Who Are The Daughters of Atlas in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’?

Since Shazam first appeared in 2019, it was proven that the lighthearted tone could suit well in one DC movie if it’s done right. The original Shazam movie was particularly praised for that, and after four years of waiting, the sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is finally here to give us another round of Shazam entertainment. After we witnessed the battle between Shazam and Dr. Sivana, who was deemed unworthy of Shazam’s powers when he was a child and wanted to steal those powers for himself, the sequel brought us a new set of villains, collectively known as the Daughters of Atlas. In this article, we will explain who exactly these new villains are and how they fit into the story of Shazam. Warning! The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Fury of the Gods.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods features three daughters of Atlas; Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea. They are original characters that do not exist in the comics, but they are all inspired by characters from Greek mythology. The movie presents them as the villains who want to use the Wizard Shazam’s staff to take away the powers from Billy Batson and his foster siblings, with the ultimate goal of rebuilding the realm of gods by planting the Tree of Life (known in Greek mythology as The Tree of the Hesperides), which produces golden apples.

When we look at this movie, we’d say that the authors are big fans of Greek mythology. Although this movie features a lot of original content, which draws no connection from the comics or even the official Greek mythology as we know it. Many things that drew inspiration were changed and adjusted to fit this story. However, the movie is still filled with that adjusted mythology, which looks visually impressive on screen.

According to Greek mythology, Atlas is a Titan condemned to hold up the heavens or sky for eternity. His daughters were known as the Hesperides or the Atlantides and Daughters of the Evening or Nymphs of the West. However, the daughters of Atlas in Shazam Fury of the Gods are officially original characters that were only loosely inspired by some known characters from mythology. In the following paragraphs, we will explain each of the daughters and try to draw some connections from their counterparts in Greek mythology.

Hespera

Helen Mirren’s Hespera is the eldest of the three daughters of Atlas in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. She’s the original character that did not appear in the comics. Greek mythology doesn’t give us any detailed information about her apart from the fact that she is one of the Hesperides.

According to her official description, “Hespera comes to Earth seeking retribution for the death of her father and fellow gods. With the Power of the Elements, Hespera uses her control over the natural world against mortals—including the Shazam Family.”

Kalypso

Lucy Liu’s Kalypso is a character that also doesn’t exist in the comics, and she is inspired by the Greek mythology character Calypso. According to mythology, Calypso was a nymph who resided on Ogygia, an island where she, according to Homer’s Odyssey, imprisoned Odysseus for seven years. Although she promised him the gift of immortality if he stayed with her, Odysseus decided to return home.

In the movie, Kalypso is described as the deadliest of three sisters. While Hespera holds the Power of Elements, Kalypso holds the Power of Chaos. Her ability allows her to whisper mind-controlling chants to mortals to create chaos in their minds and make them do whatever she commands them.

Anthea

Although she’s over six thousand years old, Rachel Zegler’s Anthea is the youngest of the three sisters. Just like her sisters, she is the original character that didn’t appear in the comics. The Anthea name means “blossom” in Greek, and it’s the epithet of Hera, the goddess of marriage, women, and family. Another character that potentially inspired Anthea in Fury of the Gods is Antheia, the daughter of Zeus and Eurynome and the goddess of swamps.

In the movie, Anthea is introduced as Anne, a new mysterious girl at Billy’s school who befriended Billy’s foster brother Freddy. She holds the Power of Axis, which allows her to manipulate the environment and rotate the Earth beneath her feet, moving around the buildings, walls, and other objects around her. Her powers, if we might add, were responsible for some of the visually most impressive sequences in the movie.

Could the Daughters of Atlas potentially return in the future?

Given everything going around with DCEU ending and James Gunn’s DCU taking over soon, it’s hard to say at this moment that the third Shazam movie will ever happen (we really hope it will). Atlas’s daughters were designed to be villains for only one movie, and if we ever see Shazam again, some new villains will need to be introduced. Out of these three sisters, the only one that could potentially appear again in DCEU (or future DCU) is Anthea.

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!