Black Adam Vs. Superman: Who Would Win In A Fight?
Contains spoilers for "Black Adam"
Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson faced an eight-year struggle from the moment he first announced he'd accepted the role of Black Adam (via Twitter). Now, Johnson's patience and dedication to bringing the character to life has paid off. In its first four days at the box office, "Black Adam" brought in $67 million domestically, becoming the best opening-weekend performance of any movie with Johnson in the lead role (via The Numbers). And the character Johnson portrays, Black Adam, is one of the most powerful in DC Comics.
In fact, Black Adam's superpowers match up in most respects with those of the Man of Steel himself, Superman. Both DC characters possess superhuman strength, speed, hearing, healing, and stamina in the comic books. The Last Son of Krypton and the Butcher of Bialya are also virtually invincible, and both beings can defy gravity and fly. What's arguably even more powerful, though, is the 15 seconds Henry Cavill's Superman showed up for at the very end of "Black Adam."
"It's been a while since anyone's made the world this nervous, Black Adam," Superman says at the behest of Suicide Squad director Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Yes, Black Adam and Superman come face to face in the DC Extended Universe, and that's the battle fans want to see, according to Reddit. Many variables are at play when deciding the outcome of such an epic showdown, but who will ultimately win when Black Adam and Superman come to blows in the DCEU?
This unique superpower could make all the difference for Black Adam
One critical difference between Superman and Black Adam in the comics is that the latter can discharge lightning bolts as projectiles while engaging his enemies in battle. "Black Adam could kick the s*** out of Superman," Dwayne Johnson said in an interview (via TheTruth 31).
It might not ever need to come to that, though, because Black Adam has a massive edge over Kal-El. The Mighty Adam's most significant, unique advantage over the Last Son of Krypton is that he is immortal. Yes, immortality could be the game changer. The Man of Steel seems ageless, but Kal-El does grow older, albeit at a prolonged rate because of the sun's effect on his Kryptonian cells. It might take centuries, or even longer, but Clark Kent will eventually succumb to death from natural causes.
If a brouhaha between the super beings ever escalated into a fight, theoretically, Black Adam could just wait it out until Superman keels over from old age. And since the Mighty Adam is a genius thanks to the Wisdom of Zehuti, he should be able to figure out that immortality gives him the upper hand.
Superman brings the big guns
Since a millennia-long wait does not make for very good storytelling, however, there must be a more immediate determination of a winner. For his part, Superman can put up one heck of a fight. Since before most of us were born, he has been DC Comics' solid gold standard, with a boy scout demeanor and an all-American "aw-shucks" attitude that can't downplay the ambient "now you're in trouble" energy that he exudes when he floats, eyes glowing, into your warehouse full of killer robots.
Over the years, Superman's level of power has varied immensely. His debut in "Action Comics" #1 back in 1938 saw him able to "leap 1/8th of a mile," with skin that could be broken by "nothing less than a bursting shell." By contrast, the Superman of more recent days has been seen lifting quintillions of tons one-handed, flying so fast that time moves backward, and punching holes in the fabric of reality. His laundry list of superhuman abilities is seemingly infinite, with some of Superman's lesser-known powers including super-ventriloquism, super-hypnosis, and super-shooting-tiny-versions-of-himself-out-of-his-hands.
Writers have gone back to the "Superman loses his powers" well so many times that it's become a trope, all because, well, how do you write a story with heavy stakes if the main character can't be beaten? How do you smash that which smashes all other things? And that might just be where Black Adam comes into play. While everybody knows that Superman is vulnerable to kryptonite, he has another weakness that people forget about: magic.
Do you believe in magic?
Since Superman is susceptible to magic, it's a formidable weapon to use against him. In "Superman" #14, he was put under a trance by malevolent fish people. In "Superman" #49, a piece of magical Kryptonite strips him of his powers. In "Superman" #171, he outright laments, "Too bad my invulnerability can't protect me from magic or a sorcerer's spell!" On "Smallville," Clark Kent (Tom Welling) was also robbed of his abilities when he came up against witchcraft in the Season 4 episode "Spell."
