Was it the role Dwayne Johnson was born to play? At the very least, it’s the superhero role he was born to play — if you don’t count The Rock as a superhero. Today on DC Fandome, Johnson hosted a brief preview, including an opening scene, of next year’s Black Adam. Because he’s Dwayne Johnson, he was first to release it on Twitter, with a little help from his director Jaume Collet-Serra.
Ladies & gents…
Enjoy your WORLD EXCLUSIVE first look⚡️He is ruthless.
He is unstoppable.
He is the reason the hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change.He is #BLACKADAM
The Man in Black has come around…#DCFanDome@SevenBucksProd@flynnpictureco pic.twitter.com/nv4oRmaLlq
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 16, 2021
Of course we’re in, because here on Fanboy Planet, we give it all a fair shake. As far as illuminating scenes go, this wasn’t it — but let’s admit Johnson looks cool.
For those coming to this just because it’s Dwayne Johnson and not because of being DC fans, Black Adam was once known as Teth-Adam in ancient Egypt. The wizard Shazam gave him the same powers he would later give Billy Batson (Black Adam is alluded to in Shazam!). As his people had been enslaved, Adam fought to free them — though in the original Marvel Family adventure that introduced him, it was said he just grew power-mad. Banished from this realm for thousands of years, he returned to find his people — now known as the nation of Kahndaq — still underfoot from an invading dictator.
You can see where Black Adam and Johnson dovetail. As “The Rock,” Johnson was a heel for the WWE, as Black Adam is for the DC Universe. How he’ll cross paths with the Justice Society seems uncertain, but two of the members appearing here make sense, as both Hawkman and Doctor Fate could be considered to have connections with Black Adam’s past. Originally Prince Khufu in Egypt — sometime portrayed as a contemporary of Teth-Adam — the man now known as Hawkman has been reincarnated many times over the centuries to fight against evil. On a dig in Egypt, Archaeologist Kent Nelson found a golden helmet possessed by an ancient “Lord of Order,” Nabu, who then shares a body and mystical power with Nelson.
As for Cyclone and Atom Smasher, hey, they’re just cool characters.
