAG repeats, even if it accurately reflects prenatal androgen.

XY individuals with androgen insensitivity syndrome due to a dysfunctional gene for the androgen receptor present as women and have greater digit ratios on average, as would be predicted if androgenic hormones affect digit ratios. This finding suggests that the sex difference in digit ratios may be unrelated to the Y chromosome per se.

Geographic and ethnic variation
Several studies have presented evidence that digit ratios are heritable.

Manning and colleagues have reported that 2D:4D ratios vary greatly between different ethnic groups. In a study of Han, Berber, Uygur and Jamaican children, Manning et al. found that Han children had the highest mean values of 2D:4D (0.954±0.032). They were followed by the Berbers (0.950±0.033), then the Uygurs (0.946±0.037) and the Jamaican children had the lowest mean 2D:4D (0.935±0.035). This variation is far larger than the differences between sexes; in Manning's words, "There's more difference between a Pole and a Finn, than a man and a woman."

In 2007, Manning et al. reported further evidence of ethnic variation in mean 2D:4D, with higher ratios for Whites, non-Chinese Asians and Middle-Easterners, and lower ratios in Chinese and Black samples. A 2008 study by Lu et al. found that the mean values of 2D:4D of the Hui and the Han in Ningxia were lower than those in European countries like Britain.

Two studies explored the question of whether geographical differences in 2D:4D ratios were caused by gene pool differences or whether some environmental variable associated with latitude might be involved (e.g., exposure to sunlight or different day-length patterns). The conclusions were that geographical differences in 2D:4D ratio were caused by genetic pool differences, not by geographical latitude.

Consanguineous parentage (inbreeding) has been found to lower the 2D:4D ratio in offspring, which may account for some of the geographical and ethnic variation in 2D:4D ratios, as consanguinity rates depend on, among others, religion, culture, and geography.

Cognitive and physical traits
The 2D:4D ratio has been associated with a variety of traits including academic ability, personality as well as physical attributes such as health outcomes. Lower (masculinized) 2D:4D ratios have been associated with higher mathematical ability as well as personality traits such as aggressiveness (in males), assertiveness (in females) and reduced agreeableness. Males with higher (feminized) ratios are reported to be more at risk of low sperm counts, heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome and depression than those with lower ratios. Females with higher ratios are more at risk of eating disorders, anxiety and depression.

Prenatal androgen exposure has been implicated as a determinant in left-handedness, though contradictory and inconclusive findings have been reported concerning an association between 2D:4D and left-hand dominance. Kumar et al. have reported that hand preference is most strongly associated with 3D:4D digit ratios and that the effect is reversed between children and adults.

Fink et al. (2004) found that men with low 2D:4D ratios (indicating high testosterone) and women with high 2D:4D ratios (indicating high estrogen) express greater levels of facial symmetry. The prenatal sex hormone ratio (indicated by 2D:4D) was associated with similar alterations to both male and female face shapes in utero, though the effect was three times more pronounced in males than in females.

In a non-clinical sample of women, digit ratio correlated with anogenital distance in the expected direction. In other words, women with a greater anogenital distance, indicating greater prenatal androgen exposure, had a smaller digit ratio. Ronalds et al. (2002) showed that men who had an above average placental weight and a shorter neonatal crown-heel length had higher 2D:4D ratios in adult life.

In 2020, a paper by John T Manning and Bernhard Fink reported that at the national level, high mean male 2D:4D was associated with high case fatality rates with COVID-19, and suggested that this may be used to "identify for whom it would be advisable to exercise social distancing." Subsequent researchers failed to replicate their findings, and criticised Manning and Fink for publishing papers that fail under scrutiny despite the urgent need for high quality science during the pandemic that informs medical decisions.

Explanation of the digit ratio effect
The mechanisms by which prenatal hormones influence digit ratio are not clearly understood. Traits such as otoacoustic emissions and arm-to-trunk length ratio are also influenced by prenatal hormones, and it is postulated that Hox genes responsible for both digit and penis development play an important role in affecting these multiple traits (pleiotropy). Direct effects of sex hormones on bone growth might be responsible, either by regulation of Hox genes in digit development or independently of such genes.

Though it is unclear why the digit ratio on the right hand should be more sensitive to prenatal hormones than that on the left hand, as indicated by the greater sex difference on the right than the left, these differences are not evident in dorsal measurements nor bone digit ratios, and it is possible that right-left differences in palmar 2D:4D may be attributed to differential placing of flexion creases.

