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This is an image of one of the many generic resume templates that is currently available on Microsoft Word. It’s about as helpful as any other template, although not how I’d tailor my own.
This is an image of the standard Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition character sheet. Classic, no notes.
So earlier this year, a new position opened up within my company that my current manager thought I was uniquely qualified for; which, on one hand, was an exciting thing on several fronts, but it also meant that I had to go through the arduous process of updating my resume. I hadn’t updated my single page resume in ages, although I had made it a biannual habit to update both my professional website and my LinkedIn, so at the very least I didn’t have to think of too much verbiage and recall every facet of my professional career up until that point.
That summer I was working on developing a one-shot D&D 5E module with a friend, and as we were sorting through the character sheets and the source books, I got stuck on this idea of the resume as a character. In essence, these two different documents serve an identical function: act as a reference document that marks several key pieces of information that can be reviewed easily, for both the benefit of the person who made it and the benefit of the person using it. As such, a lot of the core principles of creating a TTRPG character and writing a resume overlap. And while it’s probably a little wild to call the resume version of you a “fantasy character,” it’s probably not that wild in hindsight. The resume is intended as a way to create a heightened version of yourself: one whose exact abilities and skills may not necessarily meet the intended obstacles and tribulations ahead but may still be able to conquer them with a little creativity.
As such, let’s approach the resume with a TTRPG lens.
1. A CV is Basically a Source Book on the Self
Many, many years ago, it was impression-ed upon a younger version of me that a CV, or Curriculum Vitae, and a resume were complimentary documents. The curriculum vitae was a long running, expansive living document that detailed every important achievement, work experience, volunteering expertise, and education. The resume was a single page document tailored in such a way that a potential employer would know that you understand what they are looking for with the job and that you have highlighted the pertinent skills necessary. The idea of a one-page resume is so ingrained in my consciousness at this point that I’m not entirely sure if that’s still the case; the constraint also forces you to be cognizant of how you structure your “character.”
Much like Point Buy systems or Standard Arrays ask you to make trade-offs in the six major attributes in D&D, the single page requires you to think about the most important parts of your history as they relate to the job that you are applying to. Not every experience you had in the past is pertinent, so being able to look through your own “source book,” as it were, and curate is helpful.
If you don’t have one already, take the time to write a version of your CV. It doesn’t need to be maintained constantly, but it is always nice to have.
2. Letterheads and Identifiable Information
Now, I know you’re probably thinking “what commentary could this person have on the letterhead of a resume or a TTRPG,” and the answer is enough to share an anecdote on both ends.
Depending on your DM and your party, you may be responsible for your character sheet or your DM holds the collective identities of your characters in a binder just as precaution, but that top portion of the character sheet with the names, key identifiers, and experience is something to be proud of. It’s part of the document that’s probably the most static and you take care to put the right information as it is who are. During my first campaign, I went through three characters in rapid succession, trying to find the right combination before eventually landing on the Chaotic Neutral Air Goblin Swashbuckler Nym Nyk. I had terrible handwriting at the time, but you can bet that the penmanship on that third character was pristine.
Now, this ties back to the working world through direct experience. Back in 2014, I was working with a contractor to find a new position. I was living in Wisconsin at the time, and the company I was applying to was in St. Louis. I was fortunate enough that the company was looking to hire someone immediately, but I was very much surprised when the contractor said that the company wanted me to drive 6 hours for an in-person interview. I really did not like my situation in Wisconsin, so I made the arrangements on a two-day notice. On the day of the interview, my hiring (and now current) manager asked me how the drive was, and when I told her that the six hours wasn’t too bad, she was very confused thinking that I was still in the area. Lo and behold, when she showed me her copy of my resume, it turns out the contractor had stripped my letterhead and replaced it with their company’s stock information, which means my then-address was nowhere to be found. We had a laugh about it, and I silently thanked the contractor for the ruse because phone interviews are not my strong suit. It also gave me reason to work one less day at a company I was very unhappy at.
