Teth-Adam

Black Adam

## Biography

Teth-Adam was born in 2600 BC to the Kahndaqi tribe along the banks of the Nile river in Egypt. His father was greatly in debt, and as a result was forced to sell his son into slavery to Ibac the Terrible, a warlord. Ibac brought the boy to a city somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula, which was under the rule of the priest Ahk-ton and his advisor, whose name is lost to time, but we now know to be Vandal Savage.

Teth-Adam was forced into slavery in mines, where he searched for an ethereal metal known as Eternium. In the mines, he fell in love with another slave, Shiruta. The two had a son, Hurut. Teth tried to be happy, but anger grew deeply within him. His son, Hurut, was rebellious, and stole a small amount of Eternium from the mine for himself. When it was discovered, the entire family was taken to Ibac to be executed.

However, unbeknownst to the Adams, powers beyond them were at play. The Wizard Mamaragan, a member of the Lords of Order, were scheming to stop Vandal Savage. And thus, Mamaragan granted the powers of the Living Lightning to Teth-Adam, calling on him to summon them with the word “SHAZAM”. Adam did so and broke his family free from their captors chains.

Adam rampaged, imprisoning Ahk-ton within the Orb of Ra, gifted to him by the Lords of Order, before viciously murdering Ibac. Vandal Savage escaped the city unscathed. He established himself as the King of this city, reclaiming it as Kahndaq, re-establishing his tribe there, and taking the city back. He freed all the slaves and led them on a bloody revolt against the upper class of the city.

They lived in harmony for a time, but slowly, followers of Ibac began planning a coup against Adam. They rose up and murdered Shiruta and Hurut in the palace. When Adam discovered this, he publicly executed all of Ibac’s followers. Displeased with his violent actions, Mamaragan ordered Adam be exiled from Kahndaq - or be imprisoned in the Rock of Eternity. Adam cast himself into exile.

### The Mighty Adam

Mighty Adam was believed a legend by most, as he wandered the world for centuries, not quite a do-gooder, but not quite evil. He was known as the defeater of the Seven Sins.

During the 18th Dynasty, he had an affair with another one of Mamaragan’s champions, Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who was granted the Amulet of Isis. She would eventually pass away, leaving Adam alone. He discovered the Living Lightning granted him immortality, leaving him desolate and alone for centuries.

### Black Marvel

At an unknown point during the second World War, he resurfaced, known as the Black Marvel, for his interference in the war. However, one of the Third Reich’s advisors, Per Degaton, used a weapon known as the Spear of Destiny to prevent the Black Marvel’s interference. However, he remained a prominent known anomaly, and he made international governments very nervous - fearful of being blamed for the superhuman’s actions.

When the JSA became privately backed by Terry Sloane, they set out on a recruitment drive, adding Black Marvel to their ranks - fearful of letting such a powerful individual become an enemy. He remained silent through most of his operations with the Society, but was known as a massive powerhouse - most enemies surrendered upon being in his midst.

In secret, Black Marvel was planning to retake Kahndaq from its current dictator - Asim Muhunnad. The country was currently locked in a standoff with the nation of Bialya - and tensions were escalating. As Muhunnad prepared an invasion force, Black Marvel took action - murdering the dictator and taking his place on the throne - refusing to allow Kahndaqi blood to be spilled in a meaningless fight.

### King of Kahndaq

The JSA were mobilized to handle the situation and bring Black Marvel home, while Bialya backed down to observe. A massive fight broke out, spilling over the Bialyan border, beginning the war between the two countries - with the JSA caught in the middle.

During a lull in the fight, Mamaragan came to Adam to revoke his powers, but Adam resisted, destroying the Wizard’s staff, scarring his face, and sending him back to the Rock of Eternity. Bialya approached Adam to sign a treaty, forcing the JSA to retreat, leaving Adam as the reigning King of Kahndaq.

Under Adam, things changed for the better, however not all of Kahndaq was on board. They worked with Intergang to free Ahk-ton from the Orb of Ra. When Adam learned of this, he disposed of the rebels. Intergang secretly stole the Orb of Ra and exited the country. The Injustice Society of America sent Johnny Sorrow to infiltrate Kahndaq, resulting in his imprisonment beneath the palace.

Under Adam, the quality of life grew, and although closed-off, Kahndaq became prosperous - although they repeatedly refused to join the UN or NATO, putting many nations on edge. During the metahuman boom, Adam knew that soon, nations would be sending their own agents in an attempt to infiltrate. Thus, he brokered a deal with Queen Zazzala of Bialya, allying himself with the Light, and allowing her HIVE Agents to operate in Kahndaq.

As a result of his deal with the Light, Adam was forced to take the fall for several of the Light’s operations, on a team labeled the Injustice League. This put him into direct conflict with the Justice League and Mamaragan’s newest champion, Captain Marvel. During one of their scuffles, Captain Marvel shared the power of the Living Lightning with the rest of his family, and the team used it to imprison the Black Marvel within the Rock of Eternity once more.

### Black Adam

He would not stay comatose for very long. When Eclipso went on a rampage against all magic, the Rock of Eternity was transported into the sky above Fawcett City. Doctor Thaddeus Sivana gained entry to Kahndaq, which had since fallen into control of an individual calling himself the second Ibac. In Kahndaq, Sivana discovered Johnny Sorrow imprisoned under the palace. He freed him, and Sorrow helped him enter the Rock of Eternity, where the two subsequently broke Adam out of captivity. In exchange for his freedom, Adam agreed to join the Sivana Syndicate, a dark alternative to the Justice League.

Eventually, the team was defeated by a response team created by Martian Manhunter, but it allowed Adam to return to Kahndaq, throwing the second Ibac off the throne and reclaiming it. In the process of reclaiming the throne, he befriended a group of rebels calling themselves Black Reign, led by Adrianna Tomaz.

He fell in love with Adrianna, who told him that her brother had been trafficked by Intergang. He waged a one-man war on metahuman trafficking, breaking up several rings across the globe, where he eventually found her brother, Amon.

After reuniting their family, Adrianna agreed to be Adam’s bride. As a wedding present, he gifted her the Amulet of Isis, which belonged to his old lover. He gave her the amulet, which allowed her to invoke the powers of the goddess Isis. He even bestowed part of his power on her brother, Amon.

As Kahndaq’s new emperor he has launched a series of controversial diplomatic efforts. Following Sivana’s arrest, he recruited his two children; Georgia and TJ, to headline a new science center in Kahndaq - reclaiming leftover Intergang technology - and practicing gene-splicing, where they created Sobek, the sort of sidekick to the Black Marvel family. He has also allowed Kahndaq to be an Earthly safe-haven for the Sinestro Corps.

His largest diplomatic effort has been the Freedom of Power initiative, which has allied Kahndaq with other metahuman-ruled nations, allowing them to share their resources - partially for the betterment of their people, but partially for their own selfish reasons.

So far, the initiative has recruited China, Russia, Markovia, Bialya, Vlatava, and Modora into their ranks. This has placed the Great Twenty, the Black Marvel Family, the Crusaders, HIVE, and the Rocket Red Brigade under one umbrella - apparently calling themselves the Global Guardians. Although the Guardians have yet to undergo any real missions - the rest of the world is already bracing for when they do.

It is also rumored that Adam is attempting to track down his line of descent from previous lovers, believing that a medical student named Malik White may be one of his descendants, an inheritor to the powers of Shazam and Isis.