It’s been a few days since DC rebooted the entire DC Extended Universe. Oh, sorry. It just feels like a reboot as Shazam! totally ditched the entire “grimdark” atmosphere DC and Warner Bros. were using with all their superhero movies to give us a really fun movie. I already reviewed Shazam! a while back and I honestly think this is my favorite film in the DC Extended Universe, even besting Wonder Woman.
While there is a lot to like about Shazam!, there are definitely a few weird plot points that happen throughout the film. They may not be total plot points that break the movie. Rather, these are the rather inconsequential things that popped up throughout Shazam! So, like I did with the previous Captain Marvel movie, let’s go look at a few inconsequential questions I came up while watching Shazam!
Oh, and since I will be examining specific scenes from the movie, there are going to be SPOILERS! You have been warned!
Why did the scientist lady get burned into ash when she touched the door to the Rock of Eternity?
Despite Shazam! being more kid-friendly fare, especially when compared to the other flicks set in the DC Extended Universe, there are a few disturbing scenes for kids. The scene where Dr. Sivana barges into a meeting his father is having with his business associates springs to mind. But there was a scene that happened earlier that does seem as if DC and Warner Bros. saw people getting dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, thought it was awesome and they said, “Hey, we can do that, too! But on a much smaller scale!”
The scene I’m referring to happens early on when Dr. Sivana learns of the rune pattern and draws it on a door that he just so happens to have in his office. The head researcher then touches the door and promptly dissolves into dust, just like if Thanos snapped his fingers.
I can let go the fact that Dr. Sivana knew that drawing the runes in a specific order would turn it into a portal to the Rock of Eternity. Maybe that came up in his research. However, what I do question is why the lead researcher turned into dust when she touched the door.
There’s no real reason for this to happen as it’s shown later on that anyone can touch the door that leads to the Rock of Eternity and not suffer any problems. It just happens in this specific scene and there’s no explanation given. It just happens. The weird thing is that Dr. Sivana isn’t even surprised. It’s almost like he expected it, yet it’s never explained why it only happened to her.
Speaking of Dr. Sivana killing his father…
Why wasn’t there any news about the CEO of Sivana Industry being brutally murdered?
It’s nice to see John Glover again. For those who grew up watching the Smallville television series, he’s the guy that played Lionel Luthor, Lex Luthor’s father. He was, in all honesty, my favorite character in the series. There was just something in his performance as the patriarch of the Luthor family that was just so good. There was a swagger and a cunning to him and, while he was doing a lot of dastardly deeds and always taunted his son, you can tell that he was harsh on Lex because he wanted him to be the best he can be. Oh, and his speaking voice and tone was just beautifully droll!
In Shazam!, John Glover pretty much plays the same role as he’s now the authoritarian figure and CEO of Sivana Industries who is also harsh to his children, more specifically, his youngest, Thaddeus Sivana. The younger Sivana would be the one who would return to the Rock of Eternity, release the Seven Deadly Sins and eventually use his newfound powers to kill his father and, I’m assuming, the top brass of Sivana Industries.
It’s this that has the Wizard Shazam call upon Billy Batson and grants the pre-teen the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. Billy Batson then uses his new powers (and adult body) to entertain the citizens of Philadelphia and even dominates the local news of the area…
…which is kind of strange since the top headline should still be the brutal murder of the entire board of Sivana Industries!
No, really. I get that a city having their own superhero should be a big deal. But the people who have been living in the DC Extended Universe have seen their share of superheroes already. I would think the savage mutilation of an entire boardroom of a successful company would be bigger news, especially since the perpetrator, the son of the CEO, was identified to be the one to commit it. I mean, the receptionist must’ve been interviewed by the cops, right?
Why didn’t the Wizard Shazam pick any of the Vasquez family?
It’s weird that Shazam! doesn’t start with the hero. Rather, the movie starts by showing us the villain and his motivation as to why he became evil. But the Wizard Shazam turned away the young Sivana because he failed the test and he didn’t want to create another Black Adam. More on this later.
