Here’s Why Black Adam and Shazam Use the Same Magic Word

If you’re not all that familiar with Black Adam, you may have been surprised to hear him say “Shazam!” in order to tap into his powers. But what possible connection could Black Adam have with the Shazam family? The tone and protagonists of the two movies couldn’t be any more different, even if they tried.

Well, in the comics, Black Adam was first introduced in a Shazam storyline. But that’s not all.

Black Adam and the Shazam family receive their powers from the same Council of Wizards who delegate from the Rock of Eternity. In the 2019 Shazam!, a deleted scene depicts an empty seat on the Shazam thrones, implying that it was left for Black Adam.

It’s time to dig deeper and figure out if Black Adam and the Shazam family will ever cross paths: 

Black Adam and Shazam’s Comic Book Connections

To start off, Black Adam and Billy Batson both get their powers from the same Council of Wizards. This is why, in order to activate their superhero persona, they both say, “Shazam!”

You will also notice that the two sport similar powers as well, right from flight to lightning bolts. The rest of the powers they have in common are super speed, super strength, wisdom, and courage.

There are a few differences, of course. For one, Billy gets his powers from the Greco-Roman pantheon of gods, while Black Adam gets his from the Egyptian gods.

Another difference is that Billy has to share his powers with his found family, as opposed to Black Adam who enjoys all his powers to himself. This also makes him infinitely stronger than the Shazam family.

In his first-ever appearance, Thet-Adam/Black Adam was depicted as a straight-up villain in The Marvel Family #1. He was Billy’s ancient predecessor who had received the Shazam powers, then turned rogue. He wanted to fight Billy and his family in order to rule the world all by himself.

The character was killed and this version of him was never seen again. When Thet-Adam made his return, a new original story was made up for him.

Here, he was the Prince of Kahndaq deemed worthy of becoming the Shazam Champion. But when his country is attacked, he is provoked into unjustifiable violence.

The wizards find his behavior deplorable and see him as an overall threat. Thus, he is trapped in a scarab for centuries, until he is awoken as the antihero we know him to be in the present day. 

Black Adam’s Deleted Scene in Shazam! Explained

The original plan was to either properly introduce Black Adam in Shazam! or to feature him as a villain. But Dwayne Johnson, who was interested in the anti-hero since 2007, was determined to get Black Adam his own standalone film.

However, since his connection to the Shazam family cannot be overlooked, we do have a deleted scene from the film that teases Black Adam’s presence.

Family On Thrones (teases BLACK ADAM) | Shazam! [Deleted Scene]

As the Shazam family sits on their thrones in the Rock of Eternity, Mary questions why there is one extra seat. While the scene never made it to the official film cut, it sure feels like it was intentionally left empty for Johnson’s Black Adam.

Plus, Johnson’s likeness was also used during the scene where the Wizard explains Shazam’s powers to Billy.

But there are bits yet to be resolved. During his explanation, the Wizard implies that Black Adam was a false champion who was responsible for releasing the Seven Deadly Sins.

This doesn’t really match Black Adam’s origin story in the 2022 film, where he was given his powers by his son, Hurut, the original Shazam Champion. The Wizards also locked Adam before he could cause any more damage, giving him no chance of interacting with the Seven Deadly Sins. It is left to be seen if this will ever be clarified. Perhaps we may finally see Black Adam crossing paths with the Shazam Family, even if it’s just in a cameo in Fury of the Gods.

About Black Adam

Black Adam is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics fictional supervillain, directed by Jaume Collett-Serra. It is a spinoff of the 2019 movie Shazam!, and the 11th film in the DCEU franchise.

Black Adam is the antihero to Shazam and possesses the same powers as the white-caped superhero. But after being imprisoned for 5000 years, he is finally free, and now, the Justice Society of America, a team of superheroes, must stop him before he fulfills his mission to wreak havoc on the world that rejected him.

The film stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam, and joining him are cast members Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Pierce Brosnan, and Viola Davis.