Black Adam: Shazam’s Arch-Nemesis Comic Origin & Powers Explained

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam film will finally be coming to theaters in 2021!  The actor made the highly anticipated announcement along with a phenomenal glimpse at him in the role of Black Adam. Fans have been waiting and waiting for any news on the project since the actor was cast back in 2014. Now, the ancient warrior is finally hitting the silver screen. While Black Adam didn’t have a cameo in Shazam, it sounds like DC wants to build momentum before their exciting and undoubtedly violent first encounter in Shazam 3. The origins of the two characters are intertwined, but Black Adam is more than a run-of-the-mill comic book nemesis. He’s a truly ancient warrior who possesses an ancient power. A power that was granted to him as a gift, but became the source of his own corruption.

The story of Black Adam begins well before DC Comics ever owned the character. Much like the dastardly devil Dr. Sivana, Black Adam has been a nemesis to Shazam and the Marvel Family for decades. He’s been terrorizing Billy Batson and his family since 1945 and has shown no sign of stopping. While he isn’t always evil, for the last few years he’s been one of the most prominent villains in DC’s line-up. Using his immense power to wreak havoc and destruction across numerous titles and worlds. Now, as Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam sets his sights on the live-action DC Universe, it’s time to take a look at what makes the infamous anti-hero such a terrifying figure.

Black Adam’s Comic Origins

A not-so-powerful man named Teth-Adam hailed from a mysterious nation near Egypt known as Kahndaq. Teth-Adam was granted the powers of the wizard Shazam 5,000 years ago in the time of ancient Egypt. He began life as a virtuous and moral man, so much so that he was seen as “worthy” by that great and powerful wizard. As many comic fans know, Black Adam is actually a direct predecessor to Billy Batson’s Shazam. Granted the same magical gifts by the same mystic who deemed him worthy. Much like the superhero formerly known as Captain Marvel, when Teth-Adam utters the word “Shazam” he is quickly transformed into the “Shazam” of his time. 

At first, the ancient Kahndaqian used his powers for the greater good, but absolute powers tends to corrupt absolutely. The ancient Shazam used his newly-granted powers to overthrow and murder the Pharaoh before declaring himself ruler of the world. Since that wasn’t exactly what the Wizard intended when he granted these powers, he dubbed the malicious murderer “Black Adam” and banished him to the furthest distance in the Universe. It took the patient warrior 5,000 years to make his way back to Earth. Which coincidentally, is about as much time as it took the wizard to find his new Captain Marv…Shazam in the form of Billy Batson. While Black Adam has spent most of his time back on Earth terrorizing the kid who also possesses his power, he’s occasionally fought for the good guys. But since DC is now officially in the business of making billion dollar films out of their greatest villains, there’s no telling which side Teth-Adam will be fighting for when he makes his debut.

Black Adam’s Comic Powers

Black Adam’s powers make him one of the most intimidating supervillains in the entire DC Rogue’s Gallery. He’s more than a match for his Shazam-counterpart and has even been known to go toe-to-toe with Superman. So what exactly are this ancient antagonist’s arsenal of powers? Well, it’s all in the name–and that name is Shazam. Before becoming an evil self-declared Emperor who was banished across the cosmos, Black Adam was granted the powers of the wizard Shazam. By invoking that name, he would become the super-being we all love to hate. Those powers are all each derived from different gods that are each represented by a letter in the name “Shazam.”

Each letter in the name corresponds to the name of a god that grants Shazam their power. Those gods have changed since the character was first created, but in current continuity they are: S is for the wisdom of Solomon, H is for the strength of the famous Hercules, A is for the stamina of Atlas, Z is for the powers and thunderbolts of Zeus, A is for the courage of Achilles and M is for the speed of Mercury. Black Adam and Shazam may not have invisibility or laser-eye vision, but they have just about every other superpower under the sun. Just one of those powers would qualify someone for the Justice League, but with all of these combined it’s no wonder Black Adam was able to declare himself Ruler of the World.

Black Adam’s Connection To Shazam

Black Adam and Shazam’s stories are perfectly interwoven. In fact, Shazam’s powers and origin are nearly the same as Adam’s. One being a symbol of the corruption of age, time and power; the other being a symbol of child-like hope and justice. Both Black Adam and Shazam get their powers from the “Rock of Eternity”. A source of great power and knowledge that was featured prominently in this year’s Shazam. Once granted, the powers cannot be taken away. Hence the need for the wizard to banish Black Adam across the entire universe instead of simply stripping him of his power. When Black Adam returns, he finds an untrained and naive child in his place. That wouldn’t sit well with any supervillain, let alone one who just spent thousands of years getting back to Earth. The battles between these two gods in human form have been delighting comic book fans around the world since 1945, and were once more popular than any Batman or Superman comic.

Instead of spending his time bashing Billy Batson halfway to death Black Adam now spends most of his days as the pseudo-leader of the former nation of Kahndaq. While he’s not exactly the newest member of the Justice League he’s not gunning for a fight with them either. Supervillain films might be all the rage after Joker’s success, but Black Adam will probably be depicted as more of an anti-hero than an outright evil-doer. Years of anticipation have led to years of speculation, but only the final film can deliver.

Will Black Adam be a monstrously powerful terror who’s spent thousands of years traveling to destroy Billy Batson and Shazam? Or will he be the sympathetic leader of an impoverished country fighting against the mighty and greedy Pharaohs? Whether he’s a hero or a villain, DC fans everywhere are hoping the 2021 film can live up to Black Adam’s legend.

About The Author