Hespera (2024)

✓

This Article Contains Spoilers - WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all.

“	We are at war.	„
	~ Hespera to Billy Batson/Shazam.

Hespera is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Ladon) of the 2023 DC Extended Universe superhero film Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

She was the eldest and wise leader of the Hesperides, who wishes to take back the powers her father gave to the Wizard Shazam. By the 21st century, Hespera comes across Freddy Freeman, Billy Batson and their foster siblings, who fight crime as the Shazam Family, to whom she tries to strip their powers at all costs. However, Hespera and her youngest sister, Anthea were betrayed by their sister, Kalypso (who attempted to kill her and attempted to destroy Earth with the golden apple). She became an ally to Shazam to kill her treacherous sister, Kalypso for her betrayal in the cost of her life.

She was portrayed by Dame Helen Mirren, who also played Morgana le Fay in Excalibur, the Snow Queen in the film of the same name, Eve Tingle in Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Nyra in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and Hedda Hopper in Trumbo.

Personality[]

Hespera first seems to be ruthless, as shown when she changed the people inside the museum into statues. But despite the fact of her ruthlessness, she always stick to her main plan, to revive Mount Olympus with the golden apple.

Despite her ruthlessness, she does care for the lives on Earth. This is proven when she accepts Billy Batson's letter for an exchange of Freddy Freeman for the Staff of the Gods and tries to stop Kalypso from planting the golden apple on the Earth, knowing the terrible result of it. She even rightfully compares Kalypso to their uncle, Hades.

Despite her main goal being to also steal the wizard's power and mocking Billy Batson as a thief, she does eventually acknowledge him as a true god after seeing him sacrificing himself to stop her sister.

Biography[]

Hespera is a titan and one of Atlas' daughters. She intends to unleash life upon the world, knowing that her father is a tyrant and having doubts on whether to unleash that havoc or not.

She at first appears stealing a broken part of a staff, stealing it's magic. She later visits the Wizard, reminding him who's in power. After that, she tries to force The Wizard to teleport her and Kalypso to Earth. After she and her sister arrive on Earth themselves, she starts battling the heroes on a rooftop, forcing her sister Anthea to reveal her true identity, despite her loyalty and bond with Freddy Freeman. Kalypso out of sadism hypnotizes a man and causes him to fall off the roof. After that, Anthea starts wreaking havoc and under Hespera's orders, she tries to stop Billy Batson in the process.

Whilst taking care of the enemies to find the Seed of Life, Kalypso acts out of ambition, wanting to bring destruction and corruption instead of life to fulfill her father's destiny, while Hespera is taking extreme measures to rather save the world in her own way.

Hespera reminds Kalypso of the importance of life and goodness, choking Kalypso to keep her in line so she will not do further damage than she needs. She and her sisters then kidnap Freddy and transport him to their realm, where they imprison him.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

Titan Physiology: as a daughter of Atlas and Nyx, Hespera is a formidable Titan with a wide array of magical abilities including her special power named, the power of elements.
- Superhuman Strength: Hespera uses this to lift up Freddy Freeman on the school roof and throw him aside when they spot Billy Batson trying to come and save him. Hespera also uses this to flip a table into a wall and kick Billy into a building. She used this to throw Billy against a ceiling and fight him halfway through the movie. Hespera uses this to throw Billy from wall to wall to try and prove a point.
- Superhuman Stealth: When meeting up with Billy Batson to discuss a trade deal between them, Billy says "Quiet one she is", this tells us that she is super stealthy.
- Superhuman Durability: When Billy crushed her she was able to get back up and throw Billy against the ceiling. Also, when Billy throws her against a wall it doesn't harm her one bit. Again, when she is slammed into the floor by Billy, Darla and Mary she is able to get back up.
- Immortality: Hespera has lived for centuries with the company of her sisters because they are titans and daughters of Atlas.
- Titan Magic: Due to being a Titan, Hespera has access to their primordial magics.
  - Power of Elements: Hespera wields the primordial force of elements. This allows her to manipulate heat, harness the power of the earth and bend metal to her will.
    - Geokinesis: She used this to crush a statue of her father, Atlas, at a museum. Also, she used it to cut a slab out of the roof of the school so that her and her sisters can escape with Freddy. She also begins to lift up a collection of rocks surrounding her before Billy, Darla and Mary stop her. Hespera also used this to create a ball to launch at Billy but accidentally got tricked into hitting herself.
    - Thermokinesis: Hespera used this to show the Wizard that her powers have returned by heating up the bars on his jail cell door. As well as using it to escape the cell she was imprisoned in by the champions.
    - Haemokinesis: Hespera controlled the blood of the Wizard and forced him to mend the staff.
    - Magnetokinesis: She used this power to pull down some metal pipes and tie up Darla and Mary in electrical wires. She also used it to bind rocks and metal together to create a ball to launch at Billy which she missed and hit herself.
  - Magical Freezing: Hespera froze a security guard at the museum. Then later on, she froze both Eugene and Darla.
  - Telekinesis: First, she used this to push the wizard away after he mended the staff. Next, she used this power to pull Freddy to her hand and snap his neck if the champions make a move on them. Also, she used this power to levitate a slab of rock to carry her and her sisters, along with Freddy, into the realm of the Gods. Hespera also used it to telekinetically lift up a wooden crate and smash it into Billy.
  - Spell Casting: Throughout the film, Hespera casts a variety of powerful incantations.
    - Petrification Spell: At the beginning, Hespera casts this spell after destroying a statue of her father and using its dust to petrify everyone in the museum in stone.
    - Forcefield Creation Spell: "Enyos Tolos", she used this spell to prevent Billy from trying to save Freddy Freeman and stop him from getting into the realm of the Gods. This trapped a part of Philadelphia in a dome for days, no one able to get in or out.
    - Golden Apple Restoration Spell: In order to remove the black dust from the Golden Apple, Hespera recited an incantation which blew off the dust and revealed the apple's full glory.
Magic Staff Capabilities: After forcing the Wizard to mend the staff Hespera wielded its powers and magic wisely.
- Electricity Generation: Whenever she utilises the staff to revoke the champion's powers or achieve other magical feats electricity comes out of it.
- Power Revoking: Hespera used this to revoke Freddy Freeman's powers.

Trivia[]

Despite being based on the character of the same name from Greek mythology, Hespera, much like her sisters Kalypso and Anthea, is a completely original character from the DC Extended Universe. She has no comic book counterpart.
During filming of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Dame Helen Mirren broke one finger on set, but she didn't complain about it nor informed of the production about this, with director David F. Sandberg being unaware of the injury. Her co-stars Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler were aware of this, but Mirren wasn't worried as them and even nicknamed her injury "Shazam Finger".
At one point, Billy Batson mentions that the Fast & Furious movies taught him that everything's about family when Hespera threatens him and his siblings. This is a reference to how Helen Mirren portrayed Magdalene Shaw, the mother of Owen and Deckard Shaw, in that film series.