Shazam!
Shazam!may be something of a standalone plastic film , but it ’s still closely connected to the rest of the DC Extended Universe . When the DCEU launch in 2013 , Warner Bros. was seek to weave a exclusive consistent narrative through multiple films . That ’s why there are Superman references and the Batman cameos inSuicide Squad ; because they helped make a sense of story coherence .
The last few DC movies have forsake that approach , though . Aquamancontained a discarded reference to the battle against Steppenwolf inJustice League , but other than that it might as well have been a standalone origin story . That ’s even more the case withShazam ! , a flick that enjoy in taking position in the same world as Superman and Batman , and yet has the courage to stick out on its own two feet .
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So how doesShazam!fit into the wider DCEU ? That question is well answered by look at allShazam ! ’s joining to the rest of the portion out universe , some pernicious and some far more obvious .
Superhero Merchandise
Shazam!features a wealth of superhero merchandise , most notably in one scene where Billy find himself tossed into a toy store . Amusingly , every art object of product - every action soma , every toy , and every piece of superhero memorabilia - really does exist . But director David F. Sanberg has stressed that it was all chosen with the greatest of guardianship . Toys were only used if they represented heroes already confirmed to exist in the DCEU ; aGreen Lanternreference , for good example , would have been altogether out of property .
That grade of witting thought turn this superhero product into an important plot point in the DCEU as a whole . It means that all the hero sandwich featured in the miniature entrepot - most conspicuously Batman and Superman , but also Wonder Woman - are now view as celebrities by the intact world . InMan of SteelandBatman v Superman : Dawn of Justice , the world was deeply divided in its view of superheroes ; some idolised champion , others distrusted them . Evidently the Justice League ’s frustration of Steppenwolf , and the accompanying resurrection of Superman , has shift that . Now , kids adore superheroes , even re - act out existent - life events - as picture in one scene where a child bashes together a Superman and Batman action at law image , roleplay out his own version ofBatman v Superman .
Interestingly , if Warner Bros. did indeed put this level of thought into the various toys featured in that toy shop , thenShazam!has add another primal event into the account of the DCEU ’s Batman . In the background , one of the Batman toy dog is what looks to be the Fisher Price version of the Superheavy mech . In the comics , this suit of armour was create by the Gotham City Police Department at a time when Batman was believe to be dead , and was worn by none other thanCommissioner Gordonhimself . Its inclusion inShazam!suggests that exchangeable issue have played out in the DCEU as well .
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Freddy’s Souvenirs
Meanwhile , Billy ’s foster - chum Freddy is shown as the ultimate superhero fanboy , all done in such a path as to make him an amusing pasquinade of risible book sports fan in the tangible man . Freddy ’s way contains a shrine to his preferred superheroes , packed with newspaper clipping and magazines discuss the events of previous films . The most notable are an number ofTIME Magazine , dedicated to research the psychological impact of General Zod ’s attack on Metropolis inMan of Steel , and a trimming lionise Superman ’s return - " SUPERMAN IS BACK ! " Meanwhile , Freddy also has a collection of unlike bit of superhero memorabilia , include a few particular that have in all probability be him quite a minute . The most dear is a fastball that bounced off of Superman ’s chest , flattened from the impingement with the Man of Steel ; it even has a security of genuineness . A sharp - edged Batarang demonstrate a slew more useful than anyone could have expected , distracting Sivana at a fundamental import , and helping Mary work out how to overreach the villain .
ThroughoutShazam ! , Freddy wears T - shirts barrack by his legendary heroes , including Superman and Batman . The motion picture even spotlight one of these ina post - credits scene , where Freddy is getting Billy to examine if he has the power to talk to fish . Billy objects that this go stunned , and asks when that power would ever number in useful . In reply , Freddy merely points to his Aquaman T - shirt . This does n’t just reassert that Aquaman is as celebrated a zep as the relief of the Justice League in the DCEU ; it also suggest thatthe dramatic end ofAquaman- in which Arthur Curry ’s ability to talk to fish brought an end to the war between the Tribes of Atlantis , before it could slop over on to the open world - are now public noesis .
pageboy 2 : Ace Chemicals and the Superman Cameo
The Superman Cameo
The most explicit DCEU connexion inShazam!isthe Superman cameo . At the end of the film , Billy revel his surrogate - brother Freddy when he turns up at the school day cafeteria to eat with him - " in costume . " Even better , to Freddy ’s delight he brings along a friend , who he ’s presumptively teamed up with in an unobserved adventure ; Superman . The television camera carefully stave off testify the hero ’s look , but it does n’t take to ; the costume is n’t exactly difficult to agnize , and Freddy ’s joy is tangible , confirm this is the real deal .
There ’s been a little costume variety from the version last seen inJustice League- this suit has two blood-red and amber portions at the hips . From an out - of - universe perspective , there ’s a reasonShazam!hides Superman ’s face ; it ’s because Henry Cavill was n’t involved . At the timeShazam!was shot , there were reports that the human relationship between Cavill and Warner Bros. was close to falling asunder , with rumors Cavill wasattempting to renegociate this declaration . give the uncertainty over Cavill ’s DCEU time to come , it ’s well-to-do to see why Sandberg took this approach shot .
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ACE Chemicals
Finally , there’sa elusive connection betweenShazam!andSuicide Squad . In one primal scene , Billy and Freddy head to an abandoned warehouse so as to try on and work out just what Billy ’s power are . They test his strength , his velocity , and his survival , and in general seem to have a peck of fun . But , while the centering is upon the comedic training collage , the tangible Easter nut is of a corporate logo left behind amidst the metal light beam and monolithic tanks . The logotype is that of ACE Chemicals , one of the most infamous corporations in all of the DC Universe .
In the comic strip , ACE Chemicals are a fellowship unremarkably associate with Gotham City . One night , a flee malefactor run into ACE Chemicals , pursued by the Batman , and stumbled into a vat of unknown toxin . The Caped Crusader conceive he had die , but in reality he had been transformed , emerging from ACE Chemicals as the Joker . The DCEU has n’t confirmed that its version of the Joker shares this ancestry story , butSuicide Squadheavily connote it , with a flashback fit show the Joker give Harley Quinn the chance to try out her love by jumping into the same vat . They in the end had a weird ' chemical marriage , ' with the Joker jumping in again after her .
divertingly , the empty warehouse inShazam!is actually the Hearn Generating Station , a now - decommissioned office works outside Toronto , Ontario . The exact same positioning was used to fritter away the ACE Chemicals scenes inSuicide Squad .
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