DC’s latest superhero movie, “Shazam”, is currently playing in theatres all around the world.
Just like any regular blockbuster movie, the superhero flick was filled with easter eggs. Some of them were obvious while some not so much. Having said that, it’s easy to miss out the hidden references that were either poking fun at other entries or could possibly be the first piece of the puzzle to upcoming narratives. Here is our list:
1. Mockery of Aquaman’s abilities
Shown in the post-credit scene, Billy Batson is still in the midst of figuring out his abilities with his close pal, Freddy Freeman. The pair wonders if Billy could communicate with a fish, prompting Billy to ask what good would it do if he could?
To which, Freddy dunks the oversimplification, arguing that this ability can actually allow him to command an entire army of sea creatures. This was a direct reference to a scene in the 2018 “Aquaman” movie. In this particular scene, Freddy is also seen wearing a T-shirt with an “Aquaman” logo on it.
2. Misty Tawky Tawny
Billy is a foster child who runs away from his foster families, with the hope of finding his biological mother. She was first introduced in a fun fair booth, trying to pop a balloon as young Billy is heard of asking for a tiger doll.
The tiger doll comes up again during the final battle when Shazam is thrown into a booth at the fun fair. There, he meets a little girl with her father shaking out of fear. Shazam then attempts to calm her down by giving her a tiger doll, reassuring her that everything is going to be okay.
This could be a teaser of Misty Tawky Tawny’s potential appearance in the franchise. The character in the comics was a popular children’s toy doll that was owned by Billy’s sister, Mary Batson.
The doll was brought to life when villain Lord Satanus transformed him into a six-foot anthropomorphic tiger. The purpose of doing so was for the assistance of fighting his demon sister, Blaze. Under Satanus’ spell, Tawny only appears sentient to Billy, whereas to everyone else he was still a doll. Eventually Tawny was given a permanent anthropomorphic form by the magical superhero Ibris the Invicible.
3. Mister Mind (The Caterpillar)
The Rock of Eternity was a prison not only to the seven deadly creatures but also to the caterpillar villain, mister mind. Mister mind was first seen trapped in a container. However when the seven deadly creatures were released, mister mind somehow managed to escape. He returns in the end credits to speak to Dr. Sivana in prison.
His presence here could be a foreshadowing on what’s to come especially after he mentioned, “I name the Gods doctor, not the other way around”. This phrase could refer to his work with the Monster society of evil, where he acts as a recruiter of the team. In the comics, the team consists of villains like Dummy and Mr. Who.
4. Superman
Billy is first introduced to Freddy as his roomate. As Billy familiarizes himself with his new room, Billy opens a drawer that is filled with newspapers. One notably had the headline “Superman”. And what you know? Superman appears at the end of the movie, showing up in the school canteen.
5. Batman
Another interesting figure that was present at Freddy’s room was a batman boomerang. The memorabilia was then later used as a weapon against Sivana by one of the kids.
Batman is referenced again in another battle between Shazam and Sivana. This time, Shazam yells “Batman get him” and throws a batman figure at Sivana.
6. Black Adam
Speaking of villains, Black Adam was teased when the Shazam wizard explained the backstory behind the counsel and the previous hero. In the conversation, he mentioned of the errant champion who abused his powers to seek revenge against those who’ve wronged him.
In the comics, Black Adam is first introduced as “Mighty Adam” who was chosen by the wizard Shazam to be his successor due to his presumed moral purity. Unfortunately, due to the strength of his powers, he got corrupted.
This led him to kill the pharaoh and take over the Egyptian throne. Angered by the act, the Shazam wizard renames his errant champion into “Black Adam” and banishes him out to the most distant star in the universe.
7. Arion
When Billy got his power, he was curious to know whether he could fly or not. To find it out, he went to a skate ramp. There on the walls of the ramp, the name, Arion was graffitied on it.
For those who are unaware of who this is, Arion is actually a powerful demigod from the nobility of ancient Atlantis. He was born in the 45,000 BC and is the twin son of Calculha and Dark Majistra, two powerful Atlantean god-beings.
8. Fawcett Central
In the movie, Billy and his foster siblings goes to Fawcett Central, a high school near their foster home. This is a reference to the metropolitan city ‘Fawcett City’ where Shazam operates in the comics.
The name “Fawcett City” was chosen to pay homage to the company, “Fawcett Publications” that created and published the first “Captain Marvel” comic, which was Shazam’s first given name.
9. Captain Thunder
Before settling on Shazam, Billy and Freddy were discussing on an alter ego for the superhero. In one of the spontaneous outburst, Freddy refers Shazam as “Captain Thunder”.
This is actually a shoutout to Shazam’s first given name. Before he was Shazam, the creators almost went with Captain Thunder before going with Captain Marvel. However, due to copyrights, the superhero was later named as Shazam again.
10. Johnny Bravo
Shifting gears a bit, this superhero movie gave a nod to one of the most famous cartoon in animation history, Johnny Bravo. In one particular scene, Billy can be seen flexing his newly superheroic muscles. His pose looked a lot like Johnny Bravo’s iconic pose.
Take a look for yourself:
Did you noticed any more Easter Eggs? Let us know in the comments below.
