We saw the very first glimpse of DC’s upcoming Black Adam movie all the way back in 2020 during the inaugural FanDome event. The ol’ pandemmy shifted release dates left and right, and now in 2022, Black Adam will finally come out. And now DC Comics and Warner Bros. have debuted the trailer, which finds Dwayne Johnson as Teth-Adam. The movie looks to position Black Adam firmly in the anti-hero mold, one who isn’t above killing if he thinks it necessary. This puts him directly in opposition to members of the JSA, one in particular. Take a look.
We learn from the beginning of the trailer that Teth-Adam was once a slave, thousands of years ago. Following the death of his son, he receives godlike abilities. What kind of powers, you ask? How about the power of flight? That do anything for ya? That’s levitation, homes. How about the power to catch a rocket in midair? He’s powerful is what I’m saying. Clearly Black Adam has something akin to Shazam’s powers, but without the problems that come with being a kid.
Along the way, Adam also crosses paths with members of the Justice Society. Pierce Brosnan’s Dr. Fate asks Black Adam if his powers have given him anything but heartache. A fair question for one so old and yet so embittered. We also see glimpses of Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), but the one who has the biggest moment opposite Black Adam is Hawkman (Aldis Hodge). Hawkman says they don’t kill people, a fairly common thing for proper superhero teams. “Well I do,” Black Adam responds.
The morality of Hawkman against the shades of gray of Adam will be an interesting wrinkle to explore in the movie. This is an anti-hero, after all. One that, according to Johnson, could drastically change the hierarchy of the DC Universe if he so chose.
The characters in Black Adam, specifically Dr. Fate and Hawkman, go back to the 1940s, so it’s exciting to get to see them on the big screen. We can’t wait! But we must, as is the nature of release dates. Black Adam arrives in theaters on October 21, 2022.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
