'Shazam!' Ending Explained

Warning: This Post Contains Major SPOILERS!

Shazam! tells the story of how young foster kid Billy Batson (Asher Angel) inherits the power of the Council of Seven Wizards' greatest champion, and then has to learn to actually use that power the right way. Indeed, Billy's path from selfishness to righteous is the major thematic arc of Shazam!, and by the time we get to the film's ending, it's resolved in pretty spectacular fashion!

Last chance - Major Spoilers about the ending of Shazam! follow!

The climax of Shazam! sees Billy finally reach the goal he's been after for the whole film: finding his mother, who he's been separated from since childhood. Unfortunately for Billy, it turns out his mother never wanted him back, forcing the young boy to finally acknowledge that his new foster family is the truest family he's going to have in life. When he finds out that his foster family is being attacked and held captive by the evil Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), he transform into Shazam (Zach Levi) and heads for a final confrontation with his magical foe.

Shazam and Sivana's battle goes from the Vasquez foster home to the Council of Seven's Rock of Eternity temple in another realm, as Shazam and his foster siblings try to outrun Sivana and his Seven Deadly Sins demons. That chase leads back into our realm, as Shazam and Co. attempt to hide from Sivana in the crowds of the "Chilladelphia" Christmas carnival.

The showdown at the carnival take a bad turn, and soon Billy/Shazam is forced to make a hard choice: save his siblings from the Seven Deadly Sins by transferring his powers to Sivana, or watch them die. In a key moment of realization, Billy remembers the old wizard Shazam's initial proclamation, in which the wizard stated that he was the last of the seven - and that his fellow wizards' thrones also needed to be filled. Billy realizes that his power isn't supposed to be held alone: he steals Shazam's staff from Sivana, and has his foster siblings each put their hands on it. When he calls on Shazam, the kids are each given a fraction of the Wizard's power, transforming them into superheroes as well, known as the Shazam family!

Working together, the Shazam family draws the Seven Deadly Sins demons out of Sivana's body, leaving him powerless as a normal man. Sivana gets locked in jail, and the Shazam family goes back to the living at the Vasquez home, now united a true family, and superhero squad. With that new sense of family bond, Billy corrects his mistake from earlier in the film, and shows up as Shazam during school lunch to make his foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) look cool. To really make amends, Shazam also brings a friend along for the PR moment: Superman!

Here's the breakdown of each kid's transformation, as well as the adult actor who plays their superhero alter-ego:

• Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody - Freddy Freeman is given the power flight.
• Grace Fulton and Michelle Borth - Mary Bromfield's specific power is unclear, but she's definitely a powerhouse.
• Ian Chen and Ross Butler - Eugene Choi gets the power of Shazam's lightning.
• Jovan Armand and D.J. Cotrona - Pedro Pena gets super-strength.
• Faithe Herman and Meagan Good - Darla Dudley gets super-speed.

The DC Movie Universe continues with Shazam on April 5th, Joker on October 4th, Birds of Prey on February 7th, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, 2020, and The Batman on June 25th, 2021.

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