Shazam 2's Credits Tease A DC Supervillain That Might Never Come
Contains spoilers for "Shazam! Fury of the Gods."
Among the plethora of plot threads left dangling in the wind by "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," there's one little Easter egg DC fans would no doubt be salivating over much more if this franchise wasn't potentially coming to an end so soon.
We're referring to a villain not from Shazam's back catalog, but that of the hero he looks up to and even had lunch with in Billy Batson's (Asher Angel) first shift as a world-saving super. Believe it or not, the awesome animated credits of the latest "Shazam!" adventure tease none other than Kryptonian killer cyborg Brainiac, by way of his iconic ride causing trouble for the Big Red Cheese and his pals.
You can have a last-minute joke about Shazam joining the Justice Society instead of the Justice League, and even a cameo from Wonder Woman to help revive our hero. But to give a wink to the audience regarding one of the most challenging, terrifying villains in the DC Universe? That's just uncalled for, particularly when it involves a bad guy who still has yet to pose a real threat on the big screen.
Brainiac's skull ship is spotted in the credits for Shazam 2
Debuting in "Action Comics" #242 in 1958, Brainiac is the soulless automaton that, in some Superman storylines, is the main culprit behind the destruction of Kal-El's home planet Krypton. He's also an avid collector of civilizations and is responsible for shrinking down the city of Kandor, which is spared the fate of Krypton by being stored in a bell jar. Obsessed with absorbing information about the universe and its inferior worlds, Brainiac has been as much of a nuisance for the Last Son of Krypton as Lex Luthor and General Zod.
When it comes to the mad machine's prize ride, Brainiac is often seen floating through space or hovering over Earth in a ship modeled off his own head (ego much?), which can be seen sketched out in the closing credits of "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." It's shown with its tentacles outstretched and the Shazam-fam trying their best to dodge its evil grasp. What's disappointing, of course, is that with the upcoming reboot of the DCU, a version of Brainiac turning up in this iteration of "Shazam!" is unlikely. Our only hope is that the forthcoming "Superman: Legacy," which will be written and directed by James Gunn, might feature Brainiac as one of the villains fans have been itching to see. Here's hoping the release date of July 11, 2025 comes flying in faster than a speeding bullet.