'Shazam!' TV Spot Pokes Fun At 'The Dark Knight'

The DC Universe has turned over a new leaf, with the decidedly goofy Aquaman getting followed by an even goofier superhero film, Shazam! And the latest Shazam! TV spot is remind you of that. The brief trailer is chock full of new, exciting footage, but the best part of the TV spot is its tongue-in-cheek nod to the famous The Dark Knight tagline: "Why so serious?" Because, honestly, why do we need to be so serious?

The new Shazam! TV spot explores what any kid would do if they suddenly found themselves with superpowers. And naturally, it's silly things like buy beer, try to get a loan for a secret superhero lair, and generally revel in his newfound superhero status. Of course, there are some impressive action shots interspersed in all the buddy-comedy moments between Shazam (Zachary Levi) and his foster brother Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), but overall Shazam! seems to be doubling down on the silly tone of previous trailers.

There's a reason that Shazam! has been nicknamed "The Big Red Cheese." Since his appearance 77 years agin in a serial for Republic Pictures, he's been a lighthearted antidote to more tortured superheroes, though you can't say as much for his tortured publication history. Originally named Captain Marvel, that put him at intellectual property odds with Marvel's Captain Marvel, leading to his official renaming in 2011. But thankfully, it seems like the strong fun-loving tone of the promos thus far prove that there won't be a crisis of identity for Shazam!

Here is the official synopsis for Shazam!:

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he'll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).

Shazam! hits theaters on April 5, 2019.