Wonder Woman Vs. Black Adam: Who Would Win And Why?
Diana Prince and Teth-Adam, or Wonder Woman and Black Adam, are quite different characters on the surface. Diana is good, a morally-just superhero, while Adam is a supervillain – anti-hero, at best. However, they also have a lot in common in terms of powers. With Black Adam arriving at the DCEU very soon, who would win in a fight between himself and Wonder Woman?
While Black Adam seems like the superior hero due to his physique, Wonder Woman would defeat him more often than not. She is an Amazon warrior/demigod with incredible strength, aided by years of brutal training, whereas Black Adam is simply brute force.
Of course, there’s more to it. Sure, he might have a physical edge, but in a fight between two characters wielding god-like powers, it’s not about strength – it’s about skills, versatility, and exploitation of the opponent’s weaknesses, which is where Wonder Woman would excel over Adam. Let’s break it down to prove why that’s the case.
Origins
Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, is also known as Princess Diana. She’s the daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons on Temischyra, and Zeus, the most powerful head deity of all the Gods of Olympus. The combination of two such powerful entities created an unfathomably strong, intelligent, and powerful warrior that we know as Wonder Woman.
Diana trained to become the mightiest Amazon warrior in history, using all kinds of mystical weapons. Still, her favorite weapon is the Lasso of Truth, which can help her bind even the mightiest foes and get them to tell the whole truth about their actions, intentions, or anything else Diana might ask them.
Her origins aren’t cosmic but rather mystical. However, the human part of her is what makes Wonder Woman so dangerous. Her training means she’s an incredibly prolific warrior that, when aided with all those incredible powers, is very hard to stop.
On the other hand, Black Adam isn’t a child of gods but wields god-like powers. Originally, his name was Teth-Adam – a common, non-special enslaved person in ancient Egypt who received the powers of the Wizard called Shazam. Yes, that Shazam.
Six Ancient Egyptian gods grant the Wizard’s magical powers: Stamina of Shu, Speed of Horus, Strength of Amun, Wisdom of Zehuti, Power of Aten, and Courage of Mehen – the initials create the famous word, Shazam.
Black Adam quickly started to misuse his powers, so the Wizard imprisoned him for millennials. But, after Adam escaped, he started wreaking havoc and fought Shazam’s new, modern champion, Billy Batson – the Shazam portrayed by Zachary Levi in the recent DCEU film.
Shazam has that Superman vibe and appearance – levitating, flying in a caped costume, unfathomable strength, impenetrable skin, etc. On the other hand, Black Adam’s main powers are magical and mystical.
I’ll put it this way; Superman brings the cosmic universal powers and skills, while Wonder Woman brings in that mystical, magical skillset that still originates on this planet. Black Adam is a character who brings both of those angles together, making him that much more dangerous.
His origins are so common, and he still became one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe. On the other hand, Wonder Woman is born into her powers, having an insanely powerful deity for a father, and also lived in a group known for military training.
The link between the cosmic, mythical, magical, and human is the reason why Black Adam certainly deserves a point in the origins category.
Point: Black Adam (1:0) Wonder Woman
Strength
When you look at the physical depictions of Wonder Woman and Black Adam in the comics, you’d say that Adam would crush Diana in terms of raw physical strength. Even if you compare the DCEU characters – Dwayne Johnson looks like a giant next to Gal Gadot. Still, the difference in strength is minuscule, if there is any in the first place.
Black Adam has unfathomable strength, sometimes going towards immeasurable levels. On the other hand, he’s had the Shazam powers for thousands of years, while Billy Batson is just a kid in an overly powerful body – and Black Adam still lost to him numerous times.
I know that Dwayne Johnson keeps saying Black Adam will bring a big change in the DCEU’s power hierarchy. Sure, he’ll cause some mayhem (maybe turning into an anti-hero quickly and possibly even helping the team after fighting them initially), but I’m not sure he’ll just pummel through the Justice League like cheesecake.
Remember, Wonder Woman fought Superman several times in the comics and even won a couple of times. The one time she eventually lost (and it looked very dominating) is the time when Superman was completely out of his right mind, so Wonder Woman was holding back, trying not to cause more harm than necessary, as seen in the insert below.
All in all, both Black Adam and Wonder Woman have unfathomable strength, allowing them to go toe-to-toe with Superman. Even if you gave Adam a slight physical edge, Diana’s skill more than makes up for it. Both characters deserve points for strength.