Criticism
The credibility of research into the relationship between digit ratios and traits has been subject to criticism for various reasons.

 * 1) Weaknesses in the statistical significance of numerous findings.
 * 2) Irreproducibility of findings in many instances, with some studies reporting contradictory results.
 * 3) Lack of a clear cause-and-effect relationship between digit ratio and traits.

Concerning the evidence for causal relationships, the reliability of digit ratio as a proxy variable has come under scrutiny. Some studies that investigate the relationship between a trait and an unobservable variable fail to consider possible confounding variables. This is especially problematic in cases where the relationship is likely to be weak, such as with prenatal testosterone. Furthermore, critics have pointed out that controlling for confounding variables is an impossible task due to the expanding list of confounding variables, including ethnicity, sex, and physical, medical or behavioral conditions.

A 2021 paper by James Smoliga, titled "Giving science the finger—is the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) a biomarker of good luck? A cross sectional study" followed similar research methodologies adopted by others in the field and came to conclude that low digit ratio is associated with good luck. This result is attributed to chance and presented as an illustration of the reproducibility crisis. Smoliga would later go on to label the field as pseudoscience. In a response, John T. Manning criticized the researchers for not controlling for ethnicity.

Researcher Marta Kowal states: "One of the general limitations of studies on the digit ratios is the high number of degrees of freedom within the 2D:4D (the right, left, and right minus left 2D:4D). Running many analyses with different predictors increases the chances of finding allegedly significant results."

Other animals

 * Dennis McFadden and collaborators have demonstrated sexual dimorphism in hind limb digit ratio in a number of great apes, including gorillas and chimpanzees.
 * Emma Nelson and Susanne Shultz are currently investigating how 2D:4D relates to primate mating strategies and the evolution of human sociality.
 * Nancy Burley's research group has demonstrated sexual dimorphism in zebra finches, and found a correlation between digit ratio in females and the strength of their preference for sexually selected traits in males.
 * Alžbeta Talarovičová and collaborators found in rats that elevated testosterone during the prenatal period can influence 4D length, the 2D:4D ratio, and open field motor activity.
 * Peter L. Hurd, Theodore Garland Jr., and their students have examined hindlimb 2D:4D in lines of mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel-running behavior (see experimental evolution). These high-runner mice exhibit increased 2D:4D in contradiction to the correlation between digit ratio and physical fitness in human beings, suggesting that 2D:4D may not be a clear proxy for prenatal androgen exposure in mice. The authors suggest that 2D:4D may more accurately reflect the effect of glucocorticoids or other factors that regulate any of various genes.
 * In pheasants, the ratio of the 2nd to 4th digit of the foot has been shown to be influenced by manipulations of testosterone in the egg.
 * Studies in mice indicate that prenatal androgen influences 2D:4D primarily by promoting growth of the fourth digit.

title: Digit ratio


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Brandon Teena

Brandon Teena (December 12, 1972 – December 31, 1993) was an American transgender man who was raped and later, along with Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert, murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska, by John Lotter and Tom Nissen. His life and death were the subject of the films The Brandon Teena Story and Boys Don't Cry.

Teena's murder, along with that of Matthew Shepard nearly five years later, led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.

Life
Teena was born on December 12, 1972, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to JoAnn Brandon. His father died in a car accident in Lancaster County eight months before he was born, and he was raised by his mother. Teena and his older sister Tammy lived with their maternal grandmother in Lincoln, before they were reclaimed by their mother when Teena was three years old and Tammy was six. The family resided in the Pine Acre Mobile Home Park in northeast Lincoln. JoAnn received disability checks and worked as a clerk in a women's retail store in Lincoln to support the family. As young children, Teena and Tammy were sexually abused by their uncle for several years, and Teena sought counseling for this in 1991. JoAnn remarried in 1975, divorcing in 1980. Teena's family described him as being a tomboy since early childhood; Teena began identifying as male during adolescence and dated a female student during this period. His mother rejected his male identity and continued referring to him as her daughter. On several occasions, Teena claimed to be intersex.

