Black Adam (Teth‑Adam)

In the character's original Fawcett-era origin, Teth‑Adam (glossed in sources as 'Mighty Human') is an ancient Egyptian man selected by the wizard Shazam to be his champion. Saying the magic word 'Shazam' transforms Teth‑Adam into a superpowered form. In that origin tale the bestowed power corrupts him: he deposes the pharaoh, seizes the throne, and vows to rule humanity. The enraged wizard renames him 'Black Adam' and banishes him; Black Adam spends centuries away from Earth and returns in the modern era. Later DC reworkings relocate his cultural identity to Kahndaq and recast him as an ancient Kahndaqi antihero who defends his homeland by brutal means.

Sources describe Black Adam's costume as almost identical in design to Captain Marvel's but rendered in black and golden yellow rather than red and gold. When Teth‑Adam speaks 'Shazam' he is transformed into an immortal, superhuman empowered form (referred to as 'Mighty Adam' in origin accounts); in the original story, when reverted to mortal form he can be killed and is shown to 'die and crumble into a skeleton.'

The character's powers are magical and activated by the spoken word 'Shazam,' which transforms Teth‑Adam into his empowered persona. Bronze Age sources attribute those powers to named Egyptian figures—Shu (stamina), Heryshaf (strength), Amon (power), Zehuti/Thoth (wisdom), Anpu (speed), and Menthu (courage)—paralleling the wider Shazam mythos. Canonical feats in the provided sources include flight, overwhelming magical power, immortality/invulnerability while empowered, and longevity across millennia; narrative accounts also show that tricking him into saying 'Shazam' reverts him to mortal Teth‑Adam, removing those gifts.