The following contains spoilers for Black Adam, now in theaters.

When the critics began revealing their takes on Black Adam, many wondered if DC had churned out another bomb. It would have been disappointing, given DC fans and comic book movie fans, in general, want to see heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League doing well on the big screen.

It's not just about having a competitor for Marvel but giving fans -- old and new -- the joy of witnessing some of pop culture's most iconic faces fighting their villains in cinematic grandeur. It paints an interesting dichotomy, however, with Rotten Tomatoes' critical score at 39 percent but the audience's at 90, indicating fans love Dwayne Johnson's antihero. However, while the movie's success is great, viewers receiving the film so well isn't good for the DC Universe moving forward long-term.

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Black Adam's Praise Is Fans Accepting Mediocrity

With Shazam! and Aquaman coming off as more inspirational, lighthearted movies and the violent side of the DCU being tended to via Peacemaker and Amanda Waller's Task Force X, make no mistake: Black Adam's violence does have a place. It's the very nature of the character, unlike what transpired in Man of Steel. But while Adam himself is on brand, that doesn't mean a charismatic lead should give the film a hall pass. Yes, fans love Johnson and his WWE time as the Rock, but still, the outpouring of love can backfire due to the movie's many flaws.

Now, fans are entitled to their own opinions, but Black Adam isn't that good of a film. The plot is rushed, the dialogue is lacking, and it relies heavily on the typical CGI-laced finale that flopped for Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, to name a few. In that sense, it has a lot of the same technical and narrative errors from the older movies, which the DCU has been trying to move away from. But should Warner Bros. gauge this reception as an acceptable standard, all the progress could be walked back.

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Warner Bros. Can't Go Back to the Early Snyder Era

In the Zack Snyder era, the filmverse was wobbly, which is why mediocre content thereafter was heralded as a step up. Even Wonder Woman 1984 is viewed as palatable, despite all its mistakes and a creepy Steve Trevor resurrection arc, because what came before was so bad. But now, with Black Adam being seen as a moneymaker, DC movies with weird plot holes (Hawkman not asking for Adam's help against Sabbac), odd characterizations (Waller not killing a human Adam) and motivations (as seen with a randomly-existing Intergang), and that need to stick in a ton of fights (style over substance) may become the norm again.

Given how often Black Adam has those slo-mo shots as well, it'll feel like going back to the early Snyder era. That's not to say Snyder can't return and churn out something different after recognizing his mistakes, as well as Joss Whedon's from Justice League, but right now, Black Adam is just papering cracks, bandaging old wounds and applying a hopeful creative treatment rather than being an assured, decisive cure. Winging it like this shouldn't be a template for success, nor a measuring stick the studio goes by, which may well become the case the more the box office haul grows.

If so, the DCU could end up with a universe on par with Venom or even the old Transformer movies -- weak stories that look good, which do run the risk of botching something Marvel Studios has nailed: longevity and sustained creative success, even with its not-so-impressive properties. Rivalries and comparisons aside, fans all want the DCU to win, but Black Adam can lull Warner Bros. into a false sense of security due to the market. The thirst for anything DC and, admittedly, Marvel saturation, coupled with an audience that's trying to move away from COVID-19 and back into theaters, will result in folks flocking to a popcorn movie that's steeped in senseless violence and laughs, but ultimately, it's not the formula for a compelling, nuanced superhero-verse.

Black Adam is now in theaters.