WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Year of the Villain: Black Adam #1 by Paul Jenkins, Inaki Miranda, Hi-Fi, and Tom Napolitano.

DC's Year of the Villain has seen several heroes fall and become twisted versions of themselves thanks to The Batman Who Laughs, chief among them being an infected Billy Batson/Shazam. The villain's reprogramming turns the World's Mightiest Mortal into a callous, egotistical version of his himself who has quickly become a smarmy, sadistic point of ire across the DC Universe.

Having already tangled with the World's Finest, Batman and Superman, "The Shazam Who Laughs" makes his way to Kahndaq to face his arch nemesis. In Year of the Villain: Black Adam #1, however, Black Adam is finally able to make Evil Billy meet his match, all with a little help from his fellow countrymen.

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Infected Shazam: The World's Mouthiest Mortal

Shazam invades Kahndaq, itself already on the verge of political revolution. Batson uses this to his advantage, offering the country's citizens what he promises will be the modernity of the West. The Kahndaqi military attempt to intervene, with their weaponry obviously having little to no effect. Shazam demands to see Black Adam, who he accuses of allowing his country to wallow in its primitive past. Met only with the military, an enraged Shazam! readies to turn his boredom upon them, before being intercepted by Adam.

Black Adam attempts to reason with Billy, but even in his mortal form, he is too far gone with The Batman Who Laughs' corruption. Shazam gains the upper hand, lecturing about how Black Adam has devolved Kahndaq into a war-torn country that he would himself sacrifice if it meant protecting his own honor. A firm backhanded punch lands Black Adam on his back, crashed into the ground.

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Black Adam and The Power of Prayer

Shazam gloats over the seemingly defeated Black Adam, who, unbeknownst to him, has an ace up his sleeve. Shazam chides the people of Kahndaq, who he sees as useless slaves worshiping invisible sky wizards. He shows off his ability to transform back and forth at will, while mentioning the supposed weakness of the gods that empower Black Adam. Adam, having gotten up and approached his adversary again, mentions that his people are simply worshiping the all-powerful Amun-Ra, whose power as the sun god is most powerful now as the sun rises.

Black Adam reveals that the belief of the citizens of Kahndaq is part of a trap, and before Shazam can escape, he is locked into a prison of magical power. The energy immobilizes Shazam, and forcibly transforms him back into Billy. Reassured of his people's power, and their strong faith, Black Adam sends the whimpering Shazam Who Laughs back to where he came from. He also mentions that Leviathan and Lex Luthor's plans will have a disastrous effect on the future of America, but that Billy is not welcome back in Kahndaq if he wishes to live.

Part of the wait to set the trap was part of Black Adam testing the resolve and faith of his people, a gambit which unfortunately led to many of them being hurt in Shazam's attack. The ability for their mere faith to disable Shazam, however, shows that they have a power even greater than Superman and Batman. It would seem that with the World's Mightiest Mortal, magic can affect much more damage than muscle.

Year of the Villain: Black Adam #1 is available now.

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