Black Adam

Black Adam in Justice League of America v3 #7.4.

Black Adam is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Fawcett

Teth-Adam was a male human who once lived long ago in the lands of Egypt on Earth-S in the Multiverse. (Shazam! v1 #28)

Long ago, the wizard Shazam had sought a champion and empowered a mortal for this role who he named Mighty Adam. However, he turned to evil and committed many crimes leading to the wizard renaming him Black Adam who was then banished from Earth. He was then sent to the farthest star though this was not enough and Black Adam made his way back to the planet though the journey took him many centuries. Shazam knew this and came to prepare a new champion to confront his former warrior who would return by the modern age. Black Adam dedicated himself to having revenge on Shazam, and started flying back to Earth at the speed of light. It took him 5,000 years, but he made his way home, and When he arrived and proclaimed that he would conquer the planet. Shazam had chosen new champions in Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. They confronted him, but their powers were too evenly matched and they fought to a standstill before Adam decided to retreat for the moment. The Marvels changed back into Billy Batson and Freddy Freeman to see Shazam and ask him if he knew anything about Black Adam, whose powers were so similar to theirs. Unbeknownst to them Black Adam was following them. Shazam told the boys the story of Black Adam, and he still regretted picking such an unworthy champion. Shazam vanished and Black Adam tied up Freddy and Billy, gagging them so they couldn’t say the magic words that gave them power. Mary Marvel and Uncle Marvel realized the boys were missing, and made their way to Shazam’s throne room only to discover their friends trussed up. Mary fought Black Adam, while Uncle Marvel freed the boys and summoned Shazam, asking him how to defeat Black Adam. Shazam told Uncle Marvel he had to get Black Adam to say his name. Uncle Marvel told the Marvel Family that Black Adam was too powerful for them to defeat and said he should join their family. He annoyed Black Adam by mispronouncing Shazam’s name until Adam spoke the magic word, turning him back into Teth-Adam. His mortal form was 5,000 years old, and he rapidly turned into an elderly man before decaying into a skeleton. Shazam thanked the Marvel Family for destroying his worst mistake, and said he was glad he entrusted his power to good people. (Marvel Family v1 #1)

Though deceased, he was brought back to life but Doctor Sivana who used his reincarnation machine to resurrect Teth-Adam. He then called on the magic lightning and became Black Adam once again where he destroyed the machine to prevent his resurrection from being undone. (Shazam! v1 #28)

He was then summoned by the Martian Karmang alongside the sand-like being known as the Quarmer. The two were brought together by magic on Mars where the villain intended to use them as part of his ploys. The summoning restored Black Adam's memories but he refused to serve anyone else where he attacked Karmang but the Martian managed to easily defeat Teth-Adam. He then tasked the two with placing devices on Earth-One and Earth-S that would cause the two worlds to become magnetically attracted to one another thus triggering a planetary collision. (All-New Collectors' Edition v1 #C-58)

DC

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Teth-Adam was the son of the Pharaoh who lived during the reign of Rameses II where he was one of his fathers many offspring. At the time, the Shazam was serving the Egyptian ruler as high priest and became impressed with Adam's fairness along with his decency. The wizard intended to find a successor for his role as he had grown tired of his duties and intended to join the pantheon of his gods. Thus, he forged an alliance with the Egyptian god Set and managed to endow Adam with the powers stolen from the Egyptian pantheon. By uttering the name 'Shazam', Teth-Adam was transformed into a powerful being known as the Mighty Adam and was expected to carry on the wizard's good work. Under Shazam's watchful eye, the Mighty Adam saved hundreds during a flooding of the Niles and even arranged a major treaty with the Hittites that were enemies of Egypt thus earning the Pharaoh the highest of honours. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #10) He eventually came to be an advisor of Prince Khufu of the Theban Dynasty with him working alongside Nabu the Wise. (JSA v1 #20) By the 15th Dynasty, he had been married where he had a wife named Shiruta with two sons called Gon and Hurut though his family were later killed by Ahk-Ton. (JSA v1 #44) During the 19th Dynasty, he accompanied Khufu when they discovered a speedster from the future named Jay Garrick with Teth-Adam helping him return to his own time. (JSA v1 #21) After Pharaoh Rameses II's death, Shazam had left Egypt with him believing that the Mighty Adam could continue on his work. Afterwards, the demoness Blaze took the form of a fair maiden in distress where she bewitched Teth-Adam. She managed to convince Adam that he should rule as Pharaoh with her ruling by his side. Upon learning of Adam's betrayal, the wizard returned and dispatched him with powerful magic with the attributes that made him the Mighty Adam being drawn out into a powerful scarab amulet. With his powers stripped from him, his body naturally aged causing him to become a desiccated corpse where he was called Khem-Adam. He was entombed in Rameses temple at Abu Simbel where he was sealed in a sarcophagus with the scarab amulet. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #10)