All that to say, that personal information is something to take pride in and also important to get accurate.
3. Play to Your “Strengths,” But Try to be “Dexterous”
In the TTRPG game space, there are a lot of easy guidelines to follow. If you wanna be strong, invest in strength. If you want to have more spell spots than a dictionary, invest in intelligence. Druids need wisdom, warlocks need charisma, rangers need dexterity. There are clear paths that you can follow and equally as many unexplored paths that you can forge on your own. Sometimes you’ll want to create characters that follow their original class all the way to level 20 (although, level 1 to 14 is the farther I’ve ever managed to take a character), and sometimes you’ll multi-class to get odd feats and class abilities (although, I haven’t thought about multi-classing since 3.5e when prestige classes were a thing).
In the professional development space, it’s a little bit more vague. But I think one of the advantages of being in the real world is that there aren’t necessarily hard and fast restrictions when it comes to applying. The qualifications that are listed are idealized postings, and there’s little harm in applying to a position that you’re not necessarily 100% qualified for if you think you have the core talents and drive to do the job. The worst a company can do is say no, and the moment you get over that, the more willing you’ll be to put yourself out there and see what random opportunities you’ll luck/brute force your way into. With a resume, you get to display the information. You get to the forge narrative. You can highlight your writing skills from an I.T. job or maybe just express interest in topics that you don’t necessarily have complete knowledge over. More of an interview thing than a resume thing, but one of the most powerful phases I’ve learned to use is “I have limited exposure, but I’m a fast study.” If your TTRPG characters can make snap decisions on the fly of a dice roll, surely you can create similar situations for your real self.
4. Conventional “Wisdoms” and “Intelligent” Tips
It is at this point we’ll minimize some of the parallelism and go straight into a bullet list of things that may generically be helpful.
- Do research and establish an understanding of what your end goals are with the resume/character
- Do put more relevant information in prominent places so that it’s noticeable
- Do include references if you think it would be helpful
- Do get creative with the format if you think the company will appreciate it.
- Do leverage the format and include hyperlinks on digital copies.
- Don’t put numerical stats on your resume. Five stars in Excel doesn’t actually mean anything unlike Five Points of Animal handling in D&D.
- Pictures are nice, but not necessarily needed (although, to reiterate the above, if you have a portfolio, you probably should include a way to get to it).
- Again, to emphasize a point, you don’t have to try and fit everything on one page.
5. Keeping Your “Constitution” and “Charisma” Up
I’d like to end this back and forth on resumes and character sheets to return to the concept of self, because both of these documents are in essences reflections of self. Whereas TTRPGs are a place of exploration, the resume is a place of presentation.
And perhaps, my particular experiences with serial character death (through both botched dice rolls and decisions made through dramatics) and serial resume constructions right out of college (a poor GPA, while ultimately meaningless in the long run, can really throw you off your game in the beginning), I’ve gotten used to making both. I like making both. I like the escapism of making an alternate version of me. I like the challenge of cultivating my own mythology. And I like the satisfaction of seeing either and both succeed at different points in times for different reasons.
Both of these are living documents, ephemeral things needed for a moment. And we can take the lessons of one and apply it to the other in a weird sort of cycle. But just to be honest, all this started because I really have no idea why an actual resume template has these weird percentage bars at the bottom and the other musings came after. But that’s how it goes sometimes.
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The post The Resume as a Character: Minmaxing Without Numerical Stats appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
This is an image of one of the many generic resume templates that is currently available on Microsoft Word. It’s about as helpful as any other template, although not how I’d tailor my own.
This is an image of the standard Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition character sheet. Classic, no notes.
So earlier this year, a new position opened up within my company that my current manager thought I was uniquely qualified for; which, on one hand, was an exciting thing on several fronts, but it also meant that I had to go through the arduous process of updating my resume. I hadn’t updated my single page resume in ages, although I had made it a biannual habit to update both my professional website and my LinkedIn, so at the very least I didn’t have to think of too much verbiage and recall every facet of my professional career up until that point.
