Black Adam by Dwayne Johnson wasn't exactly as planned, which is putting it mildly. The actor and producer kept revealing to everyone the DC Universe's power structure was about to change, and while it did, he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
When Black Adam was underwhelmed at the box office, found itself largely panned by critics, and was then dragged round the back and put out of its misery as the franchise instead focused on a brand new era, Johnson was left with an egg all over his face.
Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, has become a figure of fun after accidentally channeling one of the Black Adam's most lasting legacy in a fitting twist of fate.
Black Adam might be dubbed a failed comic book experiment that lives on solely through the medium of meme, much like Morbius before it. However, that isn't what The Rock intended when he brought the Man in Black to film after 15 years of development hell.
In either case, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has breathed new life into the template, and the shared Gunn connection is simply too good for anyone to pass up.