We’re just a few months away from the release of Black Adam, a movie that has been poised to change the hierarchy of power within the live-action DC universe. In addition to introducing Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam, the film will feature a supporting cast of multiple members of the Justice Society of America, from Golden Age mainstays to newer heroes. Among them will be Maxine Hunkel / Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), a character with a unique DC Comics legacy — one that, if the movie’s recent tie-in comic is any indication, seems to be reflected in her live-action counterpart. Spoilers for Black Adam — The Justice Society Files: Cyclone #1 from Cavan Scott, Maria Luara Sanapo, Arif Prianto, and Becca Carey below! Only look if you want to know!
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A prelude to the events of Black Adam, the main story of this comic sheds a bit of light on Maxine’s status quo, as she protects her city from super-powered beings who are addicted to Tar. When readers meet Maxine, she reveals that, between her childhood and now, she was “infected with crazy nanites by an even crazier scientist,” which led to her getting superpowers.
While this issue does not hint at one part of Maxine’s comic-accurate story — particularly, the fact that her grandma, Abigail “Ma” Hunkel, was the original Red Tornado — the nanites detail is directly from that storyline. In the comics, Maxine gets kidnapped at the age of six by T.O. Morrow, the evil scientist responsible for the creation of the android versions of Red Tornado. Morrow injected Maxine with nanites, which ultimately gave her the powers of wind manipulation and flight.
Black Adam is directed by Jungle Cruise‘s Jaume Collett-Serra, and will also feature Aldis Hodge (Underground, The Invisible Man) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (To All the Boys I Love Before, Charlie’s Angels) as Atom Smasher, Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye, Mamma Mia!) as Doctor Fate, and Sarah Shahi (The L Word, Sex/Life) as Adrianna Tomaz, with Uli Latukefu, Marwan Kenzari, Mohammed Amer, James Cusati-Moyer, and Bodhi Sabongui have also been cast in currently unknown roles.
“Noah is amazing, man,” producer Hiram Garcia in an interview last year. “He is so impressive, so funny, and he really brings Atom Smasher to life in a way that I think is going to be very unique to what comic book fans are used to. I think Quintessa does the same thing. What they’re able to do with Cyclone. And I think Cyclone’s a character that not many fans are as familiar with, which is always really appealing to us because we love to introduce these characters. They have a fascinating backstory with relatives that they’re attached to, with experiences that they’ve lived to get to the point they are. So they both did an amazing job. They had amazing chemistry from the first moment they read together.”
Black Adam is set to be released exclusively in theaters on October 21st.
