Warning: The following contains spoilers for Shazam: Fury Of The Gods.
Shazam: Fury Of The Gods reveals what the name of the hero really means. The sequel to DC’s Shazam features the titular hero (Zachary Levi, Asher Angel) as he struggles to keep his siblings working together as a team. Each of the young heroes is interested in doing their own thing while he wants to hold on to the new family he’s joined. His efforts are complicated when the Daughters of Atlas (Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, and Rachel Zegler) attempt to take the power that turns them into heroes.
The first movie sees Billy Batson take a crash course in how his abilities work without the wizard (Djimon Hinsou) there to guide him. While comic book fans might know that Shazam isn’t just a magic word to trigger a transformation, the phrase wasn’t explained in its entirety in the first movie. The second movie, however, offers up more of an explanation for just how Billy’s power works and what the phrase actually means.
SHAZAM Is An Acronym For The Origins Of The Power
The power that Billy Batson gets from the wizard didn’t initially belong to the wizard. Instead, it was harnessed by him in the staff that he carries to be given to a worthy hero. That is a slight difference from the comics where the power isn’t “stolen” as the Daughters of Atlas claim in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods.
The reason the wizard decides to call the power he grants to a worthy hero the “power of Shazam” is because it’s actually an acronym. The power originally belonged to gods in the DC Universe. It comes from Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The first letter of each of the names of the gods creates the name Shazam.
The Wisdom Of Solomon
Solomon’s power in Shazam is wisdom. While there’s a joke repeatedly in the movie that maybe Billy didn't get much of Solomon’s wisdom since he often needs help strategizing, that could simply mean that Mary (Grace Caroline Currey) has ended up with most of it when the power is shared. Mary is the one who is often trusted to put the puzzle pieces together and come up with plans for Billy.
Of course, Solomon is actually a Jewish king who lived 3,000 years before the modern age. He’s also not a god of Greek or Roman origin, unlike the others who contribute to Shazam’s power. It’s possible that in the DC Universe, Solomon has godly parentage, and is a demigod, like some of the others who contribute their power.
The Strength Of Hercules
Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, is a demigod in Greek mythology. As such, he might not be as powerful as the gods, but he does have super strength. That strength is what he contributes to the power of Shazam. While Billy and all of his siblings have the strength of Hercules as part of the power, it often seems like Pedro (Jovan Armand, DJ Cotrona) is the one to rely on it the most in a fight while the others might move faster or last longer, Pedro hits harder.
The Stamina Of Atlas
Atlas is the very god whose daughters want their father’s power back. While Anthea (Zegler) is all about bringing the seed for the tree of life back to the realm of the gods, her sisters aren’t entirely satisfied by that. They still, after thousands of years, think their family was wronged by the wizard procuring Atlas’ power. Atlas is the Greek god once tasked with holding the world on his shoulders. His stamina is what allowed him to do that, and that’s what is shared in the power of Shazam.
While some might think that Billy, with his penchant for shooting lightning bolts, would not be the primary wielder of Atlas’ ability, stamina makes sense for him. He is often both the first and last member of his family in a fight. He never gives up. His stamina and perseverance are what make him last in a fight.
The Power Of Zeus
Any comic book fan who has seen Zeus in action in Thor: Love and Thunder knows that Zeus likes to throw some lightning bolts around. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Cinematic Universe are very different, Zeus and his powers are both pulled from Greek mythology, which means he has the same ability in both. That ability is also somewhat inherited by his demigod daughter Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), which is why she’s able to use her golden lasso to swing on lightning bolts. The power of Zeus doesn’t just mean that the Shazam family can use lightning in battle, but it’s also how they transform. Lightning strikes when the kids say the word, which is why the house keeps getting struck by lightning as well.
Though, like all the powers of Shazam, lightning can be used by the entire family, there is one person who tends to use it when transformed more. Eugene (Ian Chen, Ross Butler) is the one who utilizes it most, though he chooses to use it practically. It’s not just an offensive maneuver for him. Shazam: Fury Of The Gods even sees him use lightning to create a high enough temperature to melt steel cables and weld them back together.
The Courage Of Achilles
Like Hercules, Achilles comes from ancient myth, but he’s not a god himself. He’s a demigod, the son of Peleus (grandson of Zeus) and Thetis, a sea nymph. Most people remember that the myth surrounding Achilles involves his heel being his weak point. Beyond that, however, Achilles provides his courage to the powers of Shazam.
That courage is reflected in Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody). Freddy is the one most excited to take on the bad guys, the one most willing to stand up to bad guys even when not in his superhero form. When Anthea first meets him in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods, she doesn’t hesitate to label him as a brave hero before really knowing anything else about him. That's part of what makes Freddy such a beloved Shazam character.
The Speed Of Mercury
The final power of Shazam is speed. That speed comes from Mercury. Mercury is the messenger to the gods and even has winged shoes to help him move a little faster. That speed is often used by the entire family in combat situations, not just to evade villains, but also to get civilians to safety.
Darla (Faithe Herman, Megan Goode) is the Shazam family member who uses this particular skill the most. In fact, it’s the first skill she’s able to use successfully in the first movie. In the second movie, she uses it to save kittens when the siblings begin rescuing people on a bridge before going back to help save people as well.
The Shazam powers from the wizard provide an interesting connection to mythology in Shazam: Fury Of The Gods that could be built upon if Shazam remains part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe moving forward.