Will we ever see more of the Justice Society? Will everything we just saw
in Black Adam be undone when the Flash movie finally drops? Does the Rock shave his head,
or is he just bald? Only one of those is a question we won't try to answer in this video.
Warning — major spoilers ahead.
One of the craziest things about the "Black Adam" film is that the character — who,
while he certainly has his fans, has been at best a C-tier character for most of his
run — is getting his own solo film, despite the fact that he was created specifically
as an antagonist and foil to Billy Batson's Shazam — formerly Captain Marvel. Even Venom
and Joker got to star alongside Spider-Man and Batman before getting their own solo films.
In fact, Black Adam was supposed to be in the original 2019 "Shazam!" film;
however, The Rock later revealed how he felt that script was too crammed,
and forced DC and Warner Bros. to make his solo "Black Adam" film first instead. But now,
with this movie's Superman post-credit tease, when will Black Adam fight his actual arch-nemesis?
It's even crazier, considering there's already going to be an upcoming "Shazam!"
sequel — 2023's "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" — where the villains are the daughters of
Atlas — played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu — and not The Rock's Black Adam.
We've already mentioned it, but it bears repeating: What's probably gotten fans
buzzing most when walking out of the "Black Adam" film is the post-credit scene featuring
none other than the Man of Steel himself, Superman, played once again by the DCEU's
Henry Cavill. This teaser scene even implies that a showdown may occur between the two super titans,
considering Amanda Waller essentially tells Black Adam that while he's allowed to remain
free to protect Kahndaq, he will also now be forced to stay there "like a prison,"
or else there will be consequences. Superman seems to be those aforementioned consequences.
While it seems out-of-character for Superman to be so willing to work for someone like Waller,
the idea of the two super beings facing off in an epic brawl could potentially be
fun — despite the fact that it would make more sense for it to be Shazam instead.
Obviously Superman would win, and he has in the comics when they've gone up against each other.
That is, unless The Rock still has his alleged "can't lose a fight" clause in his contract,
like the one from the "Fast and Furious" films. Sure, Superman is indeed vulnerable
to magic -- from which Black Adam and Shazam's powers are derived — but it doesn't straight up
weaken him like Kryptonite does. It's more that Superman doesn't have any defense against it,
meaning magical lightning will hurt him, while regular lightning doesn't.
Many comic book superheroes have very convoluted — even contradictory — origin stories,
particularly those that originated in the early Golden Age era of comic books and
lasted into the modern era. For instance, Superman didn't even originally fly,
and the original Green Lantern's initial weakness was wood! However, very few heroes
have more convoluted and contradicting origins than DC Comics' Hawkman. Debuting in 1940,
Hawkman's initial origin was that he was Carter Hall, an archaeologist who turned out to be a
resurrected Egyptian prince who used armor and weapons made out of a magical metal.
Then, when the Silver Age came around in the 1950s and '60s,
most of the Golden Age superheroes were either phased out or given a sci-fi makeover. Hawkman
was no exception. He went from having a mystical — and pretty messed up — origin
of being a white re-incarnated Egyptian prince, to being an alien space cop.
Having said all that, it's never really clear in the "Black Adam" film what his origin actually
is. That's a little strange, considering we at least get tidbits from most of the other JSA
members about where their powers came from. To be fair, since his name is Carter Hall,
it's unlikely he's the Thanagarian space cop version. But that doesn't mean he couldn't be
a mix of the various versions of the character. For instance, the Golden Age version didn't
have a super high-tech jet either — you know, because he has wings and flying is basically
his main thing — so it's an open-ended question for now. This especially true,
considering the comic books eventually merged the two Hawkman origins — with him being both
a reincarnated Egyptian prince and finding a crashed Thanagarian space ship where he discovers
the mystical metal that grants him his powers. Again, even for comics, this stuff is complicated.
Hopefully you've heeded the warning about spoilers from the intro,
because here's a big one: during the climax of the "Black Adam" film,
in a desperate battle with the uber-powerful demon Sabbac, Pierce Brosnan's Dr. Fate is
violently and thoroughly killed. This happens once it becomes clear to Fate that the JSA is
no match for Sabbac, and that his premonitions show his friend Hawkman dying in the onslaught.
"My vision has shown me the future."
Thus, Fate uses himself as a distraction to desperately hold off Sabbac while,
at the same time, he astral projects to the captive Black Adam to make him say "Shazam!" once
more and regain his powers. Fate realizes that Adam is the only one who can defeat the demon.
However, Kent Nelson isn't the only Dr. Fate found in the pages of DC Comics. In fact,
there have been many people who took on the "Dr. Fate" name throughout the years.
This includes the most recent — and current fan-favorite — Khalid Nassour, who actually
has an Egyptian background, unlike the other versions. But even before that, there was
the extreme 90's grunge version, who was simply called "Fate," who didn't even wear the helmet,
but definitely had every Nirvana cassette he could find. There were also two different women — named
Linda Strauss and Inza Nelson who took on the role of Dr. Fate in the late '80s and early '90s.