Archaeologists Mary and C.C. Batson discovered the scarab, but were killed by their partner Theo Adams. Theo tapped into the amulet's power, and Black Adam was reborn inside Theo Adam's body. Black Adam fought repeatedly with Captain Marvel, the modern champion of Shazam. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #10) Shazam restored Black Adam’s powers and memory during the War of the Gods. One the battle was over Shazam once again empowered him and made him a mute. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #9) Theo Adam’s jail cell was broken down by a vengeful Mary Marvel, the former Mary Batson, who now had the powers of Shazam. She’d recently learned that Theo handed her over to his sister Sarah Primm to raise after murdering her parents, and under the influence of a mind-controlling super villain, she sought blood. Adam, missing his memory, could only gape in horror, before Mary came to her senses and flew off. Adam's memory of his time as Black Adam began to return. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #5) The gang that was responsible for the death of Adam’s sister wound up in the same jail as him. Adam’s friends pointed out the triggerman, Bert, and Adam stabbed him before the guards intervened. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #7) When the super villain Captain Nazi was admitted to the prison hospital, Adam had himself inflicted with a flesh wound to meet him. Adam helped Adam escape in exchange for being able to tag along. Captain Nazi flew Adam to safety, but said that was all he was willing to do to help the stranger, and dropped him to his seeming demise. Captain Marvel, Jr. was in pursuit of Nazi, and, not knowing anything about Captain Marvel’s worst foe, rescued him. Adam was approached by the demoness Blaze, who told him she could restore his freedom and his voice, but at a price. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #8) Blaze restored Adam’s powers, and they attacked Shazam at the Rock of Eternity, sending him to Hades. Black Adam was hellbent on revenge on Captain Marvel, and found the Marvel Family transporting Captain Nazi back to prison. Adam hadn’t forgotten that Nazi tried to kill him, and sent him flying with a powerful punch, forcing Marvy Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. to pursue their captive. Captain Marvel now shared his powers with the Marvel Family, and he turned out to be no match for Black Adam, who snapped his arm, and tried to bury him alive on a construction site. Adam railed against Shazam, telling Cap he was doing him a favor by killing him, preventing Shazam from betraying him. Adam flew off satisfied, but once Cap’s powers returned thanks to Mary and Jr. relinquishing theirs, he dug himself free, and vowed to find Shazam in Hades. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #9) Black Adam visited his sister’s grave, and knew he could never turn against Blaze because she held Primm’s very soul in her grasp. Adam was spotted, and the police arrived. He was angry that they interrupted a family moment, and dealt out a beating before flying away. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #10)

Black Adam followed Mary, Dudley and Tawny into Shazam’s subway headquarters, and Ibis’ tomb. He ripped the Tawny doll to shreds, Blaze was under the impression that Tawny was helping them, but his good nature only let him aid the Marvel Family. Mary cast Shazam’s resurrection spell, bringing Ibis the Invincible, a powerful magician under Shazam’s protection, back to life. He banished Black Adam to Hades, and Black Adam was unfamiliar with the territory, and initially took pleasure in tormenting the already tormented souls. He found his sister, melded to rock, and forced to witness the punishment of others. He protested, saying she was always the good one, and she replied that she had been damned because of his sins. Adam screamed, realizing Blaze had been playing him. Ibis, already tiring of being awake, made a plan to end Blaze’s villainy. He sent Captain Marvel and Mary to Hades to free Shazam, and sent Cap Jr. and Bulletman outside the Rock of Eternity to delay her from freeing the Three Faces. Blaze and Black Adam defeated Cap Jr. and Bulletman. Dudley and Tawny joined the fight, but were soon overwhelmed. Mary found Sarah Primm in Hades, and freed her with the help of Satanus, sending her to Heaven. Black Adam no longer had a reason to be loyal to Blaze, and told Mary he owed her one. The freed Shazam and Ibis cleaved the Rock, freeing the Three Faces of Evil, and at Shazam’s command Black Adam battled it. The Marvel Family forced the Rock back together, trapping Blaze alongside the Three Faces and Adam. Ibis took pity on Adam, and sent him to a distant star. (The Power of Shazam! v1 #12)

