10 Things You Need To Know About Black Adam

For the last few years, practically the only thing we knew about the long-mooted Shazam! movie was that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would be appearing as villain Black Adam. Through various interviews, Johnson spoke of his interest in the character as an anti-hero, which suggested that DC were making him the star of the show. Now, that's been confirmed, as we learned this week that the actor will be getting his own Black Adam solo movie. It's an interesting move, and one that could shoot Johnson up the ranks to become one of the major stars of the still-growing DC Extended Universe. Perhaps in a way that will be similar to how Tom Hiddleston's Loki always steals the show whenever he shows up in one of Marvel's movies, Johnson could become the DCEU's standout villain. Just who is this Black Adam fella, though, and why is he interesting enough to warrant his own movie? Allow us to explain as we dive into 10 key facts about the character that you should know now that he's set to become a huge part of DC's cinematic universe. 10) He's From Ancient Egypt The first thing you should know is that Black Adam is an incredibly ancient individual. Heralding from the time of the pharaohs of Egypt, he was originally Teth-Adam, the son of Rameses II. After impressing the great wizard Shazam with his good deeds, he was granted superpowers to become the hero Mighty-Adam. He served as Egypt's protector for centuries, until he fell under the thrall of Shazam's evil daughter Blaze who convinced him - Lady Macbeth-like - to kill the pharaoh and rule himself. This displeased Shazam, who removed his powers and contained them in a scarab. With his magic removed, the aging process rapidly catches up with Adam and he turns to dust. It's only thousands of years later when an American ancestor of his recovers the scarab that he is able to resurrect himself and cause trouble in the modern world. Just like Shazam calls on the powers of six Greek Gods, Black Adam draws his abilities from six Egyptian gods. Namely, he has the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Horus, the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the power of Aton and the courage of Mehen. 9) His (Alternate) Dark Origin Story What we just mentioned is the character's origin in the original timeline of the DC continuity. In 2011, DC rebooted their universe with The New 52 initiative, and Black Adam was one of many heroes who underwent a critical re-hauling. In The New 52, Adam was a slave in the fictional middle eastern country of Kahndaq. When he was injured in an escape attempt, his dear nephew Aman was granted the powers of Shazam by an ancient wizard. The loyal boy healed Uncle Adam's wounds and decreed that he would henceforth share his power with his uncle and together they would help others. However, when Aman next said the word "Shazam," Adam killed his nephew so that he could be the sole recipient of the powers. This is a way darker origin for Adam, and would make for a much more dramatic backstory for the movies. It's no surprise, then, that this looks to be the route they're heading down, as Johnson has spoken about how his character will have had a dark past as a slave. 8) He Believes The End Justifies The Means If you're wondering how Black Adam could be called an anti-hero when he's done something as evil as straight-up murder his only family member to gain power, then you should know that Adam strongly believes that the end justifies the means. Like many of the most interesting villains, Black Adam truly believes that he's a hero, and is only doing what has to be done. When Shazam finds out what he did his nephew, for instance, Adam tells him that he'll do anything he can to "free this world from those who enslave it." After suffering at the hands of cruel men in his mortal life, he wants to ensure that no one else has to endure the same fate. It just so happens that he can stomach people dying in order for him achieve his goal. 7) He Has A Family If you're familiar with Shazam, you'll know that he has a team of allies called the Marvel Family (more recently known as the Shazam family, for obvious reasons). These include Shazam's sister Mary Marvel, their friend Captain Marvel Jr. and Shazam's pet tiger, Tawny. Not to be outdone, Black Adam has his own group of relatives known as the Black Adam family. This was formed during The 52 storyline, when Shazam was ruling Kandaq and attempting to establish himself as a hero. It includes his wife Adrianna Tomaz, who becomes the superheroine Isis. Amon Tomaz, Adrianna's brother, becomes Osiris and finally, we have Sobek, an intelligent humanoid crocodile who's Black Adam's analogue for Tawny. Unfortunately, Adam's quest for peace ends in tragedy when the Four Horsemen of Apokolips murder Isis and he goes on a murderous planet-wide rampage (more on that later). 