Since 2007, Dwayne Johnson has been linked to the character of Black Adam, the DC Comics antihero, and it’s obvious he’s spent a lot of time perfecting it. The costume department is working hard to ensure that the character has a distinctive look now that the movie is finally in production, and Johnson has revealed a new image that previews the results of their labor.
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Black Adam’s CostumeJohnson posted this image to Instagram, stating that it “gives you a tactile sense of the absolute massive scale and size of our movie.” The temptation, however, is to direct your attention away from the image’s “enormous and appropriate destruction” and toward “the intricate and beautiful textured detail of Black Adam’s body suit.” “This is not your typical DC or Marvel padded muscle suit,” Johnson said.During set visits, I’ve had the good fortune to look closely at a number of Marvel costumes, and I have to admit that I’m not quite sure what makes this specific costume unique from its counterparts from this perspective. This garment doesn’t seem to be forging new ground in that sense; if you look at close-ups of Thor or Mysterio’s clothing, you’ll notice elaborate stitching and symbols woven into the fabric that enhance the characters who wear them. Maybe the differences are easier to see on the front of the outfit.Oh, and Black Adam Will Kill PeopleJohnson says, “As we all know, superheroes have a code of justice and don’t kill the bad guys,” further in the caption. However, Black Adam does.As I read it, I have to say that my immediate impression was, “Here we go again, Zack Snyder’s ‘dark’ and ‘edgy’ influence continues to leak into future DC movies.”
However, Black Adam has always been a figure that balances between being a hero and a villain. He has slain people in the past, and the plot will either see him working with the DC heroes or at odds with them. This character’s core aggression and tension make him an excellent counterpoint to Zachary Levi’s vivacious Shazam!, who is an innocent at heart and most likely won’t approve of Black Adam’s extreme tactics.
I’m not sure if Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra is drawing any stylistic inspiration from Snyder’s movies because I haven’t seen any footage of the movie yet, but this treatment of the character has already been done in comic books.