Folks, it is finally here! The much-anticipated DC film Black Adam, starring The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, is expected to thrill audiences, and if the trailer for the film is any indicator, the film will be an action-packed adventure.
This has been Dwayne Johnson’s dream project for several years, and we are all thrilled to see how he has developed it over time. The first look appears to have altered the DC universe’s power structure, and the guy portraying the titular character appears to be a perfect badass. The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and while the focus is on the Rock’s brand value, there are a few other key characters who have gotten some attention.
The members of the Justice Society of America are the most recognisable among them, and characters like Atom Smasher, Hawkman, Cylone, and Doctor Fate will be interesting additions to the story.
Hiram Garcia, the film’s producer, recently stated that the film’s goal was to honour the comic book version of Black Adam, and the first look at the trailer backs up his remarks. While we all await the arrival of Black Adam’s perfect anti-hero – the one-man judge, jury, and executioner – the trailer’s other heroes and important characters pique our interest. We will tell you everything you need to know about these characters in this video, and the information will come in handy before you see the movie!
Doctor Fate
We have already spoken about the Justice Society of America getting a share of the spotlight in the trailer, and the one who impressed the most among the superheroes is Dr. Fate. This character is played by Pierce Brosnan, and he seems to have an important role to play in the movie. He has a significant screen-time with the titular character, and he seems to be among the heroes who don’t approve of Black Adam’s drastic and violent methods. It is certainly heartening for the fans to see Pierce Brosnan being valued with such an important character, but it is also interesting to wait and watch the treatment given to this underrated hero.
So, who is this Dr. Fate? Well, Marvel fans might be smirking on the side because the character shares a few uncanny similarities with Doctor Strange. However, the origin stories of Dr. Fate are no less interesting than his Marvel counterpart. He was a man named Kent Nelson, who, along with his father, came across an ancient tomb containing the Mesopotamian deity Nabu.
He was influenced by the mystical lord, and a toxic gas filled the tomb killing his father. Nabu then took the young boy under his wings, and trained him to become Doctor Fate – the master of magical powers and sorcery. He also became near immortal because of certain changes in his body, and his biggest weapon is the Helmet of Fate, which seems to be used in Black Adam.
This helmet provides him with God-level powers, including flight abilities, healing powers, etc. He also has a Cloak of Destiny, which further adds to his strengths. There have been others who took up the mantle of Doctor Fate, and his equation with the mysterious Mesopotamian deity kept changing from time to time. Previously, you have seen glimpses of Doctor Fate in the TV series Smallville, where the role was played by Brent Stait. If the makers of Black Adam do justice to the character, you can be sure that Pierce Brosnan will leave no stone unturned in making this an unforgettable figure in the movie!
Hawkman
It was always an exciting prospect to have someone like Aldis Hodge play the role of Hawkman. The DC fans will know him as one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America, and a version of him also appeared in Arrowverse shows. DC comics have mostly portrayed him as this classic superhero who uses archaic weapons and his large, artificial wings seem to be there in the Black Adam trailer as well.
This does make him look a bit like Falcon with the wings, but if the character is on point no one would complain. Hawkman is actually a human archaeologist named Carter Hall, who is a reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince Khufu. There have been multiple origin stories featuring various versions of Hawkman, and some state him as the reincarnated Thanagarian police officer Katar Hol from the planet Thanagar.
His wings are created by an otherworldly ore called the Nth metal, and these wings help him fly around as the masked hero Hawkman. Some comic book versions show him with the ability to fight underwater as well, but apart from his slightly enhanced strength, he doesn’t really have jaw-dropping superpowers.
He is often seen fighting alongside his girlfriend, the Hawkgirl, and they fight crime together as a team. Because of his ambiguous origin stories, it will be interesting to observe the approach taken by Black Adam. However, the presence of Hawkman is another indication that the makers of Black Adam are trying to get to the roots of the Justice Society of America and explore the Golden Age of these underrated DC characters.
