Outside of hierarchies of power, the general trajectory of the DC Extended Universe will likely be decided by the upcoming film, Black Adam. The footage so far promises audiences an utterly ruthless and mighty antihero, with Black Adam clearly not one to be trifled with. Another element that's getting fans excited is the rumored appearance of Superman in the film. According to reports, this will happen via a post-credits scene, giving Superman a likely scene-stealing cameo.
However, while the return of Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel is certainly a reason to be excited, it might send the wrong message for Black Adam. For one thing, it completely passes over the hero that actually does fight Black Adam in the comics, and it also runs the risk of giving Superman's return an all too brief focus when it should be something more grandiose.
Black Adam Has to Fight Shazam Before Superman
Black Adam's role as a villain has waxed and waned over the years, especially once Geoff Johns got ahold of him in his run on JSA. However, he's still one of the chief villains for Shazam/Captain Marvel, which makes sense. After all, their stories are meant to parallel each other, as are their powers and costumes. Thus, even if the DCEU Black Adam isn't the outright villain he is in some continuities, a face-off against the World's Mightiest Mortal is definitely necessary.
In the DCEU, Black Adam would likely be disgusted by the jovial nature of Billy Batson and his family, with the boy playing with the powers of gods that Adam sees as a curse. That alone would likely cause them to come to blows, as Black Adam's temper would make him quickly pick a fight with anyone. Though it's hard to discern where things would develop from there, this sort of storyline is still more organic than pitting Black Adam against Superman.
Superman's DCEU Return Should Be More Than a Cameo
Superman hasn't been seen in action within the DCEU since the events of the 2017 movie Justice League, with the arguably non-canon Zack Snyder's Justice League following the same general story beats for him. Thus, the figure that's supposed to be the greatest hero of the DCEU is undefined, with several movies having come out since his return that have nothing to do with him. Several huge questions also remain about the status quo of Cavill's Superman, both in terms of the actor playing him and his general role in the current DCEU.
One big question is how Clark Kent's return was explained, as the reporter supposedly died (as far as the outside world knows) in the battle between the Trinity and Doomsday. He's shown reuniting with his mother Martha and gallivanting around in Metropolis in his civilian guise, so he must have returned to some sense of normalcy in his life. These elements should all be explained for the sake of Superman fans and DCEU fans in general, but there's no time to do so in a mere cameo or post-credits scene. Instead, all these story elements and more would work well in what Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice should have been: an actual sequel to 2013's Man of Steel. That movie is almost 10 years old, and never following it up with a solo Superman movie is a decidedly questionable decision in terms of the DCEU trajectory.
If Superman really is this world's greatest hero, he needs more movies fleshing him and his mythos out. On top of this, a potential Superman cameo in Black Adam has become the most anticipated part of the movie, and that's not necessarily a good thing. It would seem more DCEU fans are interested in seeing Cavill return than Black Adam debut, proving that the needle for the hierarchy of power hasn't moved yet. Instead, this rumored cameo is hyping up the wrong thing.
To see Superman's potential return, Black Adam hits theaters Oct. 21.