Hey Students, Professor Ashley writing to you here. I remember *fond sigh* all those years ago (three LA apartments ago …), when Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson was first announced as joining the DC Cinematic Universe as Black Adam. Professor Jason made a comment that he should have played Shazam because he is one of the only actors currently working who could stand up next to Superman or conceivably stand against Superman.
“He should have played Shazam.”
I remember Jason saying.
But t’was not to be the case.
Now that Geek History Lesson has produced many more years of episodes we’re on the brink of Black Adam and the pop culture sphere has circled all the way back to the discussion I recall Jason laying out all those years ago: is Dwanye Johnson going to fight Superman?
Well, Johnson, himself, pointedly told Cinemablend:
“Absolutely. That is the whole point of this, man.”
If you read spoilers your knowledge may vary (non in this blog post, however, we respect the fact not everyone is going to be able to see Black Adam opening weekend), and it seems as though the
BLACK ADAM V. SUPERMAN DAWN OF PUNCHING
issue has been put to bed before the Black Adam movie has opened wide.
Soooo … since the rest of the world has tucked Black Adam and Supes in side-by-side and made up their mind on that issue we here in the Mind University have been wondering about a conflict a little closer to the comic book continuity:
Will Black Adam fight Shazam?!?!?!
Superman is great and everything. We love Henry Cavill. Across both Geek History Lesson and the Jawiin Youtube Channel. Remember when we made this video?
But Black Adam is, traditionally a Shazam villain. They have a long history stretching all the way back to the Golden and Silver Age of comic books. For some more context don’t forget we have a full Geek History Lesson episode on Shazam you can check out as a companion to this week’s Black Adam lesson.
That’s nice and everything, but let’s get to the question: Will Black Adam Fight Shazam on screen?
In an interview that was posted on Twitter by @AjepArts, Zachary Levi's Shazam and Black Adam will someday collaborate on a DC movie project, according to Dwayne Johnson.
As we know, Teth-Adam will make his film debut in Black Adam. Johnson proposed that in order to "respect" both magical heroes, each needed to be introduced in their own movies before meeting:
"It was just a mosh of 'just put them both together because they're both connected.' So that's when I said 'you can't do it like this, we have to respect Shazam and his origin story, that has to be its own movie. Respect Black Adam, this has to be its own movie. Build them up, and then you can do this.'"
Ultimately concluding:
"they're going to happen."
Black Adam is already incorporating aspects from the DCEU's Justice League, Shazam!, and Suicide Squad plots, maybe hinting at what's to come? It’s worth noting Justice League and Suicide Squad have already had crossovers (you’ll remember Batman punching Harley Quinn right in her face), while Shazam has remained fairly isolated and singular by comparison. We think it would be pretty interesting if, like his nemesis, Black Adam also remains fairly isolated following his big screen debut … followed up by a crossover into the larger DCEU by doing battle with Shazam in combat which could draw the attention of the Justice League or whatever a potential new generation of heroes is going to look like.
To pull out and take a macrocosmic view of Black Adam’s involvement in the DCEU: there’s always the chance he is being poised to take on a Thanos-esque status. What with Professor Jason’s favourite Dwayne Johnson quote of all time: