In the latest DC movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Shazam 2), the Shazam Family (or should we say, the “Philadelphia Fiascos”?) return to action when an ancient trio, the Daughters of Atlas — Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea take over Philadelphia. The Daughters want to take their father’s stolen powers back and are furious the Wizard Shazam (the Wizard) gave them to a child. The Shazam Family has to stop the Daughters from using a weapon (the Wizard’s staff) that could destroy the world.
While the movie may have a basic superhero plot, a lot of things did happen toward the end. This article explains the ending of Shazam 2.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Read at your own risk!
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The Ending of Shazam 2 Explained: Shazam/Billy Batson’s Death
The show ends on a battle between Shazam and Kalypso (along with her CGI wooden dragon). Kalypso was the destructive one among the three (Hespera and Anthea turned good after their sister’s madness), and she wanted to destroy the Earth by having the Seed of Life grow on the planet.
Basically, this Seed does not work well in the realm of men and could destroy the entire world. After Kalypso successfully plants the Seed in a baseball stadium, a series of mythological monsters like minotaurs, cyclopses, chimeras, harpies… and unicorns start appearing, causing chaos.
Shazam realizes that the only way to beat Kalypso was to overload the Wizard’s staff. He confronts Kalypso after making a deal with the dying Hespera to make the dome smaller, trapping him and Kalypso in an enclosed space. After an emotional conversation with Freddy and his family, Shazam sacrifices himself by overloading the magic staff, defeating Kalypso and her CGI dragon.
Throughout the entire film, Billy learns what it means to be a hero and a god. Before her death, Hespera acknowledged that Billy was a “god indeed”. So yes, Shazam makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect the world and is killed off in the end. His family then buried him at a place for gods.
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The Ending of Shazam 2 Explained: Wonder Woman Saves Shazam
The film had a burial scene, which may lead viewers to think that Billy’s death is final. Freddy asks the Wizard to resurrect Billy, but the Wizard said it was no longer possible because the staff’s power got drained. He added that only a god could bring back the staff’s power, but there were no more gods left on their world.
Wonder Woman then arrives and says there’s one more god left. She uses her godhood to power up the staff to bring back Billy to life. Billy then reunites with his family and uses the staff again to restore his siblings’ powers.
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The Ending of Shazam 2 Explained: The Justice Society of America
Shazam 2’s mid-credits scene opens with two agents talking about how Amanda Waller (the character who commands the Suicide Squad and Justice Society) told them to be careful when recruiting their next target. The target was said to be one of the most powerful forces they’ve ever come into contact with… but can be quite immature.
They find their target Billy doing some practice with his lightning abilities. Waller’s agents tell him that they’d like to recruit him to the “Justice ...”, but Billy cuts them off. He instantly agrees, thinking that they were asking him to join the Justice League.
The agents correct Billy, telling him that they’re not recruiting him for the Justice League, but rather the Justice “Society”.
It can be recalled that the Justice Society of America (also known as the JSA) was introduced in Black Adam, where the movie had four of its members – Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. This part of Shazam 2 makes us speculate on what plans Waller has in store for the heroes under her command and whether we’ll be seeing more of the Justice Society in future DC films.
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The Ending of Shazam 2 Explained: What It Means for the DCU
Shazam! Fury of the Gods can be considered a standalone film. Its plot doesn’t really intertwine with any of the other DC films. Wonder Woman’s appearance doesn’t seemingly affect any critical storyline of past and upcoming DC films, either than the fact that she was the key to resurrecting Billy.
Wonder Woman’s appearance, however, raises questions about her own future in the DCU. It should be emphasized that Gal Gadot’s cameo appearance was decided during the previous regime of DC, before James Gunn made his own plans. DC Studios co-chairpersons Gunn and Peter Safran have not announced a sequel as part of their slate. So Shazam 2 can either be a sign that Gadot’s Wonder Woman will be staying, or it’s an unofficial farewell. Regardless of her future in the DCU, it was good to see Gadot’s Wonder Woman on the big screen again, even just for a short while.
Additionally, a third Shazam film remains unannounced. But that doesn’t mean the character can’t make future appearances (even just cameos) in future DC films. After all, we still have more DC films such as The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman 2 coming up.
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Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now playing in theaters.
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