In June of 2022, DC unveiled the official cinematic trailer for Black Adam. The character had been teased in 2019’s “Shazam!” as the previous champion before his imprisonment, but the upcoming film will be the live-action debut for the titular character.
While The Rock has been promoting the film, many DCEU fans may be unfamiliar with the character Black Adam and the film’s supporting cast.
Black Adam, alternatively known as “Teth-Adam,” first appeared in 1945 in Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family #1 before being absorbed into the DC universe in the 1970s. In his first appearance, Black Adam was champion of the Wizard Shazam in Ancient Egypt before being corrupted by power and sealed away for thousands of years.
Upon his release, Black Adam found himself in conflict with Shazam, which resulted in his death. When DC licensed Fawcett’s superhero characters in the 1970s, Black Adam was resurrected from the dead by Dr. Sivana in the modern era, allowing him to become a recurring villain.
After becoming part of the DC Universe, Black Adam, possessing the same powers as Shazam, would go on to fight the modern-day champion of magic, Superman, and the Justice League. Unlike his original incarnation, where he hailed from Egypt, Black Adam’s home nation was changed to Kahndaq, a fictional nation on Egypt’s border.
In the early 2000s, Black Adam’s role in the DC Universe shifted from villain to anti-hero, joining the Justice Society for a period of time. During his anti-hero incarnation, Black Adam brutally enforced his brand of justice.
From what has been teased by DC so far, this is the attitude Dwayne Johnson’s interpretation of the character will reflect as opposed to his original, purely villainous incarnation. In “Shazam!”, Black Adam was revealed to have been sealed away after using his powers for revenge against his oppressors. In the June trailer, Black Adam laments the death of his son at the hands of his tormentors, helping to add context to Black Adam’s rampage in the past, showing more evidence that the DCEU’s version of the character will reflect his anti-hero era.
Black Adam is not the only heroic protagonist of the film. Dwayne Johnson’s mystical champion shares the silver screen with four other superheroes. In addition to Black Adam, the film features Dr. Fate, the helmeted master of magic, Hawkman, a winged reincarnation of an Egyptian prince, and a modern-day archeologist, the Atom Smasher, a metahuman with the ability to grow to enormous size with the strength to match, and Virginia’s own Quintessa Swindell, a hero with the ability to generate wind and fly.
Together, these four heroes make up the Justice Society, which was the world’s first superhero team, both in publishing history and in DC lore. In multiple continuities, the Justice Society served as mentors to members of the Justice League. The five protagonists will likely unite to combat an ancient evil, as suggested by tie-in material and toys.
