Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been ready to play Black Adam since late 2014, but rather than debut in Shazam, it's rumored that the black-garbed, lightning bolt-adorned antagonist will first appear in one of the DC Extended Universe's ensemble pieces. Last week it was reported that Black Adam will show up in Suicide Squad 2 as a weapon of mass destruction who the team is forced to take out. Assuming this information is legitimate, it sets up an interesting scenario for the officially-designated Task Force X in their next appearance.
While we're still eagerly awaiting the day when Black Adam battles Shazam in a theatrical setting, using the former, magically-charged character as Suicide Squad 2's villain would be an excellent decision from director Gavin O'Connor, writer Adam Cozad and the rest of the creative team. Here are some of the reasons why we're hoping the man once known as Teth-Adam will do battle with this group of government-sanctioned super villain operatives.
It Sets Up The Black Adam Movie
Let's get the obvious reason out of the way. While Black Adam's movie is one of the many DCEU movies that's unscheduled. the character's possible inclusion in Suicide Squad 2 suggests that DC and Warner Bros want to release his cinematic adventure sooner rather than later. The Shazam mythology will officially be introduced to the big screen in early 2019 with the Shazam movie. Originally the World's Mightiest Mortal was supposed to clash with Black Adam in that movie, but those plans were scrapped, and their conflict will be saved for another time. Nevertheless, Shazam could pave the way for Black Adam's introduction in Suicide Squad 2, and that sequel subsequently gets moviegoers prepared for Black Adam's solo outing, whether it's a prequel origin story or takes place after his confrontation with the Squad.
He Has History With The Team
While Black Adam is primarily connected to Shazam in the comics, he's also spent some time as both an ally and an enemy to the Suicide Squad. During 1994's War of the Gods event, Black Adam joined forces with Task Force X to launch an attack on Circe's fortress. It was a temporary alliance, but one that swayed the outcome of this conflict. Over a decade later, the Squad was sent to attack Black Adam and his Family when the Kahndaqian started to grow unstable, which then led into the World War III miniseries. So it's not like Black Adam is being shoehorned into Suicide Squad 2 just so DC can introduce the character as soon as possible. He may not be a "regular" in that corner of the DC universe, but at least there's history on the printed page that lays the groundwork for his battle with the team on the big screen.
It Ups The Stakes In A Fitting Way
Whether or not you think it was a good idea for the first Suicide Squad movie to have the team battle Enchantress and Incubus for their first mission, the story concluded with them saving the world, as their superhero adversaries do on a regular basis. So where do they go from there? Fortunately, Black Adam is one of those threats that can raise the stakes in an effective way. With power levels matching Superman and a desire to bring order to the entire world under his rule, Black Adam makes for a significantly more compelling antagonist, especially since like the modern comics, Dwayne Johnson's version of the character will be depicted as an anti-hero rather than an outright villain. He's not pure evil, but he's also someone who needs to be stopped. And because Black Adam is so powerful, it means that the Squad will need to add some heavy-hitters to their ranks. Bullets, boomerangs and a sword that traps souls won't be enough this time around.
It Boosts The Sequel's Star Power
Although Suicide Squad featured an assortment of talented actors, arguably the only A-lister on the cast was Will Smith playing Deadshot. Margot Robbie certainly came close, although it could be argued that she didn't reach that tier until after folks saw her performance as Harley Quinn. In any case, there's no question that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster stars right now, so if he does pop up in Suicide Squad 2, he'll bring a a lot of star power with him, which would obviously be beneficial to the sequel. Johnson has such a dedicated fanbase that even folks who aren't particularly DC movie fans may check out Suicide Squad 2 just to see him in action as Black Adam.
It Takes The Squad International
While Suicide Squad's main action was set in Midway City, the 2016 blockbuster visited several other locations in the United States to introduce its principal protagonists. But if Black Adam will indeed be causing trouble in Suicide Squad 2, that likely means that the team will visit Kahndaq, Adam's home country. When Black Adam gained his powers thousands of years ago, he was motivated to free the Kahndaqian people from oppression and tyranny, which ironically meant taking power for himself. It remains to be seen how Black Adam will be introduced in the present day DCEU, but you can bet that this time he presents a threat to the entire world. Since that includes the U.S., Amanda Waller has a reason to send the Squad to Kahndaq to somehow neutralize Black Adam before he "goes off," and all while avoiding being detected by the Kahndaqian government so as not to cause an international debacle.
