The hidden 'Justice League' cameos you definitely missed in 'Shazam!'

So, before we get going, if you haven’t seen Shazam! yet (in cinemas now), then say the magic word and fly away from this article.

We’re about to get into the biggest spoilers possible, pointing out secret cameos (which will also ruin the end of the movie), as well as going into detail about both of the post-credit scenes.

Final, final warning, MAJOR SPOILERS follow.

Okay, if you’re still here then you know that Shazam! ends with Zachary Levi’s title hero inviting his adopted siblings to say the magic word that turns them all into grown-up superheroes, known in the comics as the Marvel Family.

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What you might not realise is that two of those superheroes are played by actors who were originally cast in George Miller’s doomed Justice League movie, Justice League: Mortal.

DJ Cotrona (the super alter ego of Pedro Shazam) would have played Superman, with Adam Brody (the super alter ego of Freddy Shazam) set to play The Flash. It’s cool that Shazam!’s allowed them to complete their unfinished superhero business, much like the film allowed Mark Strong to complete his unfinished Supervillain business.

Of course, we also see another Superman in Shazam!, wearing Henry Cavill’s distinctive costume from Man Of Steel and Justice League. But, seeing as his head’s cut out of the frame, we’re not sure who actually plays him.

We’re going to go ahead and assume it wasn’t Henry Cavill, as they’d probably include his face, which means there’s another actor who’s played Superman in a movie, which is actually pretty significant.

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Superman pops up again (along with Aquaman, Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman) in the fun animated credit sequence, which – if canon – establishes that Captain Marvel is as strong as Superman, as fast as The Flash, and has the ability to nick Batman’s car to take Wonder Woman to the prom. We can’t wait to see how the consequences of all this plays out in the next Justice League movie.

Speaking of credits, there’s two post-credit sequences in Shazam! and they’re both fun.

The first is a foreshadow of what Captain Marvel and his family will be up against in Shazam! 2: Electric Boogaloo (working title). We join Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong) in prison following his final fairground confrontation with Marvel. He’s desperately scribbling on the prison walls, hoping to find the magic that’ll release him. Suddenly, we hear a voice.

“Primitive simples. You walking, talking monkeys with your cave drawings. You assume there’s only one way to gain magic. No, no, no. There are more ways than a mind can imagine,” it says.

Sivana finds the source of the voice, a weird caterpillar with a ‘talk box’ around his neck, which allows the alien worm to communicate with humans. Yes, this is a comic-book character – Mr Mind, one of Captain Marvel’s fiercest (and oldest) foes.

Mr Mind is a two-inch intelligent alien worm from Venus who formed the Monster Society of Evil, which was actually the first supervillain team-up in comics, ahead of more well-known gangs such as The Sinister Six.

“Oh, what fun we’re going to have together. The seven realms are about to be ours,” Mister Mind tells Sivana, which is presumably setting up the Shazam! sequel, which will see our heroes exploring all of those doors we saw them opening while trying to find an exit from the Rock Of Eternity.

The second post-credit scene is more directly related to the Justice League, with Captain Marvel trying to work out if one of his powers is the ability to talk to fish. The scene basically mocks Aquaman – and, in turn, all of the people defending Aquaman in recent years – by saying that not only are his powers lame, but the arguments for how cool he is are also pretty lame.

It’s a funny moment, but we pray that Jason Momoa was too impatient to sit through the credits, or the set of Justice League 2 could be pretty tense.

Shazam! is in cinemas now.