Black Adam has become DC's most talked about character, with his big screen debut driving more eyes to the character than ever before. The 21st century has seen Adam's star rise precipitously, with the villain turned anti-hero joining DC's biggest heroic and villainous teams, factoring into huge storylines, and getting multiple chances at solo stardom. However, it feels like the best Black Adam stories have all come from times when the character is more villainous.
Black Adam works as an anti-hero, but an argument can be made that he should be a villain. All of his character growth has stemmed from incidents of villainy, and just because he's a bad guy doesn't mean he can't be a star.
10 Black Adam Has Always Been More Anti Than Hero
DC is known for characters who surprisingly became famous, especially ones with questionable morals. These characters have provided a contrast to the squeaky-clean heroes the publisher is known for, and the most popular become anti-heroes. Some characters, like Harley Quinn, can become iconic heroes. Others don't do as well.
Black Adam is one of the latter. He's an anti-hero, but he's always been more anti than hero. Black Adam does good things, but he does them in the most violent ways possible. He has a hatred for many heroes and prefers to be able to do whatever he wants whenever he wants. These character traits, even the altruistic ones, are more villainous and don't make sense for even an anti-hero.
9 Black Adam's Best Stories Aren't Heroic At All
Black Adam has some killer stories under his belt, but they all have a few things in common. They're the stories that give a warts and all look at the character; ones that make sure that readers know this isn't a good person. Black Adam may do heroic things, like in 52, where he freed slaves and fought villains, but they're ultimately self-aggrandizing actions and lead him to dark places.
Black Adam stories work best when his villainous side is fully on display, hidden by a thin veneer. He works best as a character who is ultimately selfish, doing the right things for the wrong reasons and running afoul of the heroes around him.
8 Black Adam Could Work As A Villain For So Many Heroes
A great part about Black Adam as a villain is how versatile he can be. Superhero comics have villains that usually stick to one or two heroes. DC has villains like Lex Luthor that can work against anyone, but even then he's still a Superman villain at heart. Black Adam can easily break that mold. Although he's associated with Shazam, he's so much more than that.
For example, Black Adam makes for a great Superman villain; their ideological opposition and similar powers make them perfect foes. There's also Black Adam's connection to the JSA and Hawkman that makes him great enemies for both. His leadership over the nation of Kahndaq opens Black Adam up to battling all kinds of heroes.
7 Black Adam's Ultra Violent Ways Are Entertaining
Many DC anti-heroes work better as villains, and Black Adam is no exception. Anti-heroes, by their nature, are violent, and Adam's violence is an integral part of the character. It's what has mainly separated him from the heroes he's sometimes teamed with. For some reason, Black Adam hasn't been nearly as violent in recent years as DC has tried to make him more of a white-bread hero - he even joined the Justice League.
A Black Adam who isn't tearing people apart in fits of apoplectic rage isn't as much fun. Black Adam and ultra-violence go hand in hand. This is much easier to indulge when he's a misguided villain than it is when he's a hero or even an anti-hero.
6 Black Adam Is The Most Recognizable Justice Society Villain To General Audiences
Many DC fans are thrilled with the return of the Justice Society. However, for the average DC reader who wasn't into or wasn't around for JSA or Justice Society Of America, the team is a harder sell. Many people don't really know much about them, and their villains are even more of a mystery. Well, all except one: Black Adam.
Black Adam handed the Justice Society a grievous loss and has a personal grudge against members of the team like Hawkman and Atom Smasher. He's the most recognizable villain for the team and their rivalry elevates both of them.
5 There Are Better Fights Black Adam Can Get Into As A Villain
Black Adam's penchant for violence makes him a great character for superpowered brawls. As a hero or anti-hero, there are lots of villains for him to fight, but readers have watched them lose for years. Black Adam versus DC's greatest heroes is much more interesting. Not only are there heroes who have similar power levels, but it adds a new and powerful foe for the heroes to fight.
Black Adam has comparable power levels to Shazam and Superman, with a savagery and cunning that make him extremely dangerous. As a heroic character, he's going to fight the same villains everyone beats. As a villain, he can branch out to fighting many heroes, providing intriguing new match-ups for fans.
4 Black Adam Has Never Actually Had A Redemption Arc
Black Adam has been around for decades, and there are many things about him that would surprise readers. For example, while he's been on the heroic side of the spectrum for a long time, Black Adam has never actually had a redemption arc. He defected from the Injustice Society to the JSA, but was a troublemaker who eventually took members of the team on a murderous quest to free his homeland.
That's the opposite of a redemption arc. 52 saw Black Adam start on one, but that ended with the death of the Black Marvel Family and his slaughtering of innocents in Bialya. Black Adam has never been redeemed, so he might as well stay a villain.
3 Black Adam Is A Unique Villain In The DC Universe
Black Adam's status as the leader of Kahndaq puts him in a unique position. He's the highest profile superpowered leader in the DC Universe; a villain type reminiscent of Marvel's Doctor Doom, and one's that sorely lacking at the publisher. This makes him a much better villain than anti-hero.
Black Adam gives the villain community something it doesn't have right now. Doomsday Clock had a lot of problems as a story, but among its most interesting plot points was Adam setting Kahndaq up as a villainous utopia, where the bad guys of the world could rest, regroup, and have a stable base. This plot point alone makes Black Adam a worthwhile villain.
2 Black Adam Has Done Too Many Terrible Things To Be Redeemed
Black Adam has committed atrocities, which is a great argument for his being a villain. Redeeming Black Adam in any meaningful way means having to overlook things like his slaughter of the innocent citizens of Bialya for no other reason than grief and anger. It means ignoring the heroes who have died at his hands. It means forgetting that he killed his nephew so he could gain more power.
Redeeming Black Adam is like redeeming the Joker. They're both mass murderers and will definitely kill again, the difference being that Black Adam will sometimes do the right thing. The difficulty in redeeming him is a great argument for keeping him villainous.
1 Without Black Adam, Shazam Doesn't Have A Lot Of Great Foes
Black Adam and Shazam's rivalry stretches back decades. While he took a backseat to Doctor Sivana, Mr. Mind, and the Monster Society of Evil in the old days, since the '90s and The Power Of Shazam! series, Black Adam has taken a higher stature among Shazam's foes.
Keeping Black Adam a hero takes away Shazam's most well-known modern day villain. He's the perfect villainous opposite of the Big Red Cheese, overshadowing Ibac and Sabbac, and making Black Adam a hero leaves just Sivana and Mr. Mind to cause problems for the Shazamily. Shazam needs his entire rogues gallery, including a vital and popular Black Adam.