#Thad Jr and Georgia are here too! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aion-rsa · 5 years

Text

Shazam: DC Comics Easter Eggs and References Guide

https://ift.tt/34LJ0no

Shazam! is more than just another DCEU movie, it is packed with 80 years of DC Comics history and Easter eggs.

facebook

twitter

tumblr

This article consists of nothing but Shazam! spoilers. We have a spoiler free review of the film here.

Shazam! marks the first time the character has come to the big screen as a big budget movie (1941's The Adventures of Captain Marvel was a serial, not a feature film). The movie is based heavily on one specific Shazam! story, the 2011 origin tale by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, but throughout there are elements drawn from 80 years of Shazam history. We're trying to track down all the bits of Shazam and DC Universe lore peppered throughout the latest DCEU adventure...but we need your help.

So here's how this works. I've put everything I've found from the movie (so far) here. But if you think you've spotted something I missed, drop us a note in the comments or hit me up on Twitter and if it checks out, we'll get it added.

Who is Shazam?

OK, first thing's first...the character who, for the sake of simplicity and sanity we're going to call Shazam for the rest of this article was created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck in 1939. And just in case you missed it in the film, the magic word "Shazam" grants you the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. What's interesting is that "the power of Zeus" was always pretty vague in the comics, and was often just interpreted as the explanation for the character's general invulnerability. It's only the recent comics that have given him the power to throw lightning, something which makes a lot more sense for a character with "Zeus" as a key part of his power set.

You're probably already aware of the confusing history surrounding the Shazam name and franchise. The character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 in 1939, where he went by the name of (wait for it) Captain Marvel. The simplicity of the character really touched a nerve with young readers, and for a period in the 1940s, Shazam comics were outselling Superman comics. That didn't sit well with National Periodical Publications (who are now, of course, DC Comics), who sued the red and yellow pants off Fawcett, claiming that Cap and friends were ripoffs of Superman. By 1954, Fawcett finally agreed to cease publication of all Shazam related publications...and then DC revived the character in 1972.

read more: How Zachary Levi Was Cast as Shazam

The problem was that in 1972, DC had a notable competitor named...Marvel Comics. And Marvel had cannily created their OWN Captain Marvel a couple of years earlier. The solution? Instead of calling the new book Captain Marvel, the title was simply, Shazam!. For the next 30 or so years, the character's actual name never appeared on books, toys, shirts, cookies, whatever (even though he was still called Captain Marvel in the stories). DC finally gave in to the inevitable and just changed the character's actual name to Shazam in 2011.

And the 2011 story that did that is especially significant for this movie. The story, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, was a brand new take on the character's origins, and it is the heaviest, most obvious influence on the movie, from the look of the costume, to Billy having an extended foster family who all gain costumes of their own (traditionally, it had only been Freddy and Mary), to giving Dr. Sivana himself magical powers.

(whew) That was a lot. But speaking of that villain, we'd better get to...

Who is Dr. Sivana?

- Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana (yes, his middle name is "Bodog" although that is never mentioned in the movie) first appeared in the very first Shazam story in Whiz Comics #2 in 1939. Oh, by the way...why did the first Shazam story appear in Whiz Comics #2 and not #1? Because there wasn't REALLY a Whiz Comics #1...at least not one that was made available to the public. Because of the vagaries of late 1930s magazine publishing, it was published as an "ashcan" edition, so the characters weren't seen by the public until #2.

read more: Mark Strong and the Secrets of Dr. Sivana

- The stuff about Sivana’s troubled boyhood is brand new, and has never really made it into any of the comics before. He’s referred to as “Thad” early on, which is short for Thaddeus. But in the comics, ol’ Dr. Sivana’s full name is Thaddeus Bodog Sivana. For real.

- As far as I know, we’ve never met Sivana’s father in the comics, but it’s interesting that they went with John Glover here. Not only because Glover played Lex Luthor’s father (to perfection) on Smallville, but because in the comics, the father of the Bryer brothers (the two bullies who torment Billy and his foster siblings) was a dead ringer for John Glover.

- For the vast majority of Sivana's comic book history, he was a sniveling, cackling mad scientist type, not the ice cold magic wielder we see in the movie. The change was made for the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank origin story in 2011 and has stuck around ever since.

- I don't believe we ever met Sivana's father or brother in the comics. On the other hand, we often met his kids, Magnificus, Beautia, Thaddeus Jr., and Georgia Sivana (get it?).

- While not an easter egg, young Sivana's Magic 8-Ball is a wonderful piece of kitsch.

- Sivana Industries comes from the Jerry Ordway Power of Shazam era of the character, where Sivana wasn't just a mad scientist, but an actual businessman and inventor.

- Sivana’s obsession with finding the entrance to the Rock of Eternity, complete with checking out people who claim to have been tested by the Wizard, is straight out of the New 52 comics. The reasoning is different, as in that story he was merely a kind of magic-obsessed relic hunter, rather than someone who had been chosen (and then rejected by the Wizard). But he was definitely studying others who had been rejected as "unworthy." (Incidentally, this movie says there have been 56 reported cases...I'm surprised they didn't go with the DC magic number of 52).

- The idea of Sivana slightly losing his powers as each Sin is sent off into the world is a little reminiscent of how the division of power between various members of the Shazam family has been portrayed. Basically, if Shazam and Sivana are "rivers" of magic, then as they empower other beings, they're branching off their main flow, which weakens them slightly.

