In the age of comic book superhero movies, we have seen it all. There are heroes with the ability to fly, to shoot lasers out of their eyes, to lift cars over their heads. Some can turn into anyone they would like, and others can be a version of any animal they can think of — just with a tinge of green. There are mind-readers and metal manipulators, and even heroes that are named after some insect that vaguely resembles their abilities. So, in a world of every superhero imaginable, new heroes often get grouped with other heroes they vaguely resemble.

Like in the new DCEU movie Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson as the morally gray hero who isn’t like Superman at all. In fact, he makes that very clear in the trailer. He is no Superman. With a Shazam-like suit, and edgy attitude, Black Adam is the DCEU’s newest live action film adaptation. Despite its negative reception from critics during its opening weekend, Johnson’s introduction into the DCEU topped the box office with a $140 million worldwide gross, finishing off with a high audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. What’s more, news of a sequel happening soon have already excited fans to say the least. So, who exactly is Black Adam, and more importantly, what are his superpowers?

Who is Black Adam in Relation to Shazam?

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Black Adam falls into the same realm of superhero as Billy Batson, aka Shazam. Both heroes were chosen by ancient gods that gave their power to an unsuspecting mortal. For Shazam, it was a collection of six Greek gods that gave him his power. In the acronym to his name, Billy Batson gained the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the courage of Achilles, the power of Zeus, the stamina of Atlas, and the speed of Mercury. Shazam is the person Billy Batson becomes when he calls upon these powers, and he still continues to live a normal life as a teenage boy as well. On the other hand, Black Adam got his powers from Egyptian gods, and always stays in his powerful form, never retreating back to his normal self. In DC Comics, Black Adam is Shazam’s biggest enemy due to their similarities and overall clashing outlooks on the gift of power they both received.

The Gods That Gave Black Adam His Powers

     Warner Bros Pictures

Similar to Billy Batson, Black Adam was gifted six powers by six different gods. These gods are of Egyptian origin, and are in direct correlation to the Greek gods of Shazam’s. These gods are Shu, Horus, Amon, Zehuti, Aton, and Mehen. The man Teth-Adam was supposed to have been bestowed the power of the original wizard Shazam in 1200 BC. He was sought out and trained to become the next all-powerful wizard, but at the time that he was supposed to gain the power, he spoke the word “Shazam” and instead of the wizard’s power transferring, he was blessed with the power of the Egyptian gods. He used these powers for good at first, and met others from the future with powers like his. After a slew of misunderstandings, though, both Shazam and Black Adam become enemies, and use their powers against one another.

What Are Black Adam’s Powers?

So what are Black Adam’s powers? And what are his weaknesses? With each power of the Egyptian gods he was gifted, they granted him their specialty. From the god Shu, he was gifted stamina and extreme resistance to any sort of attack, whether that be magical or mortal. The god Horus gave their gift of speed for either flight or movement. Amon gave the gift of unmatched strength that puts Black Adam at a matched strength of Superman. The god Zehuti gave Black Adam his wisdom and access to knowledge from mortal to magical properties, and the god Aton give him his actually power and ability to strike an opponent with a lightning bolt. The last god called Mehan gave him his gift of courage and his ability to resist manipulation.

With all this power, Black Adam still finds weakness in some forms of magic that can counter his abilities or are stronger than his powers. He also has the alter-ego still trapped inside him. Much like the young kid Billy Batson is, Black Adam has an alter ego to his powerful self that is powerless, so he holds that weakness close. Overall, Black Adam is a very powerful person that gains his strength from six Egyptian gods.