Black Adam’s History with Superman – When God-Like Beings Collide
The mid-credit scene in Black Adam dropped a bit of a bombshell that will change the DCEU. Do these two super-beings have a comic book rivalry?
Black Adam is a movie for superhero action fans – lots of fights, explosions, and CG spectacle. It’s formulaic as all get out, but is plenty of fun and offers excitement for the folks it’s aimed at. It’s not a bad first big-screen outing for the character. You can check out the One of Us review here.
Spoilers for the Black Adam Mid-Credit Scene – Not the Movie – Below
via Warner Bros.
The mid-credit scene brings the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman. It isn’t really a surprise if you’ve been keeping track – it’s been rumored since SDCC. DC blabbed about it last Thursday to sell tickets (the movie pulled in $140m worldwide over the weekend).
Yeah, #BlackAdam is going to cause some conversation. Experience it in theaters Friday 10/21. Get your tickets now: https://t.co/daugdlMCZD pic.twitter.com/ZERsgk3BMl
— DC (@DCComics) October 20, 2022
It does tie Gunn’s movies and Snyder’s movies together. Before we go any further, let’s get this out of the way: it’s not going to bring the Snyderverse back. DC has said they’re done, Snyder is working on a sci-fi epic with Netflix. This just brings the existing DCEU projects together, which is something that’s been talked about since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Black Adam & Superman’s History
While the two characters have been part of DC for decades, they didn’t really interact till more recently – and Shazam is usually part of the equation. The three god-like beings are the strongest beings in DC’s pantheon and pitting them against one another can be high drama on the page. All of that said, a direct rivalry between Superman and Black Adam would be new.
They’ve fought in the comics less than a dozen times. Including a slugfest between Ultraman (Superman’s evil Earth-3 counterpart) and in one Supergirl saved the day by transforming Black Adam into Teth-Adam with a magic staff. There are often a lot of multiverse and end-of-the-world shenanigans (including Crisis) involved as well.
DC Comics Presents #49 (1982)
On-screen, the pair met in the animated short Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam as part of DC Showcase. Shazam/Billy Batson is also part of the battle. Taking cues from this story would make for a good start to a big-screen fight.
There’s not a lot to work off of for a full-blown rivalry, but if they’re starting that fresh the possibilities are near endless. Maybe we’ll get to see the formation of a new team when Shazam! Fury of the Gods comes out next March.