Black Adam came to develop a brain tumour that weakened him to the point that it allowed Theo Adam to gain control of his mind. He then returned to Earth in Midtown where he was confronted by the newly reformed Justice Society of America. Despite their number, Black Adam was able to overpower them with the heroes unable to defeat him. However, Doctor Fate took Hourman and Hawkgirl back in time to the point he first gained his powers from the Wizard. Fate then channelled the magical lightning so that it would strike Black Adam in the present thus turning him into his mortal form of Theo Adam who was then knocked unconscious and arrested. (JSA v1 #6) He was later recruited by Johnny Sorrow to join his Injustice Society as they waged an attack against the Justice Society of America with the promise of curing him of his cancer. Black Adam complied though Sorrow was not aware that he had bargained with the Teth-Adam persona rather than the criminal Theo Adam. He participated in the attack where he seemingly fought Wildcat though in reality he took him to the side in order to offer his aid in defeating Johnny Sorrow. Together, the pair travelled to the Rock of Eternity in order to petition the Wizard in calling upon the aid of the Spectre to defeat the King of Tears with the Spirit of Vengeance already present and willing to take part in the battle. (JSA v1 #19) Unable to stop the King of Tears, the Justice Society decided to stop the entity's link to the physical world which was Johnny Sorrow though they were unable to fight him as he was intangible. Mr. Terrific offered namely for Jay Garrick to travel at light-speed and striking at Sorrow. To accomplish this, Black Adam lent the kinetic energy from his speed to Garrick who successfully destroyed Sorrow's form thus banishing the King of Tears back to its realm. (JSA v1 #20) In the aftermath, Black Adam requested to join the ranks of the Justice Society though Sand was reluctant in recruiting a former supervillain. (JSA v1 #21)

Adam attended the first annual JLA and JSA Thanksgiving celebration when the teams were called to Arusha, Tanzania to stop Doctor Bedlam from disrupting the Pan-African Conference on World Hunger. The JLA and JSA defeated Bedlam, but the attack was a ruse on the part of Johnny Sorrow to give him the opportunity to have Despero possess President Lex Luthor, who was at the conference, and to have the Seven Deadly Sins possess members of the JLA and JSA. The possessed heroes destroyed JSA headquarters and incapacitated the unpossessed JLA and JSA members. Adam was amng the heroes badly injured during the battle, but was cared for by Dr. Mid-Nite. By the time he recovered the JLA and JSA had returned the Sins to captivity in the Rock of Eternity, defeated Johnny Sorrow and freed Luthor from Despero. (JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice v1 #1)

He left the Justice Society over their handling of Kobra and departed alongside Atom-Smasher. The two recruited others to their cause as they formed a new team that took more extreme measures in eliminating threats. This saw them striking at the Kobra Cult's Himalayan headquarters with Black Adam murdering the Kobra leader to prevent him from killing anyone else again. (JSA v1 #51) Black Adam then recruited Alex Montez who had imprisoned Eclipso within his body and intended to use his power to do good in the world. (JSA v1 #52) He and his allies then struck to eliminate the Council and recruited Nemesis Soseh Mykros as another recruit for his team. (JSA v1 #53) With his band of superhumans, they made their way next to free the nation of Kahndaq from the tyrant Asim Muhunnad whereupon Black Adam assumed control of his country. (JSA v1 #56)

