Before Black Adam arrives, here's what you need to know about the Justice Society of America

When Dwayne Johnson officially confirmed in 2014 that he’d be playing Black Adam in the DC Extended Universe, the Ice Bucket Challenge was still a thing and Pharrell was telling us all how happy he was. Now, finally, after eight years of protein shakes and life-affirming social media posts reminding us how we could all be working harder, he’s set to make his DCEU debut when Black Adam arrives on October 21.

Johnson, the former WWE Superstar will play an ancient Egyptian warrior on an epic, centuries-long quest for revenge, burdened with mythical strengths and near-invincibility as he … oh, wait. That’s the opening act of The Mummy Returns. In Black Adam, Johnson will do pretty much all of that, too, but also will contend with the DCEU’s version of the Justice Society of America—comprised of Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell)—who could prove to be either friends or foes to DC’s newest antihero.

But who even is the Justice Society of America?

First appearing in All Star Comics—a precursor to DC Comics—the JSA is often considered the first super-team in comic book history. Pre-dating the Justice League by nearly two decades, the group was created by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Mayer in the early 1940s. The JSA’s ranks have fluctuated over the years, but the original line-up was made up of Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom, Jay Garrick’s Flash, Alan Scott’s Green Lantern, Sandman, Ultra-Man, and The Spectre.

With two founding JSA members—Hawkman and Doctor Fate—about to make their big-screen debut, now seems like a good time to look at the characters’ backstories.

Hawkman

Like just about any comic book character, Hawkman’s history is a convoluted mess of retcons and reboots. First introduced in 1940’s Flash Comics #1, Hawkman is the superhero alter-ego of Carter Hall, an archaeologist who is actually the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian priest named Khufu. Creating gravity-defying wings and armor for himself out of Nth metal, Hawkman/Carter is a charter member of the JSA and has more or less been a staple of DC Comics ever since his introduction.

That was his origin story—to begin with, at least. But since nothing in comics can ever be simple, in the ’70s, another version of Hawkman, this one named Katar Hol, was introduced. Hol is an alien cop who relocates to Earth under the guise of Carter Hall, who is now a museum curator, although this time it’s a different Earth. There have been other Hawkmans (Hawkmen?) over the years, with variants sometimes literally melding together into one confusing amalgamation, but the original iteration and Hol are probably the most persevering. It’s unclear what origin story Black Adam’s Hawkman will have, but it seems like anything can happen where Hawkman is concerned.

Doctor Fate

Next up, proving the MCU doesn’t have the only superhero who will never let you forget he has a degree, is Doctor Fate. Debuting in More Fun Comics #55 in 1940, the first Doctor Fate was Kent Nelson, an archaeologist-in-training on an expedition in Mesopotamia. There, he stumbles upon the tomb of Nabu, an immortal, otherworldly being who bestows upon Nelson the powers of magic and mysticism.

Fate is another character that has been retconned to death. The Kent Nelson origin story was actually only explored in the comics after Doctor Fate had already been an established hero who was sorely lacking a secret identity. In fact, during the first meeting of the JSA, Fate declares that he’s an extraterrestrial, so it seems like the writers were playing it pretty fast and loose with the character’s origins even then. With many options to choose from, Brosnan’s take on Kent Nelson can go in any direction, though the smart money says archaeology will be involved.

Atom Smasher

Jumping forward a few decades, Atom Smasher is the first hero on the list introduced after seatbelts were invented. Premiering in 1996, then operating under the name Nuklon and sporting an epic mohawk that is tragically absent from all Black Adam promotional material, Albert “Al” Rothstein is Atom Smasher, a metahuman who can manipulate his molecules, allowing him to change his size, density, and strength level at will. He’s actually the godson of Al Pratt, the original Atom, who was another founding member of the JSA.

Atom Smasher and Black Adam started off with a tempestuous relationship in the comics, with the former being suspicious when the latter claimed to have reformed. However, the two would soon bond over their shared love of showing their enemies zero mercy and eventually jointly quit the JSA over the group’s overbearing moral code.

Cyclone

Last up is Cyclone, the most recent addition to the bunch. She made her debut in 2007, unless you count the subsequent retcon that may have technically introduced her as an unnamed character in a 1996 book, but that’s a whole other can of worms. With the unenviable real name Maxine Hunkel, Cyclone is the granddaughter of another classic JSA member, Abigail “Ma” Hunkel, the original Red Tornado, because the nepotism on this team is real. As a teenager, Maxine was kidnapped by a mad scientist named T.O. Morrow (yes, seriously) and injected with nanobytes, giving her the power to control the wind.

Given her relative freshness to the DC scene, there’s not a ton of lore to draw from when it comes to Cyclone, which will give Black Adam the chance to set the precedent for how Cyclone will be portrayed in live-action. None of the trailers provide a definitively clear example of Cyclone’s power set in the DCEU, so she’s a potential wildcard in Black Adam.

It remains to be seen how well yet another reinterpretation of these characters may go. Some have already appeared in live-action in various CW projects, but this will be the first time they’re adapted for the big screen. Given the troves of canon to use as a guide and DC’s history of holding no origin story sacred, Black Adam’s creative team will have had plenty to work with when crafting the script.