Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has promised "the hierarchy of power is about to change" in the
DCEU. But who exactly is Black Adam, and how does he fit into the series'
timeline? Here's everything we know about this anti-hero's history – and his future.
Warning, spoilers ahead.
"Here we go."
Possibly the oldest DCEU character to date, Black Adam was born five
thousand years ago, likely predating even Wonder Woman's birth. Teth-Adam began as a
slave of the fictional country Kahndaq where he lost his son, who died saving his father.
In the comics, the wizard Shazam grants Teth-Adam the powers of gods, not knowing that the former
slave holds no restraint in delivering deadly justice to his abusers. In Black Adam's original
comic book origin from Fawcett Comics, which takes place before the character was acquired by DC,
he destroys the Pharaoh and Kahndaq's elite before claiming the throne for himself.
After Black Adam's rampage in Kahndaq, the wizard realizes his mistake in
bestowing Teth-Adam with the powers of gods. Unable to remove his powers,
Shazam renames the violent being "Black Adam" and banishes him from the world of mankind.
In the original Fawcett origin, the wizard teleports Black Adam to the other side of
the universe, forcing the villain to spend the next 5,000 years flying back to Earth. However,
the film's teaser shows the wizard Shazam using his magic to seemingly entomb Black
Adam for thousands of years, giving him time to find a new champion. In the modern day,
humans free the demigod, who awakens in a strange new world.
By the time Black Adam escapes his tomb, the citizens of the DCEU have
already experienced plenty of bizarre and dangerous threats.
Aliens from Krypton tried to destroy the world. A beast known as Doomsday nearly destroyed
Metropolis and killed Superman. Atlantean armies fought over whether or not to destroy life on
the surface world. The Enchantress nearly toppled Midway City. A giant starfish named
Starro visited terror upon Corto Maltese. And alien butterflies threatened to take over the
world. Thankfully, humanity lives in an era of superheroes who can combat such threats.
HBO Max's "Peacemaker" series offers a clue as to when Black Adam emerges into
this age of heroes. In the fourth episode the anti-hero Vigilante gets himself arrested to
get thrown into prison and kill Peacemaker's father. In a courtyard where security guards
are having lunch, one guard is seen reading a newspaper with an article indicating an
organization known as "Intergang'' has seized power in the nation of Kahndaq.
In DC Comics, Intergang is a criminal organization that uses advanced weaponry
obtained from the alien planet Apokolips to further their agenda. Since Black Adam
considers himself the protector of Kahndaq, once he returns, he'll definitely want to have a few
words with Intergang. This suggests "Black Adam" will occur sometime after "Peacemaker."
In comic book lore, there have been several versions of Black
Adam and his origins. In "Shazam! Vol. 1," written by DC comics maestro Geoff Johns,
we learn Black Adam is imprisoned by the wizard in a tomb for his evil deeds, much like in the movie.
While researching the villain, Shazam's current champion Billy Batson gets a glimpse into the
past and witnesses a boy named Aman trying to survive oppression along with his uncle. The
boy is given powers by the wizard Shazam, and Billy incorrectly assumes Aman becomes
Black Adam. However, he later learns Aman's uncle steals his nephew's power,
kills The Wizard's intended champion, and transforms into Black Adam.
In the modern age, Dr. Sivana uncovers the entrance to Black Adam's prison. He says
the magic word, "Shazam!" and frees Black Adam,
who goes in search of Billy Batson in an attempt to defeat him and become the ultimate champion.
The new DCEU film makes changes to the comic book origin, focusing on
Teth-Adam's relationship with his son, not his nephew. The movie also doesn't
feature Shazam or his young counterpart Billy Batson. However, Black Adam does get released
from his magical prison to bring his brand of justice down on those he deems deserving of
his rage. This puts him in conflict with many of Earth's heroes, including some new faces.
Black Adam's primary antagonists will be the Justice Society of America. The JSA is a group
of heroes who came together during DC's Golden Age of comics in the 1940s. In many DC continuities,
the JSA predates the Justice League and clashed with the enemies of its era,
including the tyrannical Nazi regime. While JSA members have all appeared in modern comics,
the JSA is typically recognized as a superhero team from a classic era with much older heroes.
"The only thing we can learn from these geezers is how to add more fiber to our diets!"
The JSA includes famous members such as the original Flash, Jay Garrick,
as well as the first human Green Lantern, Alan Scott. However, "Black Adam" will focus
on other JSA members including Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
How these heroes came to be in the DCEU is unknown. Unlike Superman or Wonder Woman,
we haven't received an origin tale for any of these heroes. However, if they're anything like
their comic book counterparts, Dr. Fate and Hawkman are both born from ancient powers. Dr.
Fate is a creation of a cosmic deity while Hawkman was the Egyptian prince Khufu who,
after being killed with a mystical dagger, is bound to be reincarnated
upon death. During the JSA era, Hawkman is reborn as Carter Hall who adopts the
mantle of Hawkman using alien antigravity Nth metal to power his armor and weaponry.
As for Atom Smasher, he's the heroic grandson of the supervillain Cyclotron in the comics, gifted
with super strength and the ability to control the size and density of his body. Meanwhile,
Cyclone is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado and possesses the powers of flight,
wind control, and sound wave control. Both are legacy heroes with strong ties to the JSA.