- I'm not sure what the seven symbols are that Sivana draws on the door to access the Rock of Eternity (and that also appear on the subway before it changes into a magic train), but they MIGHT correspond to the runes carved on the thrones of the council of seven wizards in the comics. I'll have to take a closer look the next time I watch this.

We have more on the history of Dr. Sivana right here.

The Wizard

- Just to confuse things further...back when our hero was still called Captain Marvel, the wizard's name was Shazam. So, Billy would say the wizard's name to transform into Captain Marvel. Come to think of it, Shazam does sound more like a wizard's name than a superhero's name, but really, this is how it is, and if you try and think about all of this too hard it will only lead to headaches.

Nevertheless, the way the Wizard is presented in the movie as ancient, weary, ready to pass on his powers to a worthy candidate, is right out of the earliest Shazam stories, right down to his quest to find someone "pure of heart" for the role.

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming DCEU Superhero Movies

- Not only does the Wizard bear the lightning crest of Shazam, but you can see similarities in the design of his cloak to the cape that we’ll ultimately see on Billy. The idea is that the Wizard was a champion himself at some point in the distant past.

- The Wizard is looking for someone “Pure of heart” and “strong in spirit” to pass on the powers of the champion. Being “pure of heart” was a line straight from the earliest comics that the Wizard said to Billy when seeking him out.

- The idea of him being part of a "council of Wizards" is also from the New 52 origin story, and there are seven of them, just as their are seven deadly sins.

- The Wizard’s "death" is always key to completing this point in the origin story, in all versions of it. Don't be surprised if he pops up in sequels as a disembodied spirit, as traditionally, Billy and family are still able to communicate with the Wizard when necessary.

Billy Batson

Just a few fun points of reference about Billy Batson in the movie...

- Billy’s first words on screen are, appropriately enough, “holy moley" which was long both Billy and his superheroic alter ego's preferred exclamation of surprise.

- Billy has an omnipresent red hoodie, even when we see him as a toddler. Billy's fondness for red is more than just a foreshadowing of his superhero costume, since the character is pretty much ALWAYS depicted wearing red tops in the comics. But based on the logic of the movie and what went into the costume design (which I wrote more about here), it makes sense that his costume would have a ton of red in it, since his Shazam look is basically his own subconscious idealized version of a superhero.

- Billy saying “Shazam” to revert to kid size in order to slip out of the grip of a bad guy is a classic maneuver, used countless times in the comics.

- Billy has always been depicted as an orphan in the comics, although we only first got details about what happened to his parents in the 1987 limited series Shazam: The New Beginning by Roy Thomas and Tom Mandrake. There, his parents died in a car accident and Billy was taken in by his Uncle Dudley. In Jerry Ordway's brilliant The Power of Shazam series, his parents died on an archaeological expedition...one tied to the Shazam legend.

read more: Finding the Heroic Qualities in Shazam

- Billy’s parents are named Marilyn and C.C. Batson. The first time they were ever actually named in the comics was in Jerry Ordway's The Power of Shazam. C.C. is named after Charles Clarence Beck, the co-creator of Shazam.

It is said in this movie that Billy's mother Marilyn was born in Minnesota, and that's where C.C. Beck was born. Marilyn lives in apartment 707, which doesn't have any direct comics significance, but there is some parallel to 7 being a divine number, the council of seven wizards, and the seven deadly sins in the movie.

Incidentally, the voice of Marilyn's asshole boyfriend that you hear in the background is none other than director David F. Sandberg.

- In very recent Shazam comics, Billy's father has mysteriously resurfaced. It's not yet clear if he's an ex-con, since it's said in the movie that he is "in jail in Florida."

Who is Freddy?

- That would be Freddy Freeman, Billy's foster brother. Freddy has been around nearly as long as the Shazam comics themselves, first appearing in 1941's Whiz Comics #25, where he was created by France Herron and Mac Raboy.

read more: Finding the Right Tone for Shazam!

Freddy wasn't Billy's foster brother until the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank Shazam story. Instead, he was a teenager who had been injured by Captain Nazi. Feeling guilty that he didn't stop the villain sooner, Billy brought Freddy to the Rock of Eternity, where the wizard told him how he could pass a portion of his powers on to Freddy.

- The blue costume that Freddy wears in the movie when he transforms is an almost direct translation of his old "Captain Marvel Jr." look, which was always a pretty sharp costume.

Interestingly enough, the most famous Captain Marvel Jr. fan of all time was none other than Elvis Presley, who based a lot of his look on Mac Raboy's illustrations. Ever wonder why Elvis had a fondness for short capes and lightning bolts? There you go.

Who is Mary?

- That's Mary Bromfeld, created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze way back in 1942. In most versions of the story, she's also Billy's long lost twin sister. The "twin" element has certainly been abandoned in recent comics because of the age gap between Billy and Mary, but it's not clear if they'll ever go down the route of making them blood relations again. It seems unlikely.

- Anyway, Mary was quite popular as a member of the Marvel Family (as they were called back in those simpler times), and the idea of a female superheroic counterpart to a super strong caped guy pre-dates Supergirl by about 16 years. Come to think of it, considering that DC went after Fawcett so hard with their claims that Shazam was ripping off Superman, they sure had no issues about making their own teenage version of their main hero (Superboy) in 1948 and a female (and blood related, no less!) version with Supergirl in 1958. The nerve!

