Who is Billy Batson, what’s he got to do with Shazam, and what can he do? Here’s everything to know about the DCEU’s next big screen superhero.
Nearly seven months after the first sizzle reel electrified audiences at SDCC, DCEU’s ‘Big but make it superheroes’ movie, Shazam, finally dropped its second trailer.
While the trailer (thankfully) doesn’t reveal too much about the plot of film, it does give us a better look at and feel for the titular hero himself, played to perfection in superhero mode by Zach Levi and in normal, 14-year-old mode by Asher Angel.
So who exactly is Shazam?
Well, originally and technically, Shazam is the Wizard Shazam, the mysterious and shadowy figure played by Djimon Hounsou who we see in the very beginning of the trailer.
And now a bit of a history lesson.
Originally, the hero we now think of as Shazam (the one played by Zach Levi) was actually named Captain Marvel, which worked out just fine initially since Marvel Comics’ Carol Danvers was originally named Ms. Marvel.
However, Marvel Comics picked up the name Captain Marvel and DC Comics ended up dropping, more or less, the Captain Marvel name in favor of his more famous catchphrase — Shazam — because it’s what everyone thought he was called anyway.
Now, back to the origin story of Shazam (the hero, not the wizard, or the catchphrase).
The opening scene of the trailer shows us the Wizard Shazam, old and nearing his death, and therefore in desperate need of choosing a new champion to pass his powers on to.
And though the wizard himself ends up dying soon after passing on his powers, he’s able to pop up now and again like a helpful Jedi ghost to guide Billy in his heroics.
Who is Billy Batson?
Billy Batson is a 14-year-old orphan who, as we see in the trailer, has bounced around from foster home to foster home.
In previous iterations of his origin, Billy was chosen because he was pure of heart; however, in the most recent Geoff Johns version (which is where this movie seems to take many of its narrative beats), Billy is basically chosen out of a mix of desperation (on the Wizard’s part) and potential (on his part).
While the Wizard Shazam is still looking for someone who is pure of heart, the brooding, moody Billy Batson of this version doesn’t quite match up.
Still, through some of his actions and an impassioned speech about how, in a broken world, pure people can’t really exist, the dying wizard bestows his powers on the jaded teen — telling him that he may access these powers by saying his name:
Shazam.
What can Shazam do?
Shazam is actually an acronym for six different gods/powerful beings who have bestowed their powers onto their worthy champion.
This means that when 14-year-old Billy Batson shouts SHAZAM!, he turns into an adult with the powers of:
- Solomon: The wisdom of Solomon (which makes Billy incredibly smart)
- Hercules: The strength of Hercules (which means he can — and has — go toe to to with Superman)
- Atlas: The stamina and invulnerability of Atlas (which gives him bullet immunity!)
- Zues: The power of Zeus (so he can charge phones and just look really cool)
- Achilles: The courage and will of Achilles (still unsure what this actually means)
- Mercury: The speed of Mercury (#LetShazamRaceTheFlash2k20)
Still, as powerful as Shazam is, it’s important to remember that he is literally a kid in an adult’s body, which means he’s both more stoked about his superpowers but also more prone to messing up with them.
That wisdom of Solomon doesn’t necessarily include common sense, and as the trailer shows, we’re likely to see the steep learning curve of the responsibility of being a superhero.
What about the Shazam family?
Shazam was actually one of the first superheroes to have a superhero family/team surrounding him, which is an aspect to his character which nearly every other superhero in the DC universe has since followed.
In the most recent run of the comics, the Shazam family members are Billy’s foster brothers and sisters — Mary, Freddy, Eugene, Pedro, and Darla.
Most of the characters, like Billy, are able to become superpowered adult versions of themselves by saying Shazam — though Darla, the youngest of the bunch, stays in child form.
And while Mary — who becomes Mary Marvel — and Freddy — who becomes Captain Marvel Jr. — essentially share the same powers as Billy but with different costumes, the rest of the team get slightly tweaked powers in addition to the normal suite of Shazam abilities.
Euguene, a lover of all things tech, has the ability to control technology through his thoughts. Pedro is gifted with extra superstrength in comparison to the rest of the team, while Darla has super-superspeed, which makes her faster than the rest of her superpowered siblings.
Though we’ve only gotten brief glimpses of them in the two trailers, there’s a lot of evidence (a leaked bit of merchandise that includes the family, the fact that Shazam seems to have cast adult versions of their young cast) to point to the fact that the Shazam family will play a role in the upcoming Shazam movie.
Which is a good thing, seeing as they’ll be going up against Dr. Sivana and the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man.
Who are Dr. Sivana and the Seven Deadly Enemies?
Dr. Sivana is a top tier nemesis in Shazam’s rogues gallery, and has often been cast as more of a traditional villain than Shazam’s other top tier nemesis, Black Adam, who often toes the line between villain and anti-hero.
Originally written as a brilliant scientist who wanted to help mankind, Dr. Sivana eventually descends into bitterness and anger because of capitalism (really — his genius is spurned by the industry and the wealthy) and becomes a more typical mad scientist constantly foiled by Shazam.
The more recent version in the comics still has him as a brilliant scientist, but one who turns to magic when science fails him (which seems to be the Mark Strong version we get here).
As such, he’s a formidable opponent to Shazam, in that he not only possess advanced intellect and technological prowess, but is able to wield magic for destructive purposes.
He’ll likely also have the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man in his arsenal of weapons, which is perhaps why we’ll see the Shazam family make their debut in the film.
Like their name suggests, the Seven Deadly Enemies are demons that embody the Seven Deadly Sins — lust, greed, wrath, gluttony, sloth, pride, and envy — and are able to wreak havoc on humanity on their own and by taking control of humans (superhumans included!).
Though Dr. Sivana has received top billing in all the footage and trailers, we’ve seen a glimpse of Seven Deadly Enemies — in statue form in one scene, and then conspicuously missing in a later one.
So while we don’t know too much about the plot of Shazam, you can bet it’ll involve some superpowered fights, superpowered teams and — as the trailer showed — a lot of superhero hilarity.
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