Teena and his sister attended St. Mary's Elementary School and Pius X High School in Lincoln, where some remembered Teena as being socially awkward. During his second year, Teena rejected Christianity after he protested to a priest at Pius X regarding Christian views on abstinence and homosexuality. He also began rebelling at school by violating the school dress-code policy to dress in a more masculine fashion. During the first semester of his senior year, a U.S. Army recruiter visited the high school, encouraging students to enlist in the armed forces. Teena enlisted in the United States Army shortly after his eighteenth birthday and hoped to serve a tour of duty in Operation Desert Shield. However, he "failed" the written entrance exam by listing his sex as male.

In December 1990, Teena went to Holiday Skate Park with his friends, binding his chest to pass as male. In the months nearing his high school graduation, Teena became unusually outgoing and was remembered by classmates as a "class clown." Teena also began skipping school and receiving failing grades. He was expelled from Pius X High School in June 1991, three days before graduation.

In mid-1991, Teena began his first serious relationship, with a girl named Heather. Shortly after, Teena secured employment as a gas station attendant in an attempt to secure funds to purchase a trailer home for himself and his girlfriend. However, his mother disapproved of the relationship and convinced her daughter Tammy to follow Teena to determine whether Teena's relationship with Heather was platonic or sexual.

In January 1992, Teena underwent a psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that Teena had a severe "sexual identity crisis". He was later taken to the Lancaster County Crisis Center to ensure that he was not suicidal. He was released from the center three days later and began attending therapy sessions, sometimes accompanied by his mother or sister. He was reluctant to discuss his sexuality during these sessions but revealed that he had been raped. The sessions ended after two weeks.

In 1993, after some legal trouble, Teena moved to the Falls City region of Richardson County, Nebraska, where he presented as a man. He became friends with several residents. After moving into the home of Lisa Lambert, Teena began dating Lambert's friend, 19-year-old Lana Tisdel,   and began associating with ex-convicts John L. Lotter (born May 31, 1971) and Marvin Thomas "Tom" Nissen (born October 22, 1971).

On December 19, 1993, Teena was arrested for forging checks; Tisdel used money from her father to pay Teena's bail. Because Teena was in the female section of the jail, Tisdel learned that he was transgender. When Tisdel later questioned Teena about his gender, he told her he was a hermaphrodite pursuing a sex change operation, and they continued dating. In a lawsuit regarding the film adaptation Boys Don't Cry, this was disputed by Tisdel. Teena's arrest was posted in the local paper under his birth name and thereupon his acquaintances learned that he was assigned female at birth.

Rape and murder
During a Christmas Eve party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced him to remove his pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena had a vulva. Tisdel looked only when forced to and said nothing. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena and forced him into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and gang-raped him. They then returned to Nissen's home, where Teena was ordered to take a shower. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window and going to Tisdel's house. He was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena to "keep her mouth shut or they'd permanently shut it for her." Teena also went to the emergency room, where a standard rape kit was assembled but later lost. Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape. Reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's transgender status, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter were taken in for police questioning. Despite ample evidence, Laux neglected to arrest and charge Nissen and Lotter, and Laux told them both a rape had been reported. Laux declined to have them arrested because, "What kind of a person was she? The first few times we arrested her, she was putting herself off as a guy." Teena's mother later filed a wrongful death suit, where the Nebraska Supreme Court found Laux's inaction resulted in Teena's death (see for more information).

Around 1:00 a.m. on December 31, 1993, Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert's house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena under a blanket at the foot of the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister, was staying with her. The duo then shot Teena in the stomach. Nissen testified in court that he had noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed Teena in the chest, to ensure that he was dead. Nissen later testified that he shot Lambert in the stomach. After leaving the room to find DeVine, and then returning with him, Nissen shot Lambert a second time. The two men then took DeVine into the living room, sat him on the couch, and shot him twice. Nissen then returned to the bedroom where he shot Lambert a few more times. The two men then left, threw their weapons and gloves onto a frozen river, and returned to Falls City. They were arrested that afternoon, after which Nissen told deputies that he had witnessed John Lotter shoot three people to death in Humboldt. Police went to the river, where they retrieved the gloves and weapons, including the knife's sheath marked with Lotter's name, tying them to the crime.

Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska, his headstone inscribed with his deadname and the epitaph daughter, sister, & friend.

