5 biggest questions we have after watching Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Black Adam’

Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. Warner Bros. Pictures.

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for DC’s “Black Adam. ” Dwayne Johnson’s “Black Adam” introduces the antihero to the DCEU. He faces off with the Justice Society and Intergang before a bigger threat arrives.

Dwayne Johnson has finally arrived in the DC Extended Universe with “Black Adam,” which sees Teth-Adam protect his country, Kahndaq, from a vicious military group called Intergang. He also has to reckon with his own guilt and grief over the death of his family thousands of years in the past, before finding his place in the present day.  The film also has a few surprises up its sleeve as it ties into the wider DCEU through a couple of intriguing cameos that tease what’s ahead for fans, including a crowd pleasing mid-credits scene.

But “Black Adam” still leaves audiences with a few questions about the things it adds to the franchise, especially about where the titular antihero might show up next and who he’ll face off with. What exactly is Eternium?The Crown of Sabacc floating in a cave. Warner Bros.

PicturesYes, it seems like every cinematic universe needs a rare metal/mineral from a far off country that bad guys want to get their hands on. In the DCEU, there’s a precious material called Eternium underneath Kahndaq that the king forced his slaves to dig for thousands of years ago, and Intergang also mines for in the present day.  But what actually is Eternium? Well, it’s an ore with magical properties, and it’s one of the only things on the planet that can actually hurt Black Adam.

It doesn’t affect him as much as Kryptonite affects Superman, but it can cut him. But in the comics, Eternium actually comes from the remains of the Rock of Eternity when it was destroyed by the villain Dr. Sivana.

 “Black Adam” is clearly playing fast and loose with that idea, because the Rock of Eternity hasn’t been destroyed in the DCEU and it has already appeared in “Shazam!” Although maybe Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) will return to cause more trouble for Billy Batson in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods. “Eternium can be forged into powerful magical artifacts, like Adrianna Tomasz’s (Sarah Shahi) necklace, or the Crown of Sabacc.

So, who is Sabbac and will he return?Marwan Kenzari as Sabbac. Warner Bros. PicturesMuch of the story revolves around the Crown of Sabacc and making sure Ishmael Gregor (Marwan Kenzari) doesn’t get his hands on it because he’s the last surviving descendant of King Anh-Kot and he’ll try and fulfill his ancestor’s wishes of calling forth the demon Sabacc.

While Black Adam and Shazam are two sides of the same coin, Sabacc is their darker counterpart. The demon’s name is an acronym for the six lords of hell, Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Crateis, and he’s got all of their power.  Sabbac has taken a few different forms over the years, and he first debuted in 1943.

He was summoned by a man called Timothy Karnes who wanted Shazam’s powers for himself — which is why he made a deal with the lords of hell. He wore green robes and had big teeth, a big difference from the horned red demon in “Black Adam. ” That look came when mob boss Ishmael Gregor was introduced in 2004’s “Outsiders” #8, which is why the 2022 movie reimagines him as the head of Intergang.

Although Black Adam literally rips Sabbac and Ishmael in half at the end of the film, it’s not impossible that Sabbac could return.  After all, Ishmael was only granted the powers of the hell lords, it stands to reason that they could simply give their powers to anyone else who makes it down there. Who are all those villains that Amanda Waller has locked up?Viola Davis returns to the DCEU in “Black Adam.

“Warner Bros. PicturesA brief portion of the film sees Black Adam voluntarily hand himself over to Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) to be locked up in their icy containment facility so that he doesn’t lose control of his powers. It’s a sensible decision, though it only lasts mere hours, as he later breaks loose to fight Sabbac in the climax of the movie.

 But the film makes a point to show off just how big the frozen prison really is, as hundreds of other containment pods surround Black Adam — including ones that are two or three times the size of the average human. This means that Waller has plenty of other weapons of mass destruction locked up that she could use at any given moment. But who are they all?The best bet is that they could be potential recruits for the Suicide Squad, though Waller typically pulls inmates from Belle Reve for the team.

These prisoners look like they’re too dangerous to be out running military missions. But who knows, according to The Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn is working on a brand new DCEU film, so “Black Adam” could be sowing seeds for bigger things down the line. Will Black Adam fight Shazam?Zachary Levi as Shazam.

Warner Bros. PicturesNow there’s an obvious question here that is seemingly overshadowed by the film’s triumphant mid-credits scene: will Black Adam fight Zachary Levi’s Shazam?The two characters are intrinsically linked because their powers come from the same place — the wizards at the Rock of Eternity.  The film even sees a couple of brief appearances from Djimon Hounsou as the wizard Shazam as he bestows his powers on Teth-Adam’s son, Hurut (Jalon Christian), before the young boy later transfers them to his father.

But since both “Shazam!” and “Black Adam” seemingly take place in the present day, it’s hard not to wonder whether they’ll get into a fight at some point in the future. Although Johnson has been focused on the Superman of it all, it’s possible that this is all building to a collision between Billy Batson and Teth-Adam. When will Superman show up again?Henry Cavill as Superman.

Warner Bros. PicturesThe mid-credits scene sees Amanda Waller send the Man of Steel to go talk to Black Adam in order to calm the situation down. Obviously, Kahndaq’s protector isn’t afraid of anyone on the planet, or anyone from any other planet for that matter.

The two costumed crusaders don’t come to blows in the scene, but Superman says “we should talk,” implying that they’re going to hash it out at some point.  Fans have been waiting for a long time for Henry Cavill’s return to the DCEU, and Warner Bros. wouldn’t get him back onboard if they weren’t going to make the most of it.

A recent exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter confirms that a Superman sequel is in development at the studio, with Charles Roven producing, though there isn’t a writer attached to the project at the moment. Dwayne Johnson hasn’t shied away from the fact that he wants to see a showdown between Black Adam and Superman, so really, it’s just a matter of which future movie gets off the ground first.  Although now that Cavill is firmly back in those red boots, there’s nothing to stop Warner Bros.

from giving him cameo appearances in other upcoming releases like “The Flash,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” or “Blue Beetle. “”Black Adam” is in theaters now. Read the original article on Insider.