Wrath Creature was recently revealed by DC concept artist Jerad S. Marantz- an alternate take on one of the Seven Deadly Sins from last year’s Shazam!.
Marantz, who’s known for his concept work for DCEU films, posted his take on Wrath to his Instagram. As he notes, his versions of the Seven Deadly Sins ultimately didn’t move forward as DC tasked him with focusing on the suits of the film’s heroes.
The action-comedy follows Billy Batson, a foster kid who is begrudgingly chosen by the ancient wizard, Shazam, to receive an array of superpowers. Shazam has spent centuries in a place known as the Rock of Eternity, waiting for a champion who is pure of heart. However, his search is complicated by the fact that his last champion released the Seven Deadly Sins, killing every other wizard on Shazam’s council.
Shazam does not view Billy to be worthy of the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. However, he chooses him because the Seven Deadly Sins have once again been released. Thaddeus Sivana (who failed Shazam’s “pure of heart” test as a child) achieved his life-long and spiteful goal of returning to the Rock of Eternity. He steals the Eye of Sin and becomes the vessel of the Seven Deadly Sins—Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Pride, and Wrath. Outside of Sivana (when he is vulnerable), these demons manifest themselves as monsters, harnessing the power of the sins they represent.
Arguably, the most intimating of the seven deadly sins is Wrath. It is in everyone, and it’s the most powerful, which has led to the creation of Wrath Creature. At one point in the film, we see Wrath bite the head off of Sivana Industries’ board member and throw his body out of a window. Marantz, a concept artist who worked on Shazam! Recently posted a menacing picture of Wrath to Instagram.
According to Marantz, Neville Page eventually took over the design of the villainous beings, creating their final look for the film. But it’s interesting to see how the embodiments of biblical sin could have appeared in Shazam!
At the end of Shazam!, Billy (as his superhero alter-ego, Shazam) follows in the old wizard’s footsteps by removing the Eye of Sin from Sivana and imprisoning the Seven Deadly Sins. This may be explored in the DC Extended Universe’s upcoming Black Adam solo film.
The concept art for Shazam!’s Wrath Creature is just as terrifying (if not more so) than the version we see in the final film. Marantz’s hellish color scheme evokes a feeling appropriate for one of the franchise’s oldest and most mythological antagonists. Whether we get to see the creature again in Black Adam or Shazam! 2, remains to be seen.