Wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, lightning of Zeus, courage of Achilles, and speed of Mercury, together they form SHAZAM. This word brings the power of a champion to it's speaker, and the one who wields it is a ten year old boy Billy Batson. When Billy speaks the word lightning strikes, thunder claps, and he is transformed into the super hero Captain Marvel. Chosen by the Wizard, Billy was made earth's champion for good, and he is also slated to be the next film to start production for the DCEU after Aquaman.Captain Marvel, or SHAZAM as he is called frequently to avoid confusion with the Marvel character by the same name, is honestly one of, if not my favorite DC hero. Design-wise he is fairly similar to Superman, but in all honesty I think he is the perfected concept of the original idea. Giving all that power to a guy who knows what to do with it can be a bit boring and predictable, but give it to a child who sees the world in platitudes of black and white only during a time where he is starting to be cognoscente of the true complexities of the world, now that's interesting. So with that in mind, I have some pretty big hopes and expectations for this film.
Mentor of Steel
As I had previously stated Captain Marvel is very clearly a Superman archetype character. His powers are damn near identical, except routed in magic. As such, in comics, Superman and Captain Marvel have a very interesting dynamic. In fact the first time I saw Captain Marvel was in an episode of Justice League: Unlimited, called Clash. During which the two characters get into a fight by episodes end.
Most encounters that people remember between the two are rough, Man of Steel and SHAZAM coming to blows for one thing or another, however there is also mentor-ship there, and this leaves open a very rare opportunity. One of the strongest assets to character building, especially for a certain DC hero that is known in particular for brooding and night time activities, is embracing the role of mentor and father figure. Superman is far more difficult to bring to that capacity because after all who could keep up with him well enough for him to train. Billy is, at the end of the day, a child. More importantly, however, is that he is a child who is inspired by the example set by the Man of Steel. While it has not been properly shown in the DCEU so far, the two years before Batman vs Superman were filled with Superman saving the world and being the "Big Blue Boyscout," allowing for him to inspire many people. With Henry Cavill's Superman returning to the big screen in Justice League, it would be nice to get to see the Superman we expect make an appearance in the SHAZAM movie as a mentor. Sure it would be cool to see them come to blows like something straight out of an Alex Ross piece, but I hope that we get to see the Man of Steel in a brighter light than he has been seen previously.
Big Meets Harry Potter
As far as the feel of the film is concerned, the film NEEDS to be light, but most importantly it needs to make you feel like magic is real and raise some serious nostalgia for childhood. In other words it kinda needs to have the set up like Tom Hanks' Big (a movie where a boy makes a wish to be a grown up and wakes up as a 30 year old version of himself) and the effect of the entire Harry Potter franchise. This is a kid who gets the power of essentially Superman when he shouts a word. His first flight should feel like Harry's first time riding a broom, he should be helping his friends confront bullies and sneak into R rated movies, the lightning should command presence, and the overall wonder just has to be there, otherwise a Captain Marvel movie loses it's spirit. The Power of Hope
So probably one of the most well known SHAZAM stories is one called The Power of Hope by Alex Ross and Paul Dini (in fact most of the artwork I have posted up here is from said story, and all of it is done by Alex Ross). In this story, SHAZAM is tasked with a mission by the Wizard to ensure the flame of hope in the Champion held in the youth is maintained. Specifically that there will be a child in distress that he will need to save. Billy is then sent to a children's hospital where he spends most of the comic.
Now I don't want this to be the focus of the film, however there is a particular moment I want to see. In the story (spoiler alert) the child of whom the Wizard spoke of was a boy named Bobby. Throughout the issue, Bobby is the only child that won't go near the Captain, and upon closer observation he notices bruises on his arms and that Bobby had clearly been scared of the Captain as he reminded him of the very person who inflicted those wounds. So he visits the hospital again as Billy Batson, and befriends Bobby, discovering that Bobby was being abused by his father. Billy pays a visit to Bobby's home first as Billy, and is turned away rudely at the door. When he knocks again he faces down Bobby's father as the Captain Marvel and promises to be Bobby's protector from his father's cruel hands and give his father a bit of his own medicine if the abuse continues. What this scene says speaks for itself, but I just love that even as Billy Batson he was able to be a hero. These characters are just as much without their capes as they are with them. It's probably the most iconic scene in the book (other than the one where Captain Marvel sits with the dying cancer girl), and I think it would work really well in film. DCEU has had a rather mixed pedigree of movies. Man of Steel was decent, Batman vs Superman was very polarizing, Suicide Squad was all style and no substance, and while Wonder Woman was a great movie that is hopefully an end to the downward trend of DC films, a SHAZAM movie is one that is too close to my heart for me to not be a bit worried. It especially does not give me confidence that David F Sandberg has done only horror films in his previous work (although his internet trolling is certainly a good sign). However, I continue to see SHAZAM as DC's opportunity to continue a trend they started in Wonder Woman about heroes that focus on their compassion and show their lighter side. At the end of the day, Billy is 10 years old getting a dream come true: he can fly, he is strong, he can control lightning, he's super smart and as magical as it would be for any ten year old to have those powers, it should be just as magical for us as an audience to watch. I can only beg that DC do right by this character and I hope they do.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you next time!
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