That summer I was working on developing a one-shot D&D 5E module with a friend, and as we were sorting through the character sheets and the source books, I got stuck on this idea of the resume as a character. In essence, these two different documents serve an identical function: act as a reference document that marks several key pieces of information that can be reviewed easily, for both the benefit of the person who made it and the benefit of the person using it. As such, a lot of the core principles of creating a TTRPG character and writing a resume overlap. And while it’s probably a little wild to call the resume version of you a “fantasy character,” it’s probably not that wild in hindsight. The resume is intended as a way to create a heightened version of yourself: one whose exact abilities and skills may not necessarily meet the intended obstacles and tribulations ahead but may still be able to conquer them with a little creativity.
As such, let’s approach the resume with a TTRPG lens.
1. A CV is Basically a Source Book on the Self
Many, many years ago, it was impression-ed upon a younger version of me that a CV, or Curriculum Vitae, and a resume were complimentary documents. The curriculum vitae was a long running, expansive living document that detailed every important achievement, work experience, volunteering expertise, and education. The resume was a single page document tailored in such a way that a potential employer would know that you understand what they are looking for with the job and that you have highlighted the pertinent skills necessary. The idea of a one-page resume is so ingrained in my consciousness at this point that I’m not entirely sure if that’s still the case; the constraint also forces you to be cognizant of how you structure your “character.”
Much like Point Buy systems or Standard Arrays ask you to make trade-offs in the six major attributes in D&D, the single page requires you to think about the most important parts of your history as they relate to the job that you are applying to. Not every experience you had in the past is pertinent, so being able to look through your own “source book,” as it were, and curate is helpful.
If you don’t have one already, take the time to write a version of your CV. It doesn’t need to be maintained constantly, but it is always nice to have.
2. Letterheads and Identifiable Information
Now, I know you’re probably thinking “what commentary could this person have on the letterhead of a resume or a TTRPG,” and the answer is enough to share an anecdote on both ends.
Depending on your DM and your party, you may be responsible for your character sheet or your DM holds the collective identities of your characters in a binder just as precaution, but that top portion of the character sheet with the names, key identifiers, and experience is something to be proud of. It’s part of the document that’s probably the most static and you take care to put the right information as it is who are. During my first campaign, I went through three characters in rapid succession, trying to find the right combination before eventually landing on the Chaotic Neutral Air Goblin Swashbuckler Nym Nyk. I had terrible handwriting at the time, but you can bet that the penmanship on that third character was pristine.
Now, this ties back to the working world through direct experience. Back in 2014, I was working with a contractor to find a new position. I was living in Wisconsin at the time, and the company I was applying to was in St. Louis. I was fortunate enough that the company was looking to hire someone immediately, but I was very much surprised when the contractor said that the company wanted me to drive 6 hours for an in-person interview. I really did not like my situation in Wisconsin, so I made the arrangements on a two-day notice. On the day of the interview, my hiring (and now current) manager asked me how the drive was, and when I told her that the six hours wasn’t too bad, she was very confused thinking that I was still in the area. Lo and behold, when she showed me her copy of my resume, it turns out the contractor had stripped my letterhead and replaced it with their company’s stock information, which means my then-address was nowhere to be found. We had a laugh about it, and I silently thanked the contractor for the ruse because phone interviews are not my strong suit. It also gave me reason to work one less day at a company I was very unhappy at.
All that to say, that personal information is something to take pride in and also important to get accurate.
3. Play to Your “Strengths,” But Try to be “Dexterous”
In the TTRPG game space, there are a lot of easy guidelines to follow. If you wanna be strong, invest in strength. If you want to have more spell spots than a dictionary, invest in intelligence. Druids need wisdom, warlocks need charisma, rangers need dexterity. There are clear paths that you can follow and equally as many unexplored paths that you can forge on your own. Sometimes you’ll want to create characters that follow their original class all the way to level 20 (although, level 1 to 14 is the farther I’ve ever managed to take a character), and sometimes you’ll multi-class to get odd feats and class abilities (although, I haven’t thought about multi-classing since 3.5e when prestige classes were a thing).
In the professional development space, it’s a little bit more vague. But I think one of the advantages of being in the real world is that there aren’t necessarily hard and fast restrictions when it comes to applying. The qualifications that are listed are idealized postings, and there’s little harm in applying to a position that you’re not necessarily 100% qualified for if you think you have the core talents and drive to do the job. The worst a company can do is say no, and the moment you get over that, the more willing you’ll be to put yourself out there and see what random opportunities you’ll luck/brute force your way into. With a resume, you get to display the information. You get to the forge narrative. You can highlight your writing skills from an I.T. job or maybe just express interest in topics that you don’t necessarily have complete knowledge over. More of an interview thing than a resume thing, but one of the most powerful phases I’ve learned to use is “I have limited exposure, but I’m a fast study.” If your TTRPG characters can make snap decisions on the fly of a dice roll, surely you can create similar situations for your real self.
4. Conventional “Wisdoms” and “Intelligent” Tips
It is at this point we’ll minimize some of the parallelism and go straight into a bullet list of things that may generically be helpful.
- Do research and establish an understanding of what your end goals are with the resume/character
- Do put more relevant information in prominent places so that it’s noticeable
- Do include references if you think it would be helpful
- Do get creative with the format if you think the company will appreciate it.
- Do leverage the format and include hyperlinks on digital copies.
- Don’t put numerical stats on your resume. Five stars in Excel doesn’t actually mean anything unlike Five Points of Animal handling in D&D.
- Pictures are nice, but not necessarily needed (although, to reiterate the above, if you have a portfolio, you probably should include a way to get to it).
- Again, to emphasize a point, you don’t have to try and fit everything on one page.
5. Keeping Your “Constitution” and “Charisma” Up
I’d like to end this back and forth on resumes and character sheets to return to the concept of self, because both of these documents are in essences reflections of self. Whereas TTRPGs are a place of exploration, the resume is a place of presentation.
And perhaps, my particular experiences with serial character death (through both botched dice rolls and decisions made through dramatics) and serial resume constructions right out of college (a poor GPA, while ultimately meaningless in the long run, can really throw you off your game in the beginning), I’ve gotten used to making both. I like making both. I like the escapism of making an alternate version of me. I like the challenge of cultivating my own mythology. And I like the satisfaction of seeing either and both succeed at different points in times for different reasons.
Both of these are living documents, ephemeral things needed for a moment. And we can take the lessons of one and apply it to the other in a weird sort of cycle. But just to be honest, all this started because I really have no idea why an actual resume template has these weird percentage bars at the bottom and the other musings came after. But that’s how it goes sometimes.
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The post The Resume as a Character: Minmaxing Without Numerical Stats appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Personal Bat-Boat anyone? Order your own manta-shaped vessel, the Kronos Armoured Submarine. The boat is 29 feet long and 24 feet across. That is almost exactly the size of the world’s largest actual manta rays. Let that sink in. It does differ in speed, though. The boat can travel at 50 miles per hour at the surface or 30 mph when underwater, which is much faster than the animal swims. The sub can dive up to 800 feet deep and has a 36 hour supply of breathable air. Also, you can add on the optional periscope and bathroom to really make it your own personal Nautilus.
Highland Systems, a company in the United Arab Emirates, offers the submarine. The wings fold up for ease of transportation (picture below). No price is listed online. But the company does say that the vehicle can be used for commercial, rescue, and combat operations. One of the diagrams even shows torpedoes. We assume that costs extra. And what goes there if you choose the tourist or luxury trims instead?
