"Shazam"
"Since the dawn of man, I have protected civilization from evil, from sin. I-The Great & Mighty Wizard Shazam-spent my life watching over the mortal realm from my Rock of Eternity. In the days of The Greek Pantheon, a curious girl named Pandora opened a magic box that unleashed the sealed forces of nature from my lair. These were The Seven Sins of Man: Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, and Pride. I was able to seal these seven sins away again, but their influence on man's world was too far implanted and evil would forever slumber in the hearts of humans. I chose to select a mortal of pure heart to protect the Earth from this evil, but he was soon corrupted by the power I gave him. For his actions, I exiled him to another planet far in the cosmos. I was crushed by my failure, but I was soon graced to discoverer new champions had risen to battle the forces of evil, heroes free of my interruption. I allowed these heroes to watch over the planet, but later in my life the Sins were let free again by the first child of Zeus, my old friend. The heroes helped seal the sins once more, but my life continues to twiddle away as The Sins inch closer to freedom. As such, I have decided to test the hand of fate one more time and choose a successor of pure heart. If my decision be consequential let my soul rot, but I pray that in the mortal boy known as Billy Batson, a hero may be awakened".
Billy Batson is a ten year-old boy who lives with his Uncle Dudley Batson in Fawcett City. Billy's parents died in a car accident during a snowstorm and Billy was left to live with his only relative. Billy goes to school and has a paper route, and Dudley used to work at a television station. But one day, Dudley tried to choke Billy and word spread around the neighborhood about it. Billy and Dudley both know this was because the essence of Wrath had corrupted Dudley (Justice League: Godfall), but some people still don't buy it. Dudley was fired from his job for being an accused "abusive guardian", but the child protective services believe his claims because some of them were corrupted by Sin during the event as well. Billy tried running a paper route to help Dudley make apartment pay, but Dudley struggles to find a job. Billy tells all this to a news lady for her local story and is given money by everyone in the office who feels bad for Billy. When he walks home after this, three bullies (Paul, Ed, and Frank) hassle Billy and take his money.
He gets home to find his uncle passed out from a long day of filling out job applications. He helps Dudley to bed and then does a prayer before going to sleep. Meanwhile in the nation of Kahndaq, Doctor Thaddeus Sivana is researching the tomb of Teth-Adam, a powerful and mystic man who ruled over his country centuries ago and might have been an apprentice of The Wizard Shazam. Sivana is obsessed with unlocking the power of ancient magic and as such seeks The Wizard. From reading the scriptures, a magic bolt gives Sivana the ability to "see magic". He and his dim-witted assistant Ibac leave the tomb ruined. A school the next day, Billy is again pushed around by the three bullies, but Freddy Freeman and Mary Bromfield bring a teacher over to take the bullies to the principles office. Mary and Freddy ask Billy if he and his uncle would like to have dinner at their house that night. Billy finds out they both belong to a foster family and accepts. Billy and a reluctant Uncle Dudley have dinner with Mr & Mrs Vasquez and their adopted children Mary, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, Darla and their pet rabbit Hoppy. The dinner goes well until Mr Vasquez and Dudley go outside to talk, Billy comes out just in time to see Dudley push Mr Vasquez into the snow and refuse his help. Billy and Dudley go home and once there Dudley passes out on the couch, he had been drinking before the dinner. Billy leaves a note for Dudley and walks back to The Vasquez's to grab his coat, but witnesses a break in at a computer store on the way over. The criminals chase Billy into a subway, Billy tries to get in one of the trains, but the door is about to shut. Luckily, a man in a purple cloak holds the door open and Billy slides in. When he looks up, the man is gone and the train is moving.
The train enters a giant rock floating in space, and Billy gets off the train into a cave. Along the cave walls there are seven statues representing the seven sins. The cloaked man sits on a throne at the end of the room and explains how the Sins will remain locked up for only a short time. This man is The Wizard Shazam, and he has selected Billy to take his place as the Earth protector from Sin. Billy asks why him, and The Wizard states that Billy is pure of heart. Billy rejects this, he claims there is nothing more he wants than to push back, but The Wizard knows this is incorrect. Billy does not push back because he is afraid, he does so because he is strong. The Wizard says that when Billy speaks The Wizard's name, he will become the new Shazam. Billy says "Shazam" and becomes a grown man, empower by figures of Greek myth: 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. When Billy asks why the Greek Gods, The Wizard explains that the last ounce of magic power he received was Greek in origin. The Wizard introduces Billy to Tawny, a magical tiger who will act as Billy's guide. The Wizard then dies in his chair. Overwhelmed, Billy-still as Shazam-flies out of the rock and is transported back to Fawcett City, with the Sin statues continuing to crumble. Additionally, on the former planet Pluto, a statue of a man has crumbles completely. Black Adam is free.
