In Black Adam, ex-slave Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson) sparks a revolution in Kahndaq. He’s free in a new world, but a little distracted by his past as a slave. Still, he can’t help but acknowledge the atrocities committed by Intergang, which deplete the nation’s natural resources and turn it into a blood-soaked country ruled by criminals. Adam wants revenge because this kind of oppression and exploitation destroyed his family and all his people centuries before. In the end, however, the Justice Society intervenes, making it clear that while he sees them as voiceless aliens, he sees them as liberators and peacemakers, also creating a tense and fragile political conflict. Fortunately, both sides agree as an explosive ending unfolds, bringing into play a demonic entity that could destroy the DC Extended Universe.

Black Adam Gives up to the Justice Society

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Adam battles Ishmael, an intergang general, when the thug kidnaps Adrianna’s son, Amon, in exchange for Sabbac’s crown. During the fight, he uses his powers to turn all villains to ashes and ensure that Ishmael cannot use the crown’s power and ascend to divinity. Coincidentally, in his day Adam killed Ishmael’s ancestor, King Ahk-Ton,  for attempting the same. He brings history full circle and ensures that the bloodthirsty dynasty goes to bed. But after the end of the Empire Adam finally has a heart-to-heart talk with Hawkman in the palace ruins and tells him why he always comes from a place of anger and hate.

He confesses that the statue in the city is not him and that the legend the scholars wrote about was wrong. He wasn’t the champion of the sorcerers on the Rock of Eternity, it was his son Hurst. Child as champion, making him a powerful brute but causing the king to kill Adam’s wife. Hurut came and transferred his powers, rescuing a wounded and dying Adam, only to be instantly felled with arrows by the king’s assassins.

This made an angry Adam go to the palace and ruin everything. As such, the sorcerers imprisoned him for his sins, which is why Adriana realises that she never freed him from a grave: Kahndaq’s cave was his prison. But Hawkman feels that Adam finally feels at peace. Adam then speaks the word “Shazam” and transforms into his frail human form, allowing Amanda Waller’s forces to imprison him in a snowy cave.

Black Adam Brings a Demonic Sabbac to Light

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Sadly, Sabbac finds a way to bring him back to life. It turns out that the inscriptions on the crown suggest that death is the way to harness the relic’s power, with Ishmael wanting Adam to kill him all along. It ends in hell. Dimension, where the evil gods think he is their champion. Sabbac is sent back to Earth, where he plans to take the throne and rule with a flaming fist. However, the presence of the red devil alerts the Justice Society and they return for a new war.

on Hawkman’s Thanagarian ship. Unfortunately, their ship is hit by the demon, and the heroes battle this deadly god as they crash-land on the streets. At this point, Doctor Fate, who has been seeing the future throughout the film, realizes that unless he changes his vision of Hawkman’s death, it will come true. And he does it by locking his allies out of the palace before battling Sabbac with his mystical clones. Unfortunately, fate dies in the process, but leaves the world with a lasting gift and telepathically asks Adam to be her savior.

Fate frees Adam, who fends off the Task Force X guards before swimming to the surface. He heals his gunshot wounds,  says his magical catchphrase again, and assumes his muscular, lightning-fast form. The anti-hero flies into a Kahndaq, now overrun by skeletal zombies, and saves Amon from a falling statue. Then Adam challenges Sabbac and intends to end the entity forever.

Black Adam Proves He’s a Protector, Not a Hero

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Adam and Hawkman are the last two members of the opposition standing as Sabbac unleashes his anger. Surprisingly, the demon impales Hawkman, making it seem like fate’s sacrifice was in vain. However, Hawkman wore the Helm of Destiny and honored a ruse. Kent Nelson showed her their years of collaboration. Sabbac killed a clone and allowed more Hawkman clones to arrive and subdue the tyrant. This gives Adam a chance to grab Sabbac by the horns and take to the skies with him, where, goaded by Hawkman,  finally unleashes his full power.

But this time it is controlled as it melts Sabbac’s head and can split the villain in half and drop his lava-like body to the ground. Impressed and relieved, Hawkman eventually leaves with Cyclone and Atom Smasher. But it does. Ask Adrianna and Amon to keep Adam in check as he can tell the antihero is still a loose cannon. Adam finally sits on the throne and contemplates leading the people who now fully support him. He knows he can’t trust other governments and their armed forces, so as a ruler he can at least turn people away.

But the champion decides to destroy the throne as it is a symbol raised on the backs of the poor for centuries. He also admits that he is no hero, but that he can give his country what it needs: a protector. Adam ends the film with a somber and intimidating look, foreshadowing any intruder to be met with hostility and ruthless aggression.

Black Adam Is Shazam’s Predecessor

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As Black Adam explains, Teth-Adam received his power from the Wizarding Council itself. In the comics, he was chosen by the wizard Shazam, who chose Billy Batson as his champion 5,000 years later. Unlike Billy, Teth-Adam received his powers from the Egyptian gods: Shu, Heru, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen. However, Shazam’s power came from many heroes: Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The comics first saw Teth-Adam corrupted by his power and becoming a supervillain.

In the film, Teth-Adam wasn’t Shazam’s chosen champion; Instead, his son was chosen and power was later given to Teth-Adam to protect him. Teth-Adam then takes his family’s death revenge and was imprisoned for 5,000 years. Unlike Billy Batson’s Shazam, Black Adam is much more brutal and violent. They have the same icon and similar costumes and even identical superpowers, they are not the same.

Is a Black Adam Shazam Crossover Happening?

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The answer is yes. Black Adam actor Dwayne Johnson recently confirmed that the crossover between his godly anti-hero and Shazam “is going to happen.” However, they first had to properly prove each superhero’s origin story. Previously, Johnson revealed that Black Adam’s original screenplay originally “had  [Black Adam and Shazam] laid their origin stories into a single film.” The actor had to fight hard for the two characters to “have their movies.”

In the comics, the paths of the two divine super beings of the same origin have crossed many times. Black Adam went toe-to-toe with the Shazam family and challenged them over their shared power source. Billy was just a kid learning about his superpower. Black Adam was an ancient being. Shazam!

Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg previously confirmed that the showdown between Black Adam and Shazam would not take place in the second part of Shazam, as Johnson got his standalone film to set the tone for Black Adam and Shazam specifying .2 would do the same. However, it would be possible to see it in Shazam 3 or Black Adam 2.

Read More: Black Adam 2: Release Date Cast and Will there be a Black Adam Sequel?