Nissen accused Lotter of committing the murders. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Nissen testified against Lotter and was sentenced to life in prison. Lotter denied the veracity of Nissen's testimony, and his testimony was discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and sentenced him to death. Lotter and Nissen both appealed their convictions. In September 2007, Nissen recanted his testimony against Lotter. He claimed that he was the only one to shoot Teena and that Lotter had not committed the murders. In 2009, Lotter's appeal, using Nissen's new testimony to assert a claim of innocence, was rejected by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which held that since—even under Nissen's revised testimony—both Lotter and Nissen were involved in the murder, the specific identity of the shooter was legally irrelevant. In August 2011, a three-judge panel of the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected John Lotter's appeal in a split decision. In October 2011, the Eighth Circuit rejected Lotter's request for a rehearing by the panel or the full Eighth Circuit en banc. Lotter next petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for a review of his case. The Supreme Court declined to review Lotter's case, denying his petition for writ of certiorari on March 19, 2012, and a further petition for rehearing on April 23, 2012, leaving his conviction to stand. On January 22, 2018, Lotter was denied a third appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cultural and legal legacy
Because Teena had neither commenced hormone replacement therapy nor had gender confirmation surgery, he has sometimes mistakenly been identified as a lesbian by media reporters. However, some reported Teena's plans to have sex reassignment surgery.

Following Lotter's sentencing in February 1996, Saturday Night Live aired a segment in which comedian Norm Macdonald joked:"And finally, in Falls City, Nebraska, John Lotter has been sentenced to death for attempting to kill three people in what prosecutors called a plot to silence a cross-dressing female who had accused him of rape. Now, this might strike some viewers as harsh, but I believe everyone involved in this story should die." The comments were met with sharp criticism from trans and queer communities and organizations including The Transexual Menace, who threatened to picket SNL in the absence of an apology. Upon reviewing the show, NBC agreed the line was inappropriate and should not have aired, and said it would ensure that similar incidents would not happen in the future.

JoAnn Brandon sued Richardson County and Sheriff Laux for failing to prevent Teena's death and being an indirect cause. She won the case, which was heard in September 1999 in Falls City, and was awarded $80,000. District court judge Orville Coady reduced the amount by 85 percent based on the responsibility of Nissen and Lotter and by one percent for Brandon's alleged contributory negligence. This led to a remaining judgment of responsibility against Richardson County and Laux of $17,360.97. In 2001, the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the reductions of the earlier award reinstating the full $80,000 award for "mental suffering", plus $6,223.20 for funeral costs. In October 2001, the same judge awarded the plaintiff an additional $12,000: $5,000 for wrongful death, and $7,000 for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Laux was also criticized after the murder for his attitude toward Teena – at one point, Laux referred to Brandon as "it." After the case was over, Laux served as commissioner of Richardson County and later as part of his community's council before retiring as a school bus driver. He refused to speak about his actions in the case and called one reporter who contacted him for a story on the murder's twentieth anniversary "a pain in the ass."

In 1999, Teena became the subject of a biographical film entitled Boys Don't Cry, directed by Kimberly Peirce and starring Hilary Swank as Teena and Chloë Sevigny as Tisdel. For their performances, Swank won, and Sevigny was nominated for an Academy Award. Tisdel sued the film's producers for unauthorized use of her name and likeness before the film's release. She claimed the film depicted her as "lazy, white trash, and a skanky snake". Tisdel also claimed that the film falsely portrayed that she continued the relationship with Teena after discovering that he was transgender. She eventually settled her lawsuit against the movie's distributor for an undisclosed sum.

JoAnn Brandon publicly objected to the media referring to her child as "he" and "Brandon." Following Hilary Swank's Oscar acceptance speech, JoAnn Brandon took offense at Swank for thanking "Brandon Teena" and referring to him as a man. "That set me off," said JoAnn Brandon. "She should not stand up there and thank my child. I get tired of people taking credit for what they don't know." However, in 2013, JoAnn told a reporter that she accepted Teena being referred to as transgender in the media. Although she was unhappy with how Boys Don't Cry portrayed the situation, she said about the film, "It gave them [gay and transgender advocates] a platform to voice their opinions, and I'm glad. There were a lot of people who didn't understand what it was [Teena] was going through. We've come a long way." When asked how the murder affects her life today, JoAnn replied, "I wonder how my life would be different if she was still with me. She would be such a joy to have around. She was always such a happy kid. I imagine her being a happy adult. And if being happy meant [Teena] living as a man, I would be fine with that."