The Rock of Eternity

- The Rock of Eternity has long been known as the source of the Shazam family powers, but here in the movie it is referred to as Rock of Eternity as “the source of all magic” in the DCEU.

- The idea of Billy taking a magical subway to the Rock of Eternity comes straight out of the original 1939 origin story in Whiz Comics #2 (although there, it was never a "normal" train first, but rather a crazy magical train that arrives in a normal, albeit closed, subway station), while the flourish with Billy first heading into the subway station to avoid the bullies comes from the New 52 comics.

- The first look at the Rock of Eternity interior, complete with the statues of the Seven Deadly Sins is straight out of the very first Shazam story from Whiz Comics #2. Of course there, it was Billy Batson not young Thad Sivana making that long walk for the first time, but that’s OK. The visuals are right on the money.

- Also visible in the Rock of Eternity is Mr. Mind in his glass case (later on we see he is missing, and then, of course, he appears in the post credits scene). More on Mr. Mind shortly!

- Also within the corners of the Rock of Eternity you can spot a mysterious old-fashioned mirror with gold trim. This matches a mirror from the New 52 origin story inhabited by "Francesca" a kind of magical spirit who offers Billy answers from time to time. She doesn't appear in the movie, but it's good to know that she could.

- I can't tell if I was imagining some kind of golden lamp in there or not. I know I was desperately wishing for it to be Dr. Fate's helmet, but alas, I know this was not the case.

- All of the doors that the kids are trying to navigate seem to be like the doors to the Magiclands from the most recent Shazam! series.

- One of those doors opens on a bunch of crocodile headed humanoids, which makes me think of Sobek, a crocodile creature who was first introduced as part of Mr. Mind's Monster Society of Evil, but got a modern update in DC's excellent weekly 52 series in 2006.

- Can someone explain the significance of what appears to be a burning violin in the Rock of Eternity? Because I am at a complete loss.

What about the tigers?

- Throughout the movie there’s a repeating tiger motif. Billy has a tiger patch on his backpack. Young Billy was trying to win a stuffed tiger at the carnival (and later hands a scared little girl one to hold on to). There are stuffed tigers visible in the toy store during the first fight with Sivana in the mall. If you look closely at the clasps on Shazam’s cape, they are embossed with tigers. Why is this? Well, tigers play a major role throughout Shazam history.

All of this is a reference to Mr. Tawny, a talking tiger who was a friend to Billy and family. Yes, a talking tiger. Look, if Marvel Studios can make Rocket Raccoon a layered, convincing, sympathetic character, I demand to see Tawky Tawny in Shazam 2.

The Family

So other than Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman, and Mary Bromfeld, the rest of the family includes Eugene Choi, Pedro Pena, and Darla Dudley. The latter three were introduced during DC's Flashpoint event, but had their proper introduction into the world of Shazam in the Geoff Johns/Gary Frank story that keeps getting mentioned in this piece. Their superheroic versions are perfect translations of what we see in that comic, too.

So...what are their superhero names? Ummmm...that hasn't been established yet. Freddy jokingly refers to himself as "King Shazam" once (remember the Elvis connection I mentioned up above?) but much about them still needs to be fleshed out. Each seems to embody specific qualities of the Shazam name, but they also seem to retain all of the other abilities as well. It's still a little murky, but all of this will probably be figured out by the time a sequel rolls around.

I went into more detail about the logic and magical rules behind all this right here.

However, note Darla's last name: Dudley. In the comics, Billy had an Uncle Dudley (only an actual blood relation in the Shazam: The New Beginning era, the rest of the time he was just kind of a friendly fraud) who would watch over him and occasionally partake in adventures. Perhaps Darla's uncle will show up in a sequel, too.

- It's nice to see that Eugene immediately does a hadouken from the Street Fighter games and then makes a "fatality" Mortal Kombat joke.

We have a complete history of everyone who has been able to wield the Shazam lightning right here.

The Seven Deadly Sins

- The seven deadly sins are Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride, and Greed. Each of them has appropriate physical characteristics. Shazam! director David F. Sandberg cites the Demon Dogs from Ghostbusters as an influence in their design.

They've been around as cautionary statues since the very first Shazam story, but I believe the first time they were "set loose" as embodiments of the sins themselves was during The Power of Shazam era. And, like many things in this movie, Sivana commanding the sins was a key component of that New 52 origin story, as well.

Black Adam

The champion who went bad that the Wizard refers to is Black Adam, who will be played by Dwayne Johnson in an upcoming DCEU movie. The character was created by Otto Binder and C.C. Beck in 1945, and was initially a one-off villain, who has since grown to not only be the most recognizable villain in the Shazam pantheon, but arguably is becoming more popular than the hero himself. We have all the details of why they kept Black Adam out of this movie right here.

The sequence where the Wizard describes Adam's misdeeds also continues the tradition of having a stylish exposition sequence explaining a particular corner of the DCEU, which dates back to the Kryptonian history lesson in Man of Steel, and was seen again in Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and more.

You can read more about the history of Black Adam right here.

Superman

- Freddy's room is like a shrine to the events of previous DCEU movies, including a recognizable batarang from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, bullets that have bounced off Superman's chest, and more. Adorning Freddy’s walls are various newspapers depicting superheroic moments. One is cut off and it says Cong-...something. Please god, let this be a Congorilla reference. More importantly, also visible on Freddy’s wall is a Daily Planet front page with the headline “Caped Wonder Stuns City Under Siege.” While that has clearly been adapted for DCEU purposes, in Superman: The Movie, it was “Caped Wonder Stuns City.”

