Black Adam

An ancient Egyptian warrior deemed worthy by the wizard Shazam, Teth-Adam was granted divine powers by a pantheon of gods — but his corruption led Shazam to strip and imprison that power across millennia. Reawakened in the modern era, he reclaims his godlike abilities as the dark champion of Kahndaq.

Few villains — or antiheroes — in DC's Bronze Age pantheon carry the weight and moral complexity of Black Adam. Debuting in Shazam! #28 in 1977 under the hands of E. Nelson Bridwell and Kurt Schaffenberger, this ancient powerhouse has grown from a Shazam-family antagonist into one of DC's most compelling figures, sharing pages with titans like Superman, Batman, and The Flash across nearly five decades of publication. With 97 catalog appearances spanning from 1977 all the way to 2025 — including three key collector issues — and a presence in landmark series like 52 and Detective Comics, Black Adam has clearly transcended his origins to become essential DC mythology. If you haven't followed his long, turbulent journey through the DC Universe, these issues are exactly where to start.