Black Adam is set to join the Justice League — and there’s one member of the team who already supports his inclusion.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “Justice League” from Infinite Frontier #0 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Tamra Bonvillain, and ALW’s Troy Peteri, on sale now
Black Adam is poised to become a more heroic figure than he was in the past, with the promise of Infinite Frontier even setting him up to be accepted into the Justice League. There are some heroes who are a bit wary of these developments, but there’s one notable hero who is already rooting for him.
In Infinite Frontier #0, Superman is a supporter of the idea of Black Adam redeeming himself, setting him up for eventual heartbreak if Black Adam turns on the heroes down the line.
Black Adam has always been one of DC’s more volatile figures. Although he’s one of the most powerful forces in the DC Universe, his own personal morality and stubbornness has set him up against the heroes of the DC Universe in the past. However, things seem to be changing. Shortly before the events of Dark Nights: Death Metal, Black Adam seemed to make peace with Shazam and all of his allies after working together to defeat Superboy-Prime. Black Adam even worked with the Justice League in Endless Winter, which teased prior instances of Black Adam working with heroes across time. In the post-Death Metal DC Universe, it appears that Black Adam wants to continue doing good in the world.
In the era of Infinite Frontier, the heroes are picking up the pieces from the chaos of the most recent crisis. Superman and Flash arrive on the scene to deal with a mysterious Fire God who’s attacking civilians. But by the time they arrive, he’s already been defeated by another figure: Black Adam. It appears that Black Adam has been fighting threats to innocents, with crowds even referring to him Shazadam, tying him closer to other Shazam heroes. The civilians openly compare him to Superman, setting up Adam to have a far more positive role in the modern-DC Universe. While Flash is a bit hesitant to take this change in Black Adam to heart, Superman is far more open to the idea.
Superman’s belief that anyone can become a better person would lead him to encourage Black Adam’s more heroic venture. This bodes well for Justice League’s upcoming admission of Black Adam, and suggests that the Man of Steel could become Black Adam’s biggest supporter in the League. Superman’s open heart makes him a natural fit as the teammate who’d most want to work with Black Adam, despite his more villainous actions in the past. But this could also set up the pair to have a far more destructive connection down the line, given what Black Adam might be fighting for in the fall-out of Future State.
The tease of DC’s distant future revealed that Black Adam will be one of the last ones standing against the Unkindness. Blasted back into the present day, the future Black Adam vows to kill the Unkindness before she becomes a threat — setting him up to try and kill her original form in the present-day, the heroic Raven of the Teen Titans. If Black Adam can resist the temptation of what his future form promises about their future, then the present-day Black Adam might just prove to be a major ally to the Justice League. But if Adam learns about the possible happiness he could find in the future with his Future State counterpart, then the reformed villain could be on the path towards causing a conflict with his only supporter within the Justice League.
