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Black Adam
Movie

Black Adam

2022 • Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Woke Score
5
out of 10

Plot

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods-and imprisoned just as quickly-Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

Overall Series Review

The film centers on Teth-Adam, a champion from the non-Western, fictional nation of Kahndaq, who is awoken to free his people from a modern crime syndicate. The narrative's central conflict is quickly established between Black Adam's brutal, localized form of 'justice' and the interventionist Justice Society of America (JSA). The movie is an action-heavy spectacle that deliberately constructs a political allegory concerning anti-imperialism and the morality of intervention. The JSA, which represents established global order and traditional heroic ideals of due process, is directly challenged and framed as hypocritical by the Kahndaqi people for their prior decades of inaction. The spiritual themes embrace moral relativism, openly questioning objective moral law in favor of a subjective, 'darker' path championed by the protagonist. The female characters are active and highly competent, though traditional maternal and protective dynamics remain central to the plot's emotional core. Overall, the film is primarily driven by its political identity message, pushing a critique of Western global norms and traditional morality, while keeping gender and sexual identity politics largely in the background.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The movie’s plot is heavily focused on an anti-Western imperialism message, where the dark-skinned hero of the oppressed nation is cheered for his brutal, extrajudicial killings of foreign mercenaries. The Justice Society of America, an established group of heroes, is portrayed as indifferent 'interlopers' who only intervene to 'protect global stability' when the local champion threatens the status quo. The protagonist's dark and vengeful morality is favored and framed as necessary for a people who have suffered under systemic oppression, explicitly contrasting with the JSA's 'white knight' idealism.

Oikophobia8/10

The narrative's central philosophical debate is a clear critique of Western interventionism. Characters from Kahndaq openly question and condemn the JSA for their decades of non-intervention when the country was suffering, accusing them of only meddling now that a local force has risen to challenge the global order. The movie frames the JSA's desire for 'due process' and 'global stability' as empty slogans and a cover for cynical foreign power dynamics.

Feminism3/10

Female characters like Adrianna Tomaz and Cyclone are highly competent and drive key plot points. Adrianna is the intrepid archaeologist who frees the protagonist, and her main motivation is protecting her son and her country, establishing a strong, traditional maternal and familial dynamic alongside her intellectual and leadership capabilities. The female heroes are outnumbered, and there is no explicit anti-natalist or widespread male emasculation messaging in the plot.

LGBTQ+1/10

The main film does not feature any explicit queer representation or introduce alternative sexual ideologies into its central narrative. The primary family unit driving the emotional plot is the traditional mother-son pairing of Adrianna and Amon. The character dynamics adhere to a normative structure, with sexuality remaining a private matter and not a thematic focus of the story.

Anti-Theism7/10

One major character explicitly states that his experiences have led him to 'cease to believe in absolutes,' directly promoting moral relativism as a form of higher wisdom. The protagonist, Black Adam, is a mass-murdering anti-hero whose violent, vengeful justice is celebrated by the oppressed populace over the JSA's heroic code of mercy and due process, encouraging the acceptance of a subjective, 'darker' morality. The spiritual landscape is defined by pagan 'gods' and a demonic villain, making no reference to Christian morality.