We first read about this luxurious new boat on DesignTAXI. It’s not the only personal submarine option out there if you’re rich enough to afford one. The U-Boat Worx version showed people in cocktail dresses sipping champagne and tooling around the tropics. We can also picture James Bond villains dramatically escaping in one of these. Certainly Bruce Wayne already has a prototype. Perhaps one will even show up in the Aquaman sequel? Taking one on a journey to Atlantis doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.
The Kronos submarine also looks a bit like a spaceship. Maybe it’s named after the Klingon homeworld?
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
The post Sail the Seas in This Fancy Manta-Shaped Submarine appeared first on Nerdist.
Fans around the world were treated to a first look at new titles including Disney Illusion Island, TRON: Identity, MARVEL World of Heroes, and the upcoming Marvel ensemble game from Skydance New Media; and new content from Lucasfilm Games & 20th Century Games
ANAHEIM Calif. (September 9, 2022) – Live from D23 Expo, Disney and Marvel Entertainment announced a variety of incredible new gaming titles and game updates during the first-ever Disney & Marvel GAMES SHOWCASE. New games revealed for the first time include Disney Illusion Island, TRON: Identity, Gargoyles Remastered and MARVEL World of Heroes.
The digital showcase also featured new content reveals for Disney Dreamlight Valley, Disney Mirrorverse, Disney Speedstorm, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, MARVEL Strike Force, LEGO Star Wars
: The Skywalker Saga, Avatar: Reckoning, Aliens: Dark Descent, and the debut of the teaser trailer for the Marvel ensemble adventure from Skydance New Media.
The GAMES SHOWCASE can be viewed in its entirety here. The following is a full list of announcements made during the Disney & Marvel GAMES SHOWCASE:
Newly Announced Titles:
- Disney Illusion Island: Join the Fab Four – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy – on a brand-new quest to explore the mysterious islands of Monoth and recover three mystical books to save the world from disaster. From Disney and Dlala Studios, Disney Illusion Island debuts exclusively on the Nintendo Switch system in 2023. Wishlist on the Nintendo eShop today.
- TRON: Identity: This visual novel adventure follows Query, a detective program tasked with solving the mystery of an unprecedented crime. Inspired by the TRON franchise, this newly announced puzzle mystery game from Bithell Games arrives on PC and console in 2023.
- Gargoyles Remastered: The classic 90s platformer is coming to modern consoles and PC with updated visuals and controls in collaboration with Empty Clip Studios.
- Marvel | Skydance New Media Project: Skydance New Media and Marvel Entertainment’s upcoming narrative-driven, ensemble adventure game is set in the Marvel Universe and features an original story that will take players on a WWII-era adventure with four playable heroes at different points in the story: a young Steve Rogers, aka Captain America; Azzuri, T’Challa’s grandfather and the WWII-era Black Panther; Gabriel Jones, a U.S. soldier and member of the Howling Commandos; and Nanali, leader of the fledgling Wakandan Spy Network. Skydance New Media is helmed by award-winning writer and director Amy Hennig. This title marks the first initiative from the new AAA game studio.
- MARVEL World of Heroes: Developed in collaboration with Niantic and Marvel Entertainment, MARVEL World of Heroes will allow you to create your own Super Hero identity and team-up with your favorite Marvel characters in the real world. This AR mobile game launches globally on mobile devices in 2023. Players can pre-register now at marvelworldofheroes.com.
Launching This Year:
- Return to Monkey Island (September 19): Guybrush Threepwood – intrepid hero and mighty pirate – embarks on a new swash-buckling adventure through the Caribbean in this thrilling return to the series. Return to Monkey Island releases on PC and Nintendo Switch on September 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
- MARVEL SNAP (October 18): Nuverse, Second Dinner and Marvel Entertainment today announced that the highly anticipated game, MARVEL SNAP, will launch globally on mobile and PC on October 18th. MARVEL SNAP is a revolutionary game experience that unleashes the entire Marvel multiverse into a fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping card battler. Players can pre-register for the game now.
