Dwayne Johnson’s Vision for Black Adam being a major DCU player could lead to Darkseid’s comeback as the franchise’s nemesis. The world construction of Black Adam set up several DCU movies and got the ball rolling for Johnson’s intended clash between the title character and Superman. While Black Adam’s strength and perspective on heroism shifts the hierarchy of power in the franchise, as Johnson has long promised, his big-screen debut also portends Darkseid’s return as the DCU’s most feared villain.
Among the many changes made to Justice League‘s theatrical cut was the complete removal of Darkseid. Zack Snyder’s Justice League reinstated him as the ruler of Apokolips on a quest to remove free will from all sentient life and conquer the multiverse. Darkseid has not physically appeared in the DCU since the Snyder Cut. While Black Adam doesn’t refer directly to him either, primarily introducing the Justice Society of America and setting the stage for Superman’s rumblings with Black Adam, nevertheless it puts some pieces on the table to make Darkseid’s return to the franchise anything but inevitable. .
The Rock’s Black Adam vs. Superman Plans Explained
Dwayne Johnson’s goal to establish Black Adam as Superman’s metahuman rival and ideological adversary had finally laid its foundation stone in the closing credits scene of his eponymous film. After Black Adam is warned by Amanda Waller that he will face dire consequences if he leaves Kahndaq, Superman arrives and introduces the antihero:We have to talkAlthough the scene lasts less than a minute, it already reveals a lot about the nature of Superman’s return with his reference to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and where Johnson wants to take Black Adam to the DCU. In the latter case, that starts with raising the stakes once Black Adam inevitably ignores Waller and Superman’s warnings.
Johnson wants to bring Superman and Black Adam together in a mano-a-mano battle, but the actor also emphasized that this will not happen immediately. As Johnson said, “That is certainly not the next step. We’ve got a lot more long-term stories to tell for that historic one [DCU] showdown and more new characters to settleIt can be concluded from this that Johnson wants the enmity of Superman and Black Adam to unfold and develop in a more elongated way, also bringing in more characters associated with Black Adam and the Justice Society of America. Henry Cavill’s Recovered Since Superman is a key member of the Justice League, Johnson could also suggest that the League’s revitalization in the DCU is a necessary part of those plans. Still, with Black Adam acting as a more ruthless counterpart to Superman rather than an outright adversary, this is where Darkseid’s return starts to make the conversation.
The DCU will need Darkseid sooner or later
The Restoration of Darkseid in Justice League‘s Snyder Cut established him as the ruthless, versatile conqueror that he is, while still commanding Steppenwolf of Apokolips primarily to build him up as the villain of Justice League 2. Although Warner Bros.’ then leadership called the Snyder Cut”a storytelling dead end streetDarkseid’s debut in the film argued for the opposite. Darkseid is the epitome of evil among DC villains and one of the most powerful creatures in existence. The power that Darkseid wields against the Justice League, in addition to his long-awaited film debut finally comes to what’s in the Snyder Cut makes leaving him on the sidelines as untenable a prospect as Superman’s absence from the DCU. As with Cavill’s Superman revival in the Snyder Cut, Darkseid’s arrival is another bell that can’t are undone.
Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson’s positioning of Black Adam as the only creature on Earth capable of holding his own against Superman makes him the ultimate challenge to the Man of Steel, the Justice League, and the Justice Society. While that offers a lot of exciting storytelling possibilities for how Black Adam and Superman face each other, they would also come with a ceiling if Black Adam were the DCU’s main villain. Black Adam’s antihero tendencies clearly prevent this from happening. Additionally, with the Superman-esque extent of Black Adam’s powers, having him as the DCU’s nemesis would leave the franchise with very limited options after his defeat, which would in turn lead to the DCU’s nemesis problem. Only an evildoer of cosmically threatening proportions could truly surpass the epic stakes Johnson is aiming for in pitting Black Adam against Superman, and this is a role Darkseid is most qualified to fill. As for how it could have happened, it could lead to an intriguing reshuffle of where the DCEU was originally headed.
How The Rock’s Black Adam Plans Could Lead To Darkseid’s Return
Although Darkseid is not referenced in Black Adam, Intergang’s presence as the occupiers of Kahndaq is an allusion to him, Intergang comes with Apokoliptian weapons in the comics. This is one of the more direct ways Black Adam ensures the return of Darkseid, with Intergang possibly getting weapons from Apokolips in the future – or secretly already having them. On the other hand, the scourge of another DCU hero’s return in Amanda Waller’s warning to Black Adam also hints at the gradual canonization of the Snyder Cut in the franchise. The role of Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s Justice League his only DCU appearance to date would effectively solidify this in the event of his return, bringing Knightmare’s future and the League’s final showdown with him back to the table as real possibilities. With Darkseid looming again, Dwayne Johnson’s plans could potentially lead to a intersection of his Black Adam roadmap with Snyder’s outline for the Justice League prosecute.
Given Snyder’s current Netflix commitments and the unique situation of the release of the Snyder Cut in the first place, any revival of its intended Justice League follow-up plans would require some adjustment – even Snyder says his Justice League continued whiteboards are not quite up to date with how they would theoretically be made. Johnson’s take on Black Adam’s fight with Superman might make that easier. A staunch opponent of injustice and oppression, Black would no doubt see Adam Darkseid’s quest to strip all free will from the multiverse with the Anti-Life Equation as something he must resist. The Knightmare timeline and the League’s stance against Darkseid could integrate Black Adam into both, going from enemy to friend of Superman and the Justice League to take on Darkseid, with the Justice Society and other heroes involved in the plan of Johnson had been introduced.
Superman’s extended absence from the DCU is something Johnson has fought for years to undo. Of Black Adam Finally reaching that goal, Henry Cavill’s Superman comeback has opened up a world of new possibilities once thought impossible for the DCU, such as Ben Affleck seemingly on his way to a Batman comeback. At the same time, Johnson saw the rivalry between Black Adam and Superman as a pro wrestling style conflict, with Black Adam being Superman’s philosophical polar opposite without being an actual villain. In everything from the introduction of Intergang to the positioning of Black Adam as a formidable yet non-evil force that only Superman can stop, Johnson has also quietly set up the return of the DCU’s greatest villain. Whatever plans will unfold after all Black Adam all roads eventually lead back to Darkseid.
