Dwayne Johnson isn’t a guy to pull any punches and he certainly isn’t holding back when it comes to the legacy Black Adam will bring to the DCEU as it now stands. The Rock smells what’s cooking and it smells like nothing less than a complete game changer for the DC Expanded Universe.
Johnson went on record at the DC Comics Panel on Black Adam in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con today stating that the film will ‘usher in a new era in the DC universe.’ Although the star of the newest entry in the DCEU didn’t expand on the statement it’s easy to imagine he’s referring to the official introduction of the original DC Comics super-hero team, The Justice Society aka The Justice Society of America aka the JSA.
Black Adam introduces several key members of the JSA into the expanded universe of DC films for the first time, including Adam himself, sorcerer Doctor Fate, reincarnated warrior Hawkman, weather witch Cyclone, and the gargantuan Atom Smasher. Yet even given that stellar lineup, it only barely scratches the roster of the JSA over the years. The classic Society included the so-called Golden Age original versions of such characters as Alan Scott’s Green Lantern, Jay Garrick’s Flash, Al Pratt’s Atom as well as classic mystery men from the comics of the 40s including Hourman, Doctor Mid-Nite, and The Sandman.
In the early 2000s, the comic series was written by future Dark Knight trilogy screenwriter David S. Goyer and future CCO and DCEU producer Geoff Johns. During their run, the pair focused on the JSAs function as a legacy organization for the superheroic children of former heroes. It was during this run that the pair brought Black Adam into the group as a new hero as well as introduced his fictional country of origin Kahndaq which has featured in many DC Comics plotlines and will serve as a setting in the upcoming movie.
Frankly, Johnson isn’t exaggerating in the least. Given the sheer bulk of JSA members at Warner Bros.’s disposal not to mention a heritage that derives from some of the studio’s finest writing talent a JSA franchise could be the safest bet on the table for not only expanding the franchise but shifting focus from the now fractured Justice League.
Black Adam premieres theatrically on October 21.