- Marvel’s Midnight Suns (December 2): A new gameplay trailer shared that Marvel’s Midnight Suns will launch on December 2 for Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation® 5. In addition, Marvel’s Midnight Suns Prequel Shorts was announced – a set of five short videos that provide backstory on the formation of the young core of the Midnight Suns. The first video will premiere on October 31, 2022 via the Marvel Entertainment YouTube channel.
New Updates:
- Disney Dreamlight Valley: Now available in Early Access, Disney Dreamlight Valley unveiled a new realm based on Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story. Arriving in the Valley later this year, the realm brings beloved characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear and new quests inspired by the series to this life-sim adventure game.
- Disney Mirrorverse: When Halloween season arrives, players will be able to unlock new Guardians including powerful Hades and more villainous surprises in this divergent Disney and Pixar universe. Disney Mirrorverse is available on the App Store and Google Play.
- Disney Speedstorm: An exclusive look at the first planned update for the upcoming Disney Speedstorm showed off new racers from Disney and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc, including Sulley, Mike Wazowski, Celia Mae, and Randall, and a new Monsters, Inc. inspired track, “The Factory.” Disney Speedstorm launches soon on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One and PC.
- MARVEL Strike Force: Red Hulk rampages into MARVEL Strike Force on September 13. Recruit this fiery brawler as Apocalypse’s newest Horseman of War. MARVEL Strike Force is available on the App Store and Google Play.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: The all-new Galactic Edition of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga launches on November 1 with 13-character packs, including 6 new packs, adding fan favorites including Cassian Andor, Reva, Captain Rex, and more. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Galactic Edition will be available for the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox Series X, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
First Looks:
- Avatar: Reckoning: A sneak peek of this mobile MMORPG shooter gave players a glimpse of how you’ll customize your own Avatar and set out to discover new regions of Pandora across multiple game modes. Avatar: Reckoning is coming soon to mobile devices.
- Aliens: Dark Descent: A first-look at gameplay for this tactical squad-based action game showed how players will command Colonial Marines as they investigate a Xenomorph outbreak when the game arrives next year on PC and consoles.
About Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing
Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) is the division of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (DPEP) that brings beloved brands and franchises into the daily lives of families and fans through products – from toys to T-shirts, apps, books, console games, and more – and experiences that can be found around the world, including on the shopDisney e-commerce platform and at Disney Parks, local and international retailers, as well as Disney store locations globally. The business is home to world-class teams of product, licensing, and retail experts, artists, and storytellers, and technologists who inspire imaginations around the world.
About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media for over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media. For more information visit marvel.com. © 2022 MARVEL
About D23 Expo 2022
D23 Expo—The Ultimate Disney Fan Event—brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, streaming, television, games, theme parks, and celebrities. For the latest D23 Expo 2022 news, visit D23Expo.com. Presentations, talent, and schedule subject to change. To join the D23 Expo conversation, be sure to follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and use the hashtag #D23Expo.
About D23
The name “D23” pays homage to the exciting journey that began in 1923 when Walt Disney opened his first studio in Hollywood. D23 is the first official club for fans in Disney’s 99-year history. It gives its members a greater connection to the entire world of Disney by placing them in the middle of the magic through its quarterly publication, Disney twenty-three; a rich website at D23.com, with members-only content; member-exclusive discounts; and special events for D23 Members throughout the year.
Fans can join D23 at Gold Membership ($99.99), Gold Duo Membership ($129.99), and General Membership (complimentary) levels at D23.com. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
The post Disney and Marvel Announce New Games and Reveal New Content During GAMES SHOWCASE at D23 Expo 2022 appeared first on The Nerd Element.
There is perhaps no comic book character, at either DC or Marvel, who has had as long a path to A-list status as Black Adam. And when we say long, we mean over sixty years to get there. Read on for all the details on how the powerful Teth Adam, soon to be played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a major motion picture, went from a villain meant to appear only once during the 1940s, to one changing the hierarchy of the DC Universe on the big screen.
Who Is Black Adam in DC Comics?
