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Adam
(Black Adam + Apocalypse)
Name: En Sabah Adam
Biography: 5,000 years ago, under the blistering hot desert sun, a baby was born in the slave pits of Kahnzhad (Kahndaq + Sharzhad) that would go on to become one of the most dangerous beings in the history of the planet. He was born with gray skin, pointed ears, and blue lines across his face and lips. His parents abandoned their disfigured offspring to die, not wanting to bring another monster into the world.
Despite their efforts, the infant was found by a former thief, who saw him as not a monster but the beginning of a new breed of humanity, one more powerful than man could ever hope to be. He took the baby in and raised him as his own, giving him the name En Sabah Adam, "The First Man." Adam grew up following his adoptive father's philosophy of survival of the fittest, that the world belongs to those strong enough to take it while the weak deserve only destruction.
But despite his grim outlook, his monstrous appearance, and being born and raised in slavery, he was able to find love in the arms of a woman named Nefuru (Nephri + Shiruta). The two of them got married and raised a son, Hesy-Ra (Hurut + William Rolfson), and despite being born with chains around their necks, they were happy. However, Adam's happiness would come to a swift and brutal end by the hand of Kahnzhad's dictator Rama-Ton (Rama-Tut + Ahk-Ton), who viciously murdered his entire family.
In rage and despair, Adam discovered that his adoptive father was far more correct than he realized. Suddenly, his entire body bent to his very will. He could change his arms into weapons, grow to tremendous size, and fight off the entire royal guard by himself. With these new powers, it was easy for him to lead a slave revolt and free everyone under the tyrant's grip.
This caught the attention of an alien wizard known as Mar-Vel (The Wizard + Mar-Vell), who appeared before him soon after. Mar-Vel explained that he came to Earth long ago from another galaxy and that he was chosen by this world's gods to use their power to defend his new home. But he knew he couldn't do this forever, so he decided he'd choose a champion to take up his mantle and that Adam would be his champion.
Adam gladly accepted the wizard's power. But what Mar-Vel did not know at the time was that Adam had no interest in defending his people, but ruling them with an iron fist. He still believed in survival of the fittest and with his newfound power, all would submit to him or die. His reign was so cruel, so bloody, so terrible, he had become known throughout all of Kahnzhad as "the Apocalypse".
Mar-Vel soon realized that he had made a terrible mistake. He tried to take the power back, but Adam's own natural abilities combined with the ones granted by the wizard have made that impossible. So instead, Mar-Vel had decided to banish Adam to the farthest star in the night sky, so far away from any living thing he was sure that his cruelty and brutality would never harm anyone ever again.
What Mar-Vel couldn't possibly predict was that this spell would make Adam even more dangerous than before. During his flight back to Earth, Adam came across an abandoned ship that once belonged to the Celestial Titans (Celestials + Omega Titans), ancient cosmic gods who've helped craft the universe eons ago. While the ship's occupants were nowhere to be found, its technology was functioning perfectly, and with it Adam was able to augment himself even further, reaching a new level of power that could only be described as godly.
After 5,000 years of travelling the stars, Adam had returned home to take his place as ruler of the world. Fortunately for all of us, the wizard found a new champion, Earth's Mightiest Mortal, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers + Billy Batson) and her newly superpowered Marvel family. Through sheer determination and more than a little luck, they were able to fool Adam into saying the wizard's name, turning into his mortal form and making him age 5,000 years in a single moment.
But despite being older than most civilizations at this point, Adam's mortal body still managed to survive and he used his new technology to teleport himself back to his ship, where he would recover and regain his strength. Adam would go on to continue his plans for world domination, facing the likes of Captain Marvel, the X-Patrol (X-Men + Doom Patrol), and just about every major superhero you could think of.
Then one day, Adam met his match from the most unlikely of sources, a time traveler from the 25th century who claimed that he had come back to end Adam and prevent his reign over the planet Earth. From what Adam could tell of this traveler, who called himself Booster Cable (Booster Gold + Cable), he was little more than a fraud. Still though, he didn't want to risk his chance of ruling the world so he kidnapped Booster and, for the sake of irony, decided to infect him with a techno-organic virus that would turn him into golden metal and kill him.
But instead, the virus activated Booster's metamutant (metahuman + mutant) powers, not only allowing him to resist the infection but also, combined with his technology from the future, actually defeat Adam. Adam could scarcely believe that this was how it'd end, but came to accept it as he slipped into unconsciousness. Adam believed in nothing more than survival of the fittest and in this situation, it was clear who was unfit to survive. Adam closed his eyes and prepared for the end.
But the end never came. Much to his shock, he woke up on his ship unharmed with Booster Cable nowhere to be found. Confused, Adam appeared before Booster Cable and asked him why he didn't kill him when he had the chance. After all, his whole point of coming here was to kill Adam and save his timeline.
Realizing that he screwed up, Booster Cable half-remembered a line he heard in a movie once and told Adam that there was more to life than just survival and suggested that he go back to where his philosophy started and rethink it a little. Adam followed his advice and returned to his homeland, Kahnzhad, where he saw that very little had changed.
A new tyrant had taken over the country, forcing all but the wealthiest of Kahnzhad society into hours of backbreaking labor just to survive. While on the surface level, the country advanced greatly, deep down it was exactly as Adam remembered it. And it disgusted him just as much as it did back then. He wasted no time murdering those in charge and reclaiming his throne.
Shortly after, Adam was visited by the multinational crime syndicate known as the Intermaggia (Intergang + Maggia). They wanted to use Kahnzhad as a base for their criminal activities. So in exchange, they offered Adam a slave to use for his pleasure.
After Adam swiftly killed the Intermaggia members that visited him, the woman made it very clear that she was not afraid and felt that Adam should use his power to help Kahnzhad instead of repeating the actions of its previous oppressors. Adam, impressed by this woman's spirit, decided to heed her advice, and together they turned the small Middle Eastern country into a paradise.
Her wisdom managed to soften his heart. So much so that they eventually fell in love and Adam granted her the power to rule alongside him as his equal. First by augmenting her with powers such as incredible strength, flight, and chlorokinesis. Then, he gifted her a mystical Zakandan (Wakanda + Zambesi) totem that would allow her to control the wind, though she eventually returned that to Zakanda. From that day on, she was known to the rest of the world as Genisis (Genesis + Isis).
With his queen by his side, Adam did the unthinkable and left behind his "survival of the fittest" philosophy. He even became a hero and joined the Defense Society (Defