In fiction, the best villains believe they are the heroes. Lex Luthor sees Superman as a threat to himself and to mankind, a being from another planet who shows humanity just how weak they are. Zoom, the second Reverse-Flash believes his actions make the Flashes better heroes. Black Adam sees himself not as a dictator, but as the savior of Kahndaq, protecting it from the outside world.
The first disciple of the Wizard Shazam, Black Adam has lived for thousands of years, making his mark on the history of the DC Universe time and time again. Known mostly as an adversary of Shazam and the Justice Society, his story is as complex and tragic as any classic fictional character. Here are ten important details about Black Adam's history that have made him DC's most powerful anti-hero...
10 Birth Of A Legend
Black Adam was born Teth-Adam of Kahndaq, the son of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II, in 1279 BC. When the Wizard Shazam was searching for a champion who would inherit his powers, the kindness that Teth-Adam showed others caught his attention. The Wizard Shazam selected Teth-Adam to become a being of great power, but the demon Blaze corrupted the ceremony. Working with the god Set, Blaze made sure that when Teth-Adam spoke the Wizard's name, he would not gain his powers from Shazam, but instead from the Egyptian gods separating the Wizard from his chosen champion.
9 Power Of The Gods
The Wizard Shazam had planned to share his power with Teth-Adam, and while Adam gains his power by speaking the Wizard's name, he is not actually powered by the Wizard. Because of the actions of the demon Blaze and the god Set, Adam instead pulled his powers from the Egyptian gods Shu, Heru, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen.
By separating Teth-Adam's power from the Wizard Shazam, Blaze corrupted the soul of Adam, though it would be centuries before this tragic move would be discovered. For the time, Teth-Adam was known as Mighty Adam, hero to the people of Kahndaq.
8 Eternal Relationships
In time, Teth-Adam found love in the arms of Shiruta. The two wed and Shiruta gave birth to their sons, Gon and Hurut. As the son of the Pharaoh Ramesses II and champion of the Wizard Shazam, Teth-Adam and his family lived a life of luxury in Kahndaq. The people of the city loved their champion and celebrated his victories.
As the protector of Kahndaq, Teth-Adam came into contact with other icons and heroes of Ancient Egypt, including the great wizard Nabu and Prince Khufu – better known as Doctor Fate and Hawkman. At the time, the three men didn't realize that their friendly relationship would span millenniums and turn deadly.
7 A Timely Meeting
Not long after meeting Nabu and Prince Khufu, Teth-Adam was greeted by three travelers from the future; Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific, and Shazam. Adam was proud to learn that his legacy would live on through Shazam and that his life would still be remembered so long after his time. The three members of the Justice Society of America decided not to tell Teth-Adam the truth about his future, fearing the ramifications it could have on the timeline. It was while these heroes from the future were visiting that the evil priest Ahk-Ton used the Orb of Ra to attack Kahndaq.
6 The Fall Of Kahndaq
When an alchemist created the Orb of Ra out of a meteorite, he gave it to Ahk-Ton, hoping that the high priest would use it to bring peace to Egypt. Instead, the priest saw the Orb of Ra as his opportunity to rule over the empire. Ahk-Ton sent the Orb of Ra into the future believing that it would return to him with immeasurable power. When it did return, Batman and the Outsiders came with it. The team of heroes were able to defeat the mad priest, but not before he imprisoned Metamorpho in the Orb for a time. After the Outsiders returned to his time, the radiation of the Orb of Ra infected Ahk-Ton and gave him the powers of Metamorpho, making him nearly unstoppable. Ahk-Ton used his new power to destroy Kahndaq and rule over Egypt.
5 The Fall Of Black Adam
With the help of the three heroes from the future, Teth-Adam was able to defeat Ahk-Ton and free Egypt from his grasp. Tragically, Teth-Adam's home, Kahndaq, had been decimated. Before Teth-Adam was able to stop the mad priest, Ahk-Ton murdered Shiruta, Gon, and Hurut. The pain of losing his family drove Teth-Adam mad. He believed that the only way to truly protect Kahndaq was to separate it from Egypt and rule the country himself.
Seeing his champion's fall from grace and learning the truth of Teth-Adam's power, the Wizard Shazam intervened and used a powerful spell to pull Teth-Adam's soul into a scarab. His soul removed, Teth-Adam's body, which was hundreds of years old, quickly decayed. The Wizard buried Teth-Adam and the scarab in the tomb of Ramesses II.
4 The Ancestor
After his death, the people of Kahndaq who once called him Mighty-Adam began to refer to their fallen champion turned dictator Black Adam. In time, his name faded from historical fact to myth, and he was all but forgotten by the world. Black Adam's soul and body lay undisturbed in his father's tomb for thousands of years until the tomb was excavated. The scarab was found by Teth-Adam's ancestor, Theo, who spoke the name of the Wizard Shazam and became possessed by the soul of Teth-Adam. While he began his new life as a villain of Shazam, in time, Black Adam saw that he could better reach his goals as a hero and joined the Justice Society.
3 A New Family
When the Justice Society refused to execute the terrorist cult leader Kobra, Black Adam left the team and killed Kobra himself. Adam then traveled to Kahndaq and overthrew the government, retaking his place as the dictator of the country. Black Adam made an agreement with the world – if they would leave Kahndaq alone, he would leave them alone.
Hoping to use Kahndaq as a base for their criminal empire, Intergang gave Black Adam Adrianna Tomaz to be his slave. Adam instead executed the men who brought him Tomaz and freed her. In time, Adam and Tomaz fell in love, and Black Adam gave her the power of the goddess Isis. Black Adam and Isis tracked down Amon, Adrianna's enslaved brother, and freed him. Black Adam gave Amon the power of Osiris. Once again, Teth-Adam had a family.
2 A New Tragedy
Amon befriended a talking crocodile who he named Sobek, and the two became inseparable. Amon brought Sobek back to Khandaq where the crocodile was quickly welcomed into the Black Adam Family. What the family did not know was that Sobek was actually Yurrd the Unknown, the physical embodiment of Famine from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Sobek created a horrific blight across Kahndaq, killing Isis, and then turned his attention to Osiris who he ate. Black Adam killed Sobek, and then started to hunt down the other Horsemen. He found Death in the country Bialya where the two fought. After killing Death, Black Adam tuned his rage against the people of Bialya, killing every man, woman, and child in the country.
1 World War III
Black Adam then turned his attention to China, who he believed funded Oolong Island, the secret lab of mad scientists who created the Four Horsemen. After Black Adam decimated the Great Ten – China's team of superheroes – the country requested the help of the superheroes of the world. Following the Justice Society's lead, the Doom Patrol, the Teen Titans, and dozens of other heroes joined the fight against Black Adam.
With the help of Shazam and the other magic users, Black Adam was defeated and depowered. Zatanna used a spell to change the word Teth-Adam would have to say in order to regain his power. Black Adam regained his power sometime later and returned to rule over Kahndaq. While he prefers to stay out of the affairs of the world now, Black Adam will intervene if he feels he must.