- If you listen carefully when Billy wakes up on the subway in full costume, it sounds like someone in the background calls him "Superman." And speaking of Superman, the guy hassling/complimenting Billy on his superhero look reminds me of the guy from Superman: The Movie, who was the first person to see Christopher Reeve's Man of Steel in full costume. "Say, Jim...wooooo!"

- There's a hint of a Superman II homage, as well. When Sivana makes Billy kneel before him so he can take his powers and Billy fakes him out, it sure is reminiscent of that classic moment when Supes gets Zod back in the Fortress of Solitude.

- Speaking of Superman, Billy describes the sensation of bullets bouncing off him as “It kinda tickles.” That reminds me of the iconic cover of 1944's Superman #32 by Wayne Boring, where Supes declares "it tickles" as he's being struck by lightning. Lightning, hmmmm...probably not a coincidence.

- And, of course, that's the DCEU Superman costume made famous in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League...but it isn't Henry Cavill in the suit, unfortunately (you can read an explanation of why Henry Cavill couldn't be Superman in Shazam! right here). At the moment, Cavill's future as Superman in the DCEU is unclear, but we're still holding out hope he'll come back. Don't hold your breath, though. Nevertheless, as Big Blue strolls into the cafeteria, you can hear the briefest hint of the classic John Williams Superman theme.

DCEU, DC Comics, and Other References

- Billy and the kids attend Fawcett Central, a reference to Fawcett Publications, who published Shazam comics for about the first 15 years of the characters' existence, and Fawcett City, where he operated out of. Although here, they call Philadelphia home. Why Philadelphia? Who knows? But the movie filmed under the working title of "Franklin," a reference to famous Philly resident (and American Founding Father) Benjamin Franklin, who had an affinity of his own for lightning.

- Can anyone make out what the book on Freddy’s desk is? Is it the David Graves book from the New 52 Justice League comics?

- Freddy makes reference to “Caped Crusader stuff” which is indeed a Batman thing. Interesting that a dated pop culture term like that still holds true in this world, and this (along with the fact that Batman has a toy line of his own) is a sign of how superheroes are viewed in the DCEU. The toys say "I'm Batman" (presumably in Kevin Conroy's voice), a line most famously uttered by Michael Keaton in the 1989 Tim Burton movie.

- When we meet Freddy, he is wearing an Aquaman shirt. That's pretty self explanatory. On the subject of Freddy's wardrobe, it appears that the Superman logo on his backpack is the New 52 logo, rather than the DCEU one.

- The magical and horror elements of the movie have a distinctly 1980s vibe. David F. Sandberg says that the look and feel of the Sins was inspired by the Demon Dogs in Ghostbusters. The stuff with the light under the door also feels like a Ghostbusters homage, and then Sivana’s lab assistant (played by Lotta Losten who is David F. Sandberg's wife and also appeared in Lights Out, both the short and the feature length version) croaks, that is another Ghostbusters-esque death.

Of course, any time you put John Glover in a corporate setting, it brings Gremlins 2 to mind, and the gleeful (and horrific) mayhem that ensues during that scene feels like a slightly amped up Joe Dante horror comedy.

And during the toy store fight, Sivana ends up charging at Billy on one of those giant floor pianos, much like Tom Hanks famously played on in Big.

- It's very possible that security guard "Moran" is more than just an excuse for a joke at the poor guy's expense. Mike Moran was the alter ego of Marvelman (better known in the US as Miracleman), the UK-only ripoff of the Shazam mythos who gaines greater fame (and infamy) when Alan Moore used him as a test subject for his "deconstructing superheroes" style.

- The song that plays over the end credits is "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" as performed by the pride of Forest Hills, New York, The Ramones. It was written by the brilliant Tom Waits for his essential and disturbing Bone Machine album.

The Post Credits Scenes

- Sivana madly scrawling heiroglyphics and mumbling to himself in order to potentially open a magical doorway seems a little more in keeping with the semi-broken nature of the character from the original comics. But Mr. Mind coming to him in his moment of need is reminiscent both of the end of that New 52 origin story and the end of Shazam: The New Beginning. Basically, Sivana and Mr. Mind have teamed up plenty of times, so this is a great way to set up a sequel. Oh, you probably want to know who Mr. Mind is.

- Mr. Mind is an extra-dimensional worm who feeds on brainwaves, and is capable of getting people to do his bidding. He first appeared in 1943 (created by the Shazam dream team of Otto Binder and C.C. Beck) and was actually the focal point of the first, long form serialized comic book storyline, "The Monster Society of Evil," which stretched out over two years of comics, at a time when most superhero stories were completely self contained. He was considered so dangerous that he was tried, convicted, and given the death penalty (hey, it was the '40s) and put to death in a tiny little worm-sized electric chair. Because comics are crazy but also the best.

In more recent years it was revealed that he was merely in his larval stage this entire time, and evolves into something called a hyperfly, capable of devouring the entire DC Multiverse (something he intended and attempted to do). Again, because comics are crazy/the best.

Anyway, I love that they even leaned into the tiny speaker hanging around his neck. And the voice of Mr. Mind? That would be Shazam! director David F. Sandberg again!

By the way, just as this movie was a nearly dead on adaptation of that Geoff Johns/Gary Frank story, the current ongoing Shazam! comic book series seems to be perfect fodder for a potential Shazam 2, with the kids exploring "The Magiclands" that can be accessed via the Rock of Eternity.

