Black Adam Has A Big Batman v Superman Reference (Not What You Think)
Warning: This article includes MAJOR spoilers from Black Adam.Black Adam’s post-credits scene includes a major Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice reference, but it’s not the obvious matchup tease. While Superman (Henry Cavill) shows up to tell Dwayne « The Rock » Johnson’s Black Adam « we need to talk » similarly to how he told Batman « when they shine your light in the sky, don’t go to it, » in Batman v Superman, his words actually connect to a much bigger theme from Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel.
The obvious huge reveal from the scene is that Henry Cavill is finally back as Superman after five years. The last time he shot new footage as Superman was for Justice Leauge’s reshoots in 2017, where many of his scenes had awkwardly obvious CGI removal of the mustache he had due to Mission Impossible: Fallout production happening at the same time. In addition to bringing the Last Son of Krypton back to the DCEU, the scene also embraces one of the more controversial elements of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Cavill’s full dialogue.
After Amanda Waller tells Black Adam to avoid causing problems for the rest of the world, Superman descends into Black Adam’s lair and tells him « It’s been a while since anyone’s made the world this nervous. » In Batman v Superman, the world isn’t sure what to make of Superman, or his power, spawning a huge debate over Superman’s role in the world – a debate that ultimately allows Lex Luthor to manipulate Batman into fighting Superman. The idea of Superman being a controversial figure wasn’t entirely embraced at the time, although the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021 showed Superman’s resurrection and has him ultimately embracing his role as the Earth’s protector, bringing many people around on his character arc to that point.
The idea of Superman making the world nervous wasn’t just a plot point from Batman v Superman, either. It was actually a bit concept introduced in Man of Steel and continued in the original Suicide Squad with Amanda Waller assembling Task Force X as a potential response to a rogue superhuman. In Black Adam, it’s clearly the exact same plot point because it’s Waller who has the JSA capture Black Adam in the first place, and also presumably the reason Superman confronts him in the post-credits scene.
With the future of the DCEU in flux, it’s not entirely clear how much of the Zack Snyder era will be brought back into the fold, but the return of Henry Cavill accompanying a major embrace of one element of Snyderverse canon could be a big nod to Warner Bros. Discovery’s new DCEU plan. While Black Adam and other upcoming DC movies weren’t necessarily a part of Snyder’s original roadmap for the series, the franchise can still embrace elements introduced in movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and leverage them in a new continuation of the DCEU.
