Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Superman vs. Black Adam teases are setting the Black Adam movie up for failure. The Rock is a box office draw in his own right, and the movie has plenty of additional star power, so Johnson's repeated efforts to hype a Superman vs. Black Adam rivalry is a little confusing.
Johnson has been hyping up a confrontation between his Black Adam and Henry Cavill's Superman since at least 2016. Even The Rock's now well-worn Black Adam catchphrase, "The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change" suggests he's gunning for DC's most powerful heroes; during his 2020 DC Fandome panel he issued it as a warning to other DC superheroes, putting particular emphasis on Superman's name.
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The odd part is Superman isn't in Black Adam unless he has a surprise quick cameo or post-credit scene, but the odds of the movie fulfilling Johnson's hyped Black Adam vs Superman fight are virtually zero. The Rock's repeated Superman teases might generate some additional pre-release interest in the movie, but it's likely to backfire.
The Rock's Superman Teases Have Nothing to Do With the Black Adam Movie
The Rock's long-running Superman teases make Superman one of the biggest talking points around Black Adam. He's been hyping up a confrontation between the two characters, and even posting fan art for years, back even before the Black Adam movie was officially greenlit. The Superman buzz surrounding Black Adam grew to the point that rumors Henry Cavill would appear during Black Adam's San Diego Comic-Con Hall H presentation (which didn't end up happening) became one of the biggest talking points, and Johnson's Superman casting comments during and after the panel didn't help much.
Black Adam includes a number of recognizable (but likely still obscure for many) characters like Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), and the most recent trailer even highlights the return of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), so it's a little odd for The Rock to hype up a Superman confrontation so much instead of hyping up the characters who are actually in the movie. Sure, Superman is far more recognizable than someone like Doctor Fate, but Doctor Fate actually has a sizable role in Black Adam, unlike the Last Son of Krypton.
While a confrontation with Superman might be in the cards for a future movie, it's not happening in Black Adam, meaning Johnson has been marketing a hypothetical future Black Adam movie instead of focusing on the Black Adam origin movie about to hit theaters. Considering the fraught state of the DCEU and uncertainty surrounding the franchise's future canon, Johnson would probably be better off getting audiences invested in his debut as the character instead of trying to get them excited for a matchup in a hypothetical future sequel.
The Rock's Superman Focus Diminishes Shazam and Black Adam Lore
The Rock's Superman hype is also odd because Black Adam isn't a Superman villain. The two have fought on occasion, but he's not considered one of Superman's rivals. It's clear Johnson is trying to position Black Adam as a sort of Superman nemesis because it makes the character's role in the DCEU far more significant, but it comes at the cost of Shazam and the other characters in that corner of the DCEU.
Black Adam is historically a Shazam villain. The two characters even have the same power set. So, for Johnson to totally overlook The Shazamily and play Black Adam as heel to the DCEU Superman also leapfrogs the more sensible Shazam vs Black Adam fight. Even if Black Adam faces off against Shazam first, Johnson's Superman teases give that battle the feeling of a prelude to something bigger, eschewing Black Adam's status as one of Shazam's biggest villains to position him as a tertiary Superman conflict at a time when audiences are begging for an iconic Superman villain like Brainiac or the Superman vs. Darkseid battle teased in Zack Snyder's Justice League.
The move makes both Black Adam and Shazam smaller in the grand scheme when their confrontation would have the potential to elevate both characters to the point where Superman's intervention makes far more sense. Johnson's much-heralded "hierarchy of power" line was created as a means of hyping up Black Adam by elevating the character to Superman's level, but instead of making Black Adam and the Shazamily the champions of their own story, they're now just the small fish in a bigger DCEU pond.
Using Superman to Hype Black Adam Creates a Lose-Lose Scenario For The Rock and WB
It's understandable why Johnson would make such a big deal about Superman. If he can make audiences see Black Adam as a threat to Superman, it raises Black Adam's profile, and possibly even gives the spark of demand needed to get Superman back on the big screen. Unfortunately, while it might help conjure up some pre-release hype for his movie, most of the possible outcomes suggest it'll backfire on Johnson and undermine Black Adam's cinematic debut.
We know Superman doesn't have a major appearance, and certainly not a big fight with Black Adam, so using him to hype the movie creates a couple of potential scenarios. First, if Superman isn't in the movie at all or simply has a quick cameo at the end a la Shazam!, it'll leave audiences frustrated and confused about Johnson's reliance on the character to hype the movie (especially if it's another faceless cameo like Shazam! and Peacemaker). The second possible outcome is the movie has a big Superman surprise up its sleave, such as a reveal that confirms Henry Cavill's return to the character. While this outcome is certainly more enticing, a Superman reveal at the end of the movie has the potential to overshadow the rest of the movie, making Black Adam look like a sideshow. While this is a common play for shared universe fare, particularly popularized by the MCU's post-credit style teases, it makes the rest of the movie a disposable experience that simply serves to deliver the hype for a future film. Granted, the Joker tease at the end of Batman Begins doesn't distract from the rest of the movie, although if Christian Bale spent most of the press tour teasing a Batman and Joker fight, it might have been received a little differently.
Hopefully as marketing for Black Adam picks up it takes the focus off The Rock's Superman, but it might be too late to remove the association at this point. The problem is mostly emblematic of the DCEU's failure to capitalize on any other compelling ideas for Superman in recent years, creating a fanbase so starved for the return of the Man of Steel that it overshadows everything else they do. If Superman's potential inclusion in Black Adam were just one of many ways Superman was being utilized in the DCEU it wouldn't be such a big deal, but thanks to Johnson's teases, it unnecessarily burdens Black Adam's debut with the pressure of re-introducing Superman (who, for all intents and purposes, has nothing to do with Black Adam) after years of the DCEU mismanaging the character.