I wonder who would win in a fight, Black Adam or Superman? After a successful run in theaters, where Dwayne Johnson received acclaim for his performance as the anti-hero, Black Adam is now streaming on HBO Max. It's a chance to revisit the film's mid-credits scene, which captured the imagination of DC fans with its return of Superman (Henry Cavill) to the DCU, albeit briefly, as recently reported.
However, when viewed, this scene becomes tangible and carries many possibilities. It's an alpha dog encounter we didn't know existed, but now that it's happened, we're breathlessly waiting for any details on whether and how their story will continue.
Content
But even without Cavill, we remain hopeful that the heroes will somehow face each other in a true clash of the titans, an epic battle that barely lingers on screen. Anything less seems wrong. But what does it look like? In this corner is the champion of truth and justice, and in this corner is the anti-hero, the defender of Kahndak. Who will win?
Black Adam versus Superman rarely happens in comics
Despite their long history in comics, Black Adam and Superman have only fought a few times, with Black Adam mostly facing off against his arch-nemesis Shazam. Their first meeting wasn't even a fight between them, as Black Adam disguised himself as Shazam and attacked Superman, setting up a showdown between the two heroes. Supergirl stopped their fight by turning Black Adam back into Teth-Adam using her magic staff. Another encounter led to a devastating fight between the two until they realized they were hunting the same person. The appearance of Black Adam from Earth-S on Earth-One prompted Superman and Shazam to work together to stop Black Adam from conquering the world. In truth, the most epic Black Adam vs. Superman moment in the comics is in the "Forever Evil" storyline, where Black Adam battles Superman's evil Earth-3 Crime Syndicate counterpart, Ultraman. In short, the comics don't have enough history of the conflict between these two beings to say who will win. Thus, who wins a fight between them will be determined by specific qualities and intangible properties, and who uses them most effectively.
Edge for Black Adam
As for strength, it practically does not change. Earth's yellow sun gives Superman enormous power, and Black Adam's power is literally a gift from the gods, particularly Amon. A street fight between them could go on for days without either of them gaining the upper hand. However, Superman shows restraint in using his power, often limiting it if it could harm innocent people under his care. Black Adam has no such restrictions, so unless Superman attacks Adam "Superman-style" from the start, Black Adam will have a slight advantage, and this advantage will increase if Black Adam hears the story about the effects of kryptonite on Superman and uses his.
Superman's little talked about weakness is his sensitivity to magic, which gives Black Adam an advantage in battle. His abilities stem from magic, and being able to use his magical lightning would allow Black Adam to gain additional power to his already superhuman strength, ensuring that Superman would feel every blow. But the magic that gives Black Adam his powers can also turn him back into a mere mortal, so if Superman can get Adam to say the magic word that will transform him, the advantage will quickly shift to Superman. Do you think this is unlikely? How many times has Superman tricked Mister Mxyzptlk into saying his own name backwards and sending him back to the fifth dimension? It's not as big a chance as you think.
Superman Advantage
Black Adam's Achilles heel is his arrogance, and this is Superman's advantage. Just moments before Superman appears in the film, Adam tells Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) that “no one on this planet can stop me.” He doesn't know Superman, doesn't know what Superman is capable of, and if he doesn't humble himself a little, then Black Adam's disbelief that anyone can go mano-a-mano with him will give Superman the opportunity to destroy him even more before Adam realizes what hit him. The last antagonist who believed Superman didn't have the guts to do what it took to stop him? General Zod (Michael Shannon), and we know how that turned out for him.
Superman also has a set of abilities that Black Adam does not have: X-ray vision, heat vision, super breathing and super hearing. He grew up with these abilities so they are second nature to him, making them strategic wild cards in a fight between the two. Speaking of strategy, this is another advantage of Superman over Black Adam. He often had to think outside the box to deal with threats, using his surroundings to develop a plan of attack on the fly and rarely succumbing to his temper. Black Adam is a hot rage, and despite Zehuti's wisdom, he acts first, then acts again, and then thinks.
So, who will win in the end Black Adam or Superman?
Taking all of these things into account, running the numbers, checking boxes, and pure old gut instinct, it's clear that the winner of a fight between Superman and Black Adam will be... Superman. Or Black Adam. The truth is that in a hypothetical fight between the two there may not be a clear winner, and it would take a huge amount of circumstance and luck to tip one way or the other. This is what is attractive about the very idea of a fight between Superman and Black Adam on the screen. We know that Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) defeated Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). We know that Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) defeats the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). A fight where the winner is not as clear-cut, where the outcome is as mysterious as the beginning, would make Superman vs. Black Adam a must-see in a cinematic superhero world that is so often reduced to the stereotypical "the hero always wins" trope. So while the future of the DCU stands at a crossroads, and James Gunn and Peter Safran's plans for the DCU slowly become clearer, we can always hope that those plans include a fight between these goliaths, no matter who dons the tights.
Recommended: Who is Lobo from DC? All About DC Comics' Colorful Anti-Hero
