It would be an understatement to say that Dwayne Johnson’s doomed Black Adam left behind a legacy that no blockbuster comic book adaptation would ever want to be associated with, although it did at least end up sparing Henry Cavill further embarrassment in the long run.
Few superhero movies in recent memory – if ever – have experienced such a drastic fall from grace as The Rock’s long-gestating DCU debut, which he persevered with for 15 whole years. In the buildup to its release, there was plenty of talk about sequels, spin-offs, and offshoots galore, while Cavill took to social media and announced to the world he was back full-time as the franchise’s Superman. Except, he really wasn’t.
James Gunn and Peter Safran swooped in, booted both of the popular stars out of the door, and sought to begin anew. The optics weren’t great for either party, but Cavill’s post-credits cameo has finally delivered something to shout about, and it’s all to do with The CW’s Arrowverse coming perilously close to matching him beat-for-beat.
Titans just featured a guest appearance from a faceless Man of Steel, which means the iconic Kryptonian has now made three guest spots without ever revealing his visage after Shazam! and Peacemaker. Had Cavill not shown up in Black Adam, then the actor who was contracted to play the part for almost 12 years from beginning to end would have been tied with an unnamed body double for showing up as the Big Blue Boy Scout.
That pretty much sums up Cavill’s DC tenure in a nutshell, though, but at the very least he got to make four outings under the costume compared to the three of no-name Superman, even if the threat of one more secretive cameo tying them up all over again lurks in the shadows.