Carter battled Black Adam where he was empowered by his wounded colleagues with him using Teth-Adam's slain family as a means of stopping the battle. It only ended when Captain Marvel and other imprisoned heroes arrived at the scene where the champion of Shazam offered a resolution to end the fight. He suggested that Black Adam was a hero to Kahndaq for freeing its people from tyranny and thus could serve as the country's leader as well as protector. However, he was to abandon any plans for the rest of the world with Black Adam agreeing to these terms and he allowed the Justice Society to depart whilst he re-buried the bones of his family. (Hawkman v4 #25)

The Society offered Black Adam membership in their inner circle. Adam considered himself Khandaq’s hero, but the rest of the world rejected him, so he liked the Society’s plan to build a new society. (JSA v1 #70)

Black Adam and the Society inner circle watched the trial of Atom-Smasher, who was being tried for breaking international law in the invasion of Khandaq. Adam commented that he was a man of conviction, but his fellow Society members called Atom a fool. Calculator sent a video conference call to inform them of a rumor that would make the JLA’s brainwashing of Dr. Light pale in comparison to what he’d learned. (JSA v1 #76)

As part of his efforts, he orchestrated the Freedom of Power Treaty where he formed a coalition of many nations that sought to stamp out intrusions into their territory. Kahndaq, North Korea, Myanmar and China all joined into this coalition with Black Adam aiding his allies in the Great Ten when members of the Green Lantern Corps intruded on Chinese airspace. The battle was stopped when the Russians deployed their Rocket Red Brigade in assistance of the Green Lanterns with Black Adam backing down as he did not wish to start hostilities but warned that other nations were joining his coalition that aimed to fight back against American interference in their respective lands. (52 v1 #6)

From Renee Montoya, he and Isis came to be informed of a Religion of Crime cell that was operating within Yemen. The two attacked the site just in time to save Montoya and the Question from the cultists. It was then they learnt that one of the slaves kept on the site was Isis's younger brother Amon. The boy was badly injured and had recently had his legs broken after a recent escape attempt with it expected that he would never walk again. At first, Adam looked to kill the cultists to avenge Amon but Isis stayed his hand as she felt further violence would not solve anything. He then decided on something more drastic as he considered Amon to be part of his family and asked the boy to call him name whereupon he shared his magic with him. This allowed the boy to be transformed into the superpowered Osiris who was fully healed from his wounds. He joined Black Adam and Isis as they went to Kahndaq where they looked to change the world together as a family. (52 v1 #23)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

Long ago, Adam was a man who lived in the lands of Kahndaq where he came to have a wife named Shiruta and had a nephew named Aman. In that time, their home was raided by an army led by Ibac whose men took them as slaves for the mines with Shiruta being killed in the process. A badly wounded Adam was reunited with his nephew Aman who was similarly captured where during this time they were accidentally transported to the Rock of Eternity. Before the Council of Eternity, Aman was chosen to be the Wizard's champion and gifted the magic of the living lighting that could flow to family members. Adam asked his son to help take revenge against Ibac though Aman refused as he wanted to save the souls of people from evil. As a result, Adam murdered his nephew in order to claim his part of the living lightning for himself as he became Black Adam. (Justice League v2 #20)

Many centuries ago, during his rule Kahndaq came under attack from the Paling who were led by the Pale Bishop. Black Adam did not know of their intention and believed they threatened his kingdom where he battled them leading to a confrontation with the Pale Bishop who was apparently killed with his body mummified in a tomb in Kahndaq. Though defeated, the Paling survived and continued their inquisition's elsewhere in space with Black Adam unaware that the Pale Bishop was a rogue fallen Guardian of the Universe. (Sinestro v1 #17)

During the 10th century, he was freed from his imprisonment by the wizard in order to aid the Amazon Queen Hippolyta, the Viking Prince and the avatar of the Parliament of Trees to fight a grave threat to the world. (Justice League: Endless Winter v1 #1) The danger was posed by the Frost King whose powers threatened to freeze the entire world with the four champions making their way to the Arctic Circle to battle him. (The Flash v1 #767) They confronted their foe but failed to stop him where the Frost King was noted to had killed the Swamp Thing elemental forcing the others to retreat. Black Adam managed to distract the Frost King for a time and later came to learn that he was a human whose powers allowed him to manipulate the cold but had lost control over his abilities. Prior to that point, he had a family that Black Adam had thrown into the path of the Frost King in the hope that this would be a distraction. (Justice League v4 #58)

