Black Adam
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Template:Superherobox Black Adam is a Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, often a rival of Captain Marvel. He wears an equivalent costume to Captain Marvel, but the red portions are colored black and Adam does not wear a cape. He first appeared in The Marvel Family #1 in 1945.
He was a previous appointee of the wizard Shazam in ancient Egypt, but soon used his power for his own corrupt ends which forced the wizard to punish him. Generally, that punishment was to remove Adam from that time, only to appear in modern times to challenge Shazam's current appointee, Billy Batson, in his Captain Marvel form.
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History
Egypt
In ancient Egypt, the time of the Pharaoh Ramses the Great, the wizard Shazam chose Teth-Adam to become the land's protector. He told him that "Shazam" would be his word of power, granting him great powers. Teth-Adam (translated "Mighty Adam") served Egypt for many years, but this duty drew him away from his wife and children (Shiruta, Gon and Hurut) in Kahndaq. While he was away, the mad priest, Ahk-ton ravaged Kahndaq and killed Adam's family. The priest was powered by the "Orb of Ra" (which gave him metamorphic abilities). Adam could not apprehend Ahk-ton, so he entombed his family and returned to the court of Ramses. There he served as Egypt's champion alongside another great wizard, Nabu. Thet-Adam finally found his revenge against Ahk-ton, with help from time-traveling members of the Justice Society of America — from the 20th century! Adam met Shazam's future champion, Captain Marvel and was gladdened that his legacy would continue on. Ahk-ton and his ally, Vandal Savage were defeated and Adam slew the priest. (JSA #43-44) Teth-Adam continued to serve Egypt for hundreds of years, but ultimately the loss of his family drove him to extremes; he became overly protective of Kahndaq, which attracted the attention of Shazam. The wizard believed that Adam had been bewitched by Blaze and dubbed him Khem Adam ("Black Adam"). Shazam withdrew Adam's power into a scarab, and entombed them both for millennia. (Power of Shazam! #10, JSA #44)
America
Teth-Adam rested until his sarcophagus was disturbed by an expedition from the Sivana Foundation. There, Theo Adam betrayed and killed Marilyn and C.C. Batson (the parents of Captain Marvel) over Teth-Adam's scarab. With the Scarab, Theo Adam awakened Thet-Adam's soul and accessed his ancient powers, becoming Black Adam. When Shazam and his new champion Captain Marvel finally caught Theo, they took away his ability to speak and thus, his ability to access his powers. (PoS Graphic Novel) Adam was soon cured of this condition by Blaze. In addition, she coerced Theo into her service by holding the soul of his sister, Sarah Primm, hostage. When Blaze's brother, Lord Satanus set Primm's soul free, Adam attacked Blaze. This distraction allowed Shazam and Ibis to triumph and Black Adam was sent to the far reaches of the universe. (#12)
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When Black Adam returned to Earth, he claimed to be totally free of the evil urges of Theo Adam. Even fingerprint analysis revealed that he was a different man. He claimed that bonding with Theo Adam was his "Holy Grail," his soul's way out of Tartarus. He proved his sincerity somewhat by saving Captain Marvel's life. In return, Shazam used a Mother Box to take Black Adam wherever he wished. He chose to return to deep space, to a world where he'd felt particularly at home. (#44-47)
The circumstances of his return to Earth are unrevealed, but his first reappearance again demonstrated the evil of Theo Adam. The JSA managed to defeat Adam by stealing a bit of lightning from the time of his creation (1200 B.C.) and forcing the transformation back to Theo Adam. (JSA #6) Later, Adam claimed that he had again been under the influence of Theo. Worse, he'd made a deal with the JSA's foe, Johnny Sorrow. Sorrow agreed to remove a malignant tumor in Adam's brain and in exchange, Adam agreed to join Sorrow's new Injustice Society. Teth-Adam ultimately "betrayed" Sorrow and helped the JSA defeat him. (#16-20) After this, Adam placed a bid for membership in the JSA. He reasoned that many other heroes — including Superman — had dark moments in their history and that he, too, deserved a chance to prove himself. (#21) The elder members of the JSA agreed to grant him probationary membership. He remained a JSA member in good standing for a while but quit the JSA when it refused to take decisive action against the terrorist known as Kobra. (#45)
Khandaq
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Following this, he formed his own group to rival the JSA and take international justice into their own hands. He allied with the Venusian worm called Mister Mind, who took over the body of Brainwave. He also enlisted the entire society of Feithera, including former Infinity, Inc. member, Northwind. Atom-Smasher, Nemesis and Eclipso II rounded out their ranks. This group went to extremes, executing Kobra after his escape from authorities. Adam's ultimate goal was to free his old homeland from its dictatorial rule. He first returned to Kahndaq when he learned that his family's ancient burial site was excavated. His old ally Prince Khufu (now Hawkman) agreed to stop the excavations. But this alliance ended when Adam's team declared full-out war on the nation. They successfully took control, but the JSA stepped in to stop them. Ultimately, the JSA agreed to let Adam rule Kahndaq as long as he remained within the nation's boundaries. Atom-Smasher and the Feitherans remained as well.
Fawcett
The original Fawcett Comics version of the character, which first appeared in Marvel Family #1 in 1945, had a broadly similar history, except that, instead of Adam's powers being transferred through the scarab, the mummified body of Mighty Adam was resurrected. The character was also rather gullible despite his granted wisdom, as he was often defeated by tricking him into saying Shazam to change back into his normal form and subduing him before he could say it again.
Day of Vengence
He was quick to help form the core of a new Secret Society of Super-Villains with Lex Luthor. This alliance could not save him from the power of the Spectre. The newly disembodied Spectre had committed to unrestrained vengeance and of ridding the world of magical forces. This led him and the new Eclipso to Kahndaq.
Powers
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When he speaks the word of power "Shazam," Theo Adam is gifted with the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru (Horus), the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti (Thoth), the power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen.
External Links
- Cosmic Teams supplied a great deal of the above information. (http://www.mykey3000.com/cosmicteams/profiles/blackadam.html)
- Marvel Family Web entry on Black Adam (http://marvelfamily.com/WhosWho/whoswho.asp?castid=9)