Black Adam is a DC Comics supervillain, often a rival of Captain Marvel. He wears an equivalent costume to Captain Marvel but the red portions are colored black and he does not wear a cape.
He was a previous appointee of the wizard Shazam in ancient Egypt, but soon used his power for his own corrupt ends which forced the wizard to punish him. Generally, that punishment was to remove Adam from that time, only to appear in modern times to challenge Shazam's current appointee, Billy Batson in his Captain Marvel form.
Powers
When he speaks the word of power "Shazam," Theo Adam is gifted with the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru (Horus), the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti (Thoth), the power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen.
History
In ancient Egypt, the time of the pharaoh Rameses the Great, the wizard Shazam chose Teth-Adam to become the land's protector. He told him that "Shazam" would be his word of power, granting him great powers, derived from the attributes of Egypt's gods. While Teth-Adam served as a hero for many years, until the time of the pharaoh Khufu Kha-Tar, he was eventually corrupted by power. Acounts vary, but he was either seduced by the demoness Blaze or became overly brutal in an attempt to protect his homeland of Khandaq, a kingdom near Egypt. In any event, he seized control of Egypt, and became known as Khem-Adam (Black Adam). Shazam revoked his power and Teth-Adam died.
Centuries later, Theo Adam, a descendant or reincarnation of Khem-Adam, was on an archeological dig with Billy Batson's parents. He murdered the Batsons for a mystic scarab found in Khem-Adam's tomb. He discovered its secrets, and by saying "Shazam," Theo received the power of his ancestor, and used it to battle Shazam's latest champion, Captain Marvel (who wore a red version of Black Adam's outfit with a white cape). Theo Adam later gained Teth-Adam's memories.
Through various plot twists, Black Adam joined the Injustice Society, turned on them, joined the Justice Society of America (under Captain Marvel's watchful eye), left the JSA, and eventually took control of the Middle Eastern nation of Khandaq along with recruits including other JSA associates and old Infinity Inc. members.
The original Fawcett Comics version of the character had a broadly similar history, except that, instead of Adam's powers being transferred through the scarab, the mummified body of Mighty Adam was resurrected. The character was also rather gullible despite his granted wisdom as he was often defeated by tricking him into saying Shazam to change back into his normal form and subduing him before he could say it again.
