Shazam! Trailer Breakdown: The New 52 Origin Story

The trailer for David F. Sandberg's Shazam! movie is here, and it looks like the superhero's first big-screen outing will be almost a scene-for-scene recreation of his recently revamped New 52 origin story. Asher Angel plays Billy Batson, a foster kid with a troubled past, who is summoned by a powerful wizard and granted the ability to transform into an adult superhero called Shazam (played by Zachary Levi).

In a departure from the tone of many recent DC movies, Shazam! is filled with comedy and the natural joy of a kid suddenly being given the power to become a superhero. Billy's friend and confidant, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), helps him experiment with his newfound abilities and use them for the usual superhero antics, like saving a convenience store from a robbery, but the fun is interrupted by the arrival of the villainous Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) - who is strong enough to pose a threat to the bulletproof superhero. Let's break down the trailer scene by scene, and compare it to the New 52 comic story.

This Page: Billy Batson Becomes Shazam!
Page 2: Billy Tries Out His Superpowers and Meets Dr. Sivana

Billy Batson is Trouble

In the original Captain Marvel comics, Billy Batson was chosen to become a superhero because he was pure of heart. In the New 52 reboot... not so much. Billy is a rude, arrogant troublemaker who mocks his new foster parents behind their backs and makes one of his new foster siblings cry almost immediately upon moving in. We see glimpses of this in the trailer, as Billy insists that he's fine by himself and doesn't need a family, while his exasperated social worker tells him to at least give his new foster parents, the Vasquezes, a chance.

Billy Beats Up Bullies

Billy might not be pure of heart, but there are the makings of a superhero inside him. When the school bullies pick on Freddy, Billy intervenes and beats them up, landing himself in trouble. Afterwards Billy, who is still trying to distance himself from Freddy and the others, insists that it wasn't a big deal, saying, "I just don't like bullies." However, it's sparks of goodness like this that ultimately convince the original wizard Shazam to choose Billy as his successor, after dismissing dozens of previous candidates as being unworthy.

The Train of Destiny

The next scene from the comics that's recreated almost exactly in the Shazam! trailer is Billy running away from the Bryer brothers, the bullies that he beat up earlier, and escaping them by jumping onto a train. That train then magically transports him to the castle of the wizard Shazam (played by Djimon Hounsou), who is dismayed to see that his magic has brought him "a child, and a rotten one at that." However, upon peering into Billy's soul, the wizard decides that the rotten child is probably his best bet - especially since time is running out.

Say the Magic Word

As you might expect, a kid like Billy is a little cynical about being transported on a magic train to a wizard's castle and being told to say a magic word, and in both the comic and the trailer he is unimpressed to learn that the wizard's name is Shazam. However, the wizard is very grumpy and holding a big stick, so Billy obliges - yelling the magic word and transforming into a 6'3" superhero. With a cape.

Freddy Meets Shazam

The first person that Billy rushes to tell after returning home is his new foster brother, Freddy, who is terrified by the big man in the red suit, who in the comic picks him up by his collar to stop him from running and, in the trailer, appears outside the Vasquez's kitchen window holding up a sign that says "Don't Scream!!" Needless to say, Freddy screams.

Page 2: Billy Tries Out His Superpowers and Meets Dr. Sivana

Some Light Property Damage

Now that he's a superhero and doesn't have to worry about getting sent to the principal's office or bullies getting their revenge on him, Billy goes to the Bryers' house and wrecks the car of the bullies' wealthy, bullying father. In the trailer the car wreck happens outside the school, while the Bryer brothers look on in horror and Freddy films the whole thing with a helmet-mounted GoPro and snarks, "You know, I don't think that's gonna buff out." This isn't the only crime that Billy casually commits in the comic. After all, just because he has superpowers, he doesn't immediately become a saint. He also saves a woman from a criminal, but then charges her a cash fee for the service.

The Ultimate Phone Charger

As Shazam, Billy can power up electrical objects just by touching or getting near them - as he discovers by accident when he lifts up the Bryers' car and the lights come on, and then later touches a string of Christmas lights. In the trailer we see him using his electricity powers to casually charge up people's phones - something that backfires when he charges a guy's phone with a little too much juice and fries it - much to the guy's annoyance. Hey, being a superhero comes with a learning curve.

You're Like A Bad Guy, Right?

Now we get to the biggest departure from Shazam's New 52 origin story: the conspicuous absence of Black Adam. Dwayne Johnson has been cast as the supervillain, but he will not make an appearance in Shazam!, as Geoff Johns recently confirmed. Instead, the main villain of the movie is Dr. Sivana, and it looks like Sivana will actually be filling in for Black Adam in his first clash with the newly-powered Billy Batson. As we see in the trailer, Sivana has one glowing blue eye, which allows him to see magic. In the comics, he gets this glowing eye (and the accompanying scar) while breaking Black Adam out of the tomb where he has been locked away. Perhaps in the movie we'll see Sivana imbued with the powers of Black Adam, just as Billy is imbued with the power of Shazam.

The Unstoppable Superhero Gets Stopped

When he stops the robbery at the convenience store, Billy learns that, as Shazam, he is actually bulletproof. However, his glee at being invincible is cut short when he meets Black Adam and tries to punch him with his super-strength... only for Adam to grab his fist and stop him easily. We see this memorable moment recreated exactly in the trailer (except with Sivana standing in for Black Adam), and Levi's expression of total shock and dread perfectly captures Billy's realization that he can still get hurt in his new form. After this happens, Billy flees the scene rather than try to fight Black Adam - transforming back into a kid so that he can't be found.

Oh Hey, What's Up, I'm a Superhero

As mentioned previously, Billy isn't the most altruistic kid in the world. When he gets superpowers, one of the first things that he and Freddy do is try and figure out how they can be used for personal gain. And with Billy now appearing to be a grown man, they head to a convenience store to try and buy some beer. However, Shazam's superhero status means that he naturally gravitates to places where people need help, and while they're deliberating over what beer to buy, a pair of robbers try to knock the store over. Billy stops them, and as a reward he asks for all the junk food that he and Freddy can carry. Priorities.