In other words, Kent Nelson's death doesn't necessarily mean the end of Dr. Fate as a
character in the DCEU. Furthermore, this doesn't discount prequel films with the
long-lived Nelson in his previous adventures, only alluded to in "Black Adam" itself.
One of the issues "Black Adam" inadvertently brings up: If the Justice Society of America
has been around all along — with Dr. Fate implying that he and Hawkman had
been a team for at least a few decades — then why haven't they helped with any of
the "end of the world" scenarios that have cropped up throughout the DCEU?
Couldn't the JSA have helped with Darkseid's Parademons,
or the evil General Zod in Metropolis, or the destructive Doomsday in Gotham?
It feels especially weird, considering the Justice League seemed to be a whole new
concept without the precedent that would have been set by the Justice Society.
This is admittedly a problem in all interconnected superhero universes,
and has been a questionable element of the MCU as well. Worse, unlike The Suicide Squad -- another
superhuman group in the DCEU -- the JSA are supposed to be out-in-the-open heroes. Not
a great look for a supposedly virtuous superhero team, especially considering the pretty inhumane
metahuman prison revealed at the end of the second act, where they send the de-powered Black Adam.
It's been reported that after Ezra Miller's apology for their past abusive behavior,
they have been participating in re-shoots for the upcoming "The Flash" film. The solo Flash
film is expected to be a retelling of the "Flashpoint" comic book event from 2011,
which was about The Flash using the Speed Force to go back in time to stop his mother's murder
and prevent his father from being framed for it. Unfortunately, his time-traveling escapades cause
grave consequences for the entire DC multiverse, which includes Aquaman's Atlanteans and Wonder
Woman's Amazons going to war. In fact, the "Flashpoint" event was used to create the "New 52"
universe — similar to 1985's "Crisis on Infinite Earths"...though not nearly as successful.
It's clear that things would necessarily be different for a live-action adaptation,
but it's also clear from what footage we have seen in the first trailer for
"The Flash" that at least a few of the core plot elements will remain
intact. Assuming it ever comes out, the movie would also introduce actress
Sasha Calle as the DCEU's Supergirl and re-introduce Michael Keaton as Batman.
What does this all have to do with "Black Adam" and its unanswered questions?
Well, "Black Adam" has been over a decade in the making. But with incoming Warner Bros. Discovery
CEO David Zaslav announcing an intention to revamp the DCEU — and to continue moving
forward with "The Flash" — that means anything can happen in the meantime. That's especially true
considering that the "Flashpoint" storyline was designed specifically to streamline continuity,
and there's no guarantee anything in "Black Adam" will remain canonical going forward.
In the "Black Adam" solo film, the main attraction is, spoilers again, Black Adam. Despite that,
the heroes of the Justice Society of America — consisting of Hawkman,
Dr. Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher — might've actually stolen the thunder
from the film's own protagonist. That makes sense in some ways,
considering how much more colorful and bombastic they are, in comparison to the broody Black Adam.
"Cyclone. Smasher. Now is your time."
Even better is that the core group dynamics are already so well-defined — their interplay is
one of the best things about "Black Adam." It's not necessarily groundbreaking stuff,
but you have the go-getter rookie with a chip on his shoulder due to being a legacy hero,
a scientist hero who has a tragic backstory but is trying to do good despite that fact,
and the rich benefactor who's a brave and powerful leader in his own right. Also,
if they bring in any of the other Dr. Fate variants, then the filmmakers can also play
with that as a dynamic -- either being a group of all green newcomers whipped into shape by
the tough-but-fair Hawkman, or Hawkman having to come to terms with accepting a new Fate.
Furthermore, the JSA existed for decades in the comics,
and there are many heroes who still haven't gotten the big-budget, big-screen treatment,
and still more who haven't even gotten a live-action or animated treatment at all.
Who doesn't want to see some Spectre or Alan Scott Green Lantern action?
A quick recap: The Justice Society of America is sent in by Amanda Waller to go to Kahndaq
and take Black Adam prisoner, due to his power level supposedly being a threat to international
stability. She contacts JSA leader Hawkman first, and he brings in veteran superhero Dr. Fate and
two rookies. Cyclone, aka Maxine Hunkel, is a super genius with the power of "aerokinesis".
In other words, she manipulates wind. Like some kind of hurricane or something. Atom Smasher,
aka Albert "Al" Rothstein, is the nephew of the original Atom – played in a comedic cameo by Henry
Winkler – who has the power to manipulate his atoms and grow exponentially in size and strength.
"I get big. That's what I do."
As the youngest and newest members, Cyclone and Atom Smasher find an instant connection
based on that fact alone. However, as they spend more time together — both in battle,
and in safety on Hawkman's lavish jet -- they seem to be developing more than just a friendly
bond. Of course, since the film has to focus more on Black Adam's story than the JSA's,
their relationship is left up in the air by the end of the film.
In the comics, it doesn't seem like a canonical relationship exists between the two heroes,
but when has that stopped adaptations before?
Most fans likely wouldn't mind. Maybe she can write him some love letters.