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| He already looks like the Rock. Just slap some point ears on him and call it good. |
We’ve gotten big news from DC this
week, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to play the dark magic warrior Black
Adam, villainous counterpart to the hero Shazam. What’s that? You don’t know
who Black Adam and Shazam are? Good thing you’re here to learn a few things
about fictional characters. So, without further ado, Black Adam.
Black Adam was born in Ancient
Egypt as Teth-Adam. He was a courageous hero, renowned throughout Egypt for his
strength and valor. It is for this reason that a Wizard by the name of Shazam
chose Teth-Adam to be his champion. When Teth-Adam spoke the wizard’s name he
was transformed into Mighty Adam. Blessed with immense strength, speed,
agility, and near invulnerability Mighty Adam became Egypt’s greatest champion.
Shortly after he entered the service of Prince Khufu. That’s when the trouble
started. Khufu was murdered, which understandably caused Adam to have a bit of
a nervous breakdown. Adam began using his powers for personal and selfish
reasons. It was during this time his title turned to Khem-Adam. Or Black Adam,
as we English speakers say. Shazam, disgusted by what Adam’s actions, stripped
the former hero of his powers, locking them in a scarab amulet. Without his powers to sustain him Adam quickly withered and died. He was like two hundred already, so it's not that surprising. The amulet was
buried with Rameses the Second, where it lay for millennia.
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| Don't ever expect him to ever say thanks. Jerk |
A few thousand years later an archaeologist
named Theo Adam discovered Black Adam’s amulet in the tomb of Rameses II. It
was obsession at first sight for Theo, who murdered his superiors C. C. and
Marilyn Batson to steal it. Remember those names for next time. A short time
later Theo saw Shazam’s new champion, Captain Marvel (now just called Shazam). Noting
the resemblance between the Captain and C. C. Batson, along with the lightning
bolt insignia on both Shazam and Adam’s tomb, Theo jumps to the pretty
outrageous conclusion that he is the reincarnation of Black Adam. Which is
especially weird when you consider the ancient Egyptians didn’t believe in
reincarnation… Whatever, Theo Adam said the magic word, and was transformed
into Black Adam. I have no idea where he learned the magic word, but it made a pretty awesome looking villain, so let's just go with it. Adam’s life of villainy began.
Teth/Theo Adam has no powers in his
mortal form. It is only when he utters the magic word Shazam is he transformed
into the supremely powerful Black Adam. SHAZAM is an acronym composed of the
names of six Egyptian Gods who Adam draws power from. They are: the stamina of
Shu, the swiftness of Heru, the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the
power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen. Furthermore, in his superpowered form Black
Adam’s senses are sharpened. His sense of smell is strong enough for him to
smell the sweat off a man. His strength fluctuates a bit, at time’s he’s as
strong as Superman or Shazam, and at other’s he’s strong enough to battle a
dozen odd superheroes. It’s a little confusing, but them’s the breaks with
different writers. He’s immortal and largely invincible as Black Adam, and
since he rarely changes back of his own free will, that’s most of the time.
Hey, if I had the option I wouldn’t change back either. He can also uses the
magic bolt of lightning that transforms him as an attack. He just needs to say
Shazam, and use his great speed to dodge the bolt. The effect is… dazzling and devastating.
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| POWER, UNLIMITED POW- Oh wait wrong universe. |
Black Adam is a little odd. He’s
appeared in a number of DC animation and games, but he doesn’t talk much. In
the TV show Young Justice he appeared as a member of the Injustice League, an
evil Justice League if the name wasn’t a big enough clue, but he’s silent for
the entire episode. Granted, if I was that powerful I’d probably talk with my
fists mostly too.
He appears in the game DC Universe
Online. If you choice to be a villain, there is a level where you need to save
Black Adam from being manipulated by the evil sorcerer Felix Faust. Faust
promised to bring back Adam’s dead wife, but instead drains his powers. The
character saves Adam, but he’s about as grateful as you’d expect a villain to
be. After the battle you get to see a quick little video about Adam's ultimate goal, to revive his wife and rule the world. At least he's a bit of a romantic. He also appears in the opening cinematic where he battles and kills a
number of Justice Leaguers.He is then killed himself by Superman's heat vision. Not as romantic... Also, comeuppance can be a real pain in the tookus.
Honestly, I don’t know enough about
Black Adam to say whether I like the character or not. It’s hard to judge a
character that doesn’t say much and just beats the snot out of people. His
powers are cool, and his history does make for an interesting character. I’m
optimistic about his appearance in the Shazam movie in 2016. With an
Actor/Wrestler like the Rock to portray him, I don’t think there’s much to
fear. Here’s hoping I’m right. Next time, Black Adam’s successor, Shazam!
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| Magic power is awesome. |
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Black_Adam_Earth-16_001.png
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/File:Black_Adam_03.jpg
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130925203902/marvel_dc/images/c/c9/Justice_League_of_America_Vol_3_7.4_Black_Adam_Textless.jpg
http://injusticegodsamongus.wikia.com/wiki/File:Black_Adam_15.jpg
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