Shazam Shazam General Discussion and Speculation - Part 1

[markjoedelonge]

"I heard about the meltdowns going in this thread. Didn't think they were real."

 

[honestbharani]

"They are real when they are useful"

 

[Micromind]

Useful or not, please keep meltdowns away from Shazam threads.

 

[blackdragon6]

"I heard about the meltdowns going in this thread. Didn't think they were real."

I can't believe the argument that erupted over Easter eggs. I'm literally in tears

 

[heatvision38]

I guess my main point here is that I will struggle to get behind a Matt Reeves Batman movie, where the character will be merchandised, and a publically accepted figure that people love, with enough fans to justify action figures.

But maybe that’s just me.

I get what you are saying, but different companies can merchandise these things. It could be a small company that makes its business on detailing and creating superhero figures or other individuals that may be popular at the time (including athletes, etc), but the only way to get it is on Ebay or something like that. It need not be something ubiquitous, something that every toy store sells.

The batarang... it's not unreasonable that some of them could get picked up over the years after Batman does his thing and leaves. It doesn't just have to be the cops who do so. In the MCU, we have seen that other people other than the government got a hold of the Chitauri tech after the Invasion. Maybe the same happened with a few of Batman's batarangs, and from there, it would be easy for people to see pictures of them online and other companies to make mock versions of them to sell. With the emergence of Superman and other powered beings, I could absolutely see people quick to make money off it as soon as they can (as we see in the beginning of SS).

 

[heatvision38]

What on Earth are you talking about? Of course I don’t know what Reeves’s Batman will be about, but if it’s set in the DCEU, and so is Shazam, it means that Batman is a person who has toys made out of him, and is loved by children!

Loved by children is not the same thing as being a collectible. Just because Billy or Freddy has a copy of him, doesn't mean he is some beloved individual that is sold for all ages. There's a whole industry where adults buy replicas and figures and busts, etc, of superheroes and other fantasy characters as well as real people like athletes. Same can also exist in the DCEU. We don't know how Billy or Freddy got ahold of this Batman figure or where it's sold or who makes it. Maybe Billy, in particular, became a huge hero fan after Superman showed up, and then after the events of BvS, he wanted to continue collecting figures and other collectibles of anyone else he could get, including the mysterious Batman and this amazing Wonder Woman and this unusual Flash and tragic Cyborg and the giant water guy.

Edit: To add on, I just read that in the article where this picture comes from, the bag Freddy is holding up contains a bullet that bounced off Superman and you can see the label says "Certificate of Authenticity" or something like that. So it would seem that these kids enjoying collecting stuff related to these special beings. So again, it doesn't mean any of their items, including the action figures, are necessarily sold everywhere.

 

[heatvision38]

Lol so? Like misslane said, kids love Al Capone and guys like that. One of my best friends would call himself Lucky Luciano when we were kids. This man is almost 30 and still does actually. We had posters and other kinds of merch.

Someone should've told Brian De Palma that this was not a good basis for a film though.

Exactly. And let's take Kobe Bryant. The guy is one of the most famous athletes on the planet. He was also accused of sexual assault with a lot of evidence against him. Has that stopped all the adulation thrown his way? People, including kids, buy his jerseys, his shoes, etc, etc, etc.

People have a way of being drawn to the mysterious, the gruesome, the odd, the strange, the off-putting, and so on. We have no idea if this Batman figure is something that is sold at the nearest Walmart or is a collectible that one has to go out of their way to get. And correct me if I am wrong, but the image of Batman here has a yellow utility belt, but when does he wear one in the movies? This can be the closest approximation people have to what Batman looks like; it doesn't mean he is now out in the spotlight. Same goes for Aquaman and the others.

 

[heatvision38]

Again, and for the last time, I am personally not keen on the idea of Reeves’s Batman being a public enough figure to have accurate toys made from him, is someone who children know and love, and who’s actions and methods are acceptable to toy companies. However, I totally accept that you are fine with this.

This is no different than in the Batman/Justice League Animated universe and the comics. They have shown both in the cartoons and the comics that there are toys and t-shirts of all the different superheroes, including Batman, despite being known as a vigilante that beats people up at night. In Jon Kent's room, he has toys of Batman and other heroes. That doesn't prevent darker stories from being told about him in his own comics.

 

[FunkMiller]

I think he might just be a little salty over the picture showing that Shazam is definitely set in the DCEU.

It goes against all the DCEU doomsday preaching that he’s been doing

Ah, right. I get it now.

No-one is allowed to ask questions about creative choices in the DCEU movies, because that makes them salty.

I have no issues with Shazam being in the DCEU at all. But god forbid anyone has any doubts over elements they might be including, eh?

In your rabid desire to defend the DCEU against any criticism, you guys have completely lost the ability to have any kind of constructive or critical conversation about it. I haven’t, so I am most definitely done with this thread

 

[harlequinade]

Huh? People have an issue with Batman toys in this?

 

[Greenlite]

I get what you are saying, but different companies can merchandise these things. It could be a small company that makes its business on detailing and creating superhero figures or other individuals that may be popular at the time (including athletes, etc), but the only way to get it is on Ebay or something like that. It need not be something ubiquitous, something that every toy store sells.

