The eagerly awaited teaser trailer for director David F. Sandberg's Shazam! arrived like a bolt of lightning this afternoon at Comic-Con International in San Diego, revealing a far more lighthearted film than any previous installments of the so-called DC Extended Universe.

Although the superhero dates back 78 years, the film borrows heavily from the character's depiction during DC's 2011 New 52 reboot to tell the story of orphaned teenager Billy Batson, who finds first a new foster family and then a mysterious wizard who grants him a wondrous ability: to transform into an adult superhero by speaking the magic word "Shazam."

Clocking in at nearly three minutes, the trailer is heavy on setup, as you would expect, but there are also plenty of details to unpack.

Meet Billy Batson

Asher Angel (Andi Mack) stars as Billy Batson, a troubled orphan who's bounced from foster home to foster home, before landing with the loving Vasquez family, played by Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans. Billy has been depicted as an orphan from his introduction in 1940 in Whiz Comics #2, but for decades was depicted as a precocious boy reporter in the vein of Tintin. However, much of Shazam! draws inspiration from the character's reintroduction in the wake of DC's 2011 New 52 reboot, which introduced the Vasquezes as well.

Note the red hoodie, a nod to both Shazam's superhero costume and the sweater Billy traditionally sported in the comics.

'It Gets Real Game of Thrones Around Here'

Feature in a pair of movie images released by Warner Bros. over the past week or so, Jack Dylan Grazer of last year's It remake plays Freddy Freeman, who here and in the more recent comics is another foster child taken in by the Vasquez family. As we learned earlier this week, Freddy is a fanboy with a collection of superhero memorabilia, including a mangled bullet that bounced off Superman, which comes with a certificate of authenticity.

RELATED: Latest Shazam! Image Reveals Just How Connected It Is to the DCEU

Originally in the comics, Freddy was an orphan who was severely injured during a battle between Captain Marvel (the original name of Shazam) and Captain Nazi. When physicians determined the damage to his spine and leg would prevent him from walking again, Captain Marvel whisked Freddy away to the wizard Shazam, who grants him the power to transform into Captain Marvel Jr. Although disabled when Freddy Freeman, as Captain Marvel Jr. he possesses superhuman strength and flight, and had no need for a crutch.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='A%20Nod%20to%20Shazam%27s%20Fawcett%20Comics%20Roots']

One Big, Happy Family

In addition to Billy and Freddy, the Vasquez household includes foster children Mary Bromfield (Grace Fulton), Eugene Choi (Ian Chen), Pedro Peña (Jovan Armand) and Darla Dudley (Faithe Herman), although not all of them can be clearly seen in this brief sequence.

Long before the likes of Superboy and Supergirl, Shazam had his own spinoff characters, with the likes of Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., the Lieutenant Marvels, and even Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, Known collectively as the Marvel Family, and in more recent years the Shazam Family, they were each imbued with a portion of Shazam's powers. In DC's New 52, Billy could share his powers with his foster siblings, each of whom then possesses additional unique abilities. However, there's no indication that will happen in the film.

Spanning the Globe, From Metropolis to ... Gotham

As with the previously shown pieces of Freddy's collection -- the "authentic" bullet fragment, the replica Batarang, etc. -- these newspapers firmly establish Shazam! in the same world as Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, even if it doesn't possess the same tone.

RELATED: New Video Gets Up Close and Personal With Shazam's Costume

In addition to the headline questioning Superman's "real agenda," presumably a reference to congressional hearings, there's also a nod to Lexcorp, and a copy of the Gotham Free Press.

Please Let Fawcett Central's Mascot Be the Tigers

Billy and Freddy attend Fawcett Central, a nod to Fawcett Comics, the original publisher of the comic adventures of Captain Marvel (aka Shazam) and the Marvel Family. A copyright-infringement lawsuit by Superman publisher National Comics, as DC was then known, contributed to Fawcett ceasing the publication of all Captain Marvel-related comics in 1953.

Nearly two decades later, DC licensed those character, along with Bulletman, Spy Smasher and other Fawcett characters), before eventually buying them outright, and integrating them into its own superhero universe. Beginning in 1985, Billy Batson and others were based in Fawcett City, a tribute to their original publisher.