Black Adam’s First Appearance and Backstory
Black Adam first appeared as a one-off villain in Fawcett Comics’ The Marvel Family #1 in 1945, which featured Captain Marvel and his entire super-powered clan in different adventures. Back then, “Shazam” was merely the magic word Billy Batson said to transform into the heroic Captain Marvel. It didn’t become his heroic name until 2012, despite all comics featuring the character having the title Shazam! for legal reasons involving Marvel Comics. (That’s its own whole own quagmire, for which we will refer you to this explainer).
In that original story, for which the broad strokes have mostly stuck for decades now, we learned about an ancient Egyptian by the name of Teth-Adam (which meant “Mighty Human”). He was chosen by the wizard Shazam some 5,000 years prior as being his successor because of his bravery and supposed pure heart. Just as with Billy Batson centuries later, whenever Teth-Adam uttered the magic word, the wizard’s name “Shazam”, he transformed into Mighty Adam, a super-powered hero with the same powers that Captain Marvel would later have.
Black Adam’s Mythology
Black Adam’s powers were originally described as coming from the Greco-Roman pantheon of gods, the same as Captain Marvel’s. But in the ‘70s, they revealed that the gods from which he received his powers were Egyptian. In Black Adam’s case, the “S” in Shazam stood for Shu (stamina), Hershef (strength), Amon (power), Zehuti (wisdom), Anpu (speed), and Menthu (courage). In subsequent, more modern incarnations, his ties to ancient Egypt and its mythology have only become stronger.
Is Black Adam a Villain?
As the saying goes, about “absolute power corrupting absolutely,” Mighty Adam would eventually become corrupted by his new abilities, becoming Black Adam. He overthrew and murdered the Pharoah, and declared himself ruler of the world. Unable to take back the powers he had granted Teth-Adam, the wizard Shazam banished him to the most distant star known. It took him 5,000 years, but Black Adam actually flew back home through space. (Oh, what a long and boring trip that must have been).
When he reached Earth, he battled his replacements, the Marvel Family, and it all went badly for him when he’s tricked into saying “Shazam,” thus reverting to his human form. When that happens, he aged 5,000 years and turned to dust after one punch from Captain Marvel. For the first sixty years of his comic book existence, Adam was definitely a villain. The only allusion to his antihero status of any kind was the reference to his heroism before the power corrupted him. We never saw a hint of that good-guy nature again until the mid-2000s.
Black Adam’s Powers and Abilities
Black Adam had almost unlimited stamina, strength, and speed that came very close to matching that of Shazam or Superman. He had vast scholarly wisdom, allowing him to access most known scientific facts on a whim, and that allowed him to know just about every language on Earth. He can also fly at supersonic speeds. In his superpowered form, he did not age. Or aged at a snail’s pace. When his wife Isis died, he absorbed her powers of telekinesis as well, along with some of her powers over nature. These things combined to make him one of the greatest powers in the DC Universe.
Can Black Adam Die?
Black Adam can die, despite all of his godlike powers. In fact, he has died before, in different continuities. The first time he died, he reverted to his true age when the power of Shazam was removed from him, leaving him as dust. This happened more than once, in fact. But through various magical means and spells, that dust was given the form of a man again. Due to his magical nature, all of Black Adam’s deaths were merely temporary.
Black Adam’s Relationship with Shazam
Black Adam didn’t appear in another Shazam! story for nearly thirty years, until after DC Comics purchased Fawcett Comics in the early ‘70s. Even during this Bronze Age, Black Adam would only make a handful of appearances, not exactly fitting for a character who should have been Captain Marvel’s arch-nemesis. He appeared more than once in the 1981 Saturday morning cartoon show Shazam!, which probably introduced him to millions of new fans. But the comics wouldn’t cash in on his higher profile for several more decades.
