The soon to be revamped DC Extended Universe’s twelfth entry, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, the much-awaited sequel of the first silver screen adaptation of the origin of World’s Mightiest Mortal “Shazam”, has hit the screens worldwide. As fans already know, the disjointed condition of DC’s cinematic universe has been the cause of headache for fans and the creators alike, despite that, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” takes few chances to tease the possibility of interconnected storytelling while recognizing the hindrances. There are two post-credits scenes which provide us crucial hints both for the larger DC universe and the expansion-related character-oriented lore of Shazam, respectively. We would like to connect the dots by forming a connection with the existing DC universe and also exploring some possible plot points from comics to determine what readers can expect from the third Shazam movie.
Spoilers Ahead
The Inevitable Clash With Black Adam
Like a number of DC superheroes, Shazam also deals with a popular, diametrically opposite character as his archenemy and sometimes as a counselor named Black Adam. The character has been closely associated with the origin of Shazam, as he was the first champion of magic chosen by the Wizard. In the first “Shazam!” movie, the Wizard shows through an astral projection how the first champion chosen by the council of the wizards abused his powers for selfish ends and released the seven deadly sins upon the world. Even during the end portions of the movie, as the Shazam family goes to the Rock of Eternity in their superpowered form, Darla Dudley notices the ancient seats have one additional place for a seventh member, which in this timeline is supposed to be Black Adam. Even though the sequel contains no mention of the Man in Black, the chances of seeing a Shazam or Black Adam movie in the third part are always present, given how interrelated the characters’ origins are.
The prolonged wait for the “Black Adam” movie ended last year, which did a good job of establishing the differing motivations and modus operandi of Billy and Teth Adam. The rumors before the release of the sequel were doubling down on a conflict between Black Adam and the combined might of Superman and Shazam in the third Shazam movie. There is no confirmation of Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the anti-hero anytime soon either, but we can surely speculate.
War Of Gods Storyline
In “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” the cameo role of Diana, aka Wonder Woman, is of much significance. Although Billy’s infatuation with the Amazon warrior princess was used as a running gag in the movie, in the end, it was her godly heritage (she is the daughter of Zeus) that reactivated the staff of gods and resurrected Billy. The movie also took a dive into Hellenistic mythology, as in the form of Olympian gods, the daughters of Atlas were presented as the antagonistic force who wanted to take away the power of the gods from Billy Batson and his super siblings. This entire premise might hint at a DC comics miniseries released in the early 90s titled “War of the Gods.” In the series, the evil sorceress Circe hatches a plan to appease Hecate, the primordial goddess of occult and magic; a plan that involves the clash between the Greek and Roman Pantheon of gods and represents them as Wonder Woman and Shazam, aka the then Captain Marvel, respectively, as Circe seeks the remodeling of all reality according to Hecate’s vision. The series had multiple tie-ins involved and acted as a mega event of its own, intended to celebrate Wonder Woman’s 50th anniversary. With the realm of gods being introduced in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, there is a possibility that we will see more of DC’s sphere of gods inspired by world mythologies in a Wonder Woman sequel, and as there is already some buzz regarding this iconic storyline created by George Perez getting adapted, it will make sense to utilize the events played out in this movie as the focal point.
The Justice Society’s Inclusion
In the mid-credits scene of “Shazam 2,” we see agents Harcourt and Economos being sent by the ruthless bureaucrat Amanda Waller to recruit Billy into the Justice Society of America. After getting irritated by Billy’s goofy antics, they proceed to leave him to his own devices. In comics, Billy, aka Shazam, had a close association with the Justice Society, which ties up with Black Adam’s connection with the JSA also. During Geoff Johns’ iconic JSA run, at one point in time, both Shazam and Black Adam were part of the super team led by veterans, albeit not on friendly terms at all. In the “Black Adam” movie, the character’s history with JSA was already showcased, so it is quite plausible to think Amanda Waller would like to keep a powerhouse of similar scale in JSA ranks to defend against the magical threats even Superman isn’t fit to tackle. Gaining exposure and learning the ropes from veteran superheroes will be a much necessary experience for Billy too.
Mister Mind And The Monster Society Of Evil
We saved the best bit for last, as the classic Captain Marvel villain, the tiny caterpillar Mister Mind, has a bigger role in the next movie, implying more scope for Shazam’s lore to be expanded in live-action. In the post-credits scene of “Fury of the Gods,” we see a continuation of the post-credits from “Shazam” (2019) as Mister Mind picks up his conversation with Dr. Sivana right where he left off a couple of years ago. What plans he talks about coming to fruition are left unknown to the audience, but a basic guess tells us that in the next installment, the nefarious caterpillar and Sivana will create the infamous supervillain team “Monster Society of Evil,” the first supervillain group in the history of comics, which consists of characters like Ibac, Black Adam, King Kull, etc.
The scope to proceed with the “Shazam!” franchise is great, as there are multiple potential storylines that have been hinted at already, and it remains to be seen how James Gunn tries to integrate the character into his DC Universe. But at the same time, a lot of the sequel prospects of the Shazam franchise depend on the financial success of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, and we hope that we get to see more of the adventures of Billy and his teenage team of superheroes.
