A lot of people loved Mark Strong as Sivana in the Shazam! movie. While he made an effective villain, he seemed more like Lex Luthor with a scar on his eye to me. I missed the short, ugly, maniacal classic Sivana from the comics. I mean, he didn't even call Cap the "big red cheese" once!
The Avengers previously met Captain Marvel back in STF #259, and clashed with the whole Marvel Family in STF #1518...
So Sivana hired Avengers for a construction project? Nothing sinister there. Heroes gotta earn that cheddar to put food on the table.
ReplyDeletethey can always call mary marvel SHEzam.....lol....nuff said!!!
ReplyDeleteHollywood fan: Have you seen what they did to your story and book?
ReplyDeleteAuthor: My story and book are right here. They're fine.
The traditional Sivana might not be "PC" enough for today's marketplace.
The Avengers may have thought they were helping a cause, not being "bought off".
Will Mary Marvel now be called Mary Shazan? Why even call her Mary Marvel?
Since DC has gotten rid of some silly things like Aquaman only being able to be out of water for an hour and Green Lantern not being able to use his ring on yellow objects they need to revise the use of Billy saying Shazam. Since it's his hero name now he should be able to say the word without triggering the change unless he wants to change. I still think he needs to say it to change, just give him the ability to control whether saying the word changes him.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the subject of silly stuff. Comics shouldn't be referred to as seasons, episodes, or directors cuts, and TV shows shouldn't call their episode arcs graphic novels. Both are dumb.
Just wait till the Emmys have best written graphic novel episodes.
ReplyDeleteHave the Doc buy Disney. That'll really confuse the hell out of everyone. Wait a second. Didn't Namor do something like that in an early F. F.? Guess Norman O. will want to get in on this action too. Maybe Lex too? Why do crime when you can make billions?
Whoa!
ReplyDeleteI remember Howard Morris in a bad bald cap as Sivana.
Mark Strong is an awesome actor. He was great as Sinestro. His Sivana seemed more like Lex Luthor amped up to Black Adam level. And I enjoyed most of Shazam!
I adopted three kids... I think I'd rather have the silly comic book version of Billy's story than Geoff Johns' true reality. It's sad and heartbreaking. And I survived it...
I'm sure there's more to Sivana's control of The Avengers. I'd highly recommend Alex Ross' Justice, for a cool Sivana and (SPOILER ALERT) moment.
More likely they're being mind-controlled somehow. Like a magic spell placed on the cash by the Enchantress of Asgard. Or something biochemical like the pheromones emitted by Zazzala (the Silver Age Queen Bee of the planet Korrl). Making Sivana just an unwitting front man.
ReplyDeleteMark Strong's Sivana was a cut directly from the updated comics that gave us the three extra "Shazamily" members (Eugene, Pedro, and Darla). While it made for a good story in this movie, I also prefer the short, twisted version of the character as seen here, and potentially portrayed by someone like Martin Short.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, at the end of the movie Sivana seemed to be starting to break down mentally (not far down that road, but still on his way), so maybe he'll end up in classic form by the time things are done. We'll start to see that if that infamous phrase "Big Red Cheese" pops up in the second movie.
As for today's cover, I think Sivana has the Avengers working to build him a laboratory for his nefarious work. The cover action is probably a dramatic license; in the actual story, the Avengers would think that they were working on a legitimate, altruistic scientific enterprise and not know that Sivana, a known criminal, was behind it until Billy exposed him.
@Shmoo: In the comics, Billy can introduce himself as Shazam; to transform, he needs to "say it like he means it." I think the people behind the movie went the way they did to mine humor, though they sort of wrote themselves into a corner since he now can't be called Shazam or Captain Marvel. They may just have to go to Captain Thunder (or maybe Captain Sparklefingers).
The problem I'm having is that, even in comics (as far as I'm aware), the other members of the family don't have super names. Mary could still be Mary Marvel, and there was a joke about Freddy being King Shazam (not practical in the movie for the above reason), but where do the others fit in?
….The new Lieutenant Marvels?
DeleteShazam, Lady Shazam, Kid Shazam, Shazama, Shazamo, and Shazamee.
DeleteI'm not a fan of every hero surrounding themselves by diravatives with identical powers. The Marvel Family did it first, but now we have to have Spider-Man, Flash, Green Arrow, etc surrounded by a half dozen or more copycat characters. I miss the days when the hero had to work alone (other than those with sidekicks) and only occasionally teamed with other heroes. Everyone didn't need a guy in a chair feeding information thru an ear piece in order to fight crime.
Delete@Mr. Acer: Functionally, yes, though not really practical for names.
ReplyDelete@Frankenstone: Maybe in the comics, but not usable in the movies.
Sometimes the movies don't even use the superheroes codename. The first Wonder Woman movie didn't call her that. The Captain Marvel movie didn't call Carol by that name. I bet when they get around to Namor that is all he will be called, not Submariner.
DeleteI thought the way it worked now was that Billy shouts "Shazam!" to transform, and "Billy Batson" to transform back.
ReplyDeleteAnd now for something completely off topic:
ReplyDeleteHow about Rocket Raccoon and Groot meet Rocky and Bullwinkle?
Or Goldbug meets the H*****d T**k!
ReplyDeleteCould we please have an immediate--and permanent--cessation to the H.T. hints?
ReplyDeleteRoss does not succumb to blackmail!
I do take bribes however. Kidding! The Tank will appear again, I'm sure - but there aren't a ton of great images to use, I only have a couple unused ones in my image library. Don't hold your breath for Haunted Tank meets Felix the Cat...
ReplyDeleteStumbo said...
ReplyDelete"I'm not a fan of every hero surrounding themselves by diravatives with identical powers. The Marvel Family did it first,"
And -- back in the Golden Age -- the Marvel Family even (perhaps deliberately joking about the idea?) gave the team IC a 'fight song'...
"Marvels here, Marvels there,
"Marvels, Marvels, everywhere;
We chase Evil to its lair
And beat it.
"Marvels here, Marvels there,
"Marvels, Marvels, everywhere;
When we hear our duty call
We meet it."
:D
Well, it's a good thing I didn't suggest it (Haunted Tank & Felix the Cat)!
ReplyDelete@Bob and Ross: I'd be willing to pay a bribe to see Felix the Cat teaming up with the Black Panther.*
ReplyDelete*Half-kidding!
ROSS, if you do a Felix then pair him with Hellcat.
ReplyDelete@Tobor: All things considered, I'd rather see Felix as part of a "Hammerspace Heroes" group, with Wakko Warner, Shag (of the Road Rovers), Pockets (of the Ant Hill Mob), the Doctor, the Mask, Harpo Marx, and various others who have a seemingly endless supply of items on their person.
ReplyDeleteI was always amazed that Bugs Bunny always seemed to have invisible pockets full of dynamite!
ReplyDeleteLet's see Animal Man imitate that!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting...I always thought Sivanna of the comics was more like Luthor of that time - scientific genius who hated the hero with all his might, etc., and found Mark Strong's version to be NOT like Luthor at all, as he was now yearning for magic powers, etc., not the scientific angle at all.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps magic is just unacknowledged science."
ReplyDelete---Batman to Zatanna.