Comic Review: Black Adam: Year of the Villain #1

Black Adam: Year of the Villain #1

DC Comics

Writer: Paul Jenkins

Artist: Inaki Miranda

Black Adam might be my favorite villain in all of comics.  Although he is one of DC’s most ruthless villains, he if full of complexity and character.  Adam’s complexity derives from his love of his home country of Khandaq.  And throughout the years, writers such as Geoff Johns have made Black Adam an A-list villain.  So going into this one-shot, you have every opportunity to succeed or fail.

Luckily, Black Adam: Year of the Villain #1 is a great addition to Black Adam’s story.  Like many one-shots, this issue might seem like a quick cash grab by DC.  Especially because Black Adam has virtually nothing to do with Year of the Villain.  However, this tie-in was just about as enjoyable as a tie-in can be.  It’s a great check-in on one of DC’s most popular villains.  Considering Adam loses or regains power in Khandaq every other time he pops up, it’s nice to get a sense of where he’s at now.  In particular, because Adam plays a large role in Doomsday Clock.

Paul Jenkins gives Adam a great voice in this issue.  Although he is tolerant and calculated, he is still a tyrant.  Jenkins captures the complexity of Adam’s character very well.  However, one could argue he makes Black Adam too heroic in this story.  For a Year of the Villain tie-in, Black Adam is easily the hero of this story. But oddly, the issue ends with Adam accepting the help of his people without actually promising them any freedoms.  Adam doesn’t plan to improve the lives of his people, he just plans to use them as a deterrent to foreign powers.

This also makes Adam seem somewhat incompetent.  A joker-venom-infected Billy Batson comments on how terrible the streets of Khandaq look.  While Adam is often portrayed as a successful yet tyrannical leader, the state of Khandaq in this issue reflects Adam’s poor leadership instead of his iron-grip.  In fact, the citizens of Khandaq do not seem the slightest bit oppressed in this issue.  Besides a brief discussion between the army generals at the start of the issue, there is no other mention that Adam is an oppressive ruler.

Despite these slight inconsistencies, the issue was very enjoyable.  Black Adam versus Shazam is always a good time (even more so in this issue thanks to the Batman Who Laughs).  While a few of Shazam’s quips felt out of place, the showdown between the two was ultimately satisfying.

If you’re not a fan of Black Adam, this issue will do little to change your opinion of him.  However, if you’re a Black Adam fan, or you’ve never heard about the character, this is a solid issue.  It’s just a check in on how Black Adam is doing, which for a tie-in, is all you can ask for.