In a world where there is a deep chasm dividing the DC and Marvel universe fans, I humbly confess that I have little knowledge and even fewer allegiances to either. I used to be able to tell a DC super from a Marvel super by whether or not they wore their underpants outside their super-suit (underwear is outer wear for Superman, Batman, Phantom, so they are DC); but now even that is difficult because the new suits are much nicer than they used to be. So I decided to give up the ghost and take each superhero/superhero film as it came. DC recently released trailers for two of their superheroes: Aquaman and Shazam – both interesting for reasons of their own:
This is a different kind of Aquaman from the comic book version. Jason Momoa’ portrayal of the character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) is more feral, with the tattoos, the long hair, facial hair, the slightly forbidding persona and so on.
The DCEU (DC extended universe) springs a new superhero on us in the form of Shazam (also known as Captain Marvel; not to be confused with the Captain Marvel /Carol Danvers, a female superhero of the Marvel universe). This superhero is a teenage boy who transforms into an adult superhero as soon as he says the word Shazam. Here we have the superhero fighting the villain Dr Thaddeus Sivana.
So there we have the trailer for the long awaited Aquaman standalone movie. This seems to be the standard super being born into mythical royalty of some sort, the little kid discovering his special powers and so on. Then of course there is the terrible villain and a grim fate that will befall the world unless the king assumes his crown; the presence of a beauteous redhead seems to signal the requisite love interest angle. The special FX seems to be great and the trailer promises a cracking great show at the theatres come December 2018.
Slated for an April 2019 release, the trailer of Shazam released in July 2018. Billy Batson is a teen boy taken in by a foster family. He soon comes across a wizard who reveals his super strength to him. The trailer is a lot of fun; particularly as the super and his disabled foster brother try to discover whether he can fly and whether or not he is bullet proof.
So that’s two major superhero films to look forward to from the DCEU. Pictured here are Jason Momoa who plays Aquaman and Zachary Levi who plays Shazam.
Super powers, baddies being beaten up, the underdog winning, justice done, good special FX, a few laughs thrown in for good measure….who doesn’t love that stuff!
There were those who thought that the special FX were poor compared with the Marvel movies and others who thought that the Aquaman trailer seemed derivative; vaguely evocative of other super films such as the Thor films and the Black Panther movie.
Many DC fans thought that the criticism was just a bunch of peeved Marvel fans and the predictable squabbling between the two fandoms started. I say whatever… if the movie is entertaining, who in this or the alternative world cares which ‘universe’ it originates out of!
Probably no one but the truest fans would know this: SHAZAM is an acronym made up using the first letters of the various personas whose powers the superhero has: S-wisdom of Solomon, H-strength of Hercules, A-stamina of Atlas, Z-power of Zeus, A-courage of Achilles, M-speed of Mercury.
I have to admit, I agree with that meme; I liked the Shazam trailer more than the Aquaman trailer. The former promises to be funnier, a more relatable story and just more entertaining! Aquaman is due for release months before Shazam, so I’ll just reserve my judgement, and wait for the movies to speak for themselves.
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