This week, more DC heroes will land on the big screen through the film Black Adam!
Starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in the titular role, the new movie features the rise of the popular antihero. After being given the powers of the almighty gods, Teth-Adam uses his newfound abilities for vengeance and is imprisoned for this, earning himself the title of Black Adam. Five thousand years later, he is freed and is determined to uphold his own form of justice.
Watch the trailer for Black Adam below:
Before Black Adam hits theaters this week, we’ve rounded up a few facts about the movie that you might want to know. Check them out below.
1. Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam already appeared on the big screen.
Even before the release of Black Adam, The Rock has already debuted as Black Adam on the big screen. The antihero appeared in a post-credit cameo in this year’s animated movie DC League of Super-Pets, where Black Adam greets Superman while his dog Anubis interacts with Krypto. In that scene, Johnson voiced Krypto, Anubis, and Black Adam.
2. Black Adam was supposed to be a part of the Shazam! movie.
As comic book fans know, Black Adam is directly linked to Shazam or Captain Marvel in the comics, with the two characters receiving their powers from the same wizard, but using these powers for different purposes and being archenemies. According to The Rock, the two characters were supposed to be in one film, but the actor suggested otherwise.
“The original plan, maybe five or six years ago I think, was to tell the two origin stories of Shazam and Black Adam in the same movie. That’s what we had worked on,” Johnson told Comicbook.com in an interview. “The script was delivered. When we all read the script, I immediately felt like, ‘We have to separate these two movies. We have to honor Shazam! and that origin story and what that is and what that can be for the fans and then we also have to tell our story, too, as well.'”
3. Black Adam received his powers from Egyptian Gods.
Billy Batson received his powers from the Wizard who had selected him as the champion to wield the powers of the ancient gods and deities Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury– whose first letters in their names make up the word Shazam. While Black Adam underwent the same process, his powers were from the Egyptian gods Shu, Heru, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen. This also ties to his origin as an ancient Egyptian slave.
4. The Justice Society of America also makes its big screen debut.
As the trailers have revealed, Black Adam will also feature the Justice Society of America which consists of Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). In the comics, the JSA is a wartime group of superheroes and is considered to be the first superhero team to appear in comics, predating the Justice League by 20 years.
DC Comics will also be releasing prequel one-shots for the upcoming film, featuring separate stories about the JSA members in the film.
5. The real evil in Black Adam.
Being an antihero who wants to uphold his brutal form of justice in a world where the likes of the JSA exist, one would expect that the film’s main conflict is between Black Adam and the JSA. However, there is a bigger evil coming to the film that Black Adam would have to face: Sabbac.
In the comics, Sabbac is the antithesis of those who received the powers of Shazam. Instead of getting his powers from six powerful gods, Sabbac draws power from six of the most dangerous demons in the DC universe.
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Black Adam opens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, October 19. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
