The following contains spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, now playing in theaters.
When Shazam! Fury of the Gods hurtles toward its climactic battle, Billy Batson (Zachary Levi/Asher Angel) has to face his worst fears. He's all alone as his siblings have lost their powers. But Billy is driven by the power of family, intent on ensuring the Daughters of Atlas don't steal magic from Earth.
It leads to Billy facing off against Lucy Liu's evil Kalypso and her dragon, realizing once he can take her out, he can stop a swath of monsters from ripping Philadelphia to pieces. In the process, Billy uses the Wizard's staff as a key weapon, remixing what happened to Superman in the brutal finale in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Shazam! 2 Has Billy Making an Electric Spear
During Fury of the Gods' climactic battle, Kalypso and her dragon cause major havoc, but thankfully, Helen Mirren's Hespera and Rachel Zegler's Anthea turn on their sister, allowing Billy to trap in her a dome. He then charges the staff up with immense lightning and flies straight into Kalypso and her dragon. This propels Shazam! 2's electrifying finale, which kills the villains, but sadly, Billy dies too.
This sequence is tantamount to when Batman v Superman's Clark Kent used the Kryptonite spear Batman made to kill the Man of Steel. The green mineral was the only thing that could pierce Doomsday's skin, with Billy's magical lightning being the only tool that could hurt this enemy. Unfortunately, Clark died when he speared the beast, getting impaled by the monster. Shazam! 2 copies the same style with the lighting, mood, and Billy screaming like Clark at supersonic speeds. It feels like an homage to what Zack Snyder did, adding drama, action and a soul-crushing tinge to the hero's sacrifice.
Shazam! 2's Death Is Visually More Heartbreaking Than Superman's
DCEU fans knew Superman's death wouldn't last as Justice League was planned and Snyder always wanted to deal with the Kryptonian's revival. This took away from the emotion of Lois cradling Clark's body since his return in Justice League established death as an impermanent event. While James Gunn likes Shazam! 2, his creative team didn't announce more Shazam family adventures for the new DCU docket. Thus, at this point in the film, it's easy to think maybe Fury of the Gods has killed off Billy for real, in what would be cold but a brave, realistic lesson about superheroes.
Without the promise of a future installment, when Freddy hugs his dead brother's body, the emotional impact is more strongly felt. Billy is burned, and as Anthea notes, all life's been extinguished from his body. This adds more weight to Billy's loss than Lois' scene until the burial scene right after. Wonder Woman surprisingly shows up in Shazam! 2, using the staff to resurrect Billy, diminishing the emotions that came prior. Still, the visual execution and somber energy of a kid dying like that will always tug at viewers' hearts a bit more. Ultimately, this Shazam! 2 scene has a lot of pathos, substance and style, standing out as a truly memorable one in Billy's brave career in what's a clever pastiche to Kal-El's death.
To see Billy's sacrifice top Superman's temporarily, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in theaters now.