Could DC's Hourman Movie Tie into Black Adam?

The tapestry of the DC Films universe seems to be changing on a daily basis nowadays, between some [...]

By Jenna Anderson

The tapestry of the DC Films universe seems to be changing on a daily basis nowadays, between some major casting announcements for Warner Bros.' upcoming blockbusters, as well as the release of long-awaited installments like Zack Snyder's Justice League. Along the way, new projects are continuing to be greenlit by the studio, including an Hourman film, which was confirmed to be in the works last week. The project, which will follow some version of the DC Comics legacy character of the same name, will be co-produced by Warner Bros., DC, and Cherin Entertainment, with San Andreas and Hot Wheels scribes Gavin Games and Neil Widener writing the script. While details surrounding the Hourman film are relatively scarce — including what pocket of the DC multiverse it will fall into, as well as which incarnation of Hourman the film will center on — the groundwork could already be in place to connect the film to another upcoming DC Comics blockbuster, Black Adam.

Three versions of Hourman exist across DC Comics, beginning with Rex Tyler, who held the mantle in the Golden Age of Comics. The general concept — that Hourman can use "Miraclo", a chemical compound created by Rex, to gain superpowers for precisely one hour — has since extended to the multiple other versions of the character, Rex's son, Rick Tyler, as well as an android named Matthew Tyler. Outside of that legacy aspect, one of the biggest things that Hourman has been associated with over the years has been his membership to the Justice Society of America, the very first superhero team that began in the Golden Age.

As those who have been following even the most tangential elements of Black Adam know, the film is expected to showcase the live-action film debut of the Justice Society. With principal casting for Black Adam's main JSA members now locked down — Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan) — it's already become clear that the team will be multi-generational, as opposed to being within the same age range. This plays well within the comic legacy of the JSA itself, as the team has historically operated in multiple different eras, often with legacy versions of its previous members — and it could play directly into Hourman, if the solo film wanted it to.

Assuming that the JSA existed in some capacity before the events of Black Adam, there are still a lot of members of that "Golden Age" ensemble that are unknown, outside of (maybe) a younger Dr. Fate and a previous reincarnation of Hawkman. Given Hourman's long history with the team in the comics, it's easy to picture him as part of that older live-action roster — something that could easily be explored through the Hourman film, if it decided to follow Rex Tyler's earlier exploits as a superhero. If the film mainly followed a younger Rick Tyler in the present day, there could still be potential to showcase that era of the JSA — the original incarnation of the team being part of the legend of Hourman that Rick has to live up to, and a newer incarnation of the JSA that he could join.

Granted, if Hourman ends up being an entirely standalone DC film akin to 2019's Joker, then that's awesome and worth celebrating in its own right. But the legacy of the JSA (and the fact that Black Adam producer and star Dwayne Johnson starred in the aforementioned San Andreas) definitely create an avenue for Hourman to connect with his fellow team members — and potentially create a much richer cinematic universe in the process.

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