After a long journey between delays and some reshootsdc antihero movie Black Adam hit the cinemas. With a new character’s story on screen, the publisher’s expanded cinematic universe takes on a whole new momentum. But also in a way it goes back to its origins. With a 45-year history in the comic book world, the enigmatic figure played by Dwayne Johnson will mark before and after in the Warner Bros. franchise. discovery..
But it’s not just about getting a new story on the big screen. Black Adam It will include, in addition to the rebirth of the hero in the mid-nineties, the introduction of the band that accompanies him. In early trailers, footage showed Hawkman, Cyclone, Doctor Fate, and Atomic Smasher. Curious addition of several of the publisher’s oldest characters to the new setting.
It’s a risky bet for DC to build a complex and nearly unknown universe around Black Adam in one movie. After all, the hero carries a history of numerous reimaginings, stories, and even amazing moves through editorials. Something that more or less needs to show the reasoning to fully understand the character played by Johnson. With as many dimensions as there is to tell, the traditional DC anti-hero is a true cinematic challenge.
Long road to power
Black Adam’s first appearance in comics dates back to the golden age of comics. The mighty figure was included in the 1945 issue #1 of Marvel Family magazine under Fawcett Comics. At the time, the small publishing house also had a license for the traditional enemy of the anti-hero Shazam, who was then called Captain Marvel.
In its origin Black Adam was meant to be a short-lived figure.. In fact, his first battle against Captain Marvel would have resulted in immediate death. All in the first issue and disguised as a villain whose sole purpose was to allow the hero to prove himself. But his influence among readers was enough for him to return five years later. turned, now yes, into the main enemy of the superhero. However, by that time the publisher was experiencing liquidity problems and began a restructuring that led to its subsequent sale.
Finally, when DC purchased most of Fawcett’s licenses, Black Adam returned to the board as a major character.. Always a part of the Captain Marvel universe, he has made sporadic appearances over the decades. Black Adam gradually evolved from a villain with simple motives (to destroy the world) to much more complex ones and, finally, an anti-hero.
But it was in the 1990s that writer and artist Jerry Ordway gave him his most famous and defining personality. Also the one that will definitely be shown in the movie Black Adam. A figure with a personality full of facets and contradictions, yet as powerful as Superman and with a clear self-awareness.
Out of magic came Black Adam
Despite its hectic life as an intellectual property of various publishers, Black Adam’s origin story has changed little. Ironically, it shares some elements with parts of the film’s plot. Shazam! David F. Sandberg. In fact, in its prologue, you can see, in general terms, some details of the origin of Black Adam.
The story of the anti-hero begins right with the need for a worthy heir to the great powers. The comic tells how the magician Shazam is looking for a successor who will inherit his extraordinary abilities.. Finally, he finds it in the fictional people of Kandak, in which the wise and just Prince Tet Adam seems to be the epitome of the ideal candidate.
Become the protector of Egypt, Tet Adam meets those who will henceforth become part of his history. From the Wizard of Naboo, the magical being who is part of the Helm of Fate and grants Doctor Fate his powers, to Prince Khufu. The latter would eventually become Hawkman and would appear in successive reincarnations, essentially being the same character.
For decades, Teth Adam was a good-natured character until the villains Vandal Savage and Ak-Ton destroyed Kandak with the Orb of Ra. The cataclysm caused the hero to go insane and, in the end, so that he would not cause any harm, he was enclosed in a magical scarab and buried in a tomb. In the comic, the bug is discovered by Theo Adam, DC’s evil assistant, and Mary Batson, Billy Batson’s parents. Opening the scarab releases the power of Tet Adam and transforms into a twisted version of Shazam.
Of course, in the movie version Black Adamthe argument will dispense with the connection to the Batsons so as not to contradict the 2019 story. Besides, as shown in the various achievements, this will change Tet Adam’s royal lineage so that instead of a prince, he will be a slave. Which, no doubt, will give a new meaning to the entire universe surrounding the character.
A formidable force for a strange man
Like Billy Batson, Black Adam summons his powers by saying “Shazam!” Thereby, gains the powers of the six Egyptian gods, which together make him an almost unstoppable being.. Unlike Billy’s story on the big screen, Tet Adam cannot share or create a superhero team from his own.
According to the comic – and apparently the movie – Black Adam gets incredible stamina and invulnerability from the god Shu, and super speed from Heru. On the other hand, from Amun, physical strength, Zehuti endows him with wisdom and knowledge, and Aten – the ability to call lightning. Finally, and perhaps the hallmark of Black Adam is that he draws unwavering courage from Mentoo.
Mix, coupled with his temperamental and unpredictable character, makes the character mysterious. In fact, most of the promotion Black Adam it is based on keeping the secret of how the symbolic anti-hero will behave. For now, one thing is clear: thanks to his arrival in the DC Extended Universe, the franchise’s landscape is more interesting than ever.
