Thunder is the super-powered alter-ego of a young girl from the planet Binderaan, circa 9,000 A.D. (when she finds herself in the 30th century, she exclaims that she's 6,000 years in the past). The power of Shazam is bestowed upon Thunder not by the wizard Shazam himself, but his successor Captain Marvel. By the time of Beck's life, Captain Marvel has become a bearded old man. As with her predecessor Captain Marvel, Jr., whenever Beck invokes the name "Captain Marvel", she is struck by magical lightning, bestowing upon her all the powers of the Marvel Family.