Shazam: 5 Things You Need To Know Before The Movie

4. Black Adam's A Bad Guy

Oh yeah, the guy the Rock's playing. That's probably pretty important, right? Well, interestingly, it looks like Dwayne Johnson is going to be playing his first proper villain role in the Shazam film, as he graciously takes on the part of Black Adam. Superman has his Lex Luthor, Batman has his Joker, and Shazam has Black Adam - his equal, opposite, and arch nemesis. That's also something of a misnomer, because simply characterising Adam as a bad guy does him a disservice. He's a rich, interesting and morally complex character who is fiercely loyal to his countrymen, saving lives and defeating evil. Whilst sometimes murdering people in cold blood and fighting superheroes. His back story's pretty interesting and all. Shazam himself tends to skew younger, whilst Black Adam is literally thousands of years old. Imbued with similar mystical abilities as his rival, Teth-Adam is the son of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II, who so impressed a local wizard that he decided he should probably give him a bunch of crazy superpowers. For centuries he defended his country, before settling down as lord and ruler of imaginary Middle Eastern state Kahndaq. Which is where all the fights with superheroes start. Would you fight The Rock, though?