Black Adam: What That Credits Scene Cameo Means for the DCEU

Warning: full spoilers for the Black Adam movie ahead!

At the end of DC’s new anti-hero movie Black Adam there is a mid-credits scene, as is to be expected with modern superhero movies. This one is a doozy, and is sure to excite fans of a certain DC icon, so we’re going to detail what happens in the scene and explain how it impacts the future of the DCEU.

What Happens in the Black Adam Credits Scene

The film wraps up with Black Adam (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) coming to an agreement of sorts with the Justice Society and Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) that he will remain in Khandaq not as its ruler but as its protector. However, the mid-credits scene shows there’s someone else who wants to have a say in the matter. 

In the stinger scene, we see a drone fly up to Black Adam in Kahndaq and project a hologram of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), leader of Task Force X aka the Suicide Squad. It’s Waller’s job to keep tabs on superhuman threats, and earlier in the film, she’s the one who consulted Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) on Black Adam’s awakening in the present, and of course it was her hidden superhuman prison where Black Adam was locked up after surrendering. In the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, Waller was able to get the green light to start Task Force X by pitching it as the answer to the next Superman-level threat. Well, now that threat has arrived, and it’s Black Adam.

Over the course of the film, Black Adam proved without a doubt that he is a being of considerable destructive power, but one with a soft spot for his home country and its people, so Waller uses that to her advantage. She dictates terms to Black Adam, giving him free reign over his homeland, but warns that he is never to go past Kahndaq’s borders, or else. To back up her words, she threatens that, if she has to, she’ll call in a favor to have him dealt with by someone on his power level.

Naturally, Black Adam isn’t the least bit intimidated, and he responds by saying there is no one else on his power level and he destroys the drone in a smokey explosion, ending the conversation. But that’s not the end of the scene… A figure descends from the sky, lands in the smoke cloud, and walks out of the haze to reveal it’s none other than Superman (Henry Cavill).

Clearly, Waller knew that Black Adam wouldn’t respond well to her terms and already had Superman on standby. Why the Man of Steel owes Waller a favor is a question for another time.

Superman approaches Black Adam and mentions how he can’t remember the last time the planet got so nervous about the arrival of a super being, and that they need to talk. Black Adam’s expression changes to show a look of intrigue on his face, but the scene ends before we hear his response. Considering how Black Adam made a punching bag out of Hawkman the entire movie, and even the final villain Sabbacc was dispatched without too much effort, he’s probably excited to finally meet someone who is a worthy challenger. 

When Will Black Adam Fight Superman?

Now, this credits scene won’t be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to Johnson’s promotion of the film leading up to release where he all but confirms a setup for a brawl between Black Adam and Superman. In fact, years ago Johnson commissioned a piece of art by BossLogic showing Black Adam battling with Superman, so this is something he’s been working towards for a long time. And now it seems it may actually become a reality.

As for where we’ll get to see this Black Adam versus Superman fight, that’s currently unknown. The most natural place for it to occur would be Black Adam 2, but a sequel has yet to be announced. A recent article from The Hollywood Reporter said that the studio is actively developing a Man of Steel sequel starring Cavill, so perhaps Black Adam will be the villain of that picture. The future of the DCEU is murky at best, with no clear roadmap, and big shakeups happening at a moment’s notice (RIP Batgirl), so we’ll just have to wait and see when these two titans will eventually clash.

Curiously, the Black Adam film doesn’t explicitly acknowledge that the character is linked to Zachary Levi’s Shazam, aside from showing they both got their powers from the Wizard (Djimon Hounsou) at the Rock of Eternity. That’s an odd choice given Black Adam has long been Shazam’s nemesis in the comics and they have a shared origin and powers. Certainly, we would expect Waller and the Justice Society to be aware of Shazam after the events of his 2019 film, so it’s strange they don’t turn to him and, instead, Waller chose Superman to confront him. That may end up backfiring because in the comics Superman is just as weak to magic as he is Kryptonite. 

Even more curious is the fact that Black Adam and Superman have only fought a handful of times in the comics, and they don’t have any sort of personal rivalry. With that in mind, it almost seems odd for Johnson to so adamantly wish for the two characters to fight. Of course, Johnson is probably less worried about the fine details and is more concerned with having his DC character take on the top dog in the DC Universe so he can enjoy all of the hype and prestige that goes with it.

There was a 2010 animated film titled Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam that saw Shazam and Superman team up to fight Black Adam. That’s a potential route the DCEU could take as not only would it get Shazam in the mix but prove Black Adam is so powerful that it takes two super-men to match his strength. 

Are you excited for the Man in Black to take on the Man of Steel? Let us know in the comments. We did our own breakdown of who we thought would win in a fight between Black Adam and Superman. Be sure to check out our review of Black Adam.