Atom Smasher
He was the grandson of a notorious supervillain called Cyclotron, but his conscience still dictated him to fight against evil forces. His name was Albert Rothstein, and his grandfather was the source of some of his miraculous powers. These superpowers enabled him to control his molecular structure, which meant that he could alter his size and density at will. He initially fought crime as the superhero called Nuklon, and he even served briefly in the Justice League.
Later, he joined the Justice Society of America, and being the godson of Al Pratt, the Golden Age Atom, he always tried to uphold his legacy. He took up the name Atom Smasher, and his brotherhood with Black Adam is well established in the comic books. He was often tempted by the methods of Black Adam, and this made him question the moral boundaries of the organization. They have had numerous adventures together, and it remains to be seen how the upcoming Black Adam movie explores the story arc.
He is quite an interesting superhero because of his unique powers. Atom Smasher can grow to a height of almost 28 feet, and he also has incredible strength, speed, and durability to match up to the meanest supervillains. He is also shown to be a skilled pilot, who is in charge of the Steel Eagle, the jet used by the Justice Society of America.
However, when he increases his size drastically beyond his optical limitations, he is also slightly vulnerable because he experiences great discomfort. Noah Centineo is seen playing the role in the movie, and we expect to see a whacky brotherhood between him and Black Adam in the movie as well!
Cyclone
Cyclone aka Maxine Hunkel is the granddaughter of the original Red Tornado, and thus, she grew up admiring her grandmother’s partners in the Justice Society of America. But, Maxine getting her superpowers was actually because of an accidental kidnapping.
A crazy scientist named T.O. Morrow created an android version of Red Tornado, and he kidnapped a six-year-old Maxine to experiment on her. She was infected with nanobytes, and these later became the source of her superpowers. She grew up to be extremely intelligent, went to Harvard, and accomplished just about everything. Yet, her personality makes her alienated by peer groups and becomes a cause for her depression.
She understood the true extent of her superpowers when she was an adult. A random sneeze destroyed her grandmother’s garage, such as the intensity, and one morning she woke up inside a tornado! With time, she started to master her control over the wind element, and she joined the JSA as one of the new superhero trainees.
It is quite a sight to witness her unleash her powers. She could summon deadly cyclones and manipulate wind according to her requirements. The powerful blasts of air can be used by her against her enemies, and she has also shown in a few instances that she can control sound currents just like air currents. Quintessa Swindell seems to be the perfect fit for the role, and the character can work wonders if the new Black Adam movie handles the story arc properly.
Intergang
If the superheroes are so intense and powerful, how can the baddies be far behind! From the looks of it, Intergang is among the confirmed villains in Black Adam. This is a notorious intergalactic criminal group that deals in Anti-Life weapons. These weapons of mass destruction that belong to the likes of Darkseid and DC’s eternal Big Bad, are sold by this infamous gang who don’t tolerate obstructions in their plans.
While the villainous New Gods power the organization, it was started way back in the 1920s by a gangster named Moxie Mannheim. After he was killed by his rivals, his son ran the show with Morgan Edge, the head of the Galaxy Broadcasting System television network. They started to take orders from Darkseid, and even helped him find the Anti-Life Equation.
The fans will be familiar with Intergang because of their appearance in Superman: The Animated Series, Young Justice, and a Smallville episode called Stiletto. Over the years, the Intergang has seen some notorious members joining their ranks. From the deadliest of assassins to the most demented individuals, everyone was welcome to prey on the underbelly of the universe, and dealing in these forbidden weapons earned them quite a reputation.
They had a few run-ins with Superman himself, but it seems like an anti-hero like Black Adam would be the perfect foil to their evil plans. The trailer clearly states that Black Adam has no problems with taking lives if required, and from the slight indications it can be assumed that he will take on the Intergang in what will be an epic battle to the death!
