Black Adam is one of the most recognizable villains to comic book fans worldwide, created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck. Born in Khandaq thousands of years before any Justice League to an Egyptian Pharoh, Black Adam was gifted powers from the wizard Shazam — however, there was betrayal afoot. Shazam's daughter made a deal with the Egyptian gods to alter the source of Adam's power.
Instead of working under the wizard Shazam, Adam worked under the Egyptian gods. Eventually, this caused a split between Adam and the Wizard as Adam grew more callous and dictatorial. Finally, the wizard stripped Adam of his powers and sealed him away inside a scarab. Adam would not return for some time, but when he did, it would be as one of the most dangerous villains in the DC universe. With the character set to appear in an upcoming movie, here are some of his best stories over the years.
Updated on July 9, 2022 by C.M Edwards: The time is drawing near, the next installment in the DC Cinematic Universe is on the horizon and has stoked the flames of excitement with the release of a new trailer. Black Adam starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is set to release this year and looks to be one of the most exciting DC movies as of late. Black Adam is a truly unique character to explore as he has been both hero and villain within the DC universe; standing beside him are members of the Justice Society of America, Hawkman, and Doctor Fate to name a few. The once-great Emperor of the Egyptian city Khandaq has fallen from grace numerous times and has triumphed over good and evil in his history. There are numerous comic books that the Black Adam movie puls from and there are even more to shed some light on who Black Adam really is as a character. Here are more comics to read before the Black Adam movie releases.
14 The Marvel Family #1
The Marvel Family #1 by Kerri Therian was released during the golden age of comics, and marked Black Adams's first appearance. Along with the Marvel family characters of the time, this series dominated the landscape every month it was released.
The cast consisted of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr., the once most famous superhero family in America. This series would be the start of Black Adama's tenure in the DC universe, which would span over seventy years.
13 The Power Of Shazam
The Power of Shazam is a graphic novel published by DC Comics. This story was yet another retelling of Billy Batson's origin and history and included a much deeper dive into the villainy of Black Adam and his motives.
Bill,y as Captain Marvel (portrayed by Zachary Levi in the upcoming Fury of the Gods), faces off against a sinister man known as Theo Adam, who stole and released the power of a sacred scarab that contained Black Adam’s essence. This story won the comic buyer's fan award in 1994.
12 JSA: Savage Times
Savage Times is a several-issue run by Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Rags Morales, Leonard Kirk, and Patrick Gleason. It follows multiple members of the JSA on simultaneous adventures. Most notably, Captain Marvel, Hawk Girl, and Mr. Terrific find themselves back in time, facing off with the Immortal villain Vandal Savage and an older version of Black Adam.
In this story, Captain Marvel must take on a rageful Black Adam who has had the power of Shazam much longer than he. Savage Times has been recently released in a trade paperback by DC comics, making it available for fans to pick up before the movie is released.
11 JSA: Black Reign
Another multi-issue run headed by Geoff Johns, Black Reign followed a team that consisted of former JSA members and anti-heroes like AdamSmasher, Hawkman, and Nemesis. The team was led by Black Adam after an unfortunate turn of events saw a prominent Villain walk free.
The run went on for several issues, and dove into the grey areas of heroism. This arc was one of Black Adam's deep descents back into his authoritarian personality and his segue into being a staple villain of the comics.
10 JSA: Black Vengeance
JSA: Black Vengeance is a somewhat direct sequel to Black Reign. This story explores the relationship between Black Adam and Atomsmasher during the crisis of Eclipso plaguing the JSA, as well as the issue of the Spectre having no human tether.
Another collected run by Geof Johns, the story unfolded in Khandaq and played on Black Adam’s shifting morals from hero to anti-hero to villain, and back again. After a mighty battle, the story was wrapped up, but Black Adam continued to alternately be an asset and a menace.
9 World War III
DC’s World War III was a story contained in the 52 event of the same year. It followed Black Adam's descent into complete madness from the death of his people and his love, similar to his upcoming appearance in Fury Of The Gods. Adam scoured the entire globe causing nothing but chaos and destruction.
Written by Grant Morrison, World War III is an explanation story of the mainstage story of 52, describing the drastic changes that took place surrounding the most notable heroes in the event. It took the entirety of the DC comics heroes to stop the cataclysm, and although the day was saved, the JLA could not call it a victory after the smoke cleared.
