Shazam vs. Superman? Henry Cavill and Zachary Levi weigh in on who'd win hero smackdown
File this one under: Hypothetical Geek Debates.
DC superheroes Henry Cavill (aka Superman) and Zachary Levi (aka Shazam) have fast become social media rivals. Could a cinematic clash be in the cards for them someday à la Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? And who would prevail?
It’s an urgent albeit purely speculative question we posed to the actors during separate recent interviews with Yahoo Entertainment (watch above). And sure, let’s invite Batman, too.
“Well, if it’s three guys fighting, Batman has a chance,” said Cavill (now starring and all mustached-up in Mission: Impossible – Fallout), throwing his Justice League cohort a bone. “Because Shazam and Superman are going to focus on each other. And that’s when Batman gets all his sneaky stuff in.”
But let’s get to the heavyweights of this battle: Superman and Shazam, who first clashed in comic book pages in 1978 and whose superiority has been debated ever since.
Both Levi and Cavill agreed that the World’s Mightiest Mortal, who will enter the DCEU in 2019’s comedically charged Shazam!, has the upper hand because of his supernatural powers.
“Shazam is magic,” Levi told Yahoo Entertainment at San Diego Comic-Con, where he was joined by co-stars Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer and director David F. Sandberg. “So I think we’re team Shazam.”
But Cavill wants to see this thing play out. “Shazam’s got magic, which is allegedly — comic book lore-wise — Superman’s weakness, or he’s at least more vulnerable to it than other things.
“Superman isn’t going to just be beating up Shazam. He’s not. And Shazam is basically just a big kid. So he’s not going to be beating up Superman. He’s a huge fan of Superman, for one. But Supes is seriously quick. I think it’s whoever gets the jump on the other. It’s situational.”
No word yet from Ben Affleck.
Shazam! opens April 5, 2019.
Watch Zachary Levi and the Shazam! crew talk about the film’s similarities to Big and its connection to the DCEU:
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
