Perhaps you still have not seen the debut adventure of Billy Batson, aka Shazam and the official first defense against his “reverse Flash” aka Black Adam, so now might be a good time before diving into Shazam’s sequel, Fury of The Gods.

Starring two sets of actors for each character, since our superheroes mutate with a magic spell that alters their physical appearance and endows them with superhuman powers very similar to Superman’s, Shazam was one of the few bright spots in WB’s box office disappointments DCEU adventures for the past several years. 

As an extra trivia point, Shazam was initially called Captain Marvel in the 1939 comic books by Fawcett Comics (before Marvel Comics created their Captain Mar-Vell in 1968 later changing its name to Captain Marvel).  Shazam was the magic word that Billy spoke to turn into a magic-powered version of Superman and an equal to Black Adam.

In fact I often wondered how is it that Superman (and Supergirl) always felt they were all alone on Earth with the weight of the world on their shoulders when in fact both Kryptonians had Shazam as a brother-in-arm and the entire Marvel family as superheroes they could call on for help and commiserate with. 

Count them, that’s six extra superheroes for the Man of Steel and The Maiden of Steel to lean on.  They all exist in the same universe and the same timeline.  Interestingly enough the comic books editors of DC Comics (after sueing Fawcett Comics for Superman infringement, bankrupting Fawcett and buying them out) never criss-crossed these characters in cross-over adventures but somehow Superman managed to cross paths with Spiderman and Thor in special collaborative projects involving both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.  But no Superman and The Marvel Family??  Too much firepower for a single adventure to allow for this many supermen and superwomen to share panels and exploits in a single volume??? 

Dearest comic book editors, that’s only two more on top of the six Shazam family members but alas I forget the Marvel Family is often embroiled in humorous storylines and campy villains, never once used against serious deadly dangers as is the custom with Superman and his cousin.  Sorry to say, and this might sound a trite harsh until you really familiarize yourself with both brands from DC Comics, but The Marvel Family has been relegated to the status of “clowns” with enough superpowers that can literally wreak the universe yet tempered and beguiled with awesum fuddy-daddy goodness, errr … problems. 

Yes, that has traditionally been the Achille’s heel for the Shazam brand (and in many ways for Supergirl), the inability and unwillingness of the editors and creators at DC Comics to come up with serious storylines and serious villains commensurate with the potential of the superheroes they created and published for decades.

Until you factor in Black Adam, of course, he was so good as a villain and so seriously a threat to the world that on many occasions the editors brought him to fight Superman, to relieve the boredom of Kal El going up against giant robots, Brainiac and Lex Luthor or some evil version of himself.

The one good villain from the “sphere” of Shazam, Black Adam, happens to be an evil version of Shazam or an evil version of Superman, cause as I mentioned earlier, Shazam/Superman/ Black Adam are basically equals in terms of superpowers.

Still, the editors of the Shazam comic book series obviously cannot constantly pit our heroes against Black Adam, it would get boring for their readers.  Hence the editors and writers remain at an impasse, what to do with a second more powerful version of the Justice League?

The first movie was a fabulous surprise from DC, successful both critically and commercially at the box office because somehow the writers and producers managed to properly adapt to the silver screen the humor and comedy of being a newborn superhero that does not know how to use his superpowers, kinda like the original one season hit of The Greatest American Superhero, the dude with the red suit but without the instructions manual, constantly slugging his way through overcoming second-rate villains because he was unable to use his suit at full potential and power.

That is how in 2019 we are introduced to Billy/Shazam and his friend/adopted brother who together set out on a mission to find out how to go beyond “I don’t even know how to pee in this thing”.

Of course, the 2019 and 2023 movies, just like the Shazam comic books, make it a point to ensure the viewer knows that Batman, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman and basically the entire Justice League exists as actual (real) superheroes in the fictional world of the lightning bolt-powered champion.

“… fairly panders to the under-13 set.
But Levi still works his chatterbox charm …”

Rafer Guzman March 15, 2023 | Newsday

“And … in terms of entertainment,
you could barely get less.”

Robbie Collin March 15, 2023 | Daily Telegraph (UK)

Shazam the debut movie is a delight to watch and the performances of the actors mesh well in a more intimate family-oriented comedy/drama.  Despite the fact that movie had a smaller special effects and spectacular action budget, the 2019 Shazam managed to beat their DCEU flagship cousins at the box office, even though by all accounts the finale in the film was a bit on the campy side. 

Overall though, Shazam manages to entertain by exploiting the trademark difference between the regular DC Comics comic books tone (for Superman, Batman, The Flash) as opposed to the comical, self-parodying style the Shazam comic books are famous for. 

The big question though, will Warner Brothers be able to sustain momentum and pull off the same thing with Fury of the Gods or will it plunge into camp as it attempts to balance its heritage of comical setups with a more fantastical set of villains (read more serious thrills and more authentic suspense). 

In science fiction and superhero movies, the biggest downfall is the lack of suspense, oftentimes because authenticity and realism are not properly built up nor sustained – causing the viewer to lose interest, or simply walk out on the film.

In Shazam 2, the entire story revolves around the gods and magic, it becomes another Thor adventure of sorts in the Hobbit Realm, facing off Tolkien monsters and dragons with nothing except one pie-in-the-sky twist after another to explain how our characters survive this challenge or escape that danger.

The more the danger is based in magic and wrapped up in magic the less the story connects with the viewer whom Warner Brothers clearly believes to live in fantasy land, ignoring the eighth deadly sin of filmmaking – relatability is key to better escapism and customer satisfaction.

The viewer is expected to be familiar with the Harry Potter world of Wizardry and the mythical world of Games of Thrones to properly go along with Dorothy, Tin Man and her friends on the Yellow Brick Road. 

This movie plays like the Gods of Olympus in the lackluster Percy Jackson & The Olympians duo movies tradition with Anthea and Steve and the Tree of Life.  No surprise though, the filmmakers wrap up with an Amazonian Female Reincarnation of Zeus closing act.