Black Adam is one of the next big DCEU films that will also serve as a gateway to introduce the Justice Society of America on the big screen. One of the new franchises that Warner Bros. has been working on for several years is Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam, which will finally bring the iconic Shazam villain to life in live-action. Even though he's mostly known as Billy Batson's ultimate rival, the DCEU product will depict the character as an anti-hero and see his origin story told. The idea is to establish who Black Adam is with his own solo film and eventually have Johnson and Zachary Levi duke it on in a potential Shazam 3.
But Black Adam will also bring in the Golden Age heroes from the DC Universe known as the Justice Society of America. Before the Justice League, that was a community of superheroes that protected the world back in the 1940s. In some incarnations, the JSA has served as the Earth-2 counterpart to the Justice League. But with this taking place in the DCEU, the Justice Society will be established as a team that came before the modern-DCEU era. The Justice Society has gained more fame outside of comics in recent years primarily through The CW's Stargirl with Courtney Whitmore leading the next generation of heroes picking up the mantles of various JSA members.
While Stargirl gets to tell the story of the new Justice Society, Black Adam will focus on the original team, giving fans of both properties double the enjoyment. Since 2020, Warner Bros. has been actively casting for the major roles in the Justice Society. For the DCEU adaptation, four iconic members will be debuting on the big screen, with some of them getting their first live-action adaptation. Here's every confirmed Justice Society of America character as well as each cast member who will portray them in Black Adam and where you know them from in other TV shows and films.
Noah Centineo As Atom-Smasher
The first Justice Society hero that Black Adam recruited was Albert Rothstein, a.k.a. the Atom-Smasher, who will be played by Noah Centineo. In the official concept teaser trailer at DC FanDome, Black Adam described Atom-Smasher as one of the new recruits to the team. In the comics, Atom-Smasher has the ability to manipulate his molecular size and can get insanely big. But the bigger Atom-Smasher gets, the stronger he also gets whenever he uses his powers. With Albert being one of the latest superheroes to join the Justice Society, it will be Black Adam's opportunity to showcase some younger heroes in the DCEU.
Centineo will be the second actor to portray Atom-Smasher in live-action. The character's live-action debut was in The Flash season 2 where a villainous version of him was played by Adam Copeland. While Black Adam will be a big superhero project in Centineo's filmography, the actor will also be playing another iconic hero in another franchise. Sony Pictures is developing a live-action Masters of the Universe that will star Centineo as He-Man. Outside of the hero gigs, Centineo is well-known for projects like The Fosters as well as the Netflix rom-com originals To All the Boys I've Loved Before, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
Aldis Hodge As Hawkman
While Hawkman has had his fair share of live-action treatments, Black Adam will be the first film where the winged warrior is featured. Aldis Hodge was cast as Hawkman, who will be one of the long-time members of the Justice Society. There have been multiple incarnations of the Hawkman character where he's either from the planet Thanagar or he's an Egyptian Prince that continues to be reincarnated alongside his great love, the priestess Chay-Ara, a.k.a. Hawkgirl. The version that the movie appears to be using is the Carter Hall incarnation instead of the Silver Age incarnation of the character, Katar Hol. In all versions of Hawkman, his equipment and wings are all made of Nth metal, which grants his abilities such as flight and strength.
Because Carter has reincarnated so many times, he maintains the memories of his past lives, enabling him to be skilled in various fighting techniques and weapons. Hodge will be the latest actor to play Hawkman in live-action following Michael Shanks on Smallville and Falk Hentschel on Legends of Tomorrow. In preparation for the role, Hodge revealed to Screen Rant that he's been doing a lot of research and exploring various Hawkman comics. Besides his upcoming Black Adam gig, Hodge's body of work includes the TV shows Leverage, Underground, and is currently starring in City on a Hill. Hodge has also worked on critically acclaimed films like Straight Outta Compton, The Invisible Man, and One Night in Miami...
Quintessa Swindell As Cyclone
Centineo's Atom-Smasher isn't the only young superhero that will be featured in Black Adam and the Justice Society. One of the younger members in the comics is Maxine Hunkel, a.k.a. Cyclone, who will be making her live-action debut in the DCEU film. In the comics, Maxine is the granddaughter of Abigail Hunkel, who was an honorary member of the original Justice Society. In her own story, Maxine got her powers after being kidnapped and infected by T.O. Morrow's nanobytes. Cyclone's abilities allow her to manipulate the wind, granting her the opportunity to manifest tornados and actual cyclones, too. When the Justice Society began expanding its roster, Cyclone became one of the next generation members to join the Golden Age team.
Black Adam will be the first time Cyclone has been used in any DC property outside of the comics. For the role of Cyclone, Quintessa Swindell was cast as the DC character late in 2020. Swindell is relatively new in the industry as Black Adam will only be the third movie in their body of work. They first made their acting debut in an episode of HBO's Euphoria and starred in the short-lived series Trinkets where they played Tabitha Foster. Swindell also has two upcoming films with Voyagers and Granada Nights.
Pierce Brosnan As Doctor Fate
Rounding out the Justice Society of America lineup for Black Adam is one of DC Comics' most powerful superheroes that has ever existed: Doctor Fate. Pierce Brosnan officially got cast in the role of Kent Nelson, a.k.a. Doctor Fate, the iconic DC sorcerer who will get their first cinematic treatment by joining the DCEU. Similar to Hawkman, there have been multiple versions of Doctor Fate over the decades. But in almost every incarnation, the character has still kept his origin of being trained as a powerful sorcerer with the help of Nabu's spirit. Kent operates as Doctor Fate with the Helmet of Nabu as well as the Cloak of Destiny and Amulet of Anubis that grant a massive amount of powers.
While it’s a long list, those tools give Kent abilities such as traveling between dimensions, various forms of spellcasting, immortality, and even resurrection. Black Adam will be the second time that Doctor Fate has been portrayed in live-action after Brent Stait brought him to life in Smallville season 9 back in 2010. While Doctor Fate might be Brosnan's first superhero role, the actor is no stranger to starring in big franchises. For seven years, Brosnan portrayed the iconic 007 James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day. Outside of being the fifth incarnation of the long-lived spy, Brosnan has starred in projects such as Mamma Mia!, The Thomas Crown Affair, Dante's Peak, and The Son.
For the time being, Atom-Smasher, Hawkman, Cyclone, and Doctor Fate are the confirmed members of the Justice Society that Black Adam will feature. It wouldn't be surprising if other characters from the JSA get name-dropped throughout the story as Easter eggs. In Cyclone's case, it's not impossible that Ma Hunkel may make an appearance or at least be acknowledged since her granddaughter is part of the team. Whether or not other characters do show up or get referenced, it's still an amazing lineup with talented actors portraying them. It's also an exciting prospect that the Justice Society will be brought into the DCEU that will hopefully lead to some spinoff projects centered on the team after Black Adam.
