Among our prestigious Top 10 lists, we like to offer fun facts about superheroes, so it’s time to offer Black Adam fun facts to prepare for his majestic coming. This October will be the fruit of years in the making. From when DC Comics tried to reclaim its position among comic book movies with Aquaman, fans have been frothing at the mouth for a piece of Egypt’s favorite son.
Why? Much like the tagline goes: “The world needed a hero. It got Black Adam.”
Following the “Josstice League,” it’s been known that DC Comics and Warner Bros. were going to seriously explore “something else.” When Dwayne Johnson revealed his passion project was going to be his Doppelgänger, fans freaked out.
The Rock looks like he was born to play Teth-Adam. Shazam! gave DC Comics a resurrection of hope in their ability to make an extended universe that could compete with Marvel. And then, the rumors came–Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher.
That’s when I started having visions of promise for the future. Along with hundreds of other geek culture scholars, it was believed the future is the present, and the Justice Society of America is coming.
Before David Zaslav, the Paul Revere of DC Comics who evangelized the nation about keeping the faith in what Warner Bros. is doing was the Jabroni-Beatin’, Pie-Eatin’, Trailblazin’, Eyebrow Raisin’ The Rock.
And it all begins with the Egyptian Enigma. Let’s learn some interesting things about him to help pave the way for the People’s greatness of this film’s release.
10. Black Adam Fun Facts Begin with First, Not Last
Define that in one sentence: Black Adam appeared in a 1945 issue of the original Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family as the Wizard Shazam’s former and failed apprentice. See? Black Adam fun facts. You may remember in the movie Shazam! when the Wizard expressed regret for a “former champion.” That was some bravado-ridden Egyptian kid named Teth-Adam, whom the Wizard called “Mighty Adam.”
Then, Adam used those abilities to kill the Pharoah and take the throne. “Mighty” was no longer honorable, so the Wizard called him “Black Adam” and exiled the boy in black 5,000 light years from Earth. When he returns to Earth (in 1945), he learns Billy Batson has his powers, and that’s where the fun begins.
9. S.H.A.Z.A.M.?
When we first met (the original) Captain Marvel, it took some time for comic readers to know that Shazam! wasn’t just an exclamation for Billy Batson to get swole. It’s an acronym of incredible proportions involving Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. People who saw DC’s live-action take on the boy superhero may still not understand that sterling fact. Yet, each letter represents a particular power Batson was given by the ancient wizard.
Black Adam has to say the magic word, but his power comes directly from six Egyptian gods who imbue him with enough power to become one of the most powerful figures in the universe. Not even Kal-El can do everything as Black Adam.
- Shu — Incredible endurance and impervious ability to withstand any attack
- Heru — Unfathomable speed, like flying lightspeed in outer space and two miles per second on Earth
- Amon — Brute force and supernatural strength
- Zehuti — Mesmerizing intellect allowing him to be a polyglot and hypnotize others with words
- Aton — Transportive power creating an ability spanning dimensions and even shapeshift
- Mehen — Immediate healing and boundless courage
8. Black Adam Turns on the Fawcett
During the Golden Age of Comic Books (1938-1956), what we know as “comics” were first published in bulk stemming from newspaper cartoons. This was the time of the collectibles, Captain America, Batman & Robin, Flash, Green Lantern, and the GOAT of all Golden Comics, Action Comics No. 1, which was the birth of Superman. While Detective Comics (DC) and Timely Comics (later Marvel) were the big dogs forming, the best-selling superhero title came from another independent label, Fawcett Comics.
At one time, it was considered each publication of Captain Marvel sold 1.4 million copies per issue! Two years later, in 1945, Black Adam appeared in a single issue because of the man who would be Shazam! finally had someone to compete, Fawcett knew they had a winner on their hands. So did DC, which later purchased all Fawcett IP in 1972, primarily for Captain Marvel.
7. Adam Got Whooped by an AARP Member
This is one of the Black Adam Fun Facts that sounds made up. It’s not. Remember that 1945 story when he Mighty…eh, Black Adam met Billy Batson? Surely, a trip back to Earth that took five millennia would make a dude tired. Of course, that would limit his fighting style to a few whiffs and then he’d go to sleep. Evidently, that’s what happened. In that introductory story, Black Adam was defeated. Yet, it wasn’t by Shazam Batson, Mary Marvel, or any of the other Marvels. It was Shazam’s manager, Dudley!
Yes, the creature who would become one of DC’s most formidable foes in Black Adam got smoked by an overweight tub of goo named Dudley H. Dudley, otherwise known as Uncle Marvel. He beat Adam on a verbal technicality. Uncle Marvel confronted Adam with the power of “Shamhaz.” Adam corrected him with “Shazam!” He lost his powers, and Dudley opened a can of that old man’s strength.
