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Shazam! Fury of the Gods is out, and we finally got to see the whole Shazam family in action. The sequel to the 2019 film sees Billy Batson and team take on the Daughters of Atlas, who aim to destroy the world using a really powerful weapon.
With Shazam! Fury of the Gods coming just a few months after Black Adam, you would have expected them to face off in some way, considering they are both arch-nemesis to each other, but the film had no appearance by the Man in Black. That's not all, though, as the film did connect to Black Adam in a small way.
The Justice Society is mentioned in Shazam! Fury of the Gods
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One of the big things about Black Adam was how it introduced the Justice Society of America to the DC live-action universe. Including members like Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher, it was nice to see them take on Adam.
In Black Adam, the Justice Society of America is on good terms with Amanda Waller, who assigns them a mission to take out Black Adam. Characters from Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad made an appearance as well, with Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee reprising their roles as Emilia Harcourt and John Economos, respectively.
In Shazam! Fury of the Gods' mid-credit scene, Emilia Harcourt and John Economos make another appearance. They are there to recruit Billy into the Justice Society of America on behalf of Amanda Waller. While Billy doesn't exactly accept their offer, it was nice to see some continuity maintained over here from Black Adam.
That's not the only connection that Shazam! Fury of the Gods has to Black Adam. Djimon Hounsou, who plays the original Shazam, also plays the Wizard in the latter film. Giving both Billy Batson and Teth-Adam their powers is a pretty substantial continuity maintained within the films.
Shazam and Black Adam have a long history in the comics. Both have the same powers, both are anti-thesis to each other, and are pretty much two of the biggest rivals in DC. Adam is pretty much Shazam's Joker or Lex Luthor. It's been a long dream of DC fans to see the two characters square off, but it doesn't look like that might be happening any time soon.
During the release of Black Adam, star Dwayne Johnson was pretty adamant in setting up a fight with his anti-hero and Superman. While Superman and Black Adam have faced off, their rivalry hasn't really gone deeper than sharing a few pages of comics. This has surely disappointed fans a bit because Shazam and Black Adam never really got to share a screen together.
Now hot on the heels of a report that Dwayne Johnson reportedly vetoed a cameo of Shazam in Black Adam, actor Zachary Levi has also expressed disappointment. Taking to his Instagram stories, the actor seemingly confirmed that this was the reason the two characters never met.
Even Shazam! Fury of the Gods director, David F. Sandberg, acknowledged disappointment in the potential matchup between the characters not happening, saying that it was "money left on the table." With the DC Universe receiving a mild reboot now, here's hoping James Gunn has plans for the characters to meet eventually.
