DC Reportedly Changes Black Adam's Name, Possibly Affecting Dwayne Johnson's Antihero

By Jennifer McDonough Updated:
Black Adam Shazamadam

Black Adam, Shazam's sometimes villainous, sometimes anti-hero counterpart. Notable for his immense power, but more known because he's going to be played by The Rock.

Indeed, Dwayne Johnson will step into the role of the DC Comics character in the upcoming film, Black Adam . Beyond that, the character could possibly appear in a film where he squares off with Zachary Levi's Shazam, likely giving young Billy Batson a run for his money.

Now, "Black Adam." Cool name, right? Well, what if his name was... something else?

DC RENAMES BLACK ADAM

Update: According to IGN 's sources, Black Adam's name in the comics is not changing in 2021.

Comic writer Brian Michael Bendis made a tweet in an apparent response to the name-change rumor:

According to Bleeding Cool , DC Comics is renaming the character of Black Adam. And that new name? Shazadam.

The outlet speculates that the new name could be in an effort to evolve the DC character into a good guy rather than a villain. Fans can keep their eyes out for Shazadam's potential first look in Brian Michael Bendis' Justice League run next month.

NO MORE BLACK ADAM. SHAZWHY?

Black Adam is obviously meant to be an intimidating character, so it would be very interesting to learn the thought process behind the name swap.

On the surface, one can kind of see what DC is going for. If Black Ad- er.. Shazadam is meant to essentially be an evil version of Shazam, then he should have a name that reflects their similarities, right?

But on the other hand, why? Is there something inherently wrong with the name "Black Adam" in the eyes of DC? Are they trying to give the character a fresh coat of paint to lure in new readers and fans? Did they lose a bet?

Moreover, will Dwayne Johnson's iteration of the character now be saddled with this little moniker? It's going to look interesting on the movie posters if that's truly the case.

Whatever the name of the movie ends up being, it's currently without a release date, but it's plausible that it will release in 2022 or 2023.

- About The Author: Jennifer McDonough
Jennifer McDonough has been a writer at The Direct since its 2020 launch. She is responsible for the creation of news articles and features. She also has a particular affinity for action figures and merchandise, which she revels in discussing in the articles she writes, when the situation calls for it.