Last week saw Black Adam finally released on screen after 15 years in production. The movie set itself apart from many of the DC and Marvel superhero-related material by introducing an entirely new character to the screen. More often than not, the heroes (or villains) we see on the big screen have already had varying levels of success on the small screen.
However, that is not the case with Black Adam – a character moved straight from the page to the big screen with almost no stops in between. When it comes to Black Adam, there is a lot to discuss, but we’re going to address the biggest elephants in the room: the ending explained, the mid-credits scene and what it means for the future of the DCEU.
Warning! Spoilers follow!
Black Adam Ending Explained
Before jumping into the juicy stuff, we need to get everyone on the same page about the ending. Imbued with the power of Shazam over 5,000 years ago in the city of Kahndaq, Teth-Adam (or Black Adam, if you will) is suddenly awakened by an Archaeologist, Adrianna Tomaz. Adrianna was hunting for the Crown of Sabbac. When she eventually finds it, Intergang jumps her and her brother Karim. In a desperate bid for survival, Adrianna repeats an incantation to try and wake Teth-Adam and succeeds.
Freshly awakened, Black Adam ends up slaughtering most of Intergang before getting wounded by a missile made of Eternium. As expected, Amanda Waller soon finds out about all this. She calls in the Justice Society of America (Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher) to find Black Adam and stop him from going rogue by any means necessary.
Eventually, the Justice Society of America and Adrianna Tomaz end up teaming up to try and convince Black Adam to be a hero and not a villain by explaining that thousands of years ago, Adam was the champion Kahndaq (his homeland), but he lost control of his immense power and destroyed most of it. Black Adam then reveals that he was never Kahndaq’s champion; instead, his son was. In a wild attempt to save his father, Black Adam’s son ended up giving him his power but died in the process, which was the catalyst for Black Adam’s attack on Kahndaq to try and take revenge for his son’s death.
Faced with regret from his past life and actions, Black Adam willingly surrenders himself to the Justice Society of America and gets placed in an underwater prison to keep him from ever losing control again. However, as things often go in Superhero movies, his help is soon required, and Black Adam returns to help the Justice Society of America fight Sabbac, but not before the death of Doctor Fate.
The movie ends with a truce between the Justice Society of America and Black Adam as the Justice Society realizes the importance of having someone on the darker side when they need it. Viewers are then greeted with an iconic shot of Black Adam seated on the throne of Kahndaq before smashing it while proclaiming that the land doesn’t need a ruler. It needs a protector.
Black Adam Mid-Credits Scene Explained
Surprising almost no one while still managing to feel significant is not an easy feat. Yet, that is precisely what Black Adam managed to do by having Henry Cavill’s Superman shows up in the mid-credits scene. In fact, the moment felt so powerful that you’d be forgiven for walking away with the impression that this single cameo was the entire point of Black Adam. If we’re being honest, you probably wouldn’t be wrong.
We see Amanda Waller contacting Black Adam during the mid-credit scene using a drone. In true Amanda Waller style, she tells Black Adam that she will let him remain free – but on her terms. Amanda says that she will allow Black Adam to walk free in his homeland and his homeland alone. If he ever passes Kahndaq’s borders, she will be there to make him regret it. She also informs Black Adam that if she needs to, she will gladly call in a favour and have him “dealt with” by someone on his power level.
Black Adam scoffs at Amanda’s message and warning. As he obliterates the drone, Superman shows up before the credits resume. The message here is clear: Amanda Waller knew Black Adam wasn’t going to lie down and accept her terms. Hence, she already had Superman on standby to deal with him. Why Superman owes Amanda Waller a favour is a question fans will have to wait to have answered.
Black Adam Where To From Here
The big “reveal” from Black Adam won’t be much of a surprise for anyone who has been paying attention to Dwayne Johnson in the leadup to the film’s release. Taking a page out of Tom Hollands’ book, Johnson couldn’t seem to keep quiet. Dwayne Johnson all but confirmed that a brawl between Black Adam and Superman would be in the works weeks before many even knew that Superman would be making an appearance in the film.
However, the impending brawl didn’t happen in this movie, so fans will have to wait for that. Currently, the two most likely places for this death match to happen would be in either Black Adam 2 or the Man of Steel sequel, which is presently in active development. Alternatively, back in 2010, there was a short animated film that saw Shazam and Superman team up to fight Black Adam. This could be the route that the DCEU takes because it would also be a way to get Shazam into the mix.
Talking about Shazam, in a bizarre turn of events, nowhere in the Black Adam movie does it acknowledge that Black Adam is directly linked to Shazam outside of showing that both characters received their powers from the Wizard at the Rock of Eternity. In the comics, Black Adam is often depicted as Shazam’s nemesis. In contrast, Black Adam and Superman have only fought a handful of times in the comics and don’t really have personal vendettas against each other.
Have you been to watch Black Adam at cinemas yet? If so, let us know your thoughts about this entry into the extended DC universe and if you’re excited about a sequel. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should watch the trailer for it here – and try to forget everything you’ve just read.