Aldis Hodge Was Built for This

The actor, producer, and, incredibly, watchmaker has been carefully constructing his career for years. Now he's ready for his superhero moment, playing Hawkman opposite the Rock in DC's upcoming Black Adam. Soon you won't be able to look up without seeing him, whether he's wearing Hawkman's wings or the season's coolest coats.

- By Brady Langmann

It's DARK. Like, really fucking dark and claustrophobically crowded. Nearly seven thousand superfans are stuffed into Hall Hat San Diego Comic-Con on this July afternoon, and they're buzzing with anticipation. What little light there is in the room is from the smartphones prepared to capture what happens onstage. The nerds know it's a huge moment for DC Comics. The House of Batman and Superman has had a bumpy few years. But now DC is hyping what it hopes will be its new blockbuster movie: Black Adam (October 21), about an ultrapowerful antihero who was imprisoned five thousand years ago and unleashed in the present day.

Smoke seeps into the room, and suddenly there's Black Adam himself: the Rock, on a pedestal fifteen feet in the air, in full formfitting costume. The worshippers gasp and cheer. But the joint positively vibrates a few minutes later when Aldis Hodge sprints onto the stage-beaming but not in costume-to join the panel. The actor plays Hawkman, a beloved Justice League staple who, until now, has never gotten his due on the big screen. He's finally ready to take off. So is Hodge.