The batarang... it's not unreasonable that some of them could get picked up over the years after Batman does his thing and leaves. It doesn't just have to be the cops who do so. In the MCU, we have seen that other people other than the government got a hold of the Chitauri tech after the Invasion. Maybe the same happened with a few of Batman's batarangs, and from there, it would be easy for people to see pictures of them online and other companies to make mock versions of them to sell. With the emergence of Superman and other powered beings, I could absolutely see people quick to make money off it as soon as they can (as we see in the beginning of SS).

Loved by children is not the same thing as being a collectible. Just because Billy or Freddy has a copy of him, doesn't mean he is some beloved individual that is sold for all ages. There's a whole industry where adults buy replicas and figures and busts, etc, of superheroes and other fantasy characters as well as real people like athletes. Same can also exist in the DCEU. We don't know how Billy or Freddy got ahold of this Batman figure or where it's sold or who makes it. Maybe Billy, in particular, became a huge hero fan after Superman showed up, and then after the events of BvS, he wanted to continue collecting figures and other collectibles of anyone else he could get, including the mysterious Batman and this amazing Wonder Woman and this unusual Flash and tragic Cyborg and the giant water guy.

Edit: To add on, I just read that in the article where this picture comes from, the bag Freddy is holding up contains a bullet that bounced off Superman and you can see the label says "Certificate of Authenticity" or something like that. So it would seem that these kids enjoying collecting stuff related to these special beings. So again, it doesn't mean any of their items, including the action figures, are necessarily sold everywhere.

You know the batarang could be a present given by Barry, or Lex's security or GCPD's lab nerds....or Barry sold the right to the toy company for extra cash, or Lex sold the right to mock Batman....t:

and I see they make toys and movies and TV shows based or originate from real life serial killers - Leatherface comes to mind...lol huge product opportunity my friend has a room full of serial killer inspired collector items lol...and we're struggling to comprehend a fictional character who turns into a superhero by saying a word, has toys and merchanizes of another fictional character t:t:

 

[Greenlite]

Ah, right. I get it now.

No-one is allowed to ask questions about creative choices in the DCEU movies, because that makes them salty.

I have no issues with Shazam being in the DCEU at all. But god forbid anyone has any doubts over elements they might be including, eh?

In your rabid desire to defend the DCEU against any criticism, you guys have completely lost the ability to have any kind of constructive or critical conversation about it. I haven’t, so I am most definitely done with this thread

and that capped it off, everyone, have a good night! See you at the next Shazam pic+meltdown!

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Fanboy complaining about trivial crap? What is this world coming to?

 

[Greenlite]

 

[Greenlite]

even though shazam is the biggest tonal shift yet from the other recent DC movies, the story takes place in the same universe - characters make reference to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the crew running around doing their own things elsewhere.

...in reference to Justice League 2 "I would lose my s*** if that happens. I would lose all of the s***s, " Levi says. "I remember thinking, "If I get this, maybe I'll be on that next poster with all those guys."

Someone just secretly had another meltdown

 

[BH/HHH]

I’m so excited about this movie.

Might have to watch a few Shazam animated appearances tonight. Really love the Batman Brace and the Bold episode the Power of Shazam! where Billy takes on Sivana and Black Adam.

 

[Dark Raven]

Did the music identification service take its name from Shazam the comic? Did that name even exist before the comic or is it original to it? It has filtered into common usage now even without people knowing what it's originally from.

 

[BH/HHH]

Are you telling me some people will see this in there local cinema listening and think it’s a film about the creation of the Shazam app?

 

[Dark Raven]

Are you telling me some people will see this in there local cinema listening and think it’s a film about the creation of the Shazam app?

I bet there will be. Or at least will think it's about that when someone mentions the film (but not necessarily while in the cinema).

I can imagine someone saying they enjoyed the Social Network, as if that's a relevant comment.

 

[markjoedelonge]

The DCEU Batman is so divisive, even his action figure incites heated fan debates.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I bet there will be. Or at least will think it's about that when someone mentions the film (but not necessarily while in the cinema).

I can imagine someone saying they enjoyed the Social Network, as if that's a relevant comment.

Just because you don't know about Shazam as a pop culture entity doesn't mean everyone else only knows the music platform. BTW I believe they had to pay WB the right to call themselves that.

In any case Shazam was being referenced in pop culture long before the music service, from Gomer Pyle to Raimi's Spidey movies.

 

[BH/HHH]

I bet there will be. Or at least will think it's about that when someone mentions the film (but not necessarily while in the cinema).

I can imagine someone saying they enjoyed the Social Network, as if that's a relevant comment.

I was thinking of the Social Network when I replied

 

[Deck Rickard]

Are you telling me some people will see this in there local cinema listening and think it’s a film about the creation of the Shazam app?

Hey, anything is possible. I know someone who went to see Black Panther thinking that it was a film about the Black Panther movement.

 

[Dark Raven]

Hey, anything is possible. I know someone who went to see Black Panther thinking that it was a film about the Black Panther movement.

In England, before the Avengers came out in 2012, a lot of people thought it was just a remake of the 60s British spy series with Steed and Mrs Peel. We already had one Avengers movie in 1998 which was a flop. They even had to retitle the Avengers as "Avengers Assemble" in the UK to set it apart.

 

[Deck Rickard]

In England, before the Avengers came out in 2012, a lot of people thought it was just a remake of the 60s British spy series with Steed and Mrs Peel. We already had one Avengers movie in 1998 which was a flop. They even had to retitle the Avengers as "Avengers Assemble" in the UK to set it apart.

Hahaha yeah I always figured that's why they retitled the movie over there.