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Black Adam is one of the most notorious and powerful villains in the DC universe. His powers are formidable, his backstory is intriguing, and his allegiance can be unpredictable. Here are 12 secrets you may not know about this fascinating character:
1. Black Adam’s real name is Teth-Adam and he originally hailed from ancient Egypt. He was a former champion of Pharaoh Ramses II who was granted incredible power by the wizard Shazam.
2. He has been around since 1945 but wasn’t always on the wrong side of justice. The superhero Captain Marvel (now known as Shazam) originally sought out Black Adam to help protect Earth from alien invaders in Justice League of America vol 1 issue 29 (March 1960).
3. He wields a powerful scarab that grants him flight, invulnerability and the ability to control weather events.
4. Black Adam has the ability to transfer his powers to any living creature he chooses. This power has been used by him multiple times throughout his villainous career, including transferring his strength and speed to a black panther in DC’s Villains United series (2005).
5. He also possesses an enhanced healing factor, so much so that he can heal from serious injuries within seconds.
6. Black Adam is fiercely loyal to those he deems worthy of protection, such as Isis (his wife) and Osiris (their son). They are members of the extended Marvel Family and have been seen in recurring roles throughout DC’s comics.
7. His nemesis is Shazam, his former mentor who granted Teth-Adam with his powers in the first place. It was their rivalry that set the stage for Black Adam’s fall from grace to villainy.
8. He often teams up with other villains such as Lex Luthor, Brainiac and Gorilla Grodd to take down the Justice League or other superheroes.
9. Black Adam has a successful movie career with Dwayne Johnson playing him in 2019’s Shazam! and an upcoming solo movie starring The Rock in 2021.
10. In addition to being a formidable superhero, Black Adam is also a brilliant strategic thinker and highly intelligent.
11. He has a long history with the Justice Society of America and was once a member until his villainous turn in the late 1980s.
12. Despite having an on-and-off relationship with heroics, Black Adam still believes in protecting those he cares about by any means necessary – even if it’s considered morally questionable. This makes him both an unpredictable protagonist and antagonist, depending on which side of justice he chooses to fight for at any given moment.
