Dwayne Johnson makes his long-awaited superhero debut in Black Adam, but how did the secondary market react to the movie’s premiere?

Critics have labeled this one of the worst DCEU movies to date, but fans beg to differ. Although the critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a Rotten 44%, audiences rated it 89% overnight Thursday. 

Black Adam doesn’t rank as an instant classic, but it was better than the majority of Marvel’s Phase Four entries. Personally, I would rather see The Rock perform a few Mortal Kombat-style kills as Black Adam than sit through a second round of Thor: Love and Thunder, Hawkeye, WandaVision, or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Plus, the perfunctory post-credits cameo was more impressive than any of those Marvel has dished out as of late. 

If there’s a Hollywood actor who was destined for superhero cinema, it’s Johnson. With his action-figure physique and undeniable charisma, it was a matter of time before he starred in either a DC or Marvel film. While Black Adam is not an Oscar contender by any stretch, Johnson delivered a flawed but still highly entertaining movie.

Sure, it was predictable and riddled with plot holes and cliches, but the end product was enough to keep me interested from start to finish. The characters generally lacked depth, particularly the main villain, Sabac, but the costumes were great, particularly Doctor Fate’s. At least Black Adam didn’t troll the audience or throw away characters in the interest of cheap jokes.

Now, on to those all-important key issues.

SHAZAM #28

Unless you have four figures to spare for a 0.5 graded Marvel Family #1, your best option is Shazam #28. This is Black Adam’s second appearance and first cover, if you don’t count the unofficial fan magazine, Alter Ego #7. It also marked his Silver Age debut, and those are always popular among DC collectors.

We haven’t seen any graded 9.8s sell online since a copy brought over $3k in August. However, a graded 9.6 earned $1,878 at the first of the month. Earlier this week, a 9.4 sold for $995.

DC COMICS PRESENTS #49

Thanks to that post-credits scene with the worst-kept secret in all the DCEU, this will be an issue on the rise very soon. Although Black Adam and Superman had appeared in the same comics before this 1982 issue, it was the first time the despot of Kahndaq and the Man of Steel squared off. It doesn’t hurt matters that the two are both on the cover art.

Johnson has promised that we will see more than one epic brawl between the DC powerhouses, and that will raise interest for DC Comics Presents #49. On October 19, a graded 9.4 sold for $199. A day later, an 8.0 brought $139.

THE DAWNING OF A NEW DCEU?

With Black Adam introducing so many fresh faces into the DCEU, it could lead to many potential spinoff movies and streaming series. Since audiences are deeming the film a winner, it should do well at the box office, thus proving to the new bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery that its DC properties are still viable.

Will this give a boost to more DC key issues in a secondary market dominated by Marvel? Time will tell.

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*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.