Shazam! concept artist Jerad S. Marantz has confirmed that the titular hero's costume contains an homage to a classic character from the original comic books: beloved Marvel Family member, Mr. Tawky Tawny.
Within the Marvel Family, the anthropomorphic tiger has been a fan favorite since his introduction in 1947. But being that the film is more of an origin story, Tawny doesn't fit into the overall continuity of the storyline. Nevertheless, the character has made his mark on Billy Batson's supersuit.
After revealing concept art from 2011's Green Lantern, concept artist Marantz posted an image of one of the tiger buttons that hold Billy's cape in place on his Instagram, confirming Mr. Tawky Tawny's blink-and-you-miss-it appearance that was caught by eagle-eyed fans.
"Got to put Mr. Tawky Tawny on the Shazam! buttons on the suit," Marantz wrote. "I was really excited when they went with this idea. There were definitely a few tiger Easter eggs throughout the movie, but I love the idea of having Tawny incorporated into the costume. It was easy enough, I just created an alpha and sank it into the button model. Incredible movie, incredible team!"
This interesting revelation stands to connect the film to its source material even more as Marantz's inner fan managed to incorporate such an integral part of the Marvel Family mythos. However, it is currently unclear if Mr. Tawky Tawny will make a proper big screen appearance in the future.
That said, Tawny's existence won't be too far off as Marvel caterpillar foe Mister Mind was teased in a mid-credit scene allying with Mark Strong's Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. A sequel is currently in the works with the original cast and crew set to return.
Directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Zachary Levi, Shazam! is currently available on digital HD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
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