Black Adam

The implication being whatever we currently associate with the DCEU is over, and the birth of a new era full of superheroes holding less cultural baggage. It ...

[Pierce Brosnan](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/pierce-brosnan-pink-suit-2022)), Atom Smasher ( [Noah Centineo](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/grooming/gallery/winter-haircut)) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), a rag-tag bunch of superheroes brought together for the first time to force Black Adam back into hibernation, presumably because he’s simply too powerful. To set the scene, [Johnson](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/watches/article/dwayne-johnson-tag-heuer-watches-of-the-week-07-10-22)’s Black Adam is introduced as a superpowered protector who disappeared 5000 years ago via a long-winded and complicated opening monologue about the fictional nation of Kahndaq and its long history with colonialism. The implication being whatever we currently associate with the [DCEU](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/best-dc-movies-2022) is over, and the birth of a new era full of superheroes holding less cultural baggage. Black Adam had a lot of promise, not least because [Johnson](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/dwayne-johnson-vest-summer-2022) seems so passionate about doing justice to the character. [Black Adam](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/henry-cavill-superman-return-black-adam)’s origins, as well as the wider Justice Society who are introduced in this film alongside him. [Dwayne Johnson](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/dwayne-johnson-fuchsia-suit-2022) has said on multiple occasions that “the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change”.

Before the Rock's first true superhero movie hits theaters on Friday, get a crash course on the history of one of DC's oldest heroes.

Discovery at large have been](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/business/media/warner-bros-discovery-layoffs.html), including the recent [cancellations of DC projects](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a40794876/batgirl-hbo-movie-cancelled/), no one knows what that future will look like. Goyer—along with artist Marcos Martin—during their iconic run on JSA (the Justice Society of America) in the early 2000s, Black Adam became something of a reformed villain, joining forces with the Justice Society (for a little while, at least) as he evolved into the antihero archetype that he remains today. But as volatile as the situations [at DC](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/dc-movies-james-gunn-pithces-dwayne-johnson-1235243030/) and at [Warner Bros. (Though in light of the failure that was Justice League and the volatile state of the DCEU at large, I’m not so sure the JSA will be any less confusing to newcomers now—but I digress.) Before the Justice League of America, there was the Justice Society of America. But the resulting powers become too overwhelming for Adam, corrupting him and inspiring the ancient wizard to rename him “Black Adam” as a result. Beck, Black Adam might not be one of the better-known DC figures today, but he has a long history; just take a look at the art style and some of the dialogue from his first appearance: Originally imagined as an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Teth-Adam (Black Adam’s original alter ego) was the first mortal being to be granted the powers of Shazam, long before the teenaged Billy Batson was chosen as the ancient wizard’s champion. Not only will Black Adam end that drought, but it will also be one of the first opportunities to peek into a supposed new era of the DCEU as Warner Bros. Although Black Adam will mark the first time that the title character has appeared on the big screen, he made his debut in the comics in 1945, within the pages of The Marvel Family, a Fawcett Comics publication that was later licensed and acquired by DC. It’s fitting, then, that Black Adam got his start in the comics as a full-fledged villain. [DC League of Super-Pets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jkw2JPCl18&ab_channel=WarnerBros.Pictures), or his [pseudo-superhero movies in cars](https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/10/16045412/fast-furious-rankings-d20e77387cce) …

While "Black Adam," which opens in theaters on Friday, may not be a perfect film, it may actually be the perfect anecdote for some of the issues that have ...

While early “social media impressions” of Black Adam were largely positive in the wake of its premiere, now that scored critical reviews have come rolling ...

But if Black Adam underperforms or even bombs, this grand vision of making the character a key part of the universe going forward with sequels and face-offs against Superman does not seem likely to materialize. The Rock has hyped up Black Adam beyond belief, and the movie is scoring 35% below Shazam, the film he extracted himself from and the character he seems content to ignore in favor of moving on to bigger rivalries like Superman. So here, Black Adam is only above the absolute worst of the DCEU, the original Justice League, Batman V. While many are content to wait for audience scores, which many believe are the superior metric (that’s a debate for another day), we can see how Black Adam stacks currently up against the rest of the DCEU. - Shazam – 90% At the time of this writing, 64 reviews are in for Black Adam, which has scored a 55% on

We've arrived at a new low for superhero movies.

Why this is the group dispatched to deal with Black Adam is never really explained, because the real answer has to do with Hollywood’s shameless mining of intellectual property. Amon is generally supportive of Black Adam, encouraging him to rid Kahndaq of the mercenaries occupying the city but also prodding him to add fun catchphrases into his superhero routine. The pitch for Black Adam, of course, is that its star is no ordinary hero. But this movie mostly downplays that connection, except that it has Johnson occasionally say the word shazam with the kind of breathy, self-important reverence [that the movie Shazam!](https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/04/shazam-movie-review/586390/) sought to avoid. Black Adam is perhaps the most charmless of them all. Early in his career, as he made the leap from professional wrestling to movie stardom, he could be a playful and bombastic screen presence; now he seems to insist on playing an endless stream of charisma-free, square-jawed Terminator knockoffs.