Next Stop ... Well, Not 30th Street Station

Although filmed primarily in Toronto, Shazam! is actually set in Philadelphia, again owning to the hero's New 52 reboot. As Billy flees the bullies by entering the subway station, you'll note signs for SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Billy is poised in the trailer to exit at 30th Street Station, the city's primary railroad station, but it doesn't quite work out that way ...

Page 3: [valnet-url-page page=3 paginated=0 text='Welcome%20to%20the%20Rock%20of%20Eternity']

You Never Know What You'll See On the Subway

Instead, Billy leaves the subway and enters the Rock of Eternity, a mystical cave that serves as not only the lair of the ancient wizard Shazam, but also the prison of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Men -- also known as the Seven Deadly Sins -- powerful demons trapped in statues, some of which can be glimpsed in this scene.

RELATED: Shazam Could Play a Larger Part in the DCEU

Although the subway scene is drawn from directly DC's New 52 era, it's actually rooted in the hero's 1940 introduction in Whiz Comics #2. There, teenager Billy Batson was an orphaned newsboy who slept in a subway station, where he was mysterious man in a green cloak escorts him to a magical subway car inhabited by the wizard.

Say My Name, Say My Name ...

Although he evokes Saruman from The Lord of the Rings, this mysterious figure with the long white hair and glowing staff is actually another ancient wizard: Shazam, played by Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel). Also known in the comic as Mamaragan, Jebediah of Canaan or simply the Wizard, he's an ancient Egyptian sorcerer who has fought evil for centuries. Nearing death, he imbues Billy Batson with his power, allowing the boy to transform into the superhero Shazam (or Captain Marvel), simply by speaking his name.

The name Shazam in actually an acronym that represent six ancient heroes, or elders: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury, each of whom grants him a specific attribute (wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage and speed).

Shazam!

We don't actually see the Zachary Levi's title character until 1 minute and 39 seconds into the trailer when, after unsuccessfully trying to stifle a laugh, Billy Batson does indeed say "Shazam," triggering his transformation into Earth's Mightiest Mortal. Shazam is an expression of childhood wish fulfillment, which plays out throughout the rest of the trailer, as Billy -- a boy in the body of a super-powered adult -- discovers his newfound abilities, with a gleeful sense of wonder.

Shazam Can Fly AND Floss

For all of its relative timelessness, the Shazam! trailer is anchored to the present by not only the newspaper headlines that reference recent events of the DC Extended Universe -- no, make that Worlds of DC) -- but also by the appearance of the floss dance, popularized by the Backpack Kid (aka Russell Horning) in 2017 during Katy Perry's performance of "Swish Swish" on Saturday Night Live.

Doctor Sivana, We Presume?

That's of course Mark Strong as Doctor Thaddeus Sivana, longtime foe of Shazam. For decades he was depicted as an elderly, even frail mad scientist with a genius-level intellect, a knack for manipulation and scheming, and a fondness for insulting the superhero with the nickname "the Big Red Cheese."

RELATED: Shazam! Is the "Next Step in the Evolution of the DC Brand"

However, in DC's New 52, he was reimagined as a respected scientist who turned to magic in an attempt to save his family from an unknown predicament. Uncovering the tomb of Black Adam, the rival of Shazam who's set to get his own film starring Dwayne Johnson, Sivana opens it and glimpses magic, only to be half-blinded by lightning. As his brief scene in the trailer suggests, the Sivana of Shazam! clearly possesses super-strength, possibly a result of his own research into magic.

Mister Tawky Tawny?

This sequence at some kind of winter carnival offers a better look at the magical lightning that transforms Billy Batson into Shazam, but it also sneaks in a sly nod to a classic comic character: Tawky Tawny, the anthropomorphic tiger who's one of the sillier, yet beloved, elements from Shazam's history. Introduced in 1947, he was originally an intelligent, talking tiger who walked upright, and wore frequently garish suits. In DC's New 52, he's reimagined as a normal tiger at the Philadelphia Zoo that Billy befriends.

In the booth to Billy's right, there are a pair of stuffed tigers, which has been a recurring element in the promotional lead-up; close-up photos of Shazam's costume also revealed two tiger emblems on the clasps attaching the capes to the suit. We'll keep our fingers crossed that Tawky Tawny actually makes an appearance in the film.


Arriving April 5, 2019, director David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Zachary Levi as Shazam, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as an ancient wizard named Shazam, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jack Dylan Grazer as Frederick “Freddy” Freeman, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vásquez and Marta Milans as Rosa Vásquez.