Earth’s mightiest mortal is coming to the big screen this week. “SHAZAM!” premieres on Friday, April 5th, and Billy Batson and company will ride into theaters for the first time in 78 years. “SHAZAM!” is one of the simplest concepts in comics, but his history is long and complicated, as is the history of the cinematic universe he’ll be joining. So let this be your easy one-stop-shop on your way to the theater this weekend.

Q: What DC Extended Universe movies are required watching before “SHAZAM!”?

A: None! The DCEU (or Worlds of DC? It is unclear what the official title of this movie universe is) has taken a more hands-off approach in terms of connected storytelling, and, like “Aquaman” before it, “SHAZAM!” takes place sometime after 2017’s “Justice League.” That means you should know that the heroes of the world came together to save it, and that big characters like Batman, Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman all exist as superheroes. Other than that, expect a pretty easy-to-follow origin story. There have been two major live-action outings for the character over the years, the 1931 serial “Adventures of Captain Marvel” and the 1970s TV series “Shazam!,” but both are adaptations of the same source material and don’t have any bearing on this movie.

Q: Isn’t this a movie about Captain Marvel? And didn’t that movie just come out?

A: Yes…and no. As I talked about when “Captain Marvel” premiered, the character who is now called Shazam! first appeared in late 1939 as the first character called Captain Marvel. Like Superman, who he followed by just a matter of months, he was a big, strong guy with a cape who threw a car on the cover of his first appearance. Unlike Superman, Captain Marvel’s whole deal was that when young orphan, Billy Batson, said the magic word, “Shazam,” he was replaced by the immortal hero Captain Marvel. Published by Fawcett Comics, Captain Marvel actually outsold Superman for a significant period of time, though DC Comics was successfully able to end publication with a lawsuit claiming that Fawcett had copied Superman. Years later, after the copyright had expired, Marvel Comics created their Captain Marvel as an update and tribute to the original concept, giving us the legacy that would eventually spawn the new Marvel movie. After DC bought Fawcett Comics, Captain Marvel came back in the 1970s, but because of the Marvel trademark on the name was marketed using his famous word (including in his mid-70s TV series). In recent years to avoid confusion the character has started going by the name Shazam! instead of Captain Marvel.

So yes, both of these characters have used the name Captain Marvel, and they share a common point of inspiration, but they are owned by different companies and have become very different over the years. (I’m not even going to mention derivative characters like Miracleman or the Captain Marvel who can pop his limbs off with a magic word – but please check out the weirdness of the second one.)

Q: What does the word “Shazam” even mean?

A: Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, Power of Zeus, Courage of Achilles, Speed of Mercury. These are the elders who grant Shazam! his powers, through the magic of the Wizard who sits at the Rock of Eternity – basically, SHAZAM! is a conduit for a lot of magical power.

Q: Who are the Marvel Family? Are they going to show up in this movie?

A: The Marvel Family (or SHAZAM! family) are the cast of characters who adventure alongside orphan Billy Batson. Traditionally, they include his sister, Mary, who transforms into Mary Marvel, and his best friend Freddy Freeman who becomes Captain Marvel Junior (sometimes called CM3, if you are into the weirdness of late-90s DC.) Occasionally, the Marvel Family will also include talking tiger, Talky Tawny, who has no magic powers but is very fancy, and Uncle Dudley, who takes care of the kids and wears an “Uncle Marvel” costume despite not having any power. Rarely, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, a parody character from the 1940s, joins the crew. This movie will draw heavily from the more recent run on “Shazam!” which has introduced new members of the family – Eugene, Pedro, and Darla -who all share in Billy’s power, each with their own special skills.

What’s important to remember is that what makes “SHAZAM!” unique is that he’s always been a character with a kid’s sensibilities, and this movie seems to be ready to reflect that. These stories are about the joy of being a kid, and over-the/top magic and fun are the goalposts of a good version of the character. Don’t worry too much about knowing who “SHAZAM!” is –  just take the afternoon off and have a good time at the movies, like Billy Batson would do.