Shazam goes back to the computer break-in and runs after the criminal's van at super speed. He tries to pull them over politely, but the criminals shoot at him. Bullets bounce of his head and he uses his strength to lift the van up by the back and finally let it go to drive into a lamp pole at high speeds. Shazam check to see if their alive and they are, he then remembers a trick he saw Superman do on the news and he ties a lamp post around the criminals.
Shazam goes home and changes back into Billy, when he walks in Dudley is awake and in tears. As Dudley explains, he felt solely responsible for Billy after his parents died and after choking him and losing his job, Dudley felt like a failure. Even more so when people like Vasquez or just people on the street offered help. Billy explains to Dudley that they are family and family forgive each other. Billy goes to bed that night realizing why The Wizard chose him. When Billy used magic thunder to turn from Shazam into Billy again, the trail of magic was seen by Doctor Sivana who was on an airplane at the time. Sivana and Ibac come to Fawcett City the next day. Billy has been offered a job at Fawcett Radio, as they loved his interview and thought he had the makings of a reporter. Billy is tasked with coming up with a radio show. Billy, Dudley, Freddy and Mary go to the mall to get Dudley some fancy interview clothes, as Dudley is now open to help. While there, Dudley meets Fawcett City Mayor Cece Beck who offers him a job as her aid. Cece believes everyone deserves a shot to better themselves and Dudley accepts the offer. Billy tries to use his powers to fight the school bullies-who push over Mary-but his powers don't work and Dudley and Freddy stand up for Mary. Tawny appears in the bathroom and explains Billy's powers only work for pure intentions. Sivana and Ibac are at the mall and Sivana sees magic resinating from the food court. He almost finds Billy, but is actually looking for a fat man eating a lot of food. Ibac uses magic sulfur from a pot to expose the fat man as the Sin Gluttony, who has escaped onto Earth. Panic ensues and Billy turns into Shazam to fight Gluttony. Ibac intercepts Shazam and matches his power thanks to the magic sulfur. Sivana uses a machine to capture Gluttony, but is interested by Shazam's powers, he recognizes the Wizard's symbol on this hero. Ibac and Shazam fight until the mall starts to collapse, Shazam uses his speed to get all the remaining civilians out of the mall. Ibac brings the mall down and leaves with Sivana. Black Adam is seen flying through space towards Earth.
That night, Shazam sits on the cliff above his parent's crash sight, telling Tawny that he doesn't know if he deserves the powers. Dudley is busy with work, so Billy goes to the Fawcett City Zoo with Mary and Freddy hoping to get some ideas for the radio show. His friends are still mad about Billy not helping Mary, so Billy takes them out of the crowd and turns into Shazam to show them the truth. Mary and Freddy forgive Billy, but they're all interrupted by a group of child pickpockets running out of the zoo. Shazam stops them, but they morph together into the Sin Greed. Shazam fights Greed and defeats the sin, delivering each wallet back to their respective owner and being loved by the public. Behind his back, Greed is absorbed into Sivana's machine and Ibac goes another round with Shazam. Shazam thinks he might have killed Ibac, and Sivana uses this chance to use his "Evil Cannon" to blast Shazam. This cannon is powered by the captured sins and weakens Shazam, Sivana commands him to bring him to The Wizard, but Mary and Freddy distract Sivana long enough for Shazam to regain his strength and break the cannon. The Sins of Gluttony and Greed are released elsewhere and Sivana is saved by Ibac.
Black Adam lands on Earth in the nation Kahndaq to see it is under the command of his descendent, he finds his tomb desecrated and uses magic to visit The Rock of Eternity. There he finds The Wizard's corpse and tortures Tawny until he tells Black Adam the name of The Wizard's successor. In Fawcett City, Dudley invites The Vasquez's over for dinner and seems happy, after the guests leave Dudley is afraid this Shazam guy might make the city more dangerous and that Beck wants to meet him. Billy transforms and shows Dudley that he is Shazam, this causes Dudley to faint comedically. Black Adam arrives in Fawcett City, observing it from a skyscraper. Doctor Sivana and Ibac arrive, Sivana offers a deal: They will help Black Adam destroy Shazam if Black Adam brings Sivana to The Rock of Eternity. Black Adam scoffs and goes to kill Sivana, but Ibac fights him. Black Adam is able to overpower Ibac and use his magic thunder to reverse the effects of the magic sulfur, making Ibac weak and frail. Black Adam tosses Ibac to his death and kidnaps Sivana.