I went into much more detail about what these post-credits scenes mean right here.

- I don't really need to explain that Freddy is talking about the events from the end of Aquaman in that second scene, do I? No? Good.

So, did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter!

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

facebook

twitter

tumblr

Feature

Books

Mike Cecchini

Dec 3, 2019

Shazam

DC Entertainment

from Books https://ift.tt/2Ie13tZ

#aion-rsa #Books

0 notes

theliberaltony · 7 years

Link

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s weekly politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

micah (Micah Cohen, politics editor): Today’s topic: If you’re a Republican elected official, what qualifies you as anti-Trump?

Why are we talking about this? Well, there are plenty of GOP senators — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John McCain, Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, etc. — who have been critical of the president but haven’t necessarily done much about it legislatively. So many people on the left call the whole narrative that they’re standing up to Trump BS.

So, to start us off: How much do you think these elected Republicans are doing to restrain Trump?

natesilver (Nate Silver, editor in chief): Well, they weren’t doing very much at first. Then more signs of resistance emerged over the summer.

In some ways, we’re still waiting for the pivotal tests, though.

What if Trump fires special counsel Bob Mueller, who’s investigating his campaign and potential Russian collusion? What if he pardons Jared Kushner? What if he tries to appoint to his Cabinet someone who’s an obvious hack?

perry (Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer): The Russia sanctions bill was significant in that Congress passed it despite administration objections. The hearing with fired FBI Director James Comey was too. So was prominent GOP senators basically all-but-ordering the president not to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Republicans, particularly in the Senate, are doing more to resist Trump than the liberal conventional wisdom seems to hold.

harry (Harry Enten, senior political writer): Yeah, you are seeing some more outward signs of resistance. You have both Flake and Corker not running for re-election in order, it seems, to be able to critique Trump to their fullest ability. And just this week, McCain put out this tweet:

I believe in Americans and the American dream, but it’s time we wake up. http://pic.twitter.com/QmSIqP0TEs

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 30, 2017

Now, do those count? Otherwise, I think the Russia bill was the first step, so I concur with Mr. Bacon.

natesilver: Wait — so Flake and Corker not running for re-election is a sign of resistance?

Not sure I buy that, Enten.

harry: I see it that way. Here’s why: Yes, they didn’t run, probably in part because they thought they might lose. That’s especially the case for Flake. But they could have decided to change course. They could have sucked up to Trump. Instead, they chose not to run and to criticize the president.

perry: If you think Trump will go down as the worst president in modern U.S. history and that he breaks lots of important norms along the way, then they are still not doing nearly enough. If you grade them based on their deep desire to 1. get re-elected, 2. please the Fox News base, and 3. get tax cuts and conservative judges, then the level of resistance in the GOP that we’re seeing seems more significant, with Collins/Corker/Flake/McCain at the more resisting end of the spectrum.

harry: I wonder if any of them think Trump is the worst president.

natesilver: Well, Flake was probably going to lose anyway. But Corker is popular enough that he could have stayed in the Senate as a sort of Susan Collins type.

harry: Corker’s numbers slid. I’m not sure he would have won necessarily if he really wanted to critique Trump.

micah: Yeah, isn’t the idea that he would have become far more unpopular by speaking out against Trump?

perry: I think many of these Republican senators believe Trump is uniquely terrible. That is what Flake and Corker are getting at: Let’s use our inside voices outside. If he is terrible, let’s tell people.

natesilver: Corker might have lost. But now you’re almost guaranteed to have someone more Trump-friendly in that Senate seat.

micah: So much of this comes down to how big of a threat you think the president is, right? If you’re on the left and you see Trump as a clear and present danger, then of course you’d be underwhelmed by the anti-Trumpiness of the GOP.

perry: Right.

micah: But let me introduce another element here …

THE FIVETHIRTYEIGHT TRUMP SCORE!!!!

Nate, can you give the people a snappy description of what this is?

natesilver: It’s how often a member of Congress votes the way that Trump wants.

That’s it. It’s pretty simple. It’s a measure of roll-call votes.

micah: So people have been throwing around Flake’s and McCain’s and Corker’s Trump scores — which are all very high — as evidence that their criticism of Trump is hollow.

That seems silly to me, but what do you all think?

natesilver: It’s certainly possible that you could agree with Trump on his legislative priorities but also think he’s a danger to the Republic. In that case, you might have a high Trump score, since most of what’s reflected in it is legislation.

harry: Can I just note that there’s nothing new about measures like the Trump score? People have been tracking stuff like this for years. What’s different here is that we’re doing it in real time. It’s more about the interpretation that some people are taking.

natesilver: Yeah. We’re doing it in real time. And our scores are more transparent — it’s more obvious what they mean.

perry: Micah and I have had this debate a lot internally. So we can have it publicly now.

I appreciate the work of my colleagues in creating this tool. And it explains some things really well. But I see these liberals saying, “Well, Trump is with Flake 90 percent of the time.” Flake wrote a book trashing Trump. Trump wanted Flake out of the Senate. Something is not being captured there.

And the other challenge is that Trump is often very disengaged from the legislative process. So the things that get voted on are really the Paul Ryan-Mitch McConnell priorities, or put differently, the Koch brothers agenda. I know why we are calling it a Trump score, but I at times worry that that communicates to the audience that Trump has defined priorities on a lot of legislation, some of which I doubt he knows exist.

natesilver: I don’t know. It’s a tool. Like any tool, it can be misused.

micah: But Perry has outlined the fairest criticism.