"Black Adam" occurs primarily in the modern day after the events of the
theatrical-released "Justice League." This means the JSA and Justice League co-exist in
the same era. However, this doesn't explain why the JSA are the only heroes who seem
to be responding to the climactic events after Black Adam emerges from his prison.
While the Justice League took some time to come together,
its individual members have been active for years. Kal-El revealed himself years ago as
Superman while Black Adam was still stuck in limbo. Wonder Woman made herself known
to humanity during the First World War. Bruce Wayne has been operating as Batman for decades.
And both Aquaman and the Flash had superhero careers long before joining the Justice League.
The greater DCEU is familiar with these rock stars, but the JSA still seems relatively
unknown. It'll be interesting to see how the timelines link up and learn what the
Justice League is doing when Black Adam makes himself known. Notably,
Amanda Waller from DCEU's "Suicide Squad" films is working with the JSA and has
some pull with certain League members, including a certain famous Kryptonian.
Empowered by the gods themselves, Black Adam is an insanely powerful being,
and what better way to show this by having him challenge the alpha of DC superheroes,
Superman? In DC Comics, Black Adam has always been a formidable foe for powerhouses like
Superman and Shazam. Notably, aside from Kryptonite, Superman is vulnerable to magic,
something Black Adam can produce punishing amounts of thanks to his divine gifts.
After a Twitter fan expressed a desire to see these two titans come together. Johnson retweeted
the message and shared that he always aims to listen to his audience. "I hear you & I always got
you," stated the Rock. In the film's mid credit scene, we see Johnson make good on his promise.
After being informed by Amanda Waller that he is not to leave Khandaq's borders,
Black Adam arrogantly informs her that no one can stop him from doing what he wants. In response,
Waller sends Superman to confront Black Adam, who informs the demigod that they should talk.
No word on whether or not this will lead to a big screen battle between the two, but with Henry
Cavill back in the Superman suit, we'll likely be seeing more of both the hero and anti-hero.
Shazam and Black Adam are like the Joker and Batman. Young Billy Batson as the all-powerful
hero Shazam seeks to do good and uphold a heroic standard. Black Adam doesn't live by
a code of any kind. His goal is singular in his mind, and no act is too amoral or
dicey if it furthers his objective of obliterating tyranny and opposition.
Yet despite these moral differences, Shazam and Black Adam are ultimately two
sides of the same coin, imbued with godly powers by the same wizard. In the comics,
the wizard saw the error of his ways and banished Black Adam until a hero could
be called forward to defeat him. With the rise of Billy Batson as Shazam, that time had come.
However, this is a film focused on the "bad guy" — a move meant to position Black Adam as
a sympathetic anti-hero. Shazam is nowhere to be seen, and director Jaume Collet-Serra said
not to expect a Shazam-Black Adam match-up just yet. In an interview with "Variety," he stated:
"Our movie is an original story. By the time the movie ends,
he doesn't know who Shazam or Superman is."
However, it's fairly certain that "Black Adam" takes place after the first "Shazam!" film.
If Black Adam were around during the events of "Shazam!" he would have most certainly confronted
Billy over his powers. Black Adam doesn't want a champion standing in the way of his goals,
and wants to be a supreme power. Eliminating Shazam is the only means to that end. The two will
inevitably meet in the DCEU, however, even if it isn't in Black Adam's first outing. It's destiny.
While Shazam won't appear in "Black Adam," audiences will be seeing Billy Batson's
superpowered alter ego very soon. "Shazam: Fury of the Gods'' is set to release in March 2023.
Instead of Black Adam, however, the sequel will feature a wildly new antagonist in the
form of Helen Mirren's Hespera, a jealous god seeking the power of Shazam for herself.
With Black Adam busy contending with Intergang in Kahndaq and Shazam working
with his family to dispel evil on the other side of the world in Philly,
it's unlikely that these two will come to blows. It also remains to be seen if either
film will tease a future clash or if either character cameos in the opposite film. From
a timeline perspective, however, consider these films either happening concurrently
or relatively close together, allowing the two champions to remain separate… for now.
With the future of the Justice League up in the air, there may be a brand-new world for
Black Adam to conquer in the DCEU. Ben Affleck is wrapping up his time as Batman with the upcoming
"The Flash" movie. It's hard to believe Ray Fisher will be back as Cyborg any time soon
after his feud with Warner Bros. And the Flash, as portrayed by Ezra Miller, will
almost definitely not return outside of his solo project, after the actor's various alleged crimes.
Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is primed for a third film, rounding out a trilogy for the Amazonian
warrior. "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is also in the works, while Henry Cavill's
involvement as Superman in future DCEU movies has been confirmed with that post credit scene.
With Black Adam about to make his mark in the DCEU, could Johnson's take on the Man in Black
be the one that leads us into the future of DCEU? The remaining heroes — Aquaman, Wonder Woman,
Shazam, and whoever from the JSA survives "Black Adam" — could use a central hero or
a unifying villain. The film universe is on the precipice of a shake-up as Warner Bros. seems
bent on abandoning what Zack Snyder began. With a leading man like Johnson, anything is possible.