As we all know, Shazam is really Bally Batson, the young orphan boy who is pure of heart and worthy of the power of six mythological champions. But Billy isn’t the only mortal who was able to tap into the power of Shazam. There were a number of other Shazam family members, but today we are going to focus our attention on the most badass recipient of the ol’ Shazam magic, Black Adam. Black Adam is truly the most complex (and violent) character to spring from the Shazam mythos and has been the center of some of DC’s best tales of the past 20 years. Black Adam has become one of DC’s greatest anti-heroes, a godlike being of profound honor and with an immense capacity for violence.

The strange thing about Black Adam is that until recently, he had only a handful of appearances to his name. He was an afterthought until the 1990s, but he has developed into one of DC’s greatest. Dwayne Johnson has been attached to play Black Adam in an upcoming DCEU movie for several years now, and with Shazam! now in theaters, it’s only a matter of time before we finally see him on the big screen. December 16, 2021 to be exact.

The Early Days

Black Adam first appeared in 1945 and was created by Otto Binder and the creator of all things Shazam C. C. Beck. In his first story, Adam was established as an ancient pharaoh and the first mortal to be granted the powers of Shazam. Although, with Adam, the acronym stands for something a little different, with a more Egyptian theme: Shu (stamina), Hershef (strength), Amon (power), Zehuti (wisdom), Anpu (speed), and Menthu (courage). Teth-Adam (which means Mighty Human) is corrupted by the Shazam powers, and after cutting a swath of destruction across Ancient Egypt, Adam is exiled into space by the Wizard.