But like … don’t the Trump scores simply show that Trump hasn’t pushed an agenda distinct from normal GOP orthodoxy?

perry: Right.

I think people are misusing/misunderstanding the tool.

micah: We could rename it the “GOP Congress-Trump Legislative Agreement Score.”

natesilver: I mean, the scores show that the Republican agenda and the Trump agenda have become pretty well aligned.

The lowest Trump score among Republicans (Collins at 81 percent) is much higher than the highest Trump score among Democrats (Joe Manchin at 54 percent).

harry: Also, the Republican senators with the lowest Trump scores aren’t surprising; they tend to be the senators widely recognized as the most anti-Trump: Collins, Rand Paul, McCain, Corker, etc.

natesilver: Yeah, it does a pretty decent job.

GOP senators by Trump score

SENATOR STATE TRUMP SCORE 1 Roy Blunt Missouri 96.2% 2 John Boozman Arkansas 96.2 3 Bill Cassidy Louisiana 96.2 4 Thad Cochran Mississippi 96.2 5 John Cornyn Texas 96.2 6 Orrin Hatch Utah 96.2 7 John Hoeven North Dakota 96.2 8 Pat Roberts Kansas 96.2 9 Mike Rounds South Dakota 96.2 10 John Thune South Dakota 96.2 11 Thom Tillis North Carolina 96.2 12 Roger Wicker Mississippi 96.2 13 Richard Burr North Carolina 96.1 14 Mitch McConnell Kentucky 96.1 15 Marco Rubio Florida 96.1 16 Dan Sullivan Alaska 95.9 17 Johnny Isakson Georgia 94.4 18 John Barrasso Wyoming 94.2 19 Ted Cruz Texas 94.2 20 Cory Gardner Colorado 94.2 21 James Inhofe Oklahoma 94.2 22 Tim Scott South Carolina 94.2 23 Richard Shelby Alabama 94.2 24 Shelley Moore Capito West Virginia 94.1 25 Jerry Moran Kansas 94.1 26 David Perdue Georgia 94.1 27 Lamar Alexander Tennessee 94.0 28 Tom Cotton Arkansas 92.3 29 Mike Crapo Idaho 92.3 30 Steve Daines Montana 92.3 31 Mike Enzi Wyoming 92.3 32 Joni Ernst Iowa 92.3 33 Deb Fischer Nebraska 92.3 34 Chuck Grassley Iowa 92.3 35 Ron Johnson Wisconsin 92.3 36 John Kennedy Louisiana 92.3 37 James Lankford Oklahoma 92.3 38 Rob Portman Ohio 92.3 39 Todd Young Indiana 92.3 40 Dean Heller Nevada 90.4 41 Mike Lee Utah 90.4 42 James Risch Idaho 90.4 43 Ben Sasse Nebraska 90.2 44 Pat Toomey Pennsylvania 90.2 45 Jeff Flake Arizona 90.0 46 Luther Strange Alabama 90.0 47 Lindsey Graham South Carolina 88.5 48 Bob Corker Tennessee 86.3 49 Lisa Murkowski Alaska 86.3 50 John McCain Arizona 84.0 51 Rand Paul Kentucky 84.0 52 Susan Collins Maine 80.8

perry: Yeah, that actually is perfect in capturing the anti-Trump wing in the Senate. Although, it is strange that Luther Strange is there.

But broader point: I don’t expect someone like Flake, who is quite conservative, to vote against tax cuts because Trump supports them.

natesilver: Right, but it’s reasonable to point out that someone like Collins — despite occasionally disagreeing with Trump, including on important issues — is still quite an asset to him, compared with a Democrat from Maine.

micah: Well, this gets us back to how you judge Republican resistiness — there are people who think Trump is such a threat to the nation that Republicans should be blocking appointments/legislation even if they support them on substance. There are people who think they should switch parties! If you subscribe to that theory, then the Trump score does count as evidence that the McCains and Flakes of the world haven’t done much.

As Nate just said, Collins is still an asset overall.

natesilver: There haven’t been many appointments lately — and Trump has mostly sidestepped making controversial ones.

harry: I mean, these are still Republicans.

perry: This is an interesting question. Tom Price had a bunch of controversial behavior well before he was confirmed as health and human services secretary and well before he resigned after the plane stuff. Should Flake/Corker/McCain have not voted for him? (They did.) Would they do that today?

natesilver: That’s why I’m saying the big tests are still ahead.

harry: What are the big tests? Do we know them yet?

natesilver: Ultimately, some of the resistance will have to come in the form of roll-call votes — like rebuffing his Cabinet nominees or (gulp) even voting to impeach him.

perry: Right, but taxes is the wrong issue on which to judge GOP resistance. Nominations and appointments are right. So are U.S. attorneys, foreign policy appointments, people who could be involved in Russia stuff: Like if Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were to leave and Trump wanted to appoint an even more pro-Russia person. Or if his U.S. attorney appointment in New York seems to be someone with obvious ties to Trump who won’t prosecute crimes by Trump allies.

natesilver: Congress could pass legislation that would make it more difficult to fire Mueller. The fact that they haven’t yet is a good point for the critics.

micah: Or Congress could pass laws aimed at curbing Trump’s potential corruption/conflict of interest stuff.

perry: Yes.

harry: Of course, a number of GOP senators have also said that Trump shouldn’t fire Mueller.

perry: Like this is a serious idea: Republicans should join with Democrats to block any U.S. attorney nominee who Trump has personally met with.