Point(s): Black Adam (2:1) Wonder Woman
Durability
This is the part where Princess Diana starts to separate a bit. Hear me out before you riot.
Black Adam is almost invulnerable. Actually, he IS invulnerable while in Shazam form. He’s bulletproof, can take the hardest hits, can’t be hurt physically, nor with magic. That being said, neither can Diana.
She has a lower resistance to direct, sharp physical damage, such as high-caliber bullets. Once, she was almost mortally wounded when a bullet ricocheted from Superman’s neck right into her. (Justice League Vol. 3 #41) However, as an Amazon, Wonder Woman has an incredible threshold for pain and a superhumanly fast healing factor.
Paired with her mystical artifacts that provide an extra layer of magical protection (such as the Bracelets of Submission, Wonder Woman’s Tiara, and the Atlantiades’ Armor), and Wonder Woman is just as invincible as Adam or Supes. So, why do I give her an edge?
Well, when Adam is not in his Black Adam form, he’s just a human. One good punch from Wonder Woman would kill him on the spot. Yes, he’s almost never seen as Teth-Adam, outside of his Shazam form, but the fact that he CAN turn into a normal human dwindles his durability factor in my book.
All you need to do is force him to say Shazam and slap him over the head. Of course, it’s easier said than done, but it wouldn’t be the first time Shazam got tricked into saying the word and reverting to human form. That breaks the tie, and Wonder Woman gets the point in this category.
Point: Wonder Woman (2:2) Black Adam
Combat Skills
I won’t waste too much time and words on this category, as it clearly goes into Wonder Woman’s favor.
Black Adam was nothing but a slave with no particular combat training, and then, he got the amazing superpowers. Soon after that, Adam was imprisoned, and the imprisonment lasted for thousands of years. Yes, he is incredibly powerful, but he is not a skilled fighter. I mean, he fought with Billy Batson to a stalemate a few times, and Billy is just a kid despite his powers.
Don’t get me wrong; Black Adam is insanely powerful. He beat Superman numerous times (albeit, Superman’s weakness is magic, and Black Adam uses nothing but magic) and fought entire teams of superheroes. But, even if he’s a self-taught fighter throughout the years in imprisonment, he can’t even dream of matching Wonder Woman’s combat skills.
Amazons are among the best warriors ever to graze the Earth, and Princess Diana is the best among all of them. Her combat skills include various martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, and weaponry. On the other hand, Black Adam never uses any weapons other than his physicality and, of course, magic.
Weapons, or no weapons, with or without magic, Wonder Woman’s combat skills are superior to Black Adams. Diana gets another point in this category.
Point: Wonder Woman (3:2) Black Adam
Magic
Finally, we know that both Wonder Woman and Black Adam primarily use magic as a source of their powers. So, whose magic is superior? Well, I wouldn’t bet on either.
Black Adam literally gained his powers from a wizard. Shazam is an acronym for six ancient Egyptian gods granting Adam their powers. He’s easily up to par with Superman, as shown in their numerous comic battles – and all those powers that put him up to par with Supes come from magic.
That being said, he never uses weapons, and neither of the six gods is the head deity.
On the other hand, Princess Diana is the daughter of Zeus, the mightiest of all Gods of Olympus and one of the mightiest beings in the universe. With that being said, it’s clear to see why she is such a powerful character.
Apart from that, Wonder woman uses a plethora of enchanted weapons and mystical artifacts, making her magical prowess that much more powerful. Along with her combat skills and the knowledge on how to use the magic and the mystical artifacts bestowed upon her, Princess Diana is as mighty as they get.
I wouldn’t pick one’s magic over the others, which is why both Black Adam and Wonder Woman get points in this category.
Point(s): Wonder Woman (4:3) Black Adam
Wonder Woman Vs. Black Adam: Who Wins?
In the end, the scoreboard says 4:3 in Wonder Woman’s favor, meaning she is more likely to win against Black Adam than the fight going the other way around. I’m saying “more likely” because it’s far from a clean win for either character. Both Wonder Woman and Black Adam have incredible powers, but they also have weaknesses.
With their strength, durability, and magical powers being so evenly matched, I believe it would ultimately go down to skills, and Wonder Woman is a much more skilled fighter than Black Adam.
If she can somehow trick or force him into saying Shazam and reverting Black Adam to his human form, Diana would win comfortably. If not, she has more than enough strength and skills to match him or even beat him in combat.
