Warning! Spoilers ahead for Black Adam #8!A glimpse into Black Adam’s past is reaffirming that the fallen Champion of Shazam is an extremely complicated hero. The eponymous character reveals his earliest days as a wielder of magic, and what set him down his unusual path.
Despite gaining the ability to wield the Living Lightning and becoming the magical protector of Earth, the hero once known as Mighty Adam fell from grace after deciding to use his powers wantonly. Unable to remove Adam’s powers, the wizard Shazam banished the now Black Adam for several millennia. However, he eventually returned shortly after Billy Batson became the hero Shazam and took Adam’s role as Champion. Unable to accept his replacement, Black Adam repeatedly tried to steal Batson’s power for himself, and often aligned himself with more villainous forces. And yet, part of Mighty Adam still shined through Black Adam, showing that there is possibly a hero still inside.
Black Adam’s Past Shaped His Desire for Justice
A look back on the Champion’s earliest days is putting a new spin on what truly drives the man once known as Mighty Adam. In Black Adam #8 by Christopher Priest, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Montos, Black Adam returns to his palace where his descendant, Malik White, aka the new hero Bolt, is suffering from the same illness Adam was infected with. As everyone waits for Malik to heal, Teth-Adam tells Malik the story of the last Pharaoh the Champion served. Teti was the latest in a long line of Pharaohs that Mighty Adam had served, but Teti was callous and cruel, using Adam’s powers to kill and enslave his enemies. However, one day, upon being ordered to murder numerous innocent lives, Adam snaps and kills the Pharaoh, saying that from now on, justice will reign in the lands.
Teth-Adam’s usual origin shows him using the powers of the wizard Shazam to overthrow the system that enslaved people like him. However, this tweaks his beginnings just a bit to show that long before he dispatched any rulers, he was actually complicit helping the system that kept the inhumane practice going. Rather than seeking revenge on those that enslaved him and his people, it appears that Black Adam’s true mission comes from trying to make up for the sins of his past.
Black Adam Wants to be a Hero to Redeem Himself
A theme throughout the new Black Adam series is whether Black Adam can redeem himself or not. The story he tells to his descendant shows that Black Adam is a conflicted person who is tormented by the poor decisions he’s made in his life. Black Adam has murdered for power and murdered for causes he doesn’t believe in. There’s clearly a guilt within Black Adam that is pushing him towards heroism to make up for the evils he’s done in the past. Fans can judge Teth-Adam’s heroic status for themselves by reading Black Adam #8, on sale now.