And, yeah, the fact that the pro-Mueller bills have not moved is telling.

natesilver: People are also within their rights to be skeptical of Republicans standing up to Trump based on how the 2016 primaries went down. Trump, famously, received very few endorsements from Republican elected officials. But as we learned, there’s a big difference between failing to endorse and actually resisting someone.

harry: By the way, Flake has not signed onto a bill that would make it harder for Trump to fire Mueller.

micah: I think what we’re seeing is a number of Republican senators who are anti-Trump on non-policy issues (protecting Mueller/rule of law/etc.) and pro-Trump on policy (which is basically just pro-GOP). … BUT they’re active on the policy things and passive on the non-policy things.

That’s the key: active vs. passive.

natesilver: Right. There’s been an impressive amount of passive resistance to Trump and not (yet) very much active resistance.

perry: I guess it’s somewhat hard to be active on non-policy things, since Congress doesn’t really vote on those, right?

micah: Couldn’t they, though?

perry: Is active resistance politically possible in the Republican Party of today?

Politicians perhaps should do things that are political risks. But they almost never do.

micah: That’s a hard question to answer, Perry. My first instinct is “no.”

But maybe that’s simply a case of expectations.

What would happen if every Republican senator up for re-election in 2018 simultaneously came out and broke with Trump in a sustained way?

perry: Well, on Russia sanctions it happened.

He whined, signed the bill and the party people won the fight.

If every senator up for re-election did that, they would all increase their chances of losing to a Steve-Bannon-backed candidate. There is no safety in numbers when the number is fairly small — only six Senate Republicans are up in 2018 (not counting Flake, Corker or the Alabama special election). If every House Republican did that, that would be different. It would be something like 240 people.

harry: I think we’re seeing a major resistance to resisting Trump in that fashion. Look what’s happening in the Alabama Senate race. Roy Moore has said a lot of stuff outside the mainstream, and he was welcomed into Washington with open arms before he’s even won the seat. The fear of losing is really, really powerful. Distancing themselves from that part of the Republican base is not tenable because it would mean, in their mind, losing the election.

perry: A good test will be if Mitt Romney ever says a negative thing about Trump again, since he is rumored to be considering a Senate run in Utah if Orrin Hatch retires.

micah: Clare is on vacation, but in her honor I feel compelled to say …

MITT!!!!!

Anyway, give me a little more detail on what we would see the key tests being for Republicans in Congress.

natesilver: I continue to think the three nuclear-level events are:

Trump firing Mueller.

Trump pardoning people in his inner circle.

Mueller returning with an obstruction of justice finding or something equally severe against Trump.

micah: Let’s talk short of nuclear-level, though.

What would the ramp-up tests be?

natesilver: Part of the problem is that there aren’t that many ramp-up tests.

micah: Interesting!

harry: Again, what are you breaking with Trump on? The GOP Congress and Trump agree on most major policy questions — hence those high Trump scores.

micah: The Federal Reserve chair has to be confirmed by the Senate, right?

Other appointments?

And what about investigations?

Proactive anti-corruption laws?

Seems like there are a lot of options?

harry: I mean, if they started passing those anti-corruption laws, that would be a sign of something.

natesilver: If Trump tried to appoint, say, Rudy Giuliani to something, that would be interesting. But Trump has actually played it pretty carefully on appointments so far.

perry: Giuliani. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

I think it will be fairly hard to have clear votes on things because McConnell will signal to the White House when the votes are there and when they’re not.

micah: You think the Senate would balk at Christie?

perry: Let’s not debate Christie. He will not be nominated.

micah: Lol.

natesilver: Yeah, and that’s another flaw with roll-call measures — they don’t measure things that never get to the floor.

harry: Why the hate toward Mr. 14 Percent Approval? (Also known as Chris Christie.)

natesilver: BTW, Congress could be doing a lot more on its own to investigate Trump, and they could make more of those investigations public.

micah: Yeah, that would qualify as a ramp-up test to me.

natesilver: Mueller — and the media — have devoted a lot of resources to investigating Trump, obviously, but that doesn’t mean that Congress couldn’t ramp up its investigations too.

perry: And that is an important place where Congress is not pushing back on Trump.

In fact, Republicans in Congress have moved in a pro-Trump, anti-Hillary Clinton direction in terms of investigations.

harry: That’s why I think you said to watch Richard Burr, right, Perry? To watch some of those investigations.

perry: GOP super-partisans have basically captured all of the committees but Burr’s. That’s important.

micah: OK, final question: Is it accurate to call Collins, Flake, Corker, McCain or any other Senate Republican “anti-Trump”?

perry: I call them Trump-skeptical. Maybe that’s cautious, but it’s more accurate, I think.

micah: I like that terminology.

harry: My problem with this is it’s difficult to call someone anti-Trump when they are agreeing with him a lot on policy. I would call some of them Trump-headaches. I know, lame phrase.

natesilver: You could call them “anti-Trump-curious.”

micah: lol

perry: Jennifer Rubin and Bill Kristol are anti-Trump. I can’t think of a Republican member of Congress who is really anti-Trump.

They are anti-Trumpism.

