James Garcia on why Warner Bros.’ Shazam film needs to include Billy Batson…
Now that Dwayne Johnson has been cast as Black Adam in Warner Bros. and New Line’s Shazam movie, we’re all wondering who will take the title role, and who will be cast in the crucial role of Shazam’s young alter-ego, Billy Batson.
For those unfamiliar, Billy Batson is a young boy who’s chosen by an ancient wizard and given the magical powers of six ancient heroes (Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury) when he utters the word “Shazam.” This transforms him into a powerful adult superhero (formerly called Captain Marvel, now re-named Shazam after some legal battles with Marvel Comics).
The Guardian’s Ben Child recently published an article about how WB should approach the Shazam film, and noted that “Billy Batson needs to go,” in order to dispense of some of the “hokier eccentricities” of the Shazam character and modernize the story for contemporary audiences. Child cited Marvel’s decision to completely ignore the classic Thor alter-ego Dr. Donald Blake in the 2011 Thor film as something Warner Bros. should emulate.
What Child does not understand, however, is that unlike Dr. Donald Blake and Thor, there simply is no Shazam without Billy Batson.
Thor is not Dr. Donald Blake, and never was. Blake was a disguise Odin created for Thor when he banished him to Earth in order to teach him humility. Once Thor learned the value of humble perseverance and humanity, he regained his memories and was once again worthy of wielding the hammer Mjolnir. He kept the Blake alter-ego for a time, and continued his medical practice; but Thor never truly was Donald Blake.
Shazam, on the other hand, is Billy Batson. He’s just an adult, super-powered version of him. Thor got away with dispensing of the Dr. Blake character because Thor himself is not an alter ego or a costumed hero. Thor simply is Thor, the God of Thunder. Having a Shazam film without Billy Batson completely negates one of the most interesting aspects of the character, and turns Shazam into just another run-of-the-mill superhero or even a Superman knock-off.
Yes, alter-egos are becoming a thing of the past in Hollywood. The world knows that Tony Stark is Iron Man, Lois Lane knows that Clark Kent is Superman in Man of Steel, Captain America is just a title given to Steve Rogers, Gwen Stacy learned of Peter Parker’s web-slinging activities pretty quickly in The Amazing Spider-Man, and even Black Widow released all of her information to the world in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Modern stories may give new spins to the alter-ego formula, but they don’t separate themselves from them entirely. Look at The Dark Knight trilogy, for example. Yes, someone like Rachel Dawes learned of Batman’s identity early on, but the secret was kept from both the public and from Jim Gordon for nearly the entirety of the series. Superheroes having secret identities can be told in a modern context; it just has to be done right.
To get rid of Billy Batson in a Shazam film would be a huge mistake. Child mentions in that Guardian article that the sense of “fun” that producer Toby Emmerich teases “makes for a worrying reading here,” when in reality, that’s exactly what a film like Shazam needs to stand apart from the rest of superhero cinema and serve as a true adaptation of the character.
The Captain Marvel comics were hugely popular in the 1940s, and even rivaled Superman for a time. The “good old fashioned values” that the comic represented may not quite fit the more “realistic” or “dark and gritty” tone that contemporary blockbusters go for, but there’s an argument to be made for the necessity of some levity in these comic book properties, when it fits the source material.
Yes, the Captain Marvel comics are a bit zany, and in retrospect a little hokey at times. But look at something like The Incredibles, that found a way to balance heartfelt, realistic drama with the wide-eyed, zany feel of the “Golden Age” superhero stories of the past. In the right hands, it can be done.
Warner Bros. has an opportunity here to make a unique superhero film with Shazam. We’ve seen countless stories about men from tragic pasts rising up to stop injustice, or an outsider standing up to fight for what’s right. What we haven’t seen yet is the story of a young boy who gets the opportunity to become a superhero. That premise alone sells itself, and brings an important demographic to the cinemas: families and children.
What child hasn’t wrapped a towel around their necks and pretended that it was a cape? What kid out there hasn’t dressed as their favorite superhero for Halloween, or played with their own action figures, imagining incredible stories with the characters in their toy box? By making Billy Batson the central part of the Shazam story, WB could tap directly into that adolescent, joyful, and magical mindset and give us the Shazam film we truly deserve, rather than another cookie-cutter popcorn flick.
What do you think, should Warner Bros. find a way to dispense of the Billy Batson character for Shazam, or is he a necessary component to the story? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…
James Garcia
Originally published September 9, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