Speaking at the London premiere for his DC Comics superhero movie, which he executive produced and stars in, the Hollywood powerhouse said he's "been trying ...

And yeah, it was quite a workout. "It was a constant," he said. "I look at the other guys out there on the big screen and wonder where I fit in. So here I am, Kent Nelson, Dr Fate, Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, Aldis Hodge Hawkman." And there was a lot of questioning the idea of Black Adam. And they think, they, they have a real, they love it, by the way.

"Black Adam," a comic book adventure starring Dwayne Johnson, will loom large over the weekend box office.

Those initial ticket sales would fall in between “The Lost City” ($30 million debut) and “Bros” ($4.8 million debut), the most recent rom-coms to play in theaters. The movie cost $60 million to produce, which is fairly expensive for modern romantic comedies. “Black Adam” has generated mixed reviews. But the anti-hero adventure is expected to earn far less than the studio’s most recent live-action comic book adaptation, “The Batman,” which impressed with $134 million in March. But the movie does look to inject a little sizzle in the otherwise sluggish October at the box office. That’ll easily be enough to dethrone “Halloween Ends,” which took the No.

Black Adam is the latest film to release from Warner Bros. It stars Dwayne Johnson as the titular figure and it follows this new figure who is introduced ...

If the director and writer genuinely wanted to tell the story of this character they would dissect what is the right way to deal with evil. Ultimately Black Adam is going to appease a certain demographic. Atom Smasher is a bit of a goof but that’s needed in between all the brutal fight scenes. The major issue I found with the film is that this isn’t really the infamous Black Adam character from DC comics. Black Adam is the latest film to release from Warner Bros. He leaves a noticeable mark on the country and gets the unwanted attention of the Justice Society.

"The Irish are taking over the DC Universe!" ... Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow and Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Guhl in The Dark Knight Trilogy. ... Colin Farrell as ...

Black Adam and the Joker? And I know the work that he really put in, so I really look forward to seeing more of that guy! As I have been saying, this is a new era in the DC Universe, so I'm very happy to help that narrative along.

Excited to see Dwayne Johnson in BLACK ADAM when the movie opens at AMC Theatres? Here are a few scenes that you'll want to see in IMAX.

We really do mean it when we say that the action is non-stop and blissfully over-the-top from the very beginning all the way until the end of BLACK ADAM. Speaking of climactic moments, comic book movies often tend to live or die by their final act and the wall-to-wall action leading up to the conclusion of BLACK ADAM is certainly a winner. Imagine the hero of this three-way stand-off is equipped with a pair of lightning-emitting index fingers instead of six-shooters, and you, basically, have this memorably funny and explosive sequence. The basic set-up for BLACK ADAM is as follows – many, many years ago in the oppressed nation of Kahndaq, an enslaved peasant was chosen by a council of powerful beings to be bestowed upon with an arsenal of extraordinary abilities and become their champion to bring much-needed justice to the world. Dwayne Johnson is – in more than one meaning of the phrase – one of the world’s biggest celebrities. The DC Extended Universe is one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises.

Dwayne Johnson has long been claiming that the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is set to change, and this weekend's release of his tentpole superhero ...

That said, Black Adam looks set to fall conspicuously short of the $134 million that The Batman brought in when it opened in March. That figure would be more than good enough to dethrone Halloween Ends from the top spot, after the latest Michael Myers horror flick bagged a $41 million opening against a budget of $30 million last weekend. Dwayne Johnson has long been claiming that the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is set to change, and this weekend's release of his tentpole superhero feature, Black Adam, may go a long way to confirming whether that might be true or not.

Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' isn't bad, it's just predictable and colour-by-numbers.

They nicely include pockets of humor that DC has not always done well — a recurring bit with “Baby Come Back” and teaching Black Adam satire are fun; a Clint Eastwood gag fails — and there may have been three natural endings piling up before the final, manipulative one. Two and a half stars out of four. Most intriguing — and the angle most fruitful to lean into — is the notion of hero itself. that has wizards, a blood-thirsty king, a magical crown and Eternium, a rare metallic ore with energy-manipulating properties (Hello, Vibranium from “Black Panther”). At one point, with the audience exhausted by all the carnage, they introduce skeletons who rise up as a legion from hell, just what we wanted. Do we need another superhero with another convoluted origin story that stretches back thousands of years and fulfills a whacko destiny?

Should audiences stick around during the credits of Black Adam for any kind of end credits sequence?

Not too shabby of an ending to Black Adam’s 15-year journey to the screen. Once the credits finish rolling, audiences can watch the various logos for the production companies involved in Black Adam, but there are no further teases for the future of the DC Extended Universe. Birds of Prey, meanwhile, continued its anarchic spirit to an end credits sequence that teased audiences with a big reveal about Batman before pulling the rug out of from under the audience, while The Suicide Squad featured a post-credits sequence that set up a solo TV show headlined by Peacemaker (John Cena). Much like Avengers: Age of Ultron or Morbius, there’s only a single credits sequence for Black Adam and it’s nestled in the middle of the credits, not at the very end. In the middle of Black Adam’s credits, viewers are treated to a credits sequence but don’t bother sticking around after that. There’s a lot to absorb in this motion picture already before the credits begin to roll.