8 Black Adam: The Dark Age
A sequel to World War III, this story by Peter Tomasi follows Black Adam on a mission to reclaim his power and resurrect his fallen love, Isis. Driven mad by his grief and loss, Black Adam seeks to turn against the gods themselves, whom his power comes from, and take it from them in full.
The paragon of DC heroes are still after the madman. They have no clear end goal of what to do with him, but wanting him to pay for his crimes. This issue cemented Adam as an uber-villain in DC continuity.
7 Black Adam And Isis
Black Adam and Isis is a collection of issues by Matthew Sturges, Jerry Ordway, and Geoff Johns that centers around Black Adam, Isis, Felix Faut, and the JSA. The JSA try to gather themselves after a near catastrophe; they regroup just in time to stop Black Adam once again after he goes off the rails along with his lover, Isis.
This story takes many shocking turns as Adam creates his own “Marvel Family” using the stolen power of the rock of eternity. These also happen to be the final issues in the JSA run by Geoff Johns.
6 Infinite Crisis: Villains United
Villains United is a six-part miniseries that leads up to the events of Infinite Crisis, which ranks among the best DC moments. Created by Gail Simone, Dale Eaglesham, and Val Semeiks, the story of Villains United follows the new incarnation of the Secret Six, which now consists of Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Talia al'ghoul, Black Adam, and the Calculator.
The story follows the recruitment of an army of villains, who intend to shift the paradigm and finally wipe out the heroes for good. Infinite Crisis and its tie-ins are highly acclaimed and arguably some of the best writing at DC Comics of the last 20 years.
5 Black Adam: Endless Winter
Black Adam has always been a proud leader teetering on the lines of dictatorship; in Endless Winter, a supernatural being known as the Frost King is causing a massive blizzard that covers the entire globe, including Black Adam's home, Khandaq. With his pride on the line, Black Adam arrives in Gotham City and begins handing out orders to the world leaders; unfortunately, he is also holding a deep secret from the leaders of the world that he knows the Frost King and faced him before.
Endless Winter is a DC Comics special event one-shot that dives deeper into the new threat plaguing the DC universe and how Black Adam is right in the middle of it.
4 Black Adam: Rise And Fall Of An Emperor
Infinite Crisis is one of the largest events in DC Comics history; the story follows as the Holy Trinity disappeared from view and left the world in chaos. One year without Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman plunged the world into chaos and pushed unlikely characters to fill the void left by their absence. One of those characters that rose to the call for a new hero is Black Adam. In his ambition, the character has a very different idea for the world as he prepares to secure his reign and add more fuel to the fire.
Black Adam decides to replace the Trinity as a whole, becoming the sole ruler of the world and handing out his own brand of justice, slaughtering any who would defy him. Not many can stand in the way of Black Adam, but a tyrant is not what the world needs and there are still some heroes left that will not stand for him making a bad situation even worse.
3 Black Adam #1 2022
In DC Comics' recent slate of releases, Black Adam has received his own solo series. The great ruler and holder of the power of Shazam finds himself on the brink of fading away forever, infected with an ancient plague that is slowly robbing him of his immortality.
Black Adam decides to pass on his powers to another, one that will redeem the title of Black Adam and make a stronger impact. Slowly running out of time as the Spectre hunts him down, Black Adam finds himself linked to his successor, forcing the two into a partnership that kicks off a series of events neither saw coming.
2 Forever Evil
Forever Evil is an event that took place during the New 52 era of DC Comics; it followed a rebellion by a united front of super-villains that only goal was to kill the Justice League and put an end to superheroes once and for all. The Crime Syndicate has returned and has claimed dominion over the world after crashing the Justice League Watchtower to earth. Seemingly claiming the lives of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, Ultraman forces the world to swear fealty to him and the Crime Syndicate.
The fate of the world relies on an unlikely source as Lex Luthor revitalizes his Injustice League to take down the tyrannous group and restore balance. Forever Evil follows Black Adam as he joins with Luthor and Batman to take on Ultraman and his army of villains.
1 Doomsday Clock
The crown jewel of the DC Rebirth event, Doomsday Clock, serves as the final card to the series of events that have led the Watchmen universe and DC Universe to collide. Batman and the Flash investigate thoroughly while Dr. Manhattan watches from his endless gaze. Black Adam is a leading role in the story, serving as a savior to the meta-humans targeted for attacks as the rumors of them being sleeper agents spread.
Black Adam, always the prideful zealot, watches the tragedies taking place and offers asylum to all meta-humans who fear for their life. This only previews Black Adam's role in how the DC Universe is to be shaped as the chips fall and the finale comes to a close.