If you don't already know Black Adam you should know he is from the Captain Marvel (SHAZAM!) mythos. His power comes from a magic word that, when uttered, endows him with the power of the gods. He is not dark-skinned but he is Egyptian as are the gods from whom he derives his powers. He's a bad man with an even worse attitude. READ MORE...
Teth-Adam, the son of Pharoah Ramesses II, was a hero, of ancient Egypt. He became a super hero when his good deeds impressed the high priest wizard Shazam who granted him the power to become Mighty Adam when he spoke the magic word "SHAZAM". He became a being whose power rivaled that of the modern day Superman. For centuries he was Egypt's champion until he was corrupted by a woman who convinced him he should rule. Adam kills the then-current Pharaoh and assumes the office. The wizard Shazam sees this as a betrayal, strips Adam of his powers and entombs him. Because of his perceived treatery, Adam is from that point known as Black Adam.Black Adam, the character, was originally created to be a nemesis for Faucett Comics' Captain Marvel. These characters are now owned by Warner Brothers and appear in DC Comics. Black Adam, while momentarily taking the roles of hero, ruler, and savior is a bad guy. He is willing to kill just to make a point and has done so on many occasions. The character he seems most like in Marvel Comics would be Namor, the Sub-Mariner whom he resembles both physically and tempermentally.
Black Adam is not subtle and does things in a big way. Over the last few years of his appearances in comics, no matter his good intentions, everything big thing he does turns to crap. I don't think he'll ever be redeemed. It's tragic really. All that said, he is quite likeable in a Dr. Doom sort of way. In the upcoming Shazam movie, his character is rumored to be played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
The question is: Is this character Black? He was born in Egypt centures ago so he is clearly of African desent meaning he is from that continent. He might be slightly darker than the usual Causasian but that can depend on who does the coloring. He has never connected with any African-American or even African group or people except for the people of Kahndaq which is a fictional middle eastern country in the DC Universe and of course Egypt which is where he was born. He certainly can't be considered Black just because he has the word in his name. Is Egyptian or middle eastern origin enough for us to consider that this character is Black?Lastly does it even matter. Should I just claim him? This is the Black Superhero Blog after all. What do you think?