Is Black Adam A Hero Or A Villain? Explained

The DCEU’s upcoming movie, Black Adam, is one of the many comic book film adaptations that are based on a character who isn’t exactly a good guy. But while many of us comic book fans are already familiar with Black Adam and his work in the DC universe, there are those who are wondering what kind of character Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is going to play in the upcoming movie. So, is Black Adam a hero or a villain?

Black Adam is most likely going to be portrayed as an anti-hero in the upcoming Black Adam movie. This means that he is a hero that has villain traits because of his ruthless approach to protecting his homeland. However, in the comics, he was portrayed as an evil villain that opposed the hero Shazam.

It would be interesting to see how the DCEU would be able to show Black Adam’s anti-hero personality and what will eventually lead him into becoming a villain in the Shazam DC continuity. The most likely case is that he will start off as an anti-hero and would eventually become a villain. And that’s something we will try to explore in this article.

Is Black Adam A Good Guy?

One of the most popular DC characters is Black Adam, a godlike character who is usually the opposition to the superhero Shazam. When it was announced that the DCEU would be releasing a Black Adam movie wherein the titular character would be portrayed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, it became quite interesting how the movie would show the character’s personality.

Considering that Black Adam has almost always been a villain in the comics, people were interested in how an entire movie was going to tell the story of this character, as the Black Adam film is most likely going to explore his beginnings thousands of years before the events of the Shazam film. So, is Black Adam a good guy in the movie?

The most likely case is that Black Adam will start off as a good guy in the movie. After all, the wizard Shazam chose him to become a champion. The wizard is very cautious when choosing a champion, as only the pure of heart are usually given the opportunity to inherit his powers and become a hero.

Due to the fact that Black Adam committed heroic acts and had a courageous heart that allowed him to prove his mettle, he earned the right to become the wizard’s champion and was bestowed the powers of the Egyptian Gods. Using his powers, he eventually became the leader of his homeland called Kahndaq. And most of Adam’s actions are focused on his goal of keeping Kahndaq protected from possible invaders.

However, when Black Adam was off fighting away from his home, what happened was that his family was murdered by criminals. The most likely scenario in the movie is that this will be the event that will turn the good guy around, as Black Adam would be forced to use extreme measures to make sure that his home is protected at any cost.

Is Black Adam An Anti-Hero?

The most likely case for Black Adam in the movie is that he will start off as a good guy that had a heart pure enough to inherit the powers of the wizard. However, some major events or a series of events, such as the death of his family, could possibly lead him to change his ways.

Due to the death of his family and some other events that proved to him that being a good guy will never be enough, Black Adam most likely becomes a character that would resort to brutality and other heinous actions that would make sure that no one ever touches his homeland ever again.

So, from a benevolent leader, he would become an anti-hero whose goals are for the good of his homeland. However, he has the qualities of someone you would normally see in a villain, such as his brutal nature and his ruthlessness when it comes to Kahndaq’s enemies. 

In the eyes of his people and for those who understand his end goals, he might be a hero. But when you factor in the acts he is willing to do to reach his goals, you might see him as a villain. This is why the trajectory for the character is most likely headed towards the anti-hero narrative. 

However, it might be possible for us to see him transitioning into a villain, as explained by the wizard in the Shazam movie:

“Seven thrones of seven wizards. But long ago, we chose a champion, and we chose recklessly. He used his power for revenge, releasing the Seven Deadly Sins into your world. Millions of lives were lost. Entire civilizations erased from existence. That is why I vowed never to pass on my magic until I find one truly good person. Strong in spirit, pure in heart.”

It is most likely the release of the Seven Deadly Sins (the enemies in the Shazam film) that would make the wizard see that his champion has now become a villain, as such an action could have possibly destroyed entire civilizations just to keep Kahndaq safe from invaders. Formerly known by his given name Teth-Adam, the wizard brands him with the Black Adam name and entombs him for centuries.

Was Black Adam A Villain In The Comics?

Black Adam has a history that is a bit different in the comics. He started out as a slave whose entire family, except for his nephew Aman, were massacred by the dictators of their homeland of Kahndaq. They eventually escaped, but Adam got mortally wounded in the process.

Aman was not willing to leave his dying uncle behind and rescued him. Adam and his nephew were transported to the Rock of Eternity by the wizard Shazam, who deemed Aman pure of heart and was willing to name him his champion. However, Aman only accepted the offer if the wizard was going to save Adam.

After the wizard told Aman the nature of his powers, he accepted the gift and shared a portion of his powers to save and empower Adam. However, after the two were talking about how they would use their powers to save the slaves of Kahndaq, they had a disagreement.

Adam wanted to kill all of the dictators to exact revenge. Meanwhile, Aman wanted to keep them alive. Due to how Adam thought that Aman’s methods would not work, he killed him and took the power of the wizard for himself. He eventually used his powers to kill the dictators and ruled Kahndaq as its sole leader and protector.

He was eventually imprisoned by the wizards for his actions, but Black Adam escaped centuries later and went on to do battle with the new champion, Billy Batson, many times as the main antagonist of the Shazam comics.

As such, the comic book origins of Black Adam show that, while his goals may be quite good in the sense that he wanted to free his people, he was still willing to do evil things from the very start. He didn’t even hesitate to kill his own nephew just so he could reach his end goals. This means that, in the comics, Black Adam is a villain.