8 Stories To Read Before The Beginning Of DC’s Cinematic Universe

By Bryant Lucas /

2. The New 52 Shazam! Or Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil

Out of all of the films DC and Warner Bros has announced Shazam is by far the most out of place. Since Christopher Nolan€™s The Dark Knight trilogy, DC films have had an affinity for the dark and gritty (point in case: Man of Steel). The problem with Shazam is that he€™s not a dark character. In fact, he€™s quite the opposite. Traditionally, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam) is supposed to be light-hearted and whimsical. Think Pixar €“ not WB. There€™s really no telling how Warner is going to handle this property; all we know is that The Rock has signed on to play Black Adam, Shazam€™s arch enemy. If WB tries to take a more serious and contemporary take on the character, the studio is most likely going to use another Geoff Johns reboot: The New 52 Shazam!. This is the most current origin for both Shazam and Black Adam, and although the tone of the piece isn€™t quite as dark as something like The Suicide Squad, it€™s much more in line with everything else we€™ve seen so far in the DC cinematic universe. If DC decides to go with something more classic, Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil would be a logical place to start. Penned and illustrated by Jeff Bone, Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil delivers a classic Captain Marvel story that might as well be a blueprint for a film. Although Black Adam doesn€™t appear in the tale, Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil is still one of the best Captain Marvel stories in modern times.