Black Adam is DCEU’s upcoming blockbuster, and it’s bringing out the big guns. Namely, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be showing off his guns in the Black Adam suit come October. Fans should get ready to lose it because this DC movie will be a big one.

Black Adam will be different from many superhero movies we’ve seen before, and for DC, different is better. As many may already know, Black Adam was almost introduced in Shazam! but (thanks to The Rock’s suggestion) he ended up getting his own movie, which might have been the right move. Shazam! was still widely popular, and Black Adam is free to load up on the superhero goodies for the fans.

There’s a lot more coming for audiences besides Dwayne Johnson getting his own movie. The DC universe will be significantly expanded after Black Adam blasts a hole in it. Pierce Brosnan will be featured as the illusive Doctor Fate. And there is even talk of the Justice Society of America showing up. Black Adam may signal a whole new direction for DC, along with it being a very cool movie. Though the hype about Johnson’s Black Adam fighting Henry Cavill’s Superman was shut down by the director, Black Adam might be looking to take over Superman’s traditional spot as leader of the DC universe.

Black Adam Breaks All the Rules

     Warner Bros. Pictures

For years, DC has continued to try and cash in on superheroes we’ve already seen a hundred times. And sometimes it works cough Batman. But they haven’t really explored any of their other characters outside the Justice League. Audiences don’t want to keep looking at the same five characters until they like them. They need something new. And that’s exactly what they’re going to get with Black Adam.

Movie-going audiences don’t necessarily recognize the name, Black Adam. People more likely to remember the superhero are either comic book readers or animation fans from the ’90s and early 2000s. He’s already something new to the general public. He’s not a recycled villain. In fact, a lot of people argue he’s more of an anti-hero than a villain. Although his moral code isn’t exactly…moral, Black Adam is a very redeemable character in many people’s eyes because of his horrifying past. In the comics, he is Shazam’s nemesis more because he quarrels with the gods that bestowed him his power. Of course, he is quite evil. He will kill without a second thought. But the fact that this is evil motivated by trauma encourages fans to give him another chance.

The movie’s director, Juan Collet-Serra, compared Black Adam to the ’70s cop film, Dirty Harry, telling Vanity Fair:

DC Characters Making Their First Live-Action Appearance

     Warner Bros. 

The other big reason to get excited is all the superheroes fans will get along with Black Adam. The Justice Society of America will be introduced in the film playing the main…antagonists? Protagonists? They’re not the stars of the film, but they’re opposing Black Adam on the moral side of justice. The JSA will bring in four new heroes we have never seen in a live-action movie: Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher. Introducing these characters not only expands the DC universe but also gives us a look at some of the coolest heroes hiding in the pages of DC Comics.

Hawkman, unlike more well-known Hawkgirl, flies using wings made of extraterrestrial metal and exists as a soul that continually gets reincarnated, bestowing its power on each new host. Technically, in the comics, Hawkman and Black Adam know each other from Ancient Egypt, but Collet-Serra says he won’t be introducing this complicated history into the movie. He’ll be played by Aldis Hodge.

Doctor Fate is a mighty sorcerer who, on his own, can do some pretty impressive magic. But when he dons his set of ancient artifacts, his powers are strong enough to move a planet into a sun. He’s considered one of the most powerful magic-users in the DC canon. But along with being so strong, Kent Nelson has a reputation for being an intelligent, empathic person. When Pierce Brosnan plays Fate in the movie, no doubt we’ll get the charisma of James Bond combined with the superpowers of an indomitable wizard.

Cyclone is a young hero with the power to control the wind. Her defining characteristic is that she is the granddaughter of Red Tornado – a similar hero with a much more prominent reputation. She feels pressured to live up to her own name. Quintessa Swindell will take on the role. Atom Smasher is also a hero on the younger side. Unlike his name suggests, he doesn’t go around nuking everything. He has the ability to control molecular structure, which he uses to grow in size. Essentially, he can enlarge atoms and use them to smash you. He’ll be played by Noah Centineo.

With so much to be excited about, audiences will see how it all plays out when Black Adam releases in theaters on October 21, 2022.