Black Adam may not be the superhero that the DC Universe wants right now, but he's unquestionably the one that it needs. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's portrayal of the titular anti-hero has been met with positive reactions from fans, many of whom can feel the pendulum slightly swinging towards DC Universe, and away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been such a powerhouse for so long now. The MCU has lost momentum with its recent releases following the emotionally draining climax of its Infinity War arc, and DC will be keen to capitalize on this. Black Adam is as dark as many would expect, but the PG-13 rating ensures things don't get too violent. If the character of Black Adam ventures into the world of video games, an R-rated game would allow him to unleash his full, unadulterated rage.
Thanks to the incredible popularity of the MCU, the DC Universe has come under intense scrutiny over the last decade, and many of its movies have received lukewarm receptions. On paper, Black Adam hasn't exactly gone against the grain in this regard, with critics divided in their opinions of the movie. Fan reaction, however, has been overwhelmingly positive, with the film's $67 million domestic box office opening weekend serving as proof of this. Dwayne Johnson has stated that Black Adam is set to play a key role in upcoming DC movies, and as the character's popularity grows, the appetite for a video game based on him will surely grow too.
Black Adam's Rage Knows No Bounds
Johnson's movie adaptation of the character of Black Adam is born out of rage. Over the years since his debut in 1945, there have been many versions of the character Black Adam in the comics. The movie adaptation differs from his comic book personas in a couple of key ways though. Rather than himself being imbued with powers given to him by the wizard Shazam, as is explained in the comics, the big-screen version of Black Adam actually received the powers from his son. In order to save his father's life, Adam's son transfers his own powers to his father, losing his life in the process.
This tragic loss subsequently sees Black Adam fly into a fit of wild rage, destroying a temple before being buried underneath it by the very wizards who granted his son powers to begin with. 5000 years of slumber have done nothing to quell his rage though, and after he is woken up, he spends the remainder of the film violently and aggressively crushing those who try to oppose him. This aggression is displayed viscerally, with several limbs removed from his victims as well as the main protagonist's head literally being torn into two.
Despite this though, both Dwayne Johnson and the filmmakers stated that their desire was for the movie to be R-rated, in order to properly honor Black Adam's gritty origin story with the appropriate levels of violence and aggression. In fact, Black Adam was originally R-rated before it underwent several cuts to make the PG-13 rating it was finally given. A solo video game for the character presents the perfect opportunity for his character to be brought to life as was originally intended, and there are various ways that this could work.
Any new project wouldn't be the character's first foray into the world of video games. Black Adam was a playable character in Injustice, and its sequel Injustice 2. As a franchise renowned for its pop-culture crossovers, Fortnite has also recently added Black Adam as a playable skin. WB's Multiversus has also confirmed the character will shortly be joining the game's roster. It seems, right now, everyone wants a piece of Black Adam, and future video game projects certainly seem feasible.
Black Adam's Character Seems a Good Fit for His Own Video Game
Given the versatility of Black Adam's powers, from his superhuman strength and speed, to his flight and the ability to shoot lightning from his hands, the first and most obvious video game series that springs to mind is Infamous. Traversing an open-world environment and causing chaos and destruction with a range of superpowers, as players do in the Infamous series, feels like it could've been plucked directly from the movie.
The games, which follow the adventures of numerous conduits who possess superpowers, also allow the player to decide whether to use these powers for good or evil, with either side presenting unique gameplay possibilities. It's easy to see a similar structure like this working for a Black Adam game, as the character himself walks a fine line between good and evil. This ambiguity should make for an enjoyable experience, with players switching sides at will, and tapping into the darker side of the character as they see fit.
There are, of course, elements of uncertainty to consider, such as Black Adam's ability to fly presenting a possible issue. Whether players would bother to explore an open-world environment on foot, when they can simply fly over it at will, remains to be seen. This would not be the only project to face such a problem though, with the new Iron Man game likely facing a similar dilemma, and it certainly isn't one that couldn't be overcome by using a smart narrative. Perhaps Black Adam loses his powers and has to gain them back slowly, with flight being one of the last to return to him.
Whatever the future holds for Black Adam, it's a safe bet to assume he will become a central part of the DC Universe for the next few years, and this will likely result in more commercial opportunities. This means that there's a good chance future video game projects will be proposed, and with more and more superhero video games such as Marvel's Spider-Man beginning to hit the mark, there's no reason why a gritty, violent Black Adam game couldn't be something special.