Top 10 Shazam Easter Eggs

This hero might be young, but he’s got a long history! Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Shazam! Easter Eggs.

For this list, we’ll be looking at those brief moments, shots and/or subtle nods in “Shazam!” that make reference to the source material, the wider DC film universe,and pop culture.Please note: there are spoilers ahead.

Before getting his powers, Billy Batson seems pretty ambivalent about superheroes in general. Lucky for him, his foster brother and new best friend Freddy is there to help get him up to speed. Freddy is a major fan of the real world heroes that inhabit the DC film universe. And while this film’s story is relatively isolated from the Justice League, Freddy’s collection of superhero memorabilia firmly plants Shazam within that shared universe. In addition to a number of newspaper clippings about heroes, Freddy proudly shows off a replica batarang, and a bullet that has allegedly been fired at Superman. Everywhere you look around his room there are mugs, magazines, action figures, and even pop superhero psychology books.

When David F. Sandberg was announced as the director of “Shazam!,” people were… admittedly confused.“Shazam!” was being set up as a lighthearted, family-oriented superhero movie, reminiscent of films like “The Goonies” and “Home Alone,” whileSandberg’s filmmaking experience was in the horror genre. Ultimately,however, the director proved himself more than up to the task of tackling different genres. That being said, there were still some nice nods to his horror past, including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from the evil Annabelle doll, who Sandberg previously directed in “Annabelle: Creation.” The doll can be spotted on a shelf in the pawn shop where Billy tricks the cops. Considering that Annabelle also popped up in James Wan’s “Aquaman,” is she officially part of the DC cannon now?

When we first meet Billy Batson, he’s stirring up a whole lot of trouble, trapping police officers so he can sneak into their car. As we soon realize however, all of Billy’s mischief is motivated by an incredibly sympathetic desire - he wants to find his parents. Sadly, Billy’s eventual reunion with his mom doesn’t go as planned; the scene is pretty heartbreaking. Though it doesn’t do Billy much good, comic book fans were likely able to take at least a small comfort in the name of Billy’s father - C.C. Batson. This is a nod to C.C. Beck, one of the co-creators of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel - which is the name that Shazam originally went by.

Shazam might be the property of DC comics, but that’s not where he got his start. When he made his debut in 1939 as Captain Marvel, it was in the pages of Whiz Comics, which was published by Fawcett Comics. Due to the many similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman, Fawcett found themselves involved in a lengthy (not to mention costly) legal battle with DC, which ultimately ended with the latter company gaining the rights to Captain Marvel. All things considered, you might think that the name “Fawcett” would be a bad word over at DC headquarters, but the film instead included a nice nod to the original publisher, naming the local school after the now-defunct comic book company.

As previously mentioned, Captain Marvel dates back to the mid-1900s, and from the very beginning, his has been the story of a young boy who transforms into a grown-up superhero when he says the magic word “Shazam.” As such, it far predates “Big,” a film starring Tom Hanks in which a young boy suddenly discovers that he’s become a grownup overnight. Be that as it may, in transitioning to the big screen, Shazam clearly took some inspiration from the beloved fantasy comedy film, both in terms of tone and its handling of the protagonist’s strange predicament. In a nice nod to “Big,” Shazam and Dr. Sivana’s conflict takes them over a giant walkable keyboard, reminiscent of the one played by Josh in “Big.”

For years now, long before Zachary Levi was cast in this film, there’s been talk of Dwayne Johnson playing Shazam’s arch-nemesis, Black Adam. As such, fans were a little disappointed when they heard that the character wouldn’t be appearing in the film. Many couldn’t help but assume that the filmmakers were just trying to keep a cameo under wraps. Well, it turns out that they weren’t lying, as the Rock never appeared. What we did get, however, was the brief history of Black Adam, which the Wizard Shazam presents as his greatest mistake. This serves as a nice setup for the solo Black Adam movie to come, after which we will hopefully get the inevitable crossover in which the characters finally come to blows.

Shazam has a long and wonderfully strange history, but given the challenges of translating the weirder stuff to the big screen, many fans had mentally prepared themselves to see a toned down version of the character and his adventures. As such, it was quite the pleasant surprise when a worm matching the description of the villainous Mister Mind was seen in the Wizard’s cave. That alone was solid bit of fan service, but then the mid-credits scene came, and Mister Mind was established as a genuine threat moving forward in the franchise. A Venusian “mind-enthralling” extraterrestrial worm who uses an amplifier to speak, and the leader of the Monster Society of Evil, Mister Mind is one of Shazam’s oldest and oddest villains.

Though the filmmakers managed to fit Mister Mind into the DC film universe, it would seem that Tawky Tawny was too much for the narrative to handle. For those unfamiliar, Tawky Tawny is a tiger who has often been a part of Shazam’s cast of supporting characters. Most recently, he’s been depicted as conventional tiger who shares a bond with Billy Batson, and who occasionally gets imbued with powers as needed. Back in the Fawcett days however, Tawky was first introduced as an anthropomorphic talking tiger. Though Tawky didn’t appear in the film, Billy’s affinity for tigers was made very clear through a tiger logo on Billy’s backpack and a number of tiger plush dolls.

Like we said, one of the biggest challenges of adapting superhero comics is navigating the often silly or downright absurd bits of mythology that some of the older characters have accrued over the decades. Shazam has more than his fair share, but director David F. Sandberg somehow makes it work. The moment that Sandberg really established himself as the filmmaker Shazam deserves was when he included the Crocodile Men. These humanoid reptiles, who date back to the 1940s, are an alien race from the planet Plunkus (at least originally). They could be dismissed as an isolated reference for diehards, but coupled with the inclusion of the aforementioned Mr. Mind, they could equally be teasing totally out of this world things to come in the sequel.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

The Monster from “The Mist”
Darla's Hoppy Plush
Watchmen Smiley Face
“Gee Whiz!”
The “Rocky” Steps (& “Rocky” Music)

Traditional Easter Egg? Maybe not. But this third act twist was massive. In this modern age of widespread spoilers and set photo leaks, it’s truly incredible that the filmmakers managed to keep this under wraps. Shazam has been sharing his powers with his extended family and friends dating all the way back to 1941. In the modern comics, the Shazam family of heroes consists of Billy Batson and his five foster siblings. So when his brothers and sisters were introduced in the film, people suspected that the Shazam family was potentially being set up for the sequel. But to have them transform in Shazam’s first cinematic outing? That’s a mind-blowing and expertly executed bit of fan-service.