Dwayne Johnson has enjoyed a successful movie career since becoming famous in the WWE as The Rock. The star has played leading roles in projects like Baywatch, Moana, Jumanji: The Next Level, Jungle Cruise, and the Fast & Furious franchise.
He made his debut in DC’s superhero universe as the anti-hero Black Adam in 2022. The action film also marked the last time fans saw Henry Cavill’s Superman, thanks to his tiny cameo. 2022’s Black Adam also had fans discussing who would win in the fight between Superman and Teth-Adam. However, Dwayne Johnson’s take on the topic surprised many. It depicted that the Hollywood actor was surprisingly well-versed in DC’s comic books.
Dwayne Johnson explains why Black Adam could beat Superman
Since becoming an actor, Dwayne Johnson has accepted many memorable roles and turned down a few others. For instance, he famously denied an iconic role in Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, his DC role as Black Adam was quite close to his heart. Moreover, the movie surprisingly also made $128 million more than 2023’s The Flash.
When Black Adam was still in the making, back in 2021, Johnson took to Twitter to explain why he thought his anti-hero could beat Superman. The latter was still being played by Henry Cavill back then. The 51-year-old actor impressed many comic book fans with his take on the topic.
Responding to film critic Fico Cangiano’s speculation that only Superman could beat Black Adam, Johnson pointed out how his anti-hero could use his magic to defeat the Kryptonian. The actor recalled how Superman’s “greatest weakness isn’t kryptonite, it’s magic.” On the other hand, Black Adam’s “greatest superpower is magic.” He also recalled the similarities in the two’s abilities but was certain that Black Adam could defeat the last son of Krypton.
Fico, thank you my friend.
Remember, Superman’s greatest weakness isn’t kryptonite, it’s magic.
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. #BlackAdam https://t.co/nCPUCItqQK— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 17, 2021
Superman’s two major weaknesses are kryptonite and magic. In the case of the former, kryptonite’s green crystals are toxic to all Kryptonians, as they poison and degrade their cells. When it comes to magic, the Man of Steel has no defense against magical spells and weapons, just like normal humans. Hence, the magical lightning bolts of Shazam and Black Adam can be dangerous for the DC hero.
Dwayne Johnson could never relate to Superman despite being a huge DC comic fan
It’s no secret that Dwayne Johnson is a massive DC comic book fan. He spoke of his love for the DC comics in a 2022 interview with CBS’ Gayle King. The Red Notice star said that he loved DC comics as a kid. Additionally, he also shared that despite his love for Superman, he couldn’t relate to the idealistic superhero.
However, his feelings were quite different when he first saw a comic book cover of Black Adam. The actor said,
“When I first saw a ‘Black Adam’ comic book and I saw the cover, he looked intense. He had brown skin, and he was a superhero. I said, ‘That’s my guy. I wanna be him.”
Sadly, despite Johnson’s best efforts, Black Adam failed to impress both fans and critics. Although the film raked in $393 million in global box office earnings, its budget itself had sky-rocketed to $260 million, without including marketing costs.
