Making his debut in 1940's Whiz Comics #2, the evil (yet brilliant) scientist known as Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana has been around almost as long as his archnemesis, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam). The villain will make his first live-action appearance next year in David F. Sandberg's Shazam!, where he will be portrayed by Kingsman/Sherlock Holmes actor Mark Strong.

Based on a story from Entertainment Weekly, we have our first intel on the cinematic iteration of such a classic character. Having been contacted by the wizard Shazam as a kid, Sivana was found unworthy to wield the powers that would one day be bestowed upon Billy Batson. Turned bitter from the wizard's rejection, Sivana devotes his life to unlocking the secrets of magic via science in an effort to become powerful and prove his "domineering" father wrong.

“Mark Strong loves being a bad guy,” Sandberg said. “And it’s not just him, really, it’s … something else … that lent him his powers … he can do some things that Shazam can’t. The danger in some films is the bad guy has the same powers as the good guy. [Sivana] has an extra thing, extra dynamic, that takes care of that….”

In the first trailer for the film that dropped during Comic-Con, Sivana gives off a Blofeld sort of vibe and certainly has something special if he's able to stop a punch from Zachary Levi's Shazam. Since Billy Batson is an orphan in the movie, it might make sense to use the post-Crisis version of Sivana, who turns out to be Batson's step-uncle, for an added dramatic twist.

Catch Dr. Sivana in action when Shazam! strikes theaters on April 5, 2019.