Black Adam (2022), directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Dwayne Johnson, marked a bold new chapter in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). With its explosive action, darker anti-hero narrative, and mythological backstory, the film offered a sharp contrast to DC’s more traditional heroes like Superman or Wonder Woman.
Set in the fictional Middle Eastern nation of Kahndaq, the film introduces Teth-Adam—a former slave turned godlike being, awakened after 5,000 years of imprisonment. Bestowed with the powers of six ancient gods, Black Adam is not the typical cape-wearing savior. His justice is brutal, his morals murky, and his patience for bureaucracy nonexistent.
When modern Kahndaq finds itself under siege by mercenaries and foreign oppressors, Adam emerges as both a liberator and a menace. His awakening also draws the attention of the Justice Society of America (JSA), including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell). The film sets up a clear ideological clash—can brute power replace justice, or is there room in the world for a god with no boundaries?
Visually, Black Adam is a spectacle of destruction and superhuman warfare. The slow-motion combat scenes, heavy CGI, and mythic scale deliver blockbuster thrills. Dwayne Johnson commands the screen, though his stoic, stone-faced approach to Adam occasionally limits emotional depth. Still, the character’s appeal lies in his unpredictable edge: he’s a being born of pain, fueled by vengeance, yet yearning for something more.
The standout of the supporting cast is Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate, whose philosophical gravitas and tragic arc bring maturity to the story. His chemistry with Hawkman and sense of cosmic foresight suggests a much larger world of magic and fate beyond this film.
Yet Black Adam is not without its flaws. The script at times feels clunky, overly expository, and the villain—Sabbac—emerges too late to be truly threatening. Still, the film’s real aim is to introduce Adam as a long-term player in the DC universe—and in that, it succeeds.
Following the events of Black Adam, the balance of global power has shifted. Superheroes fear him. Nations watch him. But a new threat emerges—not from Earth, but from the Realm of the Dead. In Black Adam: War of Gods, the ancient gods who granted Adam his powers begin to reclaim them, one by one, through celestial avatars sent to challenge his dominion.
At the same time, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles a superhuman task force to finally neutralize Black Adam—this time with the help of a mysterious Kryptonian ally: Superman.
What follows is an all-out war that tests Adam’s morality, power, and ability to evolve. Is he merely a weapon—or can he truly become a protector? In a final twist, Doctor Fate’s legacy returns through a new incarnation, hinting that Adam’s fate may have been written long before he ever spoke the word “Shazam.”
