How Is Black Adam Related To Shazam: Teth/Theo-Adam, also known as Black Adam, is a fictional character in DC Comics’ American comic books. Otto Binder and C. C. Beck were responsible for the character’s creation, and it made its debut in December 1945’s first issue of Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family comic book.
Black Adam has persisted as one of the archenemies of the superhero Captain Marvel / Shazam and the Marvel Family (also known as the Shazam Family) since DC Comics licensed and acquired Fawcett’s characters in the 1970s, alongside Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind.
Black Adam was initially portrayed as a supervillain and Captain Marvel’s forebear from ancient Egypt who battled his way into the present to confront the superhero and his Marvel Family companions.
Black Adam, however, has been reimagined by DC Comics writers Jerry Ordway, Geoff Johns, and David S. Goyer as a corrupted antihero trying to clear his name and reputation since the turn of the twenty-first century.
The character’s prominence in the DC Universe has grown thanks to prominent appearances in such comic book series as Justice Society of America, Villains United, Infinite Crisis, and 52.
The character joined the Justice League in DC’s 2021 line-wide Infinite Frontier relaunch. Black Adam was rated as the 16th greatest comic book villain of all time by IGN in 2009.
How Is Black Adam Related To Shazam?
Shazam selected Black Adam, also known as Teth-Adam, an ancient Egyptian, to succeed him. Black Adam did not use his superhuman abilities for a noble cause, unlike Billy Batson, the foster child chosen to be Shazam’s last champion.
The persona ousted the pharaoh and ruled the nation while aiding in the release of Kahndaq. While Adam sought vengeance after his family was killed, Billy Batson, an orphan, wished to reunite with his family.
Fans would recall Johnson’s absence from the 2019 film Shazam! However, when Shazam, the wizard, claimed that his prior successor had slaughtered Council of Wizards members and released the Seven Deadly Sins, his persona was cruelly mocked.
Why Were Black Adam And Shazam Split?
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The movie’s original plan was to combine Shazam and Black Adam into a single film. But Dwayne Johnson, who thought the two characters deserved their movies, brought about a change.
The original intention, he continued, “was to tell the two origin stories of Shazam! and Black Adam in the same movie, maybe five or six years ago, I think.”
“We had been working on that. The script was handed out. We need to separate these two movies, I thought, as soon as we all read the script. In addition to honoring Shazam! and its history, as well as what it represents and what it can offer fans, we also need to share our side of the story.
The majority of people in the world don’t know who Black Adam is if they aren’t severe comic book fans, so I think it was essential to separate them and tell each story separately, Johnson continued.
Black Adam Powers And Abilities: The Shazam Connection
The acronym Shazam represents a group of gods and heroes, mainly from the Greco-Roman tradition. When Billy Batson utters the fabled magic word, he is endowed with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury, on the more conventionally heroic end of things. These are self-explanatory, but Black Adam draws power from a different pantheon when he uses the magic word.
The magic word “Shazam” represents Shu’s stamina, Heru’s quickness, Aton’s power, the bravery of Mehen, the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, and the strength of Amon for Black Adam. We’ll assume that “stamina” manifests as near-invulnerability for superhero storytelling, which means that Adam (or other Shazam family members) can withstand roughly the same amount of punishment as Superman.
For the record, the gods of Ancient Egyptian mythology aren’t as closely associated with particular functions as their Greek or Roman equivalents. Shu, however, has a reputation for being compared to Atlas (possibly because he is linked to the area between the ground and the sky), which explains the “stamina” that he bestows on Black Adam.
Here’s agility—well, you may be more familiar with Heru as Horus, the sky god of ancient Egypt. Though perhaps not in the same way as Mercury, Adam was designed with speed in mind, so that is what we have.
In any case, Black Adam’s name bestows the usual superhero super speed. But neither he nor Shazam are as quick as the Flash, and they might be about as fast as Superman. It’s frequently claimed that his “swiftness” also allows him to fly.
What Are Black Adam’s Weaknesses?
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From a distance, Black Adam might seem like an absurdly powerful character. The guy is about as powerful, fierce, and quick, for crying out loud, as Superman! He CAN NOT, however, be defeated. He can be defeated by a stronger person, for starters. There aren’t many of these, but it is possible.
He is furthermore susceptible to magic, to start with. Given that his abilities are based on magic, it makes logical. He has repeatedly had his powers taken away by crafty wizards, heroes, and sorcerers throughout DC history, as you can see from the history section below. Sometimes, all it took was fooling him into using his magic word, which turned him back into a human and left him open to attack.
As demonstrated in the Black Adam film, he is weak to Eternium, the magical fragments that make up the Rock of Eternity, the source of Shazam’s abilities. Although it can puncture his skin, it doesn’t have the same effect on him as Kryptonite has on Superman.
In the most recent (and seriously awesome) Black Adam comics series by Christopher Priest and Rafa Sandoval, Adam found himself on the wrong end of none other than Darkseid himself. Darkseid’s cosmic power left the antihero with a kind of cosmic necrosis that is eating his physical form and killing him. So yes, Black Adam is challenging, but it is defeatable!
What Are Black Adam And Shazam Operate Their Power Differently?
Black Adam and Shazam are mighty beings that the Wizard endowed with power. They use magic to access their abilities, yet various gods assign them different names.
The idea of what would occur if these powers were granted to the incorrect person is presented when Black Adam first appears. Shazam, on the other hand, is a symbol of optimism and childlike innocence.
Their experience also distinguishes them immensely. Black Adam is much more skilled in battle than Shazam, who is still a young adult.
Shazam is as wise as Solomon, as strong as Hercules, as durable as Atlas, as mighty as Zeus, as brave as Achilles, and as swift as Mercury.
On the other hand, Black Adam possesses Shu’s endurance, Horus’ speed, Amun’s power, Zehuti’s knowledge, Aten’s strength, and Mehen’s bravery.
Despite having comparable abilities, some fans assert that Black Adam is significantly stronger than Shazam. The first assertion is debatable, though. It would be more appropriate to say that the anti-hero uses his abilities more ruthlessly and intelligently than his adversary.
