Shazam! star Asher Angel says “we’ll see” if Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is mightier than the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill) when picking Superman as the victor of a super-powered showdown between the two “very powerful” metahumans. Johnson’s Teth-Adam is “one of the most powerful superheroes, anti-heroes, villains, whatever you want to call him,” according to the Black Adam star and producer, who says his character has “the same powers” as the super-strong and near-invincible Superman. Black Adam is granted great power by the same ancient wizard, Shazam (Djimon Hounsou), who endows teen Billy Batson (Angel) with the magical ability to transform into an adult-sized superhero (Zachary Levi).
“That’s tough. I don’t know, I want to go with the good guy. I want to go with Superman, but I just don’t know. Black Adam is very powerful,” Angel told the Geek House Show when asked who comes out on top of a Superman-Black Adam bout. “It’s two very powerful characters, so I think I’m gonna say Superman. I’m gonna say Henry Cavill. No offense, Dwayne Johnson, you do your thing.”
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Angel added, “I guess we’ll see. We’ll see if he proves me wrong, but I’m gonna go with Superman right now.”
Johnson says his morally gray character is “blessed by magic with the powers equal to Superman,” but he doesn’t ” toe the mark or walk the line.” Instead of truth, justice, and the American way, Johnson’s one-of-a-kind superman does it the Black Adam way.
During the first virtual DC FanDome in August, Johnson teased a showdown with Superman after Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia said a meeting between the two would be “powerful.”
“I think the DC Universe is a wonderful universe and we’re open to everything,” Garcia told ComicBook.com last November. “We have big aspirations for it. We’re friends with Henry. [Dwayne] and Henry are friends, it’s a huge comic book brand as well. And I always just loved the idea. Who knows? But man, Black Adam for Superman is really cool. That’d be really powerful.”
Levi, who returns in Shazam! Fury of the Gods in 2023, previously speculated that “doppelgängers” Shazam and Black Adam would cross paths in either a Shazam! 3 or a Black Adam 2. Johnson’s first DC Films production pits him against the Justice Society of America, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Adam Smasher (Noah Centineo).
“He’s doing his deal, the Black Adam stand-alone, and we’re gonna do our sequel, and we’ll see what goes from there,” Levi said in September. Levi is also on record saying he would love a “super awesome” showdown with Superman in a Shazam! sequel.
Cavill returns in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, releasing exclusively on HBO Max in 2021. Black Adam is currently undated; Warner Bros. releases Shazam! Fury of the Gods on June 2, 2023.