Brandon, an interactive web artwork created in 1998 by Shu Lea Cheang, was named for Brandon Teena. The artwork was commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Much of the site's content relates to Brandon's story.

The British duo Pet Shop Boys released a song titled "Girls Don't Cry" (a bonus track on UK issue of I'm with Stupid) about Teena in 2006. Vancouver-based pop-punk band JPNSGRLS released the song "Brandon", off their debut 2014 album Circulation, in memory of Brandon Teena.

In 2018, Donna Minkowitz, the journalist whose reporting on Teena's murder first brought the story to a wider audience, wrote a piece for the Village Voice in which she expressed her regret for not understanding transgender people when she wrote her original report.

title: Brandon Teena


text:
Talk:Negativland

2002
Hm, how should we set up the "related topics" section? I don't like how I've just done it. --KQ — Preceding undated comment added 19:44, 12 October 2002 (UTC)

 * Personally, I don't like "related topics" or "see alsos" unless, maybe, the article is very long. I always try to weave them into the article text, which should be possible here given some editing ("sound collage", for instance, is already mentioned in the first line). Until that weaving is done (I'll do it later tonight if nobody else does), it looks fine to me. --Camembert — Preceding undated comment added 20:01, 12 October 2002 (UTC)

 * You're right, woven in would be better. I'd do it myself but have to leave now.  I'll check up on it later.  :-)  --KQ — Preceding undated comment added 21:20, 12 October 2002 (UTC)

 * I've done it, though it could probably be done better. I'll most likely work on this article and the related bands some time over the next few weeks (I'm a bit of a Negativland fan), but right now, I really need to go to bed :) --Camembert — Preceding undated comment added 02:43, 13 October 2002 (UTC)

 * That's fine. THanks for working on it.  I guess I put "Christianity is Stupid" as an album instead of a single?  Huh.  I don't have any of their albums, though I have several of their mp3s.  God knows how that happened.  ;-)  --KQ — Preceding undated comment added 02:50, 13 October 2002 (UTC)

Sampling digression
Jgm,

Re: "Moving sampling digression to appropriate page; merged key points"

Which page did you move it to? I though the "appropriate" page might be sampling (music) but it's not there. Thanks. --Lexor|Talk 15:24, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Yes, I moved it to sampling (music) but wound up reworking it pretty completely as the start of a "legal issues" section. Jgm 15:32, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I was just about to commit this: "I see you just moved it there, thanks.", but you beat me to it with an edit conflict.  Thanks again. --Lexor|Talk 15:33, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

SST and touring
A small bone of contention: I believe that bands signed to SST were expected to tour as a condition of their contract. (I know someone who was in a band that was considering signing with SST, but the band didn't because it would have had to tour with Painted Willie, who weren't very likable.) It was pretty common at that time for SST to sponsor package tours where different bands on the label would tour together. It would have been interesting to see Negativland with Black Flag or even Sylvia Juncosa! -Two Halves in a mellow mood — Preceding undated comment added 22:49, 15 March 2004 (UTC)

U2

 * "Negativland's Mark Hosler pointed at the irony of U2 infringing copyrights on a massive scale during their Zoo TV tour by broadcasting live satellite images on stage, and getting away with it."

Were these by any chance NASA public domain images? :) - Fredrik (talk) 22:03, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * No, the article is misphrasing; they were images pulled from random satellite feeds. --64.242.52.23 19:39, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Early history (NPOV)
I removed and/or revised a fair amount of NPOV material in the Early History section. While the "Christianity is Stupid" incident did cast doubt on the veracity of mass media (especially TV news, etc), I think that using phrases like "mass media reptiles" is somewhat POV. Any comments? --68.22.206.232 22:22, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

 * thank you brave spartan citizen, you have preformed a praiseworthy deed in the name of sophic knowlege - we don't want to paint anybody in a bad light now do we? ;^) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.131.172.212 (talk • contribs).

