Black Adam is empowered by Greek or Egyptian deities?
The characters Black Adam and Billy / Shazam (who appeared in the movie Shazam!!! 2009) have one thing in common: they both have super strength thanks to the empowering of the ancient Wizard Shazam.
In the DC comics, every time Black Adam and Billy / Shazam say "Shazam", they will be given ❝ the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the endurance of Atlas, the strength of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury❞.
But Black Adam predates Billy/Shazam by more than 5,000 years. In the past, after gaining boundless power thanks to the sorcerer Shazam, Black Adam became corrupted, killing the king of Egypt to become the ruler of this kingdom. Sorcerer Shazam was so angry that he withdrew and blocked Black Adam's access to powers, and it took more than 5,000 years for Shazam to choose a new champion, Billy/Shazam.
The character Black Adam in the 2022 movie seems to follow the trend of "Egyptization", in which the character's powers will be borrowed from the Egyptian gods, not from the Greek - Roman ones.
Accordingly, when chanting the spell, Black Adam would borrow "the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru (Horus), the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti (Thoth), the power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen".
Justice Society of America
Black Adam 2022 is expected to introduce the Justice Society of America for the first time on big screen. JSA members expected to appear in the movie include:
- Carter Hall / Hawkman: An archaeologist who is the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince and has the ability to fly with metal wings. Hawkman is the leader of the JSA.
- Albert "Al" Rothstein / Atom Smasher: A member of the JSA who can control his molecular structure and control his size and strength.
- Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone: A member of the JSA who can control winds and generate sound.
- Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate: A member of the JSA, has boundless magic (flying, teleportation, time travel, invisibility, necromancy...) and a magical treasure called the Hat of Fate. Doctor Fate closely resembles Doctor Strange of the Marvel Universe.
In DC Comics, JSA was created very early, but this set of characters went through a period of decline (1940-1951) so the characters of JSA did not have the opportunities to further develop. Later, DC Comics recreated some of JSA's best-selling characters in a new organization that movie fans are very familiar with, the
Justice League of America, which includes Superman, Flash, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
The Black Adam character is likely to be developed independently of Shazam; in which Billy/Shazam will still be a "baby" soul in the shape of an invincible adult superhero, while Black Adam is a cross between hero and anti-hero, or a superhero in a dark direction. He will carry out the justice of his own and ready to be ruthless if it is necessary. So he has a unique definition of justice - maybe in contradictory to common standards.
Black Adam movie continues the series of blockbusters that Dwayne Johnson has participated in in recent years such as
Jungle Cruise,
Red Notice ...
Black Adam, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani, is scheduled to be released in the United States by Warner Bros Pictures on October 21, 2022. It will also stream on HBO Max 45 days after that.
