Black Adam Ending Explained (In Detail) (2024)

Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Black AdamBlack Adam takes flight in the DC Extended Universe’s latest film. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, Black Adam follows the titular character — who is reawakened after 5,000 years — on his journey to defeat the villain Sabbac. After a long period of time in development, Dwayne Johnson finally steps into the antihero’s costume to make his DCEU debut.

After voluntarily handing himself over to the Justice Society of America, who took him to a secret Task Force X location where he couldn’t hurt anyone, Doctor Fate calls upon Black Adam to return to Kahndaq in a bid to defeat the powerful Sabbac once and for all. After ripping him in half and preventing Hell on Earth, Black Adam decides to destroy Sabbac’s throne as well, while encouraging the people of Kahndaq to continue fighting for their freedom. Formerly taking on the name of Black Adam, it isn’t long before Viola Davis' Amanda Waller sends the antihero a threatening message, suggesting that if he steps out of line, Superman — who actually appears — will be there to stop him. With Black Adam embracing his new life and an open-ended finale that hints at more to come, here is a full guide to the film’s ending.

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Henry Cavill's Superman Return Explained

In Black Adam’s post-credits scene, Superman appears after Amanda Waller threatens the antihero, claiming she’ll call in someone who isn’t from Earth to handle his immense powers. That someone turns out to be none other than the beloved Kryptonian, who tells Black Adam that it’s been a while since anyone’s “made the world this nervous.” Waller seems confident that the Man of Steel can take Teth-Adam considering how powerful the superhero is, and Henry Cavill’s return as Superman suggests he could reappear in a potential Black Adam sequel. Following his last appearance as Superman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it was assumed fans had seen the last of Cavill as the famous DC hero — at least for a long while. There were no plans for Superman to appear in Black Adam, but Johnson fought for the cameo role because “the whole point,” per Johnson, for having a solo movie was to make way for Black Adam v. Superman battle. Cavill filmed the post-credits scene in September 2022, reigniting the hope for more of his character in the future.

Why The Justice Society Works With Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller’s presence in Black Adam is confusing considering how her arc ended in Peacemaker, with her daughter and the rest of the Task Force X team outing her involvement with Project Butterfly and the questionable ethics behind Waller’s operations. What’s more, Waller’s work with Task Force X has typically drawn the ire of superheroes in the DCEU, and they haven’t worked with her in the past and likely don’t agree with her methods. In Black Adam, Hawkman is adamant that there are only heroes and villains — there is no in-between.

Considering Waller lives in the morally gray area that skews towards the villainous, it’s a wonder why Hawkman and the rest of the Justice Society works with the leader of Task Force X at all. It’s possible Waller realized that no one on the Suicide Squad was powerful enough to take on Black Adam. It could also be that Hawkman sees working with Waller as a lesser evil. Since Black Adam isn’t someone Hawkman sees as a hero, he must be a villain, which means he has to be put away before he hurts anyone else — at least in the eyes of the Justice Society. It’s likely Hawkman believed that working with Amanda Waller was the most efficient way to do that.

Why Doctor Fate Sacrifices Himself To Sabbac

Throughout Black Adam, Doctor Fate kept seeing visions of Hawkman’s death. It grieved him to think his old friend could die, and Kent was even more rattled knowing that Carter Hall was not afraid of death. Doctor Fate realized one way he could save his friend from facing his doom was to fight Sabbac on his own for a while before calling on Black Adam for assistance. However, preventing Hawkman’s death is not the only reason Doctor Fate sacrifices himself. By this point in his life, Kent had lived for a long time with the Helmet of Fate; he’d seen numerous futures, versions of events that blended together in their chaos. Doctor Fate was tied to these powers, but he’d experienced enough to realize he had seen enough. In some ways, Kent’s powers were a curse, and he was weary of them after so many years of seeing the future, the constant barrage of images clouding his mind so that he never knew silence or peace. Doctor Fate wanted to finally see into the future and not see anything at all. It’s possible that he only made his decision after seeing Hawkman’s death, which is something he likely couldn’t bear to witness, thus making his own fate.

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What Happens To Doctor Fate’s Helmet After It Disappears

Following Doctor Fate’s death, Black Adam was the only one who could defeat Sabbac, who wanted to bring Hell on Earth. After ripping him in half, Black Adam sits on the villain’s throne, with Adrianna suggesting the antihero could rule Kahndaq if he wished. Teth-Adam had other ideas, however, completely destroying the throne. While it would have been easy enough to assume the throne and rule Kahndaq — especially considering he was already considered the people’s champion — Black Adam had seen what all-consuming power could do to a person. It’s possible he didn’t trust himself enough to be in such a position; it could also, and most likely, be that he didn't think anyone should rule. What's more, the people of Kahndaq don't need to be ruled — they want to be free, and having a king would not be the best way to get there. Someone who holds too much power over anyone else is not to be trusted and, in many ways, destroying the throne was the culmination of everything Black Adam had learned throughout the film.

Who Injected Cyclone With Nanobots?

In Black Adam, Cyclone reveals to Atom Smasher how she was kidnapped and forcefully injected with nanobots, the source of her powers. However, the Justice Society member doesn’t provide the name of the person who did this to her. Cyclone’s backstory is similar to that of her comics counterpart, who was kidnapped as a six-year-old by the scientist T.O. Morrow, a supervillain who created the second Red Tornado, an android with immense power. Yet another link for T.O. Morrow to Black Adam is that he’s eventually recruited by Intergang to make them weapons; the criminal organization is one of the film’s antagonists. It’s possible T.O. Morrow’s wasn’t mentioned in Black Adam because Cyclone’s full backstory is being saved for a future film. After all, the Justice Society of America had a major role to play in the DC film and it’s likely they will appear again. Perhaps Cyclone will get her own DCEU spinoff movie alongside Atom Smasher, where her full story and character could be further developed.

Will Black Adam 2 Happen?

Most of the conversation surrounding Black Adam has been more about the eponymous character crossing over and interacting with other DCEU characters, including Shazam and Superman, instead of another solo film. However, Superman’s appearance in the post-credits scene suggests Warner Bros. will greenlight Black Adam 2, if only to build a bridge between that scene and what could eventually become a Black Adam v. Superman movie. Johnson also has a lot of behind-the-scenes power and, if a sequel does happen, it likely won’t take as long to make as the first one did. All that said, a Black Adam sequel may depend on how successful the DCEU film is at the box office. Warner Bros. has had no issue axing movies like Batgirl of late, so it stands to reason that Black Adam 2 isn’t necessarily a sure thing just yet. Ultimately, Johnson has hopes to build out the DCEU and his character, and that alone provides enough confidence that fans will see Black Adam again — even if it’s not in a solo sequel film.

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