5 of Shazam’s best moments show the lighter side of the DCEU

Shazam has proven the DCEU is making a complete turn around. With lighthearted fare and unique heroes, here are the film’s best moments.

The DCEU has righted the ship and is finally giving us the kind of movies we not only want, but that can give the MCU a run for their money. By embracing characters like Shazam and Aquaman, audiences are getting classic comic book heroes who may not be quite as mainstream as superheroes like Batman and Superman. And yet, thanks to the heart and humor these two characters gave us in their solo outings, we are okay with heroes we may not have been familiar with before.

While there was a lot riding on the success of Shazam, we were just excited to see the superhero shine in his first solo movie. And shine he did.

Although the film was not jam-packed with action, we were okay with that, because it had all the other things we needed for an excellent movie with heart and humor.

There were a lot of great scenes throughout this film, from sweet moments of Billy Batson and his new family to the humorous way Billy learns about his powers. Below are our favorite moments of all from Shazam.

Billy Batson gets his powers from the Wizard

We rarely, if ever, get to witness the moment a superhero attains their powers. And we certainly don’t see teenagers being deemed worthy by wizards to be gifted with the kind of magic that would make them an adult with powers equal to Superman. However, seeing Billy being told to say the word Shazam and then gifted all of these powers was not only cool, but even a bit humorous. That boyish wonder and the introduction of magic helps sets this film apart from other DC films and superhero films overall.

Billy (as Shazam) and Freddy buy beer and learn about bullet immunity

I think a lot of my favorite moments revolve around Billy learning about his new-found powers and his family. With everything he has dealt with in his life, seeing this genuine sense of happiness is extremely fulfilling. Of course, with the boys still being children, it make sense that one of the first things they would do now that Billy can become an adult is to go and buy beer.

And even as they try to get their first purchase out of the way, a robbery in progress leads to them discovering that one of Shazam’s powers is an immunity to bullets. This leads to an entire shootout type of moment where Billy decides to let the robbers shoot all their bullets at him in order to determine exactly how immune he is.

Of course, beer is not as fun or delicious as teenagers think it is, which is why after they spit take their first sip, they decide that soda and their favorite junk food is a much better option. This scene is one of my favorites because it is a two for one deal. Not only do we get to learn more about the gifts bestowed on Billy, but there is also humor thrown in for good measure.

Shazam and Doctor Sivana come face-to-face the first time

One of the best parts of any superhero movie is the first time the hero and the villain confront one another. This is especially true when it happens more than once (there are certainly movies where the hero and bad guy only have one true confrontation).

The great thing about this meeting is the fact that Billy learns that there is at least one other person out there in the world with powers similar to his own. And while Doctor Sivan is obviously a villain, his abilities are a match for Shazam’s, which means that we have a confrontation coming that will be truly epic in many ways.

Sadly, Shazam loses this first battle (of course), but it paints a picture of what Billy needs to know to save the day later on. Plus, this is the same moment that our villain figures out the truth about Billy and his alter ego. Sadly, this leads to him using Billy’s family against him, which is awful, but also a reminder that our foster kid finally has people he cares about and who care about him.

GRACE FULTON as Mary Bromfiels, IAN CHEN as Eugene Choi, COOPER ANDREWS as Victor Vasquez, JACK DYLAN GRAZER as Freddy Freeman, MARTA MILANS as Rosa Vasquez, ASHER ANGEL as Billy Batson and JOVAN ARMAND as Pedro Pena in New Line Cinema’s action adventure “SHAZAM!,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie/DC Comics

The creation of the Shazam family

One of the greatest aspects of the Shazam comics is the Shazam family, and having the movie introduce this superhero family is amazing. Billy needs all the help he can get to defeat Doctor Sivan because they are rather equally matched (it makes sense since their powers come from the same place and are very similar).

It is during the final confrontation between Shazam and Doctor Sivana that we see the creation of the Shazam family. Billy remember the Wizard taught him how to transfer his powers. This enables him to gift powers to his foster family, which gives us the introduction of a whole new batch of superheroes. While Billy takes on Sivana, it is his family who take on the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Superman Cameo

Even though we knew we’d see Superman make a cameo in Shazam because of leaked still, we were still shocked and stunned when it happened.

Not only did this truly tie the greater DCEU in with the story and this hero, but it was a chance to help Freddy out. (While we’re sad it wasn’t Henry Cavill’s Superman, the fact that there was no face shown means it could have been him.)

Shazam keeping a promise to Freddy to prove to his classmates he knows a superhero was great. But the icing on the cake was having him bring a member of the Justice League along for good measure.

There was a lot to love about Shazam and Zachary Levi’s take on this particular superhero. And thanks to these five amazing moments, we got to see the evolution of this hero in many ways. From getting his powers to defeating a villain, Shazam is the newest hero on the DCEU block and he is proving that humor and family can help win the day.