Anyway, the Wizard is pretty desperate as, even after decades of searching for a champion with a pure heart with magic, no less, he is unable to find anyone worthy to control his power. After Sivana releases the Seven Deadly Sins, the Wizard then summons Billy Batson to the Rock of Eternity after the teen beats up a couple of bullies while defending his new foster brother, Freddy Freeman. He bestows the power of Shazam to Billy before dissolving… once again using the entire Thanos effect of turning into dust.
By this time, Billy Batson has been adopted by the kindhearted Vasquez family, who take him in without question. Even Freddy Freeman remarks that the family is really good to all of the kids under their care. So, why didn’t the Wizard Shazam find any of the Vasquez family?
You would think that a magic seeking spell to find potential people would’ve been able to find either Victor or Rosa Vasquez, the adoptive parents of Billy, as they’ve already proven that they’re pretty pure of heart. And what about Freddy Freeman? He seemed like a rather decent kid who never tried to hurt anyone? How about Mary Bromfield? Or Darla Dudley? What about Pedro Pena and Eugene Choi? In fact, by the end of the film, all of them get the powers of Shazam as well!
With that in mind, how is it possible that the Wizard Shazam was never able to find any one of them? The seeking spell was getting a bunch of losers for decades while perfectly good candidates like the Vasquez adults were never brought to the Rock of Eternity? What a crappy magic seeking spell!
Oh, and before I forget that we were talking about him…
What the heck happened to Black Adam?
The Wizard Shazam, before bestowing his powers to Billy Batson, does tell him he had a former champion who had the same powers. But he became corrupted by the power and used it for his own selfish reasons. This is why the Wizard is now looking for someone with a pure heart to give his powers to. Comic book fans will immediately recognize who he’s talking about: Black Adam.
Black Adam is probably Captain Marvel Captain Sparkle Fingers whatever Billy Batson’s superhero alter ego’s name’s biggest archvillain. He has the same powers he has and has more experience with using his abilities. But… where is he? What happened to Black Adam?
I bet they’re saving the villain for the sequel, which I hope they do since I really liked it. But I’m kind of curious as to where is is during the events of the film? I do hope they use the really silly explanation from the old comics that he was banished to the farthest star of the universe and he had to fly for thousand of years just to get back to Earth! That’d be awesome!
Oh, and speaking of the hero’s name…
What is Billy Batson’s superhero name?
Okay, I get the joke. They can’t really call him Captain Marvel anymore because of the weird DC/Marvel lawsuit that happened years ago. In the comics, he’s currently known as Shazam, which is really strange since he can’t actually say that name without turning back into Billy Batson. Thankfully, the writers of Shazam! were smart enough to work it in as a humorous running gag as both Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman have no idea what to call him.
But really… what is his name in the film? They call him various names like the ridiculous Captain Sparkle Fingers, Red Cyclone, Thundercrackle and the probably copyrighted ZAP-tain America . But what is his name really? They never give him an official name throughout the movie.
I prefer to call him Captain Thunder. Because he flies… like thunder. Only old school Nickelodeon fans will get the reference.
BONUS: Where’s Mister Tawky Tawny?
You know who my favorite character from Shazam! was when I was a kid? I hate to admit it but it was Mister Tawky Tawny, the Talking Tiger. He was my favorite for two reasons. One, he’s a freaking talking tiger. And two, I was a dumb kid who thought talking humanoid tigers were the best thing in a cartoon.
I guess he was technically seen as he was the stuffed tiger referenced a couple of times throughout the film. But I really wanted to see what kind of dumb thing they could do with Tawky Tawny. And my six year old self would’ve lost my mind.
Any other questions you came up with after watching Shazam!? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 
Good points there.
Even the one about Mister Tawky Tawny?
i came here trying to find out why the researcher turned to ash when touching the door. The only explanation I can come up with is… The gateway had to be powered, or energized in some way when he created the portal. She touched the door and it sucked her “life force” and turned her to ash, after which dr. evil was able to open the door and go through. It seemed every subsequent portal was created by Magic, and therefore was already energized. It still doesn’t make sense to me, and it is never addressed. It was probably put in, just to give us nightmares. 🙂
I guess we will have to wait for the commentary to see if they explain it.