“Black Adam” #1

A new take on an Egyptian anti-hero/villain begins with “Black Adam” #1.

Cover by Irvin Rodriguez

Written by Christopher Priest
Illustrated by Rafa Sandoval
Colored by Matt Herms
Lettered by Willie Schubert

There is no forgiveness for Black Adam.

This is the reality Teth-Adam, immortal man of indomitable will, must face when he discovers he has been infected with an incurable plague destroying his immortality. Haunted by the specter of centuries of dark deeds, Black Adam transfers his powers to a worthy successor who will redeem Adam’s legacy and defend their ancestral homeland of Kahndaq, only to subsequently become mystically “handcuffed” to him when Adam’s plague is arrested, giving birth to perhaps the most volatile and dysfunctional super-team in DC history!

Powered by stunning art by Rafa Sandoval (Justice League) and breathtaking painted covers by Irvin Rodriguez (Detective Comics), writer Christopher Priest (Deathstroke, Justice League) brings his trademark wit and skill for character deconstruction to an entirely fresh examination of the man you love to hate! Get ready to ride the lightning!

Welcome to the tale of Black Adam. One of a man out of time, of a hero to his people, but whose people are millennia dead. Of those who would not deign to give time of day to modern conveniences or behaviors except where it would benefit himself, and has far too much pride to reduce himself to a mere mortal except when tricked into doing so.

If you were expecting that kind of story, search elsewhere, for that is not the kind of plot Christopher Priest seems interested in telling with “Black Adam” #1. Keep in mind, half of the solicitation listed above is not actually present within this first issue, so likely it will come to pass in subsequent installments.

Instead of the above description, Priest lends himself to a different kind of story. One of a Black Adam who resides in board rooms and political meetings with other world leaders as if to treat them on equal footing, who spends more time in his mortal form (albeit potentially with a reason), who deals in how other countries see his own rather than seeing himself as separate altogether. “Theo Teth-Adam,” as he calls himself (an amalgamation of two names he has used for himself in the past), feels far more like a mortal with undue pride than an actual immortal being, willingly switching between his human and divine forms commonly as his modern counterpart Shazam.

With “Black Adam” #1, Priest tells a story that is unerringly, almost painfully current, forcing itself into relevance to a certain era so overtly that it does not merely appear to be of the 2020s, but the 2020s in the world of the reader, rather than that of the DC Universe, including a bunch of references to music and technology from ‘our’ world (like Twitter and WuTang Clan). The fact that these references seem to come a mile-a-minute, and most of them come from a single character, make said character appear to be not amusing, but just obnoxious, with the promise of seeing more of him being one that could give established fans of Black Adam pause or even a sense of dread.

Truth be told, attempting to move a character forward into a new worldview can be a quite admirable effort, but only if done with respect to the character, rather than using said entity as an impromptu bludgeon to force forward another tale. This use of extant culture does make the story seem relevant to current times… in real life, and not in the DC Universe. As such, Priest merely shatters immersion of readers with this process, and also makes the story in serious danger of being extremely dated within a few years, and incidentally makes it less relevant to the existing worlds of DC Comics. This tale could be seen as an Elseworld story in another universe, but the fact that it is deliberately noted as before the events leading up to ‘Dark Crisis’ makes any effort to make Black Adam himself seem to be in danger laughable at best. The way it is written, “Black Adam” #1 seems as though it is a story written before a character was selected for it, with Priest maneuvering the character he has to fit a story he already wanted to tell.

Given the script, Rafa Sandoval does a marvelous job of attempting to save this story. His artwork is precise and emotive, as well as granting a sense of scope necessary to truly appreciate the awe-inspiring nature of Black Adam’s powers. The lines are thin yet distinct, making a clear difference between the use of energy such as lightning and that of individual people or objects in the environment. The placement of characters, and the use of shadow, helps make absolutely clear who is to be the focus, not to mention making a foreboding atmosphere for the entire enterprise. Certain characters are entirely out of focus, or even just kept off panel for a sizable amount of time, enabling their mystique or horror to be especially pronounced. One such example is in the case of the New Gods, who are barely given time on-panel, with the more powerful among them barely seen on-panel at all, only their words and the effects of their powers instead.

Meanwhile, Matt Herms does a very good job with the colors, supplementing Sandoval’s attempts. His hues and tones are remarkably precise, darkness and light dependent not only on the actual events of a given scene, but also on the emotions of those involved. Sometimes it is merely a way of what people are wearing, but the shadows themselves help to tell a tale where other elements may fail.

Final Verdict: 5.5– No matter how good the artwork may be, this debut issue cannot get around the fact that it feels completely unnatural.