Dwayne Johnson has promised that the hierarchy of the DCEU will change forever when Black Adam thunders into cinemas. Who is Black Adam, though? What are his powers? Where does he come from? And is Black Adam a villain?
Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, Adam first appeared in the pages of Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family. When he was first introduced, he was little more than an evil version of Shazam (and the pair share the same magic powers) and only made one appearance before being defeated by the magical family. Things changed when DC comics got the rights to the character, and Adam quickly became one of the DC universe’s most recognisable characters.
With Adam finally getting his own DC movie in October 2022, played by Johnson no less, Black Adam is undoubtedly set to become more popular than ever before. So here’s everything you need to know about the ruler of Kahndaq’s powers and origins, and we’ll try our best to answer the question, ‘Is Black Adam a villain?’
Is Black Adam a villain?
No, Black Adam isn’t a villain. He’s an anti-hero. That’s a fancy way of saying that, unlike Superman and Batman, Adam isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and is willing to kill his enemies.
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Johnson has been pretty clear this will carry over into his action movie, and he’s been backed up by Black Adam’s producer, Hiram Garcia.
“[Black Adam’s] body count in this already surpasses anything we’ve done before,” Garcia told Yahoo Entertainment. “That is one of the great things about Black Adam is that he will not pull his punches. With Black Adam, you will not have that question.”
Who is Black Adam?
In the upcoming movie, Adam was born 5,000 years in the kingdom of Kahndaq. Known as Teth-Adam, he was one of the city’s many slaves, that is until he encountered the Wizard, who granted him the powers of Shazam.
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Black Adam used his powers to overthrow the ruling classes, but the sheer brutality of his actions saw him imprisoned for 5,000 years. The film will begin with Adam being freed by archaeologists, and his subsequent rampage puts him on a collision course with the Justice Society.
What are Black Adam’s powers?
Black Adam possesses similar powers to the hero Shazam. By saying the magic word “shazam,” Adam is empowered by the gods and gains the ability to fly, super strength, invulnerability, and a whole host of other incredible powers.
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How incredible are these abilities? Well, they allow him to fight on even footing with someone as strong as Superman, which is pretty damn impressive. Unlike Shazam, who Greek gods empower, though, Adam’s powers come from the gods of ancient Eygpt.
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