There are definitely elements in Shazam! that kids might simply blow right past on their
way to experiencing the superhero spectacle and the heart of the family story, while adult
superhero fans are still turning those ideas over in their heads.
Here's some stuff in Shazam! that you might only notice if you're an adult.
Shazam! takes place in the same world as Man of Steel, Justice League, and the other recent
DC movies, which means Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman exist alongside Billy Batson
and Freddy Freeman.
That's probably why Freddy is absolutely obsessed with those super-people, but it seems he's
not the only one.
As we see from Freddy's collection of memorabilia and a chase scene through a toy store, this
world has reacted to superheroes in the same way that ours has: merchandising!
“ Merchandising!
Merchandising!
Where the real money from the movie is made!”
Yes, Batman and Superman are real, and they have their own action figures, replica weaponry,
and even t-shirts, just like we have.
So how exactly does that work in the world of the film?
Those heroes all have secret identities, so did those companies get permission to use
their likenesses?
Do the heroes just ignore it?
Bruce Wayne might not need any of the royalties from his action figures, but you know Aquaman
would absolutely take a check for his t-shirt sales.
The film begins in 1974, when a young Thaddeus Sivana is brought before the wizard Shazam,
only to be told he's not worthy because he was tempted by the Seven Deadly Sins.
As soon as Sivana leaves, Shazam sends out a summoning spell to find a champion as quickly
as possible… which takes about 45 years.
When Shazam meets Billy, he explains that they chose a champion once who betrayed them
someone DC fans will recognize as Black Adam and that he's been looking for a replacement
ever since.
And yet, the wizard has gone through dozens of potential champions, only to wind up telling
them all they're not worthy.
So what took so long?
There are obviously heroes in the world, and good and decent people willing to do things
like, for example, open up their home to foster kids.
It's implied that Billy was something of a compromise because the wizard was running
out of time, but he probably could've compromised a little sooner especially when you consider
that later in the movie, Billy starts handing out powers to his foster siblings?
For a guy facing a ticking clock that ran from ancient Egypt until 2019, he really put
things off until the last possible moment.
And he still had to settle for a teenager who charges for selfies.
"Did you check … typically give me a little money…"
Billy Batson is a 14-year-old boy when we meet him, and when a wizard gives him the
ability to transform into a full-grown man simply by saying a magic word, his brain definitely
stays 14.
Billy's more than happy to use his newfound stature to do some very adult things, including
buying beer which he winds up hating and even going to a strip club, where he quickly unloads
all of his cash.
"We're gonna need more cash.”
“Why you were in there for like 5 minutes…”
“Dude they were very convincing!"
This is generally pretty understandable and amusing behavior that most 14-year-olds would
attempt in some form if they thought they could get away with it, but it also makes
us wonder how far Billy would have gone.
If the supervillain threat hadn't grabbed his attention, would he have tried to buy
hard liquor, gotten a driver's license, applied for a low-interest home loan?
Would he have even moved on from strip clubs to… well, do we have to say it?
The film never takes this any further, for good reason, but it definitely raises the
question, especially for the people in the audience who remember what it was like to
be 14 themselves.
At the climax of the movie, after learning what it means to be a hero, Billy shares his
power with his siblings to create a whole family of lightning-powered heroes.
"Guys, I don't believe in violence but I think we should kick this guys butt like really
hard."
That means that all of Billy's foster siblings will have access to the Rock of Eternity,
where the Seven Deadly Sins are re-imprisoned at the end of the film.
Given that Billy's first impulses hit everything from lust to gluttony, how do we know that
one of the younger kids won't one day be tempted by their power?
Sounds like things were getting more than a little desperate if the wizard was willing
to take that chance.
The act of selflessness that gets Billy on the wizard's radar in the first place comes
when two bullies start beating up Freddy Freeman after hitting him with their truck.
They only clip him, and it's not clear if they meant to do it or if it was just a happy
accident, but that's the first thing we ever see them do, and we never really learn anything
else about them.
All of the adults out there who have been through high school themselves are definitely
aware that, sometimes, kids can be jerks for no good reason and get away with it but still.
Constantly picking on a disabled classmate to the point of running him over with a truck?
Even the crappiest school would have a pretty big problem with that.
The film never shows us anything that hints at their motivation.
So if that's just how they are, maybe they should be in prison instead of high school.
Though Shazam is also simply the name of the wizard in the film, we are given a more detailed
reason why Billy needs to say that exact word: It's an acrostic, and by saying it, the champion
is imbued with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the endurance of Atlas,
the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.
Throughout the course of the film, we see Billy ultimately using all of these abilities
except one: the Wisdom of Solomon.
"How do I know my name?
Ah… how do I know your name…? one of my super-powers is name-guessing."
Billy's still a teenage boy, so we can't expect that wisdom to be in action all the time,
but the wizard explains he will possess this wisdom and then we never really see it.
You'd think he could have at least put it to good use to ace a math test or something.
The film does a good job of contrasting Billy's superhero abilities with his teenage fallibility,
and maybe we'll get to see a little more of that problem-solving in future films.
With a mind-controlling worm showing up, he'll probably need it.
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