Fans of the DC comic book world can always count on villains and heroes alike to appear in their favorite movie and TV adaptations. This will be no different when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson steps into the DC world as Black Adam on October 21, 2022.
The character has received a lot of questions of late regarding as to whether he’s a villain or a hero, both in the comics as well as previous appearances. In the mid-2000s, Johnson had been approached with the opportunity to play Captain Marvel, however, the idea never took off and the popular actor decided that he would be better suited as Black Adam instead.
Johnson is best known for playing the leading man in an endless array of action flicks, but Black Adam will find him playing a slightly different character than we’re used to seeing from him. Will his Adam be an antihero in the vein of Severus Snape and Loki, or will Johnson’s portrayal lean more in the direction of flat-out evil? Here’s what we know about Black Adam and where his allegiances lie.
Is Black Adam a villain or a hero?
Black Adam first came onto the comics scene in 1945, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that he found his legs as a worthy opponent to superheroes like Shazam and Superman. There were times when he found himself in situations that forced him to become a hero, and to everyone’s surprise, he stepped up to the plate and did the job that was necessary. In the upcoming film, however, Black Adam is being marketed as an antihero ⏤ a character who does not have typical hero attributes. A commonplace hero like the Flash or Aquaman will have a moral and ethical code that they operate by, but an antihero sometimes does heroic things for the wrong reasons ⏤ and sometimes evil things for what they perceive to be the right ones. For these reasons, Black Adam has largely been considered more of an antihero than a token good guy.
Why is Black Adam considered an antihero?
As his backstory reveals, Black Adam was once a slave who was freed and given powers by the wizard Shazam ⏤ not to be confused with the hero we know as Shazam. Once given these newfound powers, Black Adam takes justice into his own hands and overthrows the captors who had been holding him hostage. The wizard Shazam then shot Black Adam into the universe, where Black Adam spent 5,000 years trying to get back to Earth. When he returned, Black Adam started to seek out fights with Shazam and Superman, thus awarding him his antihero status.
To be clear, even though Black Adam has battled with other superheroes, that does not make him a clear-cut villain. Black Adam sought justice after what was done to him, and even though he went about it the wrong way, his actions were justified in his eyes. The upcoming live-action film will give fans a more in-depth look into Adam’s life and what made him into the antihero DC fans know and love.
Will Black Adam be a typical on-screen antihero, or will his first solo film find him giving into more evil leanings? We’ll find out when Black Adam surges into theaters Oct. 21, 2022.
