Separated at birth? Shazam and Thor

Imagine, if you will, that it is Summer 2008. You’re in the movie theatre, eagerly anticipating viewing The Dark Knight. You’re so excited that you only half pay attention to a trailer.

In this trailer, we see a crowded city street, bustling with human activity. It is a warm summer day, bright and cloudless. Without warning, a band of creatures that can only be described as demons swarm out of the sky and begin attacking. Despite it being a cloudless sky, there is a sudden crack of thunder and lightning, and a powerfully built figure appears, throwing himself into battle with the demons.

Cool! You think to yourself. A trailer for the new Shazam! movie. You are, after all, a discriminating viewer of comic-book related films – you must be, you read this blog – and know that despite the fact that the character is named Captain Marvel, DC/Time Warner/AOL aren’t allowed to use that name in the publicity materials.

But wait just one moment. As the action solidifies, you realize that the hero on-screen doesn’t have raven-black hair – he has long, flowing, golden locks. He isn’t wearing red, except for on his cape. And in his hands is a large stone hammer.

That’s right kids – it’s not a trailer for Shazam! at all. It’s a trailer for The Mighty Thor, directed by Mathew Vaughn.

Now, superhero films are hot right now – even with the disappointing results of Spider-Man 3 and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. And I’m sure that developing a film for Thor is simply a case of “Who’s next?” after handling Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Iron Man and the Punisher. But the coincidence of announcing it so shortly after Shazam has been announced just strikes me as a little convenient.

I mean, it’s not like there are any similarities between Thor and Captain Marvel. One is a god, the other gets his power from seven gods. They both have an alter-ego that involves changing form into a significantly weaker body (a child and a crippled doctor). Their transformation involves thunder and lightning each. And they need a focus for that transformation (Thor/Donald Blake’s hammer/cane and Billy Batson’s magic word). They both have an older, more powerful figure who guides them (Odin, the wizard Shazam).

Hmmm. Ok, maybe they are similar.

In any case, I’m actually excited about both properties – at least potentially. If nothing else, I imagine they’ll be better than SuperMAX.