U2 2
Hey everyone, I came across this article today, and I feel like a good portion of the section on the U2 incident is very POV. For example, this sentence:
 * Publicists from U2 had contacted him regarding the possibility of interviewing Dave Evans (aka "The Edge") - probably hoping to build up some avant-garde "street cred" for U2's impending multi-million dollar "Zoo TV" tour product, which featured what U2 probably considered "cutting edge" innovations, like found sounds and live sampling from mass media outlets (something Negativland had already been doing for 10 years).

especially what I have bolded, is under protest. Whether U2's publicists wanted "street cred" or not is not for Wikipedia to speculate on, nor should we be speculating on whether U2 thought ZooTV was "cutting edge." Also, after reading the entire interview, I didn't feel that the Edge was being "flippant" in his responses, in fact before the Negativland guys' identities were revealed, they only asked him 2 questions about the legality of the sampling, and he gave rather lengthy reponses (if not lengthy, then enough to answer the question). Also, the block in question makes the assertion a few times that U2 the band was suing Negativland, when in fact only Island Records sued them. (Both the members of Negativland and the Edge acknowledge this in the interview.) One more thing, I don't think we should put the Edge in quotes whenever it's used. Even though it's not his legal name, it's his stage name and it's how he's credited on all the records; it'd be like writing "Madonna" whenever she was mentioned. :) Basically, the interview was a lot more civil than the article led me to believe it was going to be, the Edge and the two guys from Negativland seemed to be getting on OK, they even talked about how they didn't want to do something like make "Kill Bono" t-shirts or anything. I will confess that I'm a U2 fan, but I'm also a big supporter of fair use and I totally agree that using samples should be legal. Here's how I think it should go:
 * In June, 1992, R.U. Sirius, publisher of the magazine Mondo 2000 came up with an interesting idea. Publicists from U2 had contacted him regarding the possibility of interviewing Dave Evans (aka "The Edge") hoping to promote U2's impending multi-million dollar "Zoo TV" tour, which featured found sounds and live sampling from mass media outlets (which Negativland had been known for for some time). Sirius, unbeknownst to the Edge, decided to have his friends Joyce and Hosler of Negativland conduct the interview. Joyce and Hosler, fresh from Island's lawsuit, peppered the Edge with questions regarding his ideas about the use of sampling in their new tour, and the legality of using copyrighted material without permission. Midway through the interview, Joyce and Hosler revealed their identities as members of Negativland. An embarrassed the Edge reported that U2 were bothered by the sledgehammer legal approach Island Records took in their lawsuit, and furthermore that much of the legal wrangling took place without U2's knowledge: "by the time we (U2) realized what was going on it was kinda too late, and we actually did approach the record company on your (Negativland's) behalf and said, 'Look, c'mon, this is just, this is very heavy...'" Island Reconds reported to Negativland that U2 never authorised samples of their material; Evans response was, "that's complete bollocks, there's like, there's at least six records out there that are direct samples from our stuff." I'm open for suggestions. FilthMasterFlex 01:11, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Near the end of the interview, the two members of Negativland asked the Edge for a loan; he then proceded to have them contact him through U2's management company in Dublin, Ireland! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.190.67.35 (talk) 22:54, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

 * The WELL's copy of the interview referenced above, MONDO 2000 - U2's The Edge Meets Negativland --121.44.65.116 (talk) 18:02, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

U2 3
I feel this part of the "u2 incident" section of the article has a NPOV problem as well as innacurate information:

 * Negativland's Mark Hosler pointed at the irony of U2 infringing copyrights on a massive scale during their Zoo TV tour by broadcasting live satellite images on stage, and getting away with it, while almost simultaneously suing Negativland, who had been doing it for a long time before it ever dawned on U2.

U2 did not use Negativeland. U2's record company, Island Records, sued Negativland.--71.242.17.62 01:59, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

 * I agree it would be more accurate to say that Island Records sued Negativland, but as this is attibuted to Mark Hosler it would be necessary to look up the original reference. Then the quote could either be corrected or a correction to the quote appended, depending on what Hosler actually said. --Craig Stuntz 03:13, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

POV (David Brom)
I feel this article has a Neutral Point of View problem because it refers to the "venality" of the mass media in connection with the David Brom murder case. Venality is defined in my dictionary as "Prostitution of talents or offices or services for reward." Its synonyms include "corruption" and "dishonesty." I'm not a member of the news media so this isn't a sacred cow of mine, but perhaps something a little less opinionated is more appropriate. Little or fact-checking is inexcusable behavior for a legitimate news media outlet, but only indicates negligence or laziness, but not dishonesty or venality. If a news media outlet did a "little" fact-checking and confirmed to its satisfaction that "Christianity Sucks" was, in fact, the song that Brom told authorities was the album involved in the dispute with his father (Brom did say his father's reticence to a music album), reporting that "fact," despite its subsequent refutation, doesn't rise to the level of venality. In addition, the word "humorously" doesn't match with Mark Hosler's comment that the release was made  as "a simplistic narrative that [would] suck the media in." If anything, the band's purpose was to get publicity for itself. That, it would be fair to say, is venality. How about "the fabricated release resulted widespread media coverage of the band's claim, and offered often untested hypotheses of the relationship between music and violence. The story that offered a combination of murder, religion, and "rock" music was heavily reported on TV news shows, newspapers and magazines." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.63.152.68 (talk) 20:10, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