Adrianna Tomaz – Isis
Adrianna Tomaz or Isis is another example of DC’s fascination with Egyptian mythology. She was a high school teacher who came across a magical Egyptian amulet that enabled her to call upon the powers of Goddess Isis. The archeological dig that got her the amulet changed her life, and she was just as powerful as the likes of Wonder Woman. Later, her character was re-introduced with a different story arc.
Here, Adrianna Tomaz was an enslaved refugee brought before Black Adam by the Intergang. It was an attempt to appease the anti-hero, but it clearly didn’t work because Black Adam killed the ones who brought her and freed her. He liked the confident and fearless attitude of Adrianna Tomaz, and she influenced the way he viewed the world. Interactions with Adrianna made him kinder, and eventually, he found the magical amulet of Isis and asked Captain Marvel to confer the powers of the amulet on Adrianna.
This is how she transformed from a normal human to a super-being with the powers of a goddess. She is incredibly strong, and bullets, blades, or other earthly weapons can do her no damage. She is also extremely fast at a speed of over Mach ten, and she can maintain this speed while flying around. Besides her powers, she is also unbelievably intelligent and a visionary, who often acts as a guiding force for Black Adam.
She worked alongside him to free children in the Middle East and together they fought all kinds of evil. There is even a romantic angle to their story arc, and the duo will make for an engaging couple in the movie! The alluring and smart actress Sarah Shahi is going to play the challenging role and her chemistry with Dwayne Johnson has the potential to make or break the movie!
Amon Tomaz – OSIRIS
We have already spoken about the multiple missions undertaken by Adrianna Tomaz along with Black Adam, where they would free enslaved children and attack child slavery rings in the Middle East and Africa. Adrianna had a personal motivation as well behind these missions because she was searching for her brother Amon Tomaz. He was enslaved just like her sister, but he wasn’t as lucky!
It took quite a while before Black Adam and Adrianna came across Amon in a re-education camp by the Intergang. They had tortured him terribly, and he lost the ability to walk. Adrianna used her magical healing abilities to help him recover from his wounds, but he still couldn’t walk. Eventually, Black Adam gave him a part of his power, and Amon could turn into a superhero simply by uttering Black Adam’s name.
He would transform into Osiris, and the powers of multiple Egyptian Gods come together to make him a formidable force. He had super-speed, phenomenal strength, and wisdom, and he could also use lightning bolts like Thor! He is vulnerable to magic, and we are trying to imagine what his role would look like in the movie. You can be sure that he will be an important cog in the machine, and a talented actor like Bodhi Sabongui playing the role might just tilt the balance towards the success of the film.
Bruno Mannheim
We have already touched upon the notorious Intergang and its role in wreaking havoc across the universe. Bruno Mannheim was one of the members of the gang, and he was in charge of proceedings after his father was killed. He worked with the clone of Morgan Edge, and he has shown great resilience and determination while dealing with the likes of Superman. He seems politically intelligent and knows how to form the right alliances to get his way. The Infinite Crisis storyline projects Bruno as one of the strongest gangsters in Metropolis and he was easily one of the most stand-out members of the Intergang.
A dark and vicious version of him is shown worshipping crime, and he is portrayed as a mindless cannibal with a killing frenzy. He later fought the likes of Nightwing and Batwoman, and he almost ended up killing the latter during one of their encounters. Intergang as an organization is extremely dangerous because of their powerful weapons, and even without the meta-human members, they are a force to reckon with. It goes without saying that they would be a fitting antagonist for Black Adam in the movie, and we are quite curious to see how such complicated roles are handled!
There have been mixed reviews around the trailer, but we think it is still too early to speculate. The cast is full of supremely talented actors, and if they are provided with a good storyline, they are too good to spoil the show. Yes, there are some obvious similarities with popular Marvel characters like Falcon and Doctor Strange, but with the right presentation you can be sure that people wouldn’t mind the ‘inspirations’! As the release date draws close, it is going to be a nail-biting waiting period before we get you the final results!