Dwayne Johnson & Noah Centineo on How to Be an (Anti) Hero
There are only a few days before audiences can at last see Dwayne Johnson Take center stage as DC Comic’s ultimate antihero Black Adam. The film tells the story of the vengeful Teth-Adam, who returns to the world after being imprisoned for 5,000 years after failing to use his superpowers as a force for good. Fueled by a desire to bring the universe into line through his ruthless form of justice, Teth-Adam takes on Earth’s modern-day (and much less callous) heroes, the Justice Society Of America.
Ahead of the anticipated global release, Johnson and Noah Centineo (who plays JSA’s Atom Smasher) have teamed up to share their tips on becoming the ultimate super(anti)hero in a video shared on Instagram. Your first tip is important: have a catchphrase. “All right, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to be a superhero, you have to have a catchphrase,” Centineo explains. “Something really cool, something where people understand what you mean when you say it and you really nail it, like, ‘What goes around comes around.'” The Atom Smasher actor then continues, doing a shadow right hook, which is given the thumbs up by former wrestling champion Johnson. Johnson takes the opportunity to deliver Teth-Adam’s signature line, “Tell him the man in black sent you,” in his unmistakably raspy superhero tone.
The pair explain that their second must-have for every hero is a disguise. Johnson sums it up when he “hides” behind a not-so-mysterious straw cowboy hat. Her third recommendation – which superheroes around the world will agree is essential – is to have an action figure. “A superhero, to be a real superhero you have to make sure you have an action figure made after your superhero, kind of like these guys,” says Centineo. The pair then proudly display their signature action hero toys, both outfitted with their character’s respective super suits and – in Johnson’s case – a light-up super suit. Number four, viewers are informed, nails a superhero landing and an “intimidating anti-hero look,” according to Johnson.
The fifth and final tip from the superhero duo is to get a handle on their philosophy. “So I feel like a superhero, you really need to be rooted in your philosophy, your why, why are you doing the things you’re doing?” Centineo explains. Discussing how that translates to the notoriously ruthless Teth Adam, Johnson says, “I think with Black Adam he has his own brand of justice and if you wrong him or his loved ones, there’s no way to bring the wicked to justice…they will die.”
“Atom Smasher thinks something’s going to go to Kahndaq and then he meets Black Adam and his idea of what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s good and what’s bad has changed radically,” Centineo adds. “But he has to find that out if he wants to be a strong superhero.”
The video is the latest in a series of exciting promotions for the superhero epic. Johnson has made big promises to shake up the course of the DCEU with the film, and early reviews for the film say it doesn’t disappoint.
you can catch Black Adam in theaters on October 21. You can check out Johnson and Centineo’s picks below: