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Black Adam is set to come out this October, and he’s played by the appropriately powerful-looking Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The legendary star had his start as a professional wrestler, which explains his incredible physique and charisma. Of course, being a 10-time WWE World Champion means he’s got to be strong.
This continues into all of his movie roles. Whether he’s a goofy dad, a tough-guy secret agent, or sometimes even both, Dwayne Johnson’s characters are known for being powerhouses. All that’s left to do is decide which characters are the strongest.
Bob Stone (Central Intelligence)
The Rock is no stranger to playing secret agents, but one of the strongest (and goofiest) is Bob Stone in Central Intelligence. Once an overweight and dorky high schooler, Bob dedicated his life to becoming a secret agent for the CIA. Even when the entire CIA turns on him, he’s able to evade them easily.
Not to mention, his strength is incredible for someone of human power, being able to toss grown men aside and even rip people’s throats out (but only if they deserve it). The contrast between Bob being a bubbly dork with anxiety issues and his clear physical prowess is what makes the movie so enjoyable.
Sgt. Asher Mahonin (Doom)
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For all intents and purposes, the Doom movie was doomed from the start. Video game adaptations of the early to mid-2000s were far from Oscar winners, but Doom was particularly terrible. Still, it had its bright spots, one of which is The Rock himself as Sgt. Asher Mahonin.
A strong leader and soldier, being infected only made him more dangerous than ever. He’s essentially become superhuman, and it takes another superhuman to put him down. Even then, he had to be punted out to space instead of killed by conventional means. It's a bad movie with a surprisingly powerful villain.
Luke Hobbs (The Fast and Furious Franchise)
Luke Hobbs, first introduced in Fast Five, is the strongest “normal” human character that The Rock has played, and each movie starring the special agent makes his strength even more ridiculous. With military combat training in all manner of CQC and gunplay, Luke Hobbs is a one-man army who swats aside everyone in his way.
Impressive feats of strength include redirecting a missile in flight (with some help from his Ludcaris-driven car), suplexing a man onto concrete so hard it shatters it, and flexing off his arm cast. There’s a good reason why he got a spin-off of his own alongside Hobbes, and that’s because he’s a stone-cold mountain of machismo.
The Scorpion King (The Scorpion King)
Horrible CGI aside, The Scorpion King is still one of The Rock’s most powerful roles. Once a mighty general from ancient times, he lost his army to a great battle, and the curse he took to become conqueror finally caught up to him. Now, he’s become a nigh-invincible monster.
Even the formidable Imhotep was wary of fighting the Scorpion King head-on in The Mummy Returns and had to trick it into killing Rick O’Connel instead. It was only the luck of having the Spear of Anubis, its weakness, that Rick stood a chance. Without that handy part, more people would have been exposed to the uncanny valley against their will.
Hercules (Hercules)
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The legendary Hercules is one of ancient history’s first mythical “superheroes.” Hercules needs no introduction, but he is the hero who once diverted an entire river into a stable just to clean it out of the filth. He choked out a lion with his bare hands. He once carried the literal world on his shoulders.
However, this is not quite the Hercules that Dwayne Johnson plays. In the film, Johnson plays a version of Hercules that benefits from vast exaggeration about his feats, though he does seem to attain superhuman levels of strength as the movie goes on. He may not quite be the Hercules from Greek mythology, but he's still a vicious warrior and one of Johnson's most imposing characters to date.
Derek Thompson (The Tooth Fairy)
Once upon a time, The Rock was mostly starring in family comedies. Despite that, he still looks like The Rock, so his roles often fit the physique. In The Tooth Fairy, Dwayne Johnson is a minor league hockey player with an attitude to boot - a perfect candidate to become a tooth fairy.
Surprisingly, the organization of tooth fairies has a ton of powerful tools at its disposal, including Shrinking Paste, Cat-Away, and most importantly, Amnesia Dust. Add to that the ability to fly, and no children’s teeth are safe from being replaced with a moderate amount of cash. Somebody of The Rock’s physical caliber with these overpowered abilities is hilariously effective.
Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone (Jumanji)
Dr. Xander Bravestone is a video game character in the new incarnation of the Jumanji game. Regardless of who is playing the character, be it a nerdy shy guy or a cranky Danny DeVito, they gain the same intelligence and strength as Xander. He has an abundance of both these things.
He’s capable of throwing fully grown men into the sky with ease, and if that fails, he can just knock them out with a single punch. Not only that, his boomerang is Captain Boomerang levels of absurd, taking out swathes of NPCs with a single throw, a min-maxed strength build comes to life.
Maui (Moana)
Although the Maui that audiences see in Moana is a has-been, there’s no denying the incredible feats that he did do. Everything he sang about is true, though it should be noted he did have help from his relatives in the actual mythology. Maui is simply going through a mid-life crisis when Moana first meets him, meaning he’s not at peak strength.
However, he does get back his groove by the end of the film, and the Maui of legend starts to showcase his power. His shapeshifting powers give him incredible versatility. His hook is so powerful that it cleaves the hands of literal gods in two. When Maui’s at his best, he’s practically unstoppable.
Krypto The Superdog (DC League of Super-Pets)
Krypto, Superman’s faithful pet in League of Super Pets, is not only the goodest of boys but also the strongest. As far as fictional animals go, few can claim to reach the heights that Krypto the Superdog is capable of. The trailer showed him casually using himself as a track for a speeding train to cross, for starters.
The rest of the movie shows Krypto keeping up with the Blue Boy Scout in his superpowered games. Whether it’s playful or not, anybody who’s able to keep up with the likes of Superman is absurdly powerful. Amusing as it is to hear The Rock as a dog, his power level remains appropriately high.
Black Adam
Black Adam is a dark mirror to Shazam, except with far more battle experience. With thousands of years of practicing his powers, it’s clear that Black Adam is a DC powerhouse for good reason. Even the trailers show him burning a man alive to the bone, then sending shockwaves with his subsequent flight.
As established with Krypto, anybody that’s anywhere near Superman’s tier is in a league of their own. It helps that he’s shown fighting against the likes of Hawkman and Doctor Fate, giving both heroes a hell of a time fighting him. It’ll be exciting to see just how powerful Black Adam is later this month.