If we think of Trumpism as being more about nationalism, white identity politics, norms-bashing, institution-breaking, media-slamming, then Flake, Corker, etc., are against that. But not really Trump policies.

harry: For an anti-Trumper, the disagreements with Trump’s behavior, etc., have to override policy agreement. I don’t think we see that yet in Congress.

micah: Yeah, the passive vs. active seems like the dividing line.

Let’s call them “passively anti-Trump curious.”

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #A FiveThirtyEight Chat

0 notes

aion-rsa · 5 years

Text

Shazam! Complete Guide to DC Comics Easter Eggs and References

https://ift.tt/2I0Bgq2

Shazam! is more than just another DCEU movie, it is packed with 80 years of DC Comics history and Easter eggs.

facebook

twitter

google+

tumblr

Feature

Books

Mike Cecchini

Shazam

Apr 4, 2019

DC Entertainment

This article consists of nothing but Shazam! spoilers. We have a spoiler free review of the film here.

Shazam! is the first time the character has come to the big screen as a big budget movie (1941's The Adventures of Captain Marvel was a serial, not a feature film). The movie is based heavily on one specific Shazam! story, the 2011 origin tale by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, but throughout there are elements drawn from 80 years of Shazam history. We're trying to track down all the bits of Shazam and DC Universe lore peppered throughout the latest DCEU adventure...but we need your help.

Who is Shazam?

read more: How Zachary Levi Was Cast as Shazam

(whew) That was a lot. But speaking of that villain, we'd better get to...

Who is Dr. Sivana?

read more: Mark Strong and the Secrets of Dr. Sivana

- I don't believe we ever met Sivana's father or brother in the comics. On the other hand, we often met his kids, Magnificus, Beautia, Thaddeus Jr., and Georgia Sivana (get it?).

- While not an easter egg, young Sivana's Magic 8-Ball is a wonderful piece of kitsch.

- Sivana Industries comes from the Jerry Ordway Power of Shazam era of the character, where Sivana wasn't just a mad scientist, but an actual businessman and inventor.

We have more on the history of Dr. Sivana right here.

The Wizard

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming DCEU Superhero Movies

- The idea of him being part of a "council of Wizards" is also from the New 52 origin story, and there are seven of them, just as their are seven deadly sins.

Billy Batson

Just a few fun points of reference about Billy Batson in the movie...

- Billy’s first words on screen are, appropriately enough, “holy moley" which was long both Billy and his superheroic alter ego's preferred exclamation of surprise.

- Billy saying “Shazam” to revert to kid size in order to slip out of the grip of a bad guy is a classic maneuver, used countless times in the comics.

read more: Finding the Heroic Qualities in Shazam

Incidentally, the voice of Marilyn's asshole boyfriend that you hear in the background is none other than director David F. Sandberg.

- In very recent Shazam comics, Billy's father has mysteriously resurfaced. It's not yet clear if he's an ex-con, since it's said in the movie that he is "in jail in Florida."

Who is Freddy?

read more: Finding the Right Tone for Shazam!

- The blue costume that Freddy wears in the movie when he transforms is an almost direct translation of his old "Captain Marvel Jr." look, which was always a pretty sharp costume.

Who is Mary?

The Rock of Eternity

- The Rock of Eternity has long been known as the source of the Shazam family powers, but here in the movie it is referred to as Rock of Eternity as “the source of all magic” in the DCEU.

- Also visible in the Rock of Eternity is Mr. Mind in his glass case (later on we see he is missing, and then, of course, he appears in the post credits scene). More on Mr. Mind shortly!

- I can't tell if I was imagining some kind of golden lamp in there or not. I know I was desperately wishing for it to be Dr. Fate's helmet, but alas, I know this was not the case.

- All of the doors that the kids are trying to navigate seem to be like the doors to the Magiclands from the most recent Shazam! series.

- Can someone explain the significance of what appears to be a burning violin in the Rock of Eternity? Because I am at a complete loss.

What about the tigers?

The Family

- It's nice to see that Eugene immediately does a hadouken from the Street Fighter games and then makes a "fatality" Mortal Kombat joke.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Black Adam

Superman

- And, of course, that's the DCEU Superman costume made famous in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League...but it isn't Henry Cavill in the suit, unfortunately. At the moment, Cavill's future as Superman in the DCEU is unclear, but we're still holding out hope he'll come back. Don't hold your breath, though. Nevertheless, as Big Blue strolls into the cafeteria, you can hear the briefest hint of the classic John Williams Superman theme.

DCEU, DC Comics, and Other References

- Can anyone make out what the book on Freddy’s desk is? Is it the David Graves book from the New 52 Justice League comics?

The Post Credits Scenes

- Mr. Mind is an extra-dimensional worm who feeds on brainwaves, and is capable of getting people to do his bidding. He first appeared in 1945 (created by the Shazam dream team of Otto Binder and C.C. Beck) and was actually the focal point of the first, long form serialized comic book storyline, "The Monster Society of Evil," which stretched out over two years of comics, at a time when most superhero stories were completely self contained. He was considered so dangerous that he was tried, convicted, and given the death penalty (hey, it was the '40s) and put to death in a tiny little worm-sized electric chair. Because comics are crazy but also the best.

Anyway, I love that they even leaned into the tiny speaker hanging around his neck. And the voice of Mr. Mind? That would be Shazam! director David F. Sandberg again!

- I don't really need to explain that Freddy is talking about the events from the end of Aquaman in that second scene, do I? No? Good.

So, did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter!

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

from Books https://ift.tt/2Ie13tZ

#aion-rsa #Books

0 notes