MovieChat Forums > Shazam! (2019) Discussion > Billy as a kid and Billy as Shazam don't...

Billy as a kid and Billy as Shazam don't seem to be the same person


I know they are because the whole point is he says "Shazam" and changes into an adult superhero. My only gripe though, is that Billy as a kid during most of the movie has an attitude and acts grown. As Shazam however, he seems to act a lot more like a fun loving kid and the tonal shift with the character is apparent every time he switches back and forth.

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I disagree. Obviously, he showed off more as Shazam than as Billy but that's understandable. No matter how gloomy a kid is, if he finds out he is bulletproof and can shoot lightning out of his hands, he's gonna show off. And it wasn't all doom and gloom for Billy as a normal kid. When we first meet Billy, he traps a couple of cops in a pawn shop in a goofy little "Home Alone"-esque gag. Then he steals their lunch for shits and giggles. When he deals with Freddy, the bullies, or the Wizard, he throws a lot of snark at them as well. Meanwhile, as Shazam, he was a jerk to Freddy after a while, told Mary she should leave the family as soon as possible, and got pretty serious when Silvana threatened his family. These were all very much in keeping with his character.

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Billy is 14/15. There are alot of teenagers who don't care about Superhero stuff and still wouldn't if they had powers. And even if they would they wouldn't react the way Shazam did. Billys and Shazams personalities are to different to consider them the same person no matter how happy Billy was with his new get powers.

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I guarantee that if a 14/15 year old kid got the powers of SHAZAM, they would be buzzing around the city and blowing stuff up. I don't care what their personality is. Hell, anyone at any age would explore their powers if they got them, even if they had zero interests in superheroes. Do you think Billy would have just said "Yeah, I guess I'm invincible now or something" and just sit down and play video games all day?

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We aren't all the same, therefore we don't react the same. Some kids would love to have powers, others would hate to have them because they love to be normal and don't want to be "freaks" and there are those who simply don't care.
Personalities decide our reactions to things.
But the point is... Billy would never react the way Shazam did. For example Billy would never move his legs the way Shazam did after Freddy lied to him being Invisible, Shazams personality simply doesn't suits Billys, because Billy isn't as Goofy as Shazam shows to be.

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Funny, I’m being reminded even more of Big....

https://moviechat.org/tt0094737/Big/58c74c7a6b51e905f6749962/Why-did-Josh-act-more-like-a-toddler-than-a-12-13-year-old


AP is right on this one though.

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Asher Angel seemed if anything more mature than Zachary Levi, but I didn’t think it was fatal. Partly, it was because Angel's Billy Batson seemed world weary and borderline cynical, whereas Levi's Shazam acted like "Chuck" in a muscle suit (admittedly I'm not a fan, but from the promos I've seen, that's what Chuck acted like)

So yeah, if we're really nit-picking, there wasn't enough of a clear overlap between the two.

Adam Brody, on the other hand ... wow! That guy took his role as Freddy very seriously! For a long while I actually thought "Freddie Shazam" was still Jack Dylan Grazer in a muscle suit. Same with Mary Shazam: I thought she was still Grace Fulton until I saw the end credits.

Admittedly I'm predisposed, though - I stopped reading comics long ago, when Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr., both looked exactly like their civilian alter egos.

That's why I was blown away by the Shazam Family reveal - I'd assumed Mary and Freddie would get pwers in a sequel; I did NOT know (before Wikipedia) that all five foster kids become heroes.

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Agreed. I found the lack of connective tissue between their personalities off-putting.

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I noticed that too. I guess they made him more cheerful to avoid comparisons to Henry Cavill's take on Superman.

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