Certainly, the Rock won’t bring back this strongman for the movie.
6. Another Time, Another Place
Another reason we know Dwayne Johnson is our real-life hero, potentially DC’s savior, and bringing us the Justice Society of America is because when there was a Black Adam “reboot,” his origin changed. (More on that next.) Instead of all the ancient Egyptian vibes, we learn about a fictional place in North Africa called Kahndaq. It’s there where Adam served Prince Khufu, until the immortal Vandal Savage (a DC Universe certifiable badass) helped destroy the city and killed Adam’s family.
Making this one of the Black Adam fun facts is time. Fast forward to getting some amazeballs powers, Black Adam sets a hostile takeover with Kahndaq and later meets Isis, his queen. In that time, he kills some folks, saves others, and joins the JSA, but still can’t earn the trust of Billy Batson. But we’ll get to that in Shazam 3. Someday.
5. Black Adam Has Two Origins
Without getting into a complete dork rabbit hole, Black Adam was provided with two origin stories–New Earth and Prime Earth. Both are interesting, but Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions has already favored one over the other.
If you have seen the trailer a few dozen times, as we have here in GVN, you know the Prime Earth origin is where The Rock will cut this story out of granite. We meet a slave in Kahndaq named Teth-Adam, who was given the powers of the Wizard Shazam. His problem is that he misused those powers, was imprisoned for centuries, eventually broke out, and sought revenge against mankind–specifically this kid named Billy–for standing against him.
In New Earth, Teth-Adam’s life is similar–he was the son of Ramses II, there’s a fall from grace, he hates Captain Marvel, but he finds a way to redeem himself by becoming the hero he should be alongside the Justice Society of America. Yet, that takes some time. Regardless, this is going to be a fun ride.
4. All in the Family
Once settled in the dusky-hued metropolis of Kahndaq, Black Adam was given a slave named Adrianna Tomaz. A little Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings thing happened (look it up, kids), and they fell in love. Black Adam gave her the power of Isis to spruce things up on Valentine’s Day. Then, he freed her brother Amon and gave him the power of Osiris.
Sure, Teth-Adam could have just been regular and bought the family members some nice tracksuit and acid-washed jeans, but he went all out. Why not give the woman he loves superpowers? Then, to suck up a little, he does the same for her brother. Good times!
3. Black Adam Has a Once-in-a-Universe Mind
You would expect a supervillain gone anti-hero to be a mental monster. He has the strength, speed, power, and wisdom of gods. However, he has a power you wouldn’t expect–psychics can’t fade him, like, at all! There is an episode in DC Comics when Martian Manhunter worked on Black Adam’s mind to get him to stop whatever madness the Egyptian Anti-Hero was considering.
That’s when Adam fought back with his powerful cerebellum and filled J’onn J’onzz’s mind with images of 1000s of men, women, and children that Adam supposedly mauled with his bare hands. The brutal images were so grotesque and horrific that Manhunter scurried off to space crying like a schoolgirl who saw Justin Bieber naked. The Manhunter could give Professor X a run for his money, but there’s Adam, shutting him down! Cool.
2. He Possesses the Power of a Chocolate Egg
Among the Black Adam fun facts, this is certainly the most entertaining and jacked-up. Adam and Billy were on a global demolition tour and Shazam! stole Teth-Adam’s powers. He couldn’t figure out how to regain his powers because saying the magic word wasn’t working. Billy is no fool, which is why he changed the magic word from “Shazam!” to something else.
Black Adam discovered the novel word by mistake. He was in a soda shop looking to quench his thirst from being a supervillain. It was there where he ordered a “Chocolate Egg Cream” and BOOM! He’s a demigod all over again! That’s right. Black Adam becomes one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, thanks to milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup.
1. Black Adam’s BFF is Golden
Another of Black Adam’s fun facts is the thought of what could be in Dwayne Johnson’s world at Seven Bucks Productions. We know he’s bringing us to the Justice Society of America, but if The Rock does enough digging in Black Adam’s history (please sweet baby comic Jesus, let that happen), we could see the sequel to a DC movie we never received–the Green Lantern Corps.
It’s possible that never happened because the Ryan Reynolds’ film was right up there with Howard the Duck and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. The film’s best part was the post-credits scene when Sinestro (Mark Strong) puts on the gold ring of fear. But, we get bupkus. If you read enough DC in the Geoff Johns’ heyday, we find Sinestro and Black Adam were diabolical buddies. Adam was even an honorary member of the Sinestro Corps!
Yes, that could happen. The future is bright, DC fans. And if it was a bright yellow, we’d be okay with that too!
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
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