Afterwards, the planet came under threat from an invasion from the Crime Syndicate of America from Earth-3 with this displacing the Justice League from the world. They declared a reign of evil and looked to conquer the world with Black Adam looking to stop them. He confronted their leader Ultraman who was attacking the Daily Planet in Metropolis where he intended to kill the villain. However, he found that the supervillain from another reality to be powerful and he managed to knock Black Adam out into the city where their fight continued in the open. (Justice League v2 #24)

Later, the group proceeded to the fallen Watchtower in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, which the Crime Syndicate was using as a nerve center for their operations on Earth. Seeking revenge, Teth-Adam once more engaged Ultraman, fighting him until interrupted by the arrival of Mazahs, the dark counterpart of Adam's longtime rival, Shazam. (Forever Evil v1 #6) While Sinestro used his constructs to re-align Adam's jaw, Adam impaled Mazahs with a lightning rod and called down his lightning, only to find it had little effect on the ostensible hero from Earth-3. Eventually, Luthor defeated Mazahs, and relative normalcy was restored. Lex offered the group amnesty and support, but Adam, Sinestro, and Manta laughed him off. (Forever Evil v1 #7)

For a time, Adam's homeland of Khandaq was ruled by the dictator Asim Muhunnad. Eventually, he formed a group of heroes including Atom Smasher who entered Khandaq and deposed Muhunnad despite the efforts of the Justice Society. His newly reclaimed kingdom was not entirely willing to submit to his rule; the northern tribes built a resistance, targeting a new desalination plant in the Ahk-Ton Desert. He sent Atom Smasher to put down this rebellion with a show of force, but instructed him not to harm the rebels. Later that day, he was confronted by Batman, who had infiltrated his palace with the intent to depose him. Out of respect, Adam returned to his human form, wanting to fight Batman on equal ground. Batman underestimated Adam, who fought him to a standstill using martial arts techniques only one with an extraordinarily long life could master. Forcing a pause, Adam offered to grant Batman a portion of his power, so that he could watch over Gotham for centuries, like Adam would with Khandaq. Batman refused, and soon they were interrupted by the attacking rebels. Furious at Batman for distracting him, he renewed his attack, only to realize that he needed Batman's help. While Batman helped the palace staff and the injured within get to safety, Adam engaged the rebels with extreme prejudice. (Batman: Urban Legends v1 #17) He eventually married Adrianna Tomaz, who sought to soften his wrathful, often villainous edge. She was not entirely successful at the time, and eventually died fighting to protect Kahndaq. (Justice League v4 #59)

In the wake of several allegations that the United States Government was manufacturing Metahumans the Superman Theory arose. This theory shined light on the fact that over 90% of the World's metas were American citizens, implying that the American Government was planning to take over the World with an army of metas. All American metas were viewed with distrust and shunned by society. Seeing an opportunity to build an army of his own, Adam invited any metas to live in Kahndaq where they could be free of any prejudice. (Doomsday Clock v1 #5) Before long Adam had amassed a variety of metas to fight for his cause. (Doomsday Clock v1 #8) Soon enough Adam saw an opportunity to make his move. The metahuman Firestorm was framed for an explosion in Moscow, causing America to condemn their metahuman population. A majority of the superhero community travelled to Mars, where the true culprit was supposedly lurking. The only superheroes left on Earth were Batman and Superman, who had been caught in the explosion; and Wonder Woman, who was addressing the United Nations in defense of the Superhero community. Black Adam attacked the United Nations Building alongside Creeper and Giganta. (Doomsday Clock v1 #9)

