Like many characters who first appeared in the Golden Age of Comic Books, Black Adam was initially a one-note, one-dimensional villain. Lacking in any real nuance or depth, he was a typical cackling villain, whose only real motive was to stand in the way of Captain Marvel/Shazam. Since the 1990s, however, he's been consistently written as a much more layered, misunderstood character that hinges between villain and antihero.

Here's a look back at the various versions of the World's Most Misunderstood Mortal, and how he has been rewritten to become one of DC's best characters.

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Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis Origins

Black Adam's throne from DC comics

Black Adam’s original origin cast him as an ancient Egyptian named Teth-Adam, chosen by the wizard Shazam for his seemingly moral purity. Empowered by Greco-Roman deities (later retconned to Egyptian gods), Teth-Adam had abilities similar to successor Captain Marvel. Unfortunately, these powers corrupted him, forcing Shazam to renounce his champion, rename the darkened soul Black Adam, and banish him to the most distant star in the universe. It would take him eons to return to Earth, where he would attempt to have his revenge. This origin was mostly kept in the first Post-Crisis attempt at DC to revive the Shazam franchise, Shazam!: A New Beginning. Here, however, he is sent to an alternate dimension, before being freed by Dr. Sivana. This version of Black Adam is far more callous than ever before, threatening to kill Sivana even after the scientist saved him, and taking a plane full of passengers as hostages.

His next modern origin would be given in Jerry Ordway’s Power of Shazam! graphic novel, before being expanded in Ordway’s monthly series of the same name. Here, he was a pharaoh’s son, whose corruption was due to the machinations of Shazam’s demonic daughter Blaze. Though Adam died in ancient Egypt, his powers were encased in a mystical scarab. This scarab was later found by Theo Adam, who had himself murdered Billy and Mary Batson’s parents. Theo was a reincarnation of Teth-Adam, and upon speaking the magic word, regained his powers. Eventually, however, it was revealed that Black Adam and Theo Adam were separate personalities, with the difference in fingerprints also acquitting Black Adam of the Batsons’ murders. This would begin the villain’s road to redemption.

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Black Adam: Shades of Grey

Black-Adam-Isis

Black Adam would continue to battle against Theo Adam’s evil personality, betraying his then-current team of the Injustice Society. Though he would still fight to adjust his old-world views of justice for the modern-day, he also joined the heroic Justice Society of America to prove his change of heart. He would form a bond and deep respect for fellow members such as Atom Smash and the Jay Garrick version of The Flash, as well as butt heads when Captain Marvel joined the team. In the pages of JSA, Geoff Johns and David Goyer would again change Black Adam’s origin, giving him his origin’s more popular rendition. Instead of Egypt, he hailed from the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq, and his turn to villain had a far more tragic motivation. Instead of being seduced by Blaze, his country was conquered by Vandal Savage and a villain named Ahk-ton, who wielded immense elemental magical powers. The resulting struggle also leads to the deaths of Black Adam’s family, furthering his rage. He kills Ahk-ton and regains Kahndaq through increasingly violent means, leading to the wizard Shazam robbing Adam of his powers and killing him.

This change of backstory gave nuance to Black Adam’s more violent tendencies and even earned him more respect from Billy Batson. Eventually, however, he would defect from the Justice Society to create a team that administers his own, far more lethal brand of justice. This would see him regain control of his destabilized home country of Kahndaq, which had been taken over by a dictator that had theretofore been ignored by the UN. Though the JSA warn against moving against, or into other countries, they leave Black Adam in charge of his own. Arrogance and anger remain parts of Black Adam’s personality, but he truly cares for and protects his people. He would also gain a new family after marrying Adrianna Tomaz, an Egyptian slave whom he transforms into the demigoddess Isis.

Unfortunately, Adrianna and her brother Amon would later be killed, leading to Black Adam’s rage centered World War III storyline. Since the New 52, Black Adam has again mostly been used in more villainous roles, also having another drastic change to his origins. Despite this, he has shown his noble side once again in his protection of Kahndaq, developing an ironic friendship with fellow dictator and villain Sinestro. Given that Shazam! took elements mostly for the New 52 version of the character, the upcoming Black Adam film starring Dwayne Johnson will likely combine his previous origins to put a villain on the screen that is as ruthless as he is layered.

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