Theo Adam, the Man Who Would Be Black Adam
The 1994 Power of Shazam! post-Crisis reboot of the character actually split him into two distinct versions. The first Black Adam stuck to the first origin story. He was still Teth-Adam, son of a Pharaoh, who became a benevolent ruler, after his father gave him the province of Kahndaq. The wizard Shazam made him his champion.
It was only later that Black Adam’s propensity for violent justice took hold, as a result of the murder of his wife and children by the evil Ahk-ton. After Ahk-ton’s death, Adam reconquered his homeland, and used any means necessary to do so. This new brutality disgusted the wizard Shazam, and he removed his powers, awaiting a new and better champion. Shazam then stored all of his powers in a magical scarab, sealing said scarab into an ancient tomb.
Captain Marvel’s Archrival at Last
In the 20th century, we met our second Black Adam. This was the original Teth Adam’s descendant Theo Adam, who worked alongside archaeologists C.C. and Marylin Batson. Together, they discovered the tomb where the wizard hid the scarab. Drawn to its power, and its roots with his ancestor, Theo discovered the scarab and killed the Batsons, unleashing the power of Black Adam into himself. The Batson’s son Billy, now Captain Marvel, fought Black Adam as his archenemy, something he never really was until now. After all, this Black Adam actually murdered his parents.
Eventually, the original Teth-Adam returned, and revealed that Black Adam and Theo Adam were two distinct personalities. The original Black Adam was back, and less mustache twirly than his usurper. This all led to the Black Adam redemption arc we saw in 21st-century DC Comics. Particularly in the pages of JSA, and more recently, in Justice League of America. All of this informed the eventual film version.
Black Adam vs. Superman
Although they’ve only fought a handful of times, the instances where Black Adam fought the Man of Steel were memorable. The first time was way back in 1978, in the Superman vs. Shazam! Treasury Edition. In this special oversized comic, Captain Marvel attacks Superman, and the two have a brutal fight in Metropolis. Only later they revealed Captain Marvel was really Black Adam in disguise. He hoped this would result in Superman thrashing his enemy. (It did).
Later, Kal-El teamed up with the real Captain Marvel to take down Black Adam. During this era, the Shazam characters lived on a different Earth than Superman. But we should note, that in the first solo fight, Adam won. The three would later all come to blows again in 1982′ DC Comics Presents #49. In the 2000s, in Black Adam’s mid-2000s antihero phase, he fought Superman in Action Comics. It was a stalemate there too, proving they are just about on equal footing power-wise.
Black Adam and the Justice Society of America
Black Adam’s brutal and uncompromising stance in meting out justice rubbed other superheroes the wrong way. Nevertheless, he eventually joined the Justice Society of America, and was a member in good standing for some time. This was mainly during the JSA series by Geoff Johns, which ran from 1999-2006. But his brutal ways ultimately forced him to leave the team, despite bonding with teammate Atom Smasher. (JSA member Captain Marvel, for obvious reasons, never warmed to Black Adam being on the team).
Black Adam reconquered Khandaq after his stint as a JSA member, and found a new family with the similarly powered heroes Isis and Osiris. He found love again with Isis, and she convinced him to become a more measured (less murderous) hero. But when they were killed, he unleashed hell on the nation that took them, Bialya, resulting in the deaths of two million people. This put him squarely back in the “villain” column. However, the New 52 reboot happened not too long after, and Black Adam was given yet another new backstory, making him an outward villain again. But the subsequent “Rebirth” era DC Universe seems to have restored his previous, early 2000s origins again.
The DCEU’s Black Adam 2022 Movie
Since 2007, Dwayne Johnson has been interested in bringing Teth Adam to the screen. It only took 15 years to happen, but Black Adam, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, hits theaters this fall. It will draw heavily from the antihero version seen in modern DC Comics. In the film, he’ll fight the Justice Society of America, including characters like Hawkman and Doctor Fate. Dwayne Johnson’s costume as seen on screen appears very close to his comic book counterpart’s. Will Shazam or Superman make cameos? Only time will tell. Black Adam will arrive on October 21, 2022
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