Black Adam probably wouldn’t have happened without the influence of The Rock, but the character would have worked a lot better with another actor.
Black Adam was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s passion project, yet the film would have been superior without him. Although The Rock allegedly spent years trying to get the movie done, the finished product was a mixed bag, generally loved by DCU fans but received with unfavorable reviews and disappointing box office performance. Despite the fact that Black Adam is a minor DC character compared to Superman and Batman, The Rock’s portrayal of the character failed miserably.
Black Adam is based on the notoriously evil Shazam villain from DC Comics, although the DCU’s iteration of the character is a pretty different interpretation. The Rock’s Black Adam is an antihero from the ancient kingdom of Kahndaq who was gifted incredible powers by the wizard Shazam. However, after being gifted his powers, Black Adam was imprisoned in a tomb, only to be rescued in the modern day. Although he initially feuds with the heroes of the Justice Society, Black Adam eventually becomes a hero, defeating the demon Sabbac and changing his ways from a killer to a king.
Black Adam Needs To Show His Villainous Side In A Way Dwayne Johnson Won’t
While Black Adam frequently switches between hero and villain in the comics, the character’s villainous interpretation is definitely the more well-regarded version – something The Rock just won’t do. Although he constantly claims to irreverently kill people, Black Adam’s kill count actually seems less than Superman’s in Man of Steel. On top of that, The Rock’s carefully curated public image and the rules about not losing fights established in Fast & Furious make Black Adam an even less interesting character. He can pretend he’s a villain, but he’s really not that bad, and even if he starts to act worse, no DCU heroes can put him in his place.
The Rock claims to have a deep love for Black Adam, but the DCU’s version isn’t anything like the character from the comics. Instead, the character is basically just Dwayne Johnson as a gritty superhero. The character acts like almost every other character The Rock has played, lacking the villainy that makes the comic version so interesting. While Dwayne Johnson may have been able to play a proper Black Adam earlier in his career, the character really needs a more risky actor to be properly portrayed.
Black Adam Probably Wouldn’t Have Happened At All Without The Rock
While the DCU’s version of Black Adam isn’t the best, The Rock is the only reason Black Adam happened. The Rock has long wanted a Black Adam movie to happen, and without his star power, a character as unknown as Black Adam wouldn’t have gotten his own movie. He could have potentially appeared in a Shazam! movie, but the character definitely wouldn’t have gotten as much of a focus. So, it seems like the only options were The Rock’s subpar Black Adam, or nothing at all.
Soucre: screenrant.com