Shazam is sitting on the couch watching the news with Dudley, who faints every time he wakes up and sees Shazam. On Fawcett City News, Doctor Sivana has been blindfolded and hung above a radio tower. Shazam tucks Dudley in and goes out to save Sivana. When he brings Sivana down, he is shocked to see the Doctor's eyes have been removed. He hands Sivana to the police and meets Black Adam. Black Adam fights Shazam, overpowering him greatly. When Shazam escapes into the forest beyond the city, he finds a beaten-up Tawny Tiger looking for him. Tawny explains that Black Adam was once Teth-Adam, a slave in ancient Kahndaq who was pure of heart and given power by The Wizard. With The Stamina of Shu, The Speed of Heru, The Strength of Amon, The Wisdom of Zehuti, The Power of Aton, and The Courage of Mehen, he became Black Adam and ruled over Kahndaq until his heart was corrupted by power. The Wizard exiled Black Adam to Pluto under a spell that would contain him until The Wizard's death. Shazam tells Tawny to hide when Black Adam appears.
There fight is monumental, but Shazam gets an idea. Shazam purposely turns into Billy Batson to sneak away from Black Adam, but Black Adam finds him. Billy uses the thunder to try and change Black Adam into a human, but it doesn't work. Black Adam covers Billy's mouth and is about to kill him, but he hesitates and tosses him in the snow. Black Adam is enraged The Wizard would select a child to be the new champion, he orders Billy to change back into his Shazam form. Billy purposes they fight as humans, that way its fair and not morally wrong. Black Adam accepts the challenge, but when he changes into a human his body ages rapidly. Billy knows that because Black Adam stayed in his Shazam form for centuries that he might have forgotten how the powers work, even more so he neglected his human side in favor for his powers. Black Adam dies from his useless human body and Billy mourns his victory.
Billy tells the viewers that Dudley continues his job as Mayor's aid and leaks info to Billy/Shazam regarding city crime, Billy moves in with The Vasquez family so Dudley can focus on his work and buying a home for all of them and also so Billy can have "brothers and sisters", Shazam and Tawny spread Black Adam's ashes on Kahndaq soil and Tawny makes it his mission to capture the escaped and weakened Sins, Billy decides to call his radio show "Fawcett City Heroes" to highlight good citizens in the city and talk about the adventures of Shazam, Billy claims he doesn't know how Sivana escaped custody, but that he probably won't be much trouble. We are shown a scene of a police officer letting Sivana out of jail and then dying of a brain aneurism, Sivana picks up a mind-controlling caterpillar named Mr Mind and the caterpillar helps lead Sivana to freedom. Shazam is seen standing on the top of a building overlooking Fawcett City, regarding how he'll be the best hero he can be. He turns to see Wonder Woman and Batman behind him, "Shazam, is it" says Wonder Woman, "We're friends of The Wizard and we'd like to make give you an invitation". Batman hands Shazam a JL membership card, "Not an invitation" he says, "you've been drafted".
After the credits, we are shown Kahndaq in ancient times. The nation's leader Black Adam has his minions bring him his immortal slave named Kull Savage. Black Adam tells Kull that he is aware of the rebellion Kull has started under his nose and will punish him greatly for his plans of mutiny. When Kull asks how he knew, Kull's immortal brother Vandal Savage appears and reveals he sold his brother out. Kull curses Vandal's name and is thrown in a pit of magic snakes. Because Black Adam knows of his immortality, the pit is sealed so that Kull will live the remainder of his life far beneath the earth in a pit of snakes, forever trapped in torture. Vandal can't help but see the similarity to a previous event, Black Adam offers Vandal a reward for serving his nation. Vandal wants freedom from Kahndaq, but Black Adam says such a reward is worth two favors. And so, Vandal promises one day he will return the favor of freedom to Black Adam and he leaves the nation of Kahndaq.
Thanks for reading!
With no Superman to protect Metropolis, we must rest out hope on..."Lex Luthor"?
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