In any case, Sivana, who has clearly never been one for making human connections, needs a friend. It’s not really obvious whether or not that has happened on screen here, but there’s something about the way he’s hunched over, mumbling, appearing completely broken might hint at a kind of physical degeneration as well. Much of that comic book story mirrors what we see on screen in the movie, although there’s one flourish from the comics that isn’t explicitly spelled out on screen: Sivana’s mortal body wasn’t meant to contain those magical powers in the first place and started to degrade, and the loss of those powers aged him far beyond his approximately 40 years (and as a result, brings him closer to the more traditional, frail physicality the character is known for). Sivana was now physically fit and imposing, much like how Mark Strong portrays him in the film. That changed when Geoff Johns and Gary Frank revamped the Shazam origin story in 2011, and re-imagined Sivana as a man obsessed with the acquisition of magical artifacts and powers. The actual post-credits scene is less important, and instead just plays with the fun elements that come with existing within a broader shared cinematic universe. Sivana, and lays the groundwork for Shazam 2 (assuming it happens…which hopefully it will). The mid-credits scene is by far the more important one, as it introduces a major villain from Shazam history, hints at the future of Dr. Shazam! has two after credits scenes, one that happens mid-credits, and one that happens at the very end. After all, a character who has been around for 80 years certainly has enough mythology to support a franchise all his own, and doesn’t need help from the Justice League or anyone else. But what it does extraordinarily well is lean into what makes the magical world of the Shazam family so unique in the first place. Much like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, it exists firmly within the DC Extended Universe, but also doesn’t spend much time worrying about things like setting up crossovers or potential team-ups in the future (and no, that final scene BEFORE the credits doesn’t count…you know the one we mean).
Shazam! continues the arc of recovery we’ve seen in recent DCEU movies.
SHAZAM VILLAIN FREE
We have a spoiler free review of the film here. This article consists of nothing but Shazam! spoilers.