“Black Adam” with Dwayne Johnson
A superhero with rough edges
Dwayne Johnson as vengeful Black Adam.
© 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Dwayne Johnson begins his adventure as DC character Black Adam on October 20th. He can best be described as an anti-villain.
It took an amazingly long time before Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (50) was allowed to join the ranks of superheroes. Whereby: If he wants to conquer the screen as the eponymous DC muscle mountain from October 20th in “Black Adam”, he will not do it as a true warrior for the good, not even as an antihero – anti-villains are more likely to do it. A look at its comic book origins shows that Black Adam has the potential to bring a breath of fresh air into the cinema.
“I’m not peaceful” – who is Back Adam?
A treatise could easily be written about the development and change of Black Adam in the comic cosmos. In fact, Black Adam first appeared in 1945, back then as an essentially thoroughbred villain. Instantly corrupted by the superhuman powers entrusted to him in ancient Egypt, he became the nemesis of the righteous Shazam millennia later. In the Marvel Universe, their delicate relationship could be compared most closely to that of Venom and Spider-Man.
However, this one-dimensional origin of Black Adam was later revised and given a tragic backstory instead. Only after the violent death of his family did he degenerate into a fury, who really doesn’t care who she has to send to the afterlife to seek revenge. Anyone who knows the “God of War” video game series should now immediately feel reminded of the main character Kratos.
The film is based on this new interpretation of the anti-villain. The death of his son is cited in the trailer as the trigger for Black Adam’s vendetta. “You don’t want to do justice. You want to take revenge,” Black Adam insinuates in the clip. His answer: “I never said I was a hero.”
What can Black Adam do?
For better or for worse, the fact of the matter is that no one likes to have Black Adam as their enemy. His powers are comparable to those of Superman: Black Adam is able to move extremely fast on earth and in space, can fly and possesses god-like strength. Instead of laser eyes and X-ray vision, he can at least hurl lightning.
Should “Black Adam” be a success, fans can obviously expect a fight from these giants, like Johnson in conversation with “Cinema Blend” has promised. When asked if his Black Adam will eventually face off against the Kryptonian, he replied, “Absolutely! That’s the whole point of it.” The aim is also to herald a new era of the recently ailing DC universe with “Black Adam” on the screen.
It also fits perfectly that the message is making the rounds, Film studio Warner Bros. are working on a sequel to the Superman film “Man of Steel” from 2013 – ideally again with Henry Cavill (39) as Kal-El aka Clark Kent. Johnson versus Cavill – this match would not only make the eardrums ring but also the box office.