Whilst in Kahndaq, he received reports of Lex Luthors actions in arming supervillains, the rise of Leviathan and that a change had come over Billy Batson turning him into a darker version of himself caused by the Batman Who Laughs. The villainous Shazam then attacked the city with Black Adam eventually intervening but he was beaten though he had made sure that his followers enacted a magic through prayer. This encased Shazam within a magical barrier and stripped him of his magic temporarily. With him defeated, Black Adam allowed him to depart after being humiliated in order to serve as a message that the people of Kahndaq bowed to no one. (Black Adam: Year of the Villain v1 #1) Afterwards, the world facing a new threat when the Frost King was freed from his imprisonment and threatened the world into a new ice age. By this point, Black Adam had opened his nation's borders to anyone facing persecution that included various supervillains in the United States. (The Flash v1 #767) He then commanded the nation and those supervillains staying within it defend against the hordes of ice monsters generated by the Frost King. (Justice League v4 #58)

Afterwards, he was in Kahndaq where he spoke to a child visiting the grave of his mother when a dimensional tear occurred and a powerful being called Brutus emerged. The extradimensional conqueror looked to lay claim to the Earth and battled Black Adam. Their fight was joined by the Justice League who responded to the unexpected arrival where they fought Brutus also after he attacked them. Ultimately, the villain decided to flee back to his realm but promised to return to continue his conquest. Following this encounter, Black Adam told the Justice League to depart Kahndaq territory but afterwards did an investigation over Brutus where he determined that he had some ties to newly emerged superhero Naomi McDuffie. (Justice League v4 #59) The young hero initially was hostile to Black Adam as she believed he had come to attack her with Superman arriving at the scene to force him away. However, the Kahndaqi ruler claimed that he had come peacefully and was investigating the threat from Brutus. He came to learn that the invader shared a similar energy signature as Naomi McDuffie where he participated in the investigation into this threat. This saw Black Adam go to the Hall of Justice where they learnt that Brutus actually came from another Earth in the multiverse that was the original home of Naomi. Superman then invited Black Adam to join the Justice League and went to travel to Naomi's world to stop the threat from its supervillain conquerors. (Justice League v4 #60)

Overview

Personality and attributes

King Black Adam in 52 v1 #45.

After being empowered by the wizard, he was given the name of Khem-Adam. (Shazam! v1 #28)

In ancient Egypt, he was married where he had a wife named Shiruta and two sons named Gon and Hurut. They lived in the lands of Kahndaq until they were murdered by Ahk-Ton with their souls passing into the afterlife. (JSA v1 #44)

After falling from the Wizard's grace, he came to be called Khem-Adam or Black Adam as a mark that labelled him evil. However, Adam himself came to regard black as a representation of a deeper level of consciousness that included a banishment of evil and negativity. (JSA v1 #56)

He came to see Isis's brother Amon as part of his family and as a brother which was the reason he shared his magic with the young man. (52 v1 #23)

He had claimed that he fought the Amazon Queen Hippolyta to be a remarkable warrior. (Justice League v4 #59)

Powers and abilities

Wielder of the living lightning in Black Adam: The Dark Age v1 #5.

Originally, Black Adam was a mortal until he was empowered by the wizard Shazam who instilled within him various traits of various gods. The deities that empowered Black Adam were from the Egyptian pantheon of that era with him getting the stamina of Shu, the strength of Hershef, the power of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the speed of Anpu and the courage of Menthu. (Shazam! v1 #28)

Through the Wizard, he too was empowered with the magic of the Living Lightning. (Justice League v2 #20) He had the ability to gift a portion of his magic to others and empowering them with the might of the gods. (52 v1 #23)

By saying the word Aton-Mahjarr, he was capable of turning a person to stone. (Justice League of America v3 #7.4)

He was also a master in Dhritishastra that was an Indian martial art developed by Vandal Savage said to be so complex that it took multiple lifetimes to learn. (Batman: Urban Legends v1 #17)

His draconian methods grant him effective leadership abilities and have allowed him to rule his own country without considerable dissent. (52 #12)

Notes

• Black Adam was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck where he made his first appearance in Marvel Family v1 #1 (December, 1945).

Alternate Versions

• In Flashpoint: The Outsider v1 #2 (2011), an alternate version of Black Adam appeared in the altered timeline of the Flashpoint.

