Black Adam has officially landed in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU)! A slave who became a god who must now contend with a new world of heroes. Set in the fictional kingdom of Kahndaq, the film explores the origins of Teth-Adam, how he acquired his divine abilities and his journey to becoming the nation’s protector. Along the way, he must also contend with villains like the criminal organisation Intergang, and heroes like Hawkman and his Justice Society of America (JSA). Will he be the doom of the world or will he be its saviour? If you’ve seen the film then you know the answer to that question. You may be wondering how his actions will further impact the future of the DCEU and where it’s heading from here.
Strap in guys because we’re breaking down the ending of “Black Adam”, the mid-credit scene of the film and how the DCEU franchise will go forward from here!
An Ending and a New Beginning
After defeating the forces of Ishmael Gregor as the demonic Sabbac and the forces of Intergang, the city of Kahndaq is now safe. The JSA leave Kahndaq on good terms with Adam, entrusting the city to him. From there, we see Black Adam proceed to go and destroy the throne, refusing to take up the role of ruler. Rather he chooses to be its protector. Before the post-credit scene, the film ends with Adrianna’s son asking Teth-Adam what name he’ll now take in this new world he will now defend. Boom, the screen cuts to the title: Black Adam!
Right, so it’s clear that Adrianna, played by Sarah Shahi, and her son played a significant part in Adam’s journey to becoming a better man and with the big man planning on sticking around Kahndaq, we could see their relationship develop a more romantic, and superheroic, component. The film’s character arc with Adam was heavily adapted from DC’s 2006 comic book series entitled “52” in which he saves Adrianna from Intergang. As the story goes on, she spurs Adam to become help Kahndaq. In turn, gives her the Amulet of Isis which grants Adrianna the power of the Egyptian goddess in the issue “52: Week Twelve”! Now, both Adam and Adrianna aren’t exactly an item yet but if there’s a sequel in the works, we very well could see Adam fly into battle with Adrianna assuming the identity of Isis.
By far, the saddest part of the film was seeing Doctor Fate’s host, Kent Nelson played by Pierce Brosnan, die at the hands of Sabbac. He was easily the most powerful member of the Justice Society and one of DC’s greatest magic users. That being said, the Helmet of Fate is capable of bonding with another host that can handle Nabu’s power. After Kent Nelson’s passing in the comics, the mantle of Doctor Fate passed to an Egyptian medical student named Khalid Nassour, who is also the grand-nephew of the late Kent Nelson. Currently, he’s still occupying the role of Doctor Fate in the comics, last appearing in DC’s “Dark Crisis” event.
Furthermore, we now know that “Black Adam” is set after the events of 2017’s “Justice League” (the Joss Whedon theatrical version). So this means that beyond the heroes of the League and Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad, the JSA is still very much active. In an interview with “Black Adam” producer Hiram Garcia with Collider, he mentioned that he expressed his love for the DC universe and would be interested in further exploring the stories of the individual characters of the film in future properties. He also stated that “there’s 100% a vision of what we’d like to be doing in a multiple picture aspect when it comes to Black Adam and the JSA.”
It would be an exciting prospect to see the JSA grow from just Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone to include more characters like Black Canary, the Spectre, Mister Terrific and or even Black Adam himself. At some point in the comics, he did join the JSA, if only for a brief period. Perhaps, we could also see Doctor Fate return to the big screen with Khalid as the new host for Nabu? If all goes well at the box office, the DCEU is about to get a whole lot bigger!
Mid-Credits Scene Explained
Look we love Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson but like little Tom Holland, the man just can’t keep a secret, leaking the film’s biggest cameo! So yes, Superman, our boy Henry Cavill has found time from his busy schedule as Geralt of Rivia to appear in the film as the one and only Superman! The circumstances of his arrival though, we find quite intriguing. The mid-credit scene of the film sees Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the commanding officer of the Suicide Squad, sending a drone to Adam.
The drone then projects a hologram of Waller warning Adam to stay in Kahndaq or else he will not live to regret it. Adam challenges Waller saying no one on Earth can stop him. Waller replies by saying she can call in a favour for friends who aren’t from this world. Adam accepts the challenge before destroying the drone. Sure enough, Henry Cavill’s Superman appears in the room, wearing an updated version of his suit. He acknowledges Adam’s power and how he’s made the world “nervous”. Beyond that, there is no post-credit scene worth sticking around for.
In an interview with Cinemablend, the Rock has declared that he fully intends on making a “Black Adam v. Superman” film in the future. To that, we have to say: Okay…please be good. Full disclosure, we were not fans of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”. It was an utter mess in terms of pacing and storytelling, not to mention that to this day the “Martha” meme has yet to fully die out. That being said, we are utterly stoked about Cavill returning back to the DCEU. Beyond the match-up between just Superman and Black Adam, the Rock has also expressed that he is more than happy to team up with the Suicide Squad and the Justice League.
So is all this talk about Black Adam joining up with some of DC’s most iconic teams just all talk to get the fans hyped up? Well, as of now, Black Adam is still an official member of the Justice League. Arguably at some point during the “Dark Crisis” event, he was technically the only surviving member of the League! He’s been part of the team as far back as 2021, in spite of the fact that he and Superman have butted heads on more than a few occasions.
In Issue 59 of the “Justice League” comic line under the Infinite Frontier relaunch of DC Comics, we see that Adrianna played a huge role in Adam’s change of character. So with Adrianna Tomaz appearing in the “Black Adam” film, we could see her similarly drive him to become more than just Kahndaq’s protector. He could join the ranks of the Justice League! This probably won’t happen anytime soon but the pieces to have him play a larger role in the DCEU are there. Also, we’re pretty sure Warner Bros. can’t resist the prospect of having the Rock fight alongside Henry Cavill in a future Justice League film. The amount of star power there would break the world.
“Black Adam” is now out in theatres today!