This brings us to Black Adam. Adam has gone through his own heaping portion of growing pains over the years, starting out as an ancient Egyptian absolutely corrupted by absolute power before later becoming an isolationist antihero from the fictional nation of Kahndaq. But one aspect of his personality has remained solid: His powers are magical in nature. They were given to him by the same wizard who turned Billy Batson (Asher Angel) into the World's Mightiest Mortal, and they stem from the abilities of ancient gods — sometimes Greek, sometimes Egyptian, always intense.
Now, the Butcher of Bialya might not know Clark Kent's more obscure weakness yet in the DCEU, but the actor portraying him is definitely aware. "Superman's greatest weakness isn't kryptonite, it's magic," Johnson posted on Twitter in 2021. "Black Adam's greatest superpower is magic. They both fly at light speed. They both are unstoppable forces. But only one will kill the other. And we know who that is."
Kryptonite can destroy Superman
Fans love the arrival of Dwayne Johnson's antihero in the DCEU, according to Rotten Tomatoes, but if Black Adam plans on defeating Superman, he should travel to Smallville, Kansas, where Kal-El's vessel crash-landed on Earth and where he may find Green K Kryptonite. Green K is among the most common and powerful iterations of Kryptonite because it can weaken and kill the Man of Steel with prolonged exposure.
If the Mighty Adam wants to take out Superman once and for all, though, there's only one shade of Kryptonite he should bother searching for: Gold Kryptonite. The most formidable weapon Black Adam, or anyone else for that matter, could ever hope to wield against Kal-El, Gold Kryptonite will permanently strip Superman of all his powers.
However, you have to get very close to Kal-El to use it. In the "Smallville" series finale, Darkseid corrupts Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley) so that he'll use Gold K on Clark Kent (Tom Welling) at his and Lois Lane's (Erica Durance) wedding. Thankfully, although Clark gets close to the Gold Kryptonite, which has been fashioned into his wedding ring, he never touches it. Black Adam will have to get up and personal, but Gold K is another potential way to victory.
Superman's morality won't save Black Adam from the Kryptonian's strength
With all the advantages Black Adam has over the Man of Steel, the simple truth remains: Superman is stronger. In combat, without magic or Kryptonite, the Mighty Adam will fall. Even inferior, alternate versions of Superman have bested Black Adam in comic books.
In "Shazam!" #14, the evil Superboy-Prime easily defeats not only Black Adam but also all the Marvels on his own. And that was the second time Superboy-Prime bested the Mighty Adam — he also made quick work of him during the "Infinite Crisis" crossover event. Ultraman, Kal-El's alternate, darker half from Earth-3, ended his fisticuffs with Black Adam by breaking his jaw in "Forever Evil" #3.
When it comes to the more powerful Supermen in DC Comics, Kal-El has abandoned his morality on multiple occasions to do what is necessary to save the world and those he loves. An alternate-reality Kal-El slaughtered Wonder Woman in 2004's "Superman/Batman: Absolute Power," and the Man of Steel wiped out the Joker, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and even Shazam in the far-reaching "Injustice" saga. Finally, in "Man of Steel," the first official installment of the DCEU's big-screen adventures, Superman is forced to break General Zod's (Michael Shannon) neck to save civilians. Bottom line: Superman is not above killing.
And the winner is?
Although Dwayne Johnson put in a lot of work to get Henry Cavill back in the game, the answer of who would win in a fight between Black Adam and Superman in the DCEU is simple: Black Adam. However, Johnson offered a different response with the release of his solo film. "We will create Black Adam for him to be the most powerful and unstoppable force on this planet. The most powerful and unstoppable force in the entire universe has been on the sidelines for too long," Johnson said in an interview on "Jake's Takes."
Johnson has also made it clear that he's listening to the fans, and many of them want Kal-El to come out on top, according to Reddit. So don't be surprised if the Man of Steel continues to reign atop the DC hierarchy. On the other hand, perhaps Johnson's presence and passion can provide leadership for the DCEU in the same way Kevin Feige governs the Marvel Cinematic Universe.