6) He's Best Friends With Sinestro What, villains can't form friendships too? During the Forever Evil story arc, the Crime Syndicate - evil doppelgangers of the Justice League from another Earth - come to our world and attempt to take over. We all know how much Black Adam hates those who enslave others, and here, he joins the fight against the Syndicate with a team of heroes and villains all committed to saving the Earth. He's put out of action, though, when Ultraman - Superman's counterpart - smashes Adam's jaw beyond repair, which leaves him unable to call on his powers. Thankfully for him, Sinestro creates a construct with his Yellow Lantern ring to reassemble his jaw. From that day on, Adam owes Sinestro a debt and the pair become firm friends. Later on, Adam returns the favour when Sinestro needs his help in stopping an evil alien cult called the Paling. In order to be powerful enough to stop them, Sinestro gives Adam a Lantern power ring - increasing his already hefty power set. 5) He'll Meet Superman And Batman In The Movies As there have only been three movies released under its banner so far, we're still unsure what the direction of the DCEU will be going forward. Will all the movies be totally connected, or will there be smaller sub-franchises that don't crossover with the rest? For instance, will we get to see Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam face-off against Henry Cavill's Supes or Ben Affleck's Batman? In case you hadn't guessed from the title up above, Johnson guaranteed in an interview that such a fan-baiting crossover will definitely happen at some point. He said the following: "One day you will see Black Adam go at it with Superman or Batman or any of the DC characters." Can't get more assertive than that, right? Johnson's statement was supported by the fact that Cavill snapped a picture of the two together on Instagram and signed it "from Superman and Black Adam." Will Supes show up in Black Adam, or does Johnson have a cameo in Justice League? We'll have to wait and see, but there's also a rumour going around that he'll turn up in Aquman.... 4) The Movie Will Have "Winking Humor" Likewise, the discussion of the DC Extended Universe's issues with tone so far has filled various pages on the internet. While Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were criticized by some for being too bleak and grounded, Suicide Squad tried to balance that out with its anarchic, off-the-wall approach. So, where will the Black Adam part of the universe - that's his solo movie and Shazam! - fall in terms of tone and style? "There's a great independence to Black Adam from the DC world," Johnson has previously stated. "Allowing us to inject, not only viciousness, but also winking humor." By the sounds of it, then, Black Adam won't be too related to the mainstream Justice League movies, which will give it some room to move away from the Zack Snyder method of superhero filmmaking. Considering Johnson's great track record at both being an action hero and a talented comedy performer, it's not surprising that there will be "viciousness" and "winking humour" here. 3) He Poses A Threat To Superman It's interesting that we'll likely get to see Black Adam and Superman face-off in the movies as the character is one of the few who can go toe to toe with the Man of Steel. It's all to do with the fact that Black Adam's powers are derived from magic. Along with Kryptonite and the lack of radiation from a yellow sun, one of Superman's big weaknesses is his aversion to any kind of sorcery. Since Shazam and Black Adam get their abilities from the same source, he could also beat Superman in a fight. However, while that has happened on some occasions, Superman's age of experience usually result in him winning. 2) Dwayne Johnson Chose Him Over Shazam If no one has been cast as Shazam yet who, on paper, is the more significant character, you might be wondering why Johnson wasn't offered that role instead. After all, he certainly has the look for it. However, little do most people know, but the actor was actually offered the part initially but turned it down in favour of Black Adam. When asked about why he made that decision, Johnson had this to say: “What made me choose Black Adam? I just felt Black Adam was inherently more interesting to me because I felt there were more layers to Black Adam, starting out as a slave and then ultimately becoming the anti-hero who we enjoy today.” Like we mentioned earlier, the cinematic Black Adam will clearly be drawn from The New 52 version as well as the more recent comics that portray him as an anti-hero. Given that, we can see why Johnson would be more drawn to the murky morals of the character, over someone as clearly heroic as Shazam. 1) He's Saved The Earth (And Nearly Destroyed It) There is one fact that sums up the two sides to Black Adam's character better than any other: he has put his own life on the line in order to save the world on a few occasions, as well as having nearly destroyed it. In David Goyer and Geoff Johns' JSA, for instance, Black Adam was part of the Justice Society of America - alongside his old nemesis Captain Marvel (aka Shazam). After this, he rescued his country from a warlord and remained as ruler. Unfortunately, after his family were brutally murdered, he went on that aforementioned rampage - and started World War III. So powerful was he that the entire Justice League couldn't stop him and had to go to the Egyptian gods who supply Adam's powers to bargain for Earth's safety. This morally complex hero seems very much of a piece with the likes of Affleck's murderous Batman, Cavill's dour Superman and the anti-heroes of the Suicide Squad, so really, it's no surprise that Black Adam is getting his own movie in the DCEU.