We’ve been waiting a long time for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to join the ranks of one of the big two superhero cinematic universes, and now our patience is about to be rewarded. Fans of the musclebound superstar rejoice, as DC’s Black Adam hits New Zealand cinemas on October 20.
For those not steeped in DC Comics (well, technically Fawcett Comics) lore, Black Adam is the arch-rival of hero Captain Marvel (played by Zachry Levi in 2019’s Shazam!). Essentially a precursor to Captain Marvel hailing from ancient North Africa (originally Egypt, now the fictional nation of Kahndaq) he was originally a straight-up villain, but later writers redeemed him, transforming the super-powerful conqueror into a noble anti-hero. As we can see from the trailer, where Johnson’s version of Black Adam sits on the morality spectrum seems to be up for debate.
Black Adam also sees the big-screen debuts of several members of DC’s Justice Society of America, the forerunner to the Justice League, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), which should please old school comics fans to no end.
As for Black Adam himself, he’s simply one of the most powerful characters in the entire DC Universe. He has all of Captain Marvel’s powers, including super strength, flight, speed, and the ability the fling around magical lightning bolts, but without Billy Batson’s code against killing. As originally envisioned for the DC Extended Universe, Black Adam is a villain who can go toe-to-toe with heroes as powerful as Superman and Wonder Woman.
Given the current state of affairs at Warner Brothers it’s hard to say if we’ll ever see The Rock punch on with Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot, but nonetheless we’re keen as mustard to see Dwayne bring the thunder to cinemas later this year.
