Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Shazam #1!
Out of all DC’s major heroes, Future State has shown a dark future for the character, turning him into a brutal villain.
As more comics are released from the Future State slate, it’s becoming clear that DC’s future is not a bright one. Many of the stories take place in dystopian settings in which some of the world’s most famous heroes have been depowered or killed. While the stories have been intriguing, introducing great new characters and concepts, many have also given off an underlying feeling of despair. The age of time has led to a new version of Shazam who exists apart from Billy Batson. Unfortunately, this separation has caused the corruption of the World’s Mightiest Mortal.
It is revealed at the end of Future State: Shazam #1, by Tim Sheridan and Eduardo Pansica, that Billy Batson is literally living in Hell. After a disaster known as the Final Battle of Titans Island, Shazam locks up a dangerous villain in the Rock of Eternity. He decides that he will spend the rest of time guarding the prison, but the fiendish Neron tells him that his powers are useless in this domain. Billy’s innocence, however, makes him a perfect candidate for the job. Shazam notes that turning back into Billy would send his powers back to the Rock of Eternity, practically handing them over to the prisoner, so there is nothing he can do. Neron decides to “help” by using his own powers to part Billy and Shazam for good. With that, Billy stays behind to guard the Rock of Eternity and Shazam returns to fight the evils throughout the world.
The main events of the book take place a few years later, with Billy never having left his post in Hell. Shazam, on the other hand, has dropped with the rest of the Shazam Family, and is now leading his own team of heroes. While investigating the deaths of two villains, some of the team become increasingly suspicious of Shazam’s behavior. After a mission gone awry, in which the Creeper is killed, the team dives further into the mysteries surrounding these deaths. Eventually, they discover that Shazam is responsible, and when they confront him, he reveals that he’s taken other lives too.
While Shazam is still technically trying to protect the world, his methods have become much more extreme. Without Billy’s conscience there to guide the hero, Shazam’s humanity seems to have mostly vanished. Sadly, villains are not the only people that Shazam sees as potential threats. It appears that the hero is going to great lengths to keep his separation from Billy a secret, as Jakeem Thunder, who was investigating the mysterious murders, is missing. Shazam also its to killing a hero he refers to as “Drake" for reasons that are currently unknown. It seems that without Billy, Shazam has become a brutal vigilante bent on keeping his murders secret from his allies.
One other aspect of the story that could have something to do with Shazam’s newfound violence is Neron’s hand in it all. Immediately after Billy and Shazam are split apart, Shazam is unable to see. Neron quickly gives him back his vision and Shazam mentions how he now sees the world differently. Knowing Neron, the villain could have definitely tampered with the hero’s mind, transforming Shazam into a murderer to do his evil bidding. Hopefully, the mysteries surrounding this issue will become clearer when Future State: Shazam #2 drops in February, and it may still be possible that DC's sweetest hero isn't entirely to blame for his cold-blooded crimes.