 * "Little or fact-checking is inexcusable behavior for a legitimate news media outlet" -> not according to wikipedia
 * maybe you are completely missing the point when you say "the band's purpose was to get publicity for itself" i think the point is that the mainstream media are trusted as gospel when it is more often than not just rubbish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.140.49 (talk) 10:42, 6 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Was it actually "heavily reported on TV news shows, newspapers and magazines"? It was featured on a local (Bay Area) news program, mentioned (skeptically, I recall) in BAM magazine and in the SF Chronicle) and...that seems to be about it.
 * I think the real "hoax" was giving many people the impression
 * that the half-hearted hoax was "heavily reported on TV news shows, newspapers and magazines." LimaMonk (talk) 17:21, 28 January 2024 (UTC)

Disco
just changed to disco to be more in line with their official disco

Grouped Over the Edge cd comps together as they are not considered "albums" on their website.

for the "next album" "past album" all of the over the edges could be linked together.

JohnRussell 16:05, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

# 2.2 The U2 record incident rewrite
This section could really use a rewrite citing the documents from FAIR USE (the story of the letter U and the numeral 2). It is confusing and seems to leave out major things and go into detail over minor points. For example it doesn't mention negativland's trouble with their label (SST) and negativland getting sued by SST (for the original publication THE LETTER U AND THE NUMERAL 2) JohnRussell 03:46, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

 * I would also suggest creating an artcle on U2 (EP). It's certainly notable enough. Just64helpin 21:14, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

So what finally happened with Island Records?
OK, either I can't read or this is still in the courts but what finally happened with Island Records and the suit? I don't see any metion of what the outcome was. --Drmike 15:56, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Members
The Members list currently includes Tim Maloney, Tom Koch, and Stukke and Stakke. I know Maloney has collaborated with the group, but is he actually considered a member? A web search reveals that Koch was the band's "sound man" on the True/False tour. Again, does this make him an actual member? And I was under the impression that Stukke & Stakke were fictitious characters. Finally, who is/was Joan? Lusanaherandraton (talk) 07:32, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Helter Stupid
Note: In the bit about the record album cover for Helter Stupid, that isn't Hal Eisner on the cover, it's KPIX-TV's Dave McElhatton. Eisner is seen in the clip (which appeared on "No Other Possibility" and "My Favorite Things" and he has a moustache. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.217.59.170 (talk) 03:01, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Dubious
"The current core of the band consists of..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.168.33.76 (talk) 18:04, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

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Notable? or Just another locally popular band?
The article has not given a single reason why this band is more notable than a zillion other no-hit mostly self-published buddy bands.

And circularly, same w the band members who are "notable" for —get this,— being in this band. See also:  MOS:LEDE and WP:NOTE  "Wikipedia articles cover notable topics—those that have gained sufficiently significant attention by the world at large and over a period of time, and are not outside the scope of Wikipedia" "Martin Walker's statement, in a newspaper article about Bill Clinton, that "In high school, he was part of a jazz band called Three Blind Mice" is plainly a trivial mention of that band."

Please bring up to specs, or remove this and the related articles. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:CFCE:1EE0:4EE:A8F6:B9AF:67BE (talk) 20:26, 12 June 2019 (UTC)

unsigned.... odd. usually the tiresome folks who leave remarks like this on talk pages are signed in. this, therefore, is a disgruntled drive-by, questioning the notability of the band because, one can only assume, he's never heard of them himself. sir, you need to get out more. stop worrying about server space, or if you can't, go after some of the cruft on wp that's genuinely not notable. & next time, sign in.

duncanrmi (talk) 00:28, 11 July 2024 (UTC)

Hi,so who are the Negativlands?
YyyNegativland is an American experimental music band that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly"). 67.182.94.52 (talk) 15:32, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Negativland