In other media

Television

• In The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!, Black Adam appeared as a villain in the animated television series Shazam! segment in the episode "Black Adam's Return" where he was voiced by actor Lou Scheimer.
• In Justice League Unlimited, Teth-Adam was mentioned in the DC Animated Universe series episode "Ancient History".
• In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Black Adam appeared as a villain in the animated television series episode "The Power of Shazam" where he was voiced by actor John DiMaggio. In ancient times, Teth-Adam was the kind, young prince of Kahndaq. The wizard Shazam decided he would be the heir to his power. However, Shazam's daughter, Blaze, made a deal with the god Set to turn Adam into a servant of the Egypt. When Adam spoke the words, "Shazam," he received the powers of Egyptian gods: the Stamina of Shu, Swiftness of Heru, Strength of Amon, the Wisdom of Zehuti, the Power of Aton, and the Courage of Mehen. As Mighty Adam, he served Egypt well but was constantly away from his loving family. He faced unimaginable horrors, including a giant octopus monster and mummies. The mad priest Ahk-ton took advantage of his absence used the Orb of Ra to attack Kahndaq without mercy. With his kingdom in ruin, Mighty Adam continued to work of Egypt and later served alongside Nabu. He later captured Ahk-ton and overthrew Kahndaq as its new ruler, Teth Adam the Thunder King. Shazam was troubled by Adam's actions and realized the power corrupted his pure soul. Unable to beat him, Shazam banished Adam to a distant planet for all time and referred to him as Black Adam. Adam's rise and fall were recorded on a set of Egyptian hieroglyphics. 5000 years later, Black Adam was hit by transformative lightning sent by Dr. Sivana. He returned to Earth and searched Fawcett City for Shazam. He found Dr. Sivana, instead, who proposed a plan to defeat both Shazam and his new champion, Captain Marvel. Despite his disgust with the thought, Black Adam was to terrorize Fawcett City, distract Marvel long enough for Sivana to implant a tracer on him, and then feign defeat and run away. Sivana, his children, and Black Adam then followed Billy Batson and Batman to a mysterious cave. Sivana then instructed Adam to use his super strength to move Shazam's throne to reveal the portal to the Rock of Eternity. No longer in need of Black Adam, Sivana unleashed a bottle of transformative lightning onto Black Adam. Since he was never in his normal form for so long, Black Adam reverted into a corpse. But once Sivana was defeated, Adam disappeared; and though Captain Marvel and Batman assumed he was able to transform again and left the Rock, in reality his corpse turned to dust and he was never heard from again.
• In Young Justice, Black Adam appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series in the episode "Revelation" where he had a non-voiced role. He was shown as being a member of the Injustice League and fought the Team where he was defeated.
• In Justice League Action, Black Adam appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series episode "Shazam Slam" where he was voiced by actor Gary Cole.

Films

• In Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, Black Adam appeared as a villain in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Arnold Vosloo.
• In Black Adam, Black Adam appeared in the setting of the 2022 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

Video games

• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Black Adam appeared in the video-game as an antagonist and was a playable character where he was voiced by actor Joey Naber.
• In Injustice 2, Black Adam appeared as a playable character in the video game sequel where he was voiced by actor Joey Naber.
• In DC Legends, Black Adam: Khem-Adam appeared as a playable character in the iOS video game. His biography mentioned him as being Teth-Adam who was empowered by the gods where his family were killed by the mad priest Ahk-ton where he murdered him in retribution. As punishment, he was imprisoned inside a mystical scarab until freed in the modern time.
• In DC: Unchained, Black Adam appeared as a playable character in the setting of the mobile video game.

Appearances

• Marvel Family v1: (1945)
• Shazam! v1:
• All-New Collectors' Edition v1: (1978)
• Captain Marvel v1:
• JSA v1:
• Hawkman v4:
• 52 v1:
• Black Adam: The Dark Age v1:
• Justice League v2:
• Sinestro v1:
• Doomsday Clock v1:
• Shazam! v3:
• Black Adam: Year of the Villain v1:
• Justice League: Endless Winter v1: (2020)
• The Flash v1: (2020)
• Justice League v4:
• Black Adam v1: (2022)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.