Audiences know DC Comics mostly for its ‘trinity’ of three of the most heralded superheroes in written history: Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. Other DC heroes like The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman have only recently garnered mass public attention, thanks to a couple of television shows and some major blockbuster films.
However, Black Adam shows some promise to introduce us to an all new element of the DC Extended Universe: dark magic and the fictional kingdom of Khandaq. It will also introduce moviegoers to an incredibly powerful character in Dr. Fate, portrayed by Pierce Brosnan.
Black Adam will not be the first DCEU film to demonstrate that magic exists in this universe, since Shazam already did. But, Black Adam will be a much darker film (the snippet audiences saw at DC Fandome was darker than the entire Shazam movie). Dr. Fate should have a large role to play in creating an ominous, otherworldly tone for the upcoming film. Dr. Fate periodically appears in DC comic books and graphic novels, mostly through crossover events. He has also appeared in the DC video game Injustice 2 as well as the television series Smallville. However, for mainstream moviegoers, he is an entirely unknown entity. At DC Fandome, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is cast as Black Adam, says of his character, “The hierarchy of power in the DCEU is about to change.” That might be true, but not solely because of Black Adam, but because of Dr. Fate as well.
Dr. Fate’s Comic Book History
In comic book lore, Dr. Fate has many alter egos and is not tied down to one character, but several. His earliest incarnation was back in 1940, making him only two years younger than Superman in publication.
The version Brosnan is set to portray is Kent Nelson. While on an adventure with his father to the port city of Ur, the Nelsons stumble upon a tomb and revive the Mesopotamian God of wisdom, Nabu the Wise. During this process, Kent Nelson’s father is killed, and the god takes pity on the boy. Nabu the Wise takes Kent Nelson under his wing and teaches him sorcery for twenty years. Dr. Fate has appeared alongside the Justice League and the Justice Society of America in several comic book adaptations.
Dr. Fate’s Powers and Abilities
Dr. Fate has a fairly unique skill set. In a nutshell, if one were to create a venn diagram of Thor’s powers and Dr. Strange’s magic abilities, Dr. Fate’s abilities would lie in the middle.
Physically, Dr. Fate has super strength, near invulnerability, and the capability of flight. On top of that, he can manifest and manipulate lightning and ice, create magic spells, teleport between parallel Earths, and communicate with others telepathically.
This rather absurd skill set makes Dr. Fate a nearly god-like figure. This makes a sort of sense though, as he was trained by an actual god. It will be noteworthy to see how powerful Dr. Fate is in Black Adam, especially if the two characters come to blows.
Role in Black Adam
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Little is known about the plot of Black Adam, despite the fact that the film is due to be out less than a year from now. However, Black Adam is best known as a supervillain, particularly across from Superman. At best, Black Adam has served as an antihero when the occasion has called for it.
With no Superman appearing in this film, perhaps Dr. Fate will be charged with being the light to Black Adam’s darkness. This remains to be seen, but given Black Adam’s show of force in the DC Fandome snippet, it will take a character like Dr. Fate to give the supervillain a worthy fight.
What Dr. Fate can do for the DCEU
To put it kindly, the DCEU is a ship that is being built while it is already sailing. While die-hard DC fans help inflate box office numbers, critics are largely lukewarm on the universe as a whole. This is especially true when one compares the DCEU to the MCU. If a Marvel movie is not rated above a 90 on Rotten Tomatoes and does not earn a billion dollars worldwide, it is almost considered a failure at this point. The same simply cannot be said for DC movies, the bar is just lower.
Still, Dr. Fate might be able to strike something of a balance between Shazam’s campy cheesiness and Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice’s bleak nihilism. If Warner Brothers and the creative team behind Black Adam can make Dr. Fate likable but formidable, he could quickly become a fan favorite and ticket-seller.
Black Adam has been in development since approximately 2014; DC Comics fanatics have waited a long time for this film. Between Johnson’s experience and charisma as an action star and Brosnan formerly portraying James Bond, hopefully both have the acting chops to bring Black Adam and Dr. Fate properly to the silver screen.
Black Adam debuts in Theaters on July 29th, 2022.
