Black Adam has just been released, and we got to learn more about the antihero character and his origins. In that regard, we saw how the character came about and how he was re-awakened from 5,000 years of slumber. But things weren’t as they seemed to be, even though the people of Kahndaq could not wait for its champion to return and drive out the foreign invaders that were enslaving the modern version of the fictional city.
Of course, the Justice Society needed to intervene in the entire affair because they knew how dangerous Teth-Adam could be. That was when new DCEU characters arrived to try to stop the superpowered champion of Kahndaq, as it was an all-out affair that included the people of the city, Intergang, the Justice Society, and Teth-Adam. Now, let’s look at how the movie ended.
The Truth Behind Black Adam
The entire movie opened up with an origin story that detailed what happened 5,000 years ago when a tyrannical king enslaved the people of Kahndaq for the sake of an ore called Eternium, which was needed to create the crown that could house the power of the six demons. A young boy believed to be the chosen champion of the wizards emerged and defeated the tyrannical king and was never heard of again. But his story lived on for thousands of years until a local named Adrianna awakened him out of desperation.
Of course, an all-out war between the champion called Teth-Adam and Intergang, the modern enslavers of Kahndaq, occurred. This required the intervention of the Justice Society, composed of Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher. Then again, not even they could stop the incredibly powerful champion.
Adrianna’s family got into the mix because she and her son possessed the crown of Sabbac, which contained the power that the champion of Kahndaq sought to stop 5,000 years ago. Of course, there was a good reason why Intergang wanted this power, as it would’ve allowed them to take control of the only thing on Earth that could match Teth-Adam’s power and turn the planet into a living Hell.
With that, Teth-Adam reluctantly worked with the Justice Society to prevent Intergang from doing anything with Adrianna’s son, who was kidnapped by Ishmael to be used as a bargaining chip. Teth-Adam and the team successfully stopped Intergang to rescue the boy but at the cost of the lives of all of the Intergang members, who the champion mercilessly killed when he lost control over his power.
As Teth-Adam returned to Kahndaq, Hawkman confronted him as the truth behind his origins came to light. Teth-Adam was not the chosen champion of the wizards. Instead, he was the father of the champion, who passed the power onto him so that he could live. As such, Teth-Adam was never worthy of the power that his son rightfully possessed. And when he realized that, he willingly gave the power up by uttering the word “Shazam” so that he would return to his normal state and get imprisoned by Task Force X led by Amanda Waller.
Sabbac Emerges
While it might have been true that Ishmael and Intergang were defeated and that the crown was already in possession of the Justice Society, what they didn’t know was that this happened by design. That’s because Ishmael, who was the descendant of the tyrannical king of Kahndaq, needed to die so that he could obtain the power of the six demons. As such, he emerged from death to become Sabbac and basically overpowered the Justice Society.
Sabbac went to the palace of Kahndaq, only to see stiff resistance from Doctor Fate, who blocked off the entire palace with a barrier so that he could face the demon on his own. One of his visions told him that facing Sabbac would kill Hawkman, but he knew that the world needed Hawkman more than he did. Using his own magic powers, he slowed Sabbac enough while simultaneously using his powers of astral projection to communicate with an incarcerated and suspended Teth-Adam in the Task Force X base.
Doctor Fate did just enough to allow Teth-Adam to escape the base, but the magical hero died in his effort to try to slow Sabbac down. The other heroes arrived too late to prevent Doctor Fate’s death and stop Sabbac from reaching the throne of Kahndaq. This allowed the demon to transform the city into hell as the legions of the underworld rose from death and began attacking the city. Adrianna and her son were able to unite the people of Kahndaq to fight the hordes of hell, while Cyclone and Atom Smasher assisted them.
The Protector of Kahndaq
Meanwhile, before Sabbac could kill the hope of the people, Teth-Adam returned to Kahndaq just in time. Fueled by Doctor Fate’s words, as the magician told him that he could still be the hero that Kahndaq needed, the champion matched Sabbac’s power as they fought as equals.
But it was the timely assistance of Hawkman, who used the Helmet of Fate to his advantage, that finally allowed Teth-Adam to gain the upper hand. Hawkman restrained Sabbac while Teth-Adam channeled his powers the right way to become strong enough to rip the demon into two. Meanwhile, the people of Kahndaq were happy enough that they were now united in a common cause, especially after rallying against the legions of hell.
Hawkman and the other members of the Justice Society acknowledged Teth-Adam after spending almost the entire movie trying to restrain him. And the Justice Society left Kahndaq knowing well enough that the city was now in good hands.
Teth-Adam, meanwhile, met up with Adrianna and her son in the throne room. He sat on the throne and realized that it felt wrong. That was when he decided to destroy it as a symbolic way of saying that Kahndaq and its people were free and did not need a king to rule them. Instead, they needed a champion that could protect the city and its people, as Teth-Adam abandoned his own name and decided to become Black Adam.
The Man of Steel Returns
In the mid-credit scene, all was well in Kahndaq while Black Adam was in the ruined palace overseeing the events that were happening in his city. However, a drone suddenly arrived, and Amanda Waller’s image emerged. She stuck her nose into another metahuman’s business again and told Black Adam that she would match his power with extreme force if he ever decided to set foot outside of Kahndaq.
Confident enough to know that he was one of the most powerful beings in the DCEU, Black Adam told Waller that no one on this planet could stop him. Waller acknowledged that and told him that she could always ask for the help of someone who wasn’t from that planet.
That was when the caped figure of the Man of Steel suddenly began descending from the sky, as Henry Cavill’s Superman returned to the DCEU after several years of not appearing due to contract disputes. The confident Superman told Black Adam that they needed to talk, as this seemed to be a preview of what was about to come in a possible clash between two of the most powerful DCEU characters we’ve seen so far.
