DC Comics Black Adam film is adding a new member from the Justice League and bringing another powerful Black superhero to the big screen. While the film stars Dwayne Johnson as the titular hero, legacy character Hawkman is finally heading to the big screen and will be played by actor Aldris Hodge.
Hodge is no stranger to comic-inspired series, most recently appearing in season 2 of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. Touchingly it was Johnson who personally delivered the news to Hughs the casting decision. An account he shared in an Instagram post.
A member of the Justice League, Hawkman is an Egyptian man who, aside from flight, has the power of reincarnation. While not as well known as the big 7 of DC comics, the character is actually a key figure in the comics and has appeared in animated series such as Justice League and Young Justice, and made a live-action yet ill-fated appearance in the CW Arrowverse.
As with all recent comic casting involving persons of color, there is of course some backlash. Despite the character's initial background being written as biracial, the character was predominantly drawn to be a white man. Similarly, all of the previous live-action depictions leaned into whitewashing the character. Even when the character's history was taken into account and made a focal point of the storyline the casting still bypassed an actual person of color so if it’s the authenticity that anyone wants to complain about it should begin there. Between the casting of Hodge and Johnson, all signs are pointing to a storyline that’s conscious of the importance of the history of its characters. DC has proven that they can make good movies and surely Black Adam won’t disappoint.
