Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia throws down the gauntlet by saying that the anti-hero will be on the same level as Superman himself.
In an interview with ComicBook, Garcia spoke about Black Adam’s (Dwayne Johnson) power levels and where he stacks against the mightiest superhero of them all.
“The big screen version of him is he’s very true to the comic books. He is very, very powerful. I mean, however class tier you want to put it, but he’s like… what did you say, plus 100 tons easy. You know what I’m saying? He’s Superman level powers for sure, with a magic aspect to it. Super speed, electricity, extremely invulnerable, the whole thing. He’s the full gamut like you would see in the comic books and he is a presence that when it comes into the DC universe, he gets everyone’s attention.”
Black Adam is one of the most powerful characters in all of DC Comics. He’s fought Shazam many times, as well as Superman, and half the DC Universe’s heroes at one time, so it’s not an overstatement to build up his superpowers. There are many similarities between him and the Man of Steel, and fans are already dreaming about a live-action showdown, but an advantage Black Adam has is that he’s magically empowered by Egyptian gods.
In the Black Adam trailer, audiences get to see some of that power in action as Black Adam takes to the skies at high speeds, smashes the wing of a plane, and even withstands a missile. It comes to a point where the Justice Society of America, with members Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) have to intervene to try and calm him down.
Garcia is also aware that superpowers are in the eye of the writer, and how it changes depending on who’s in control of the narrative.
“I always love to say every character is as powerful as the author wants them to be. That’s why Batman can beat Superman fight. If Frank Miller’s behind a desk, that’s the beauty of storytelling. In our world Black Adam, he’s up with Superman. Those are the guys, him, Superman, Wonder Woman, that’s that level. But he’s the kind of guy that one of his great advantages is that he does not pull back. When you have that level of rage in your combat, where you have guys like Superman who are pulling punches or so forth. You don’t get that with Black Adam. So that gives you an idea of his power.”
The other thing about the anti-hero is that he doesn’t hold back, which makes him even more dangerous. Black Adam was once Teth-Adam, an enslaved man who was killed and then reborn, imbued with magical strength. He has a different view on justice and vengeance and he has no qualms with going over the line if he feels it’s necessary… and he often believes it to be necessary.
Johnson is known for saying, “The hierarchy of power in the DC universe is about to change,” and he couldn’t be any more correct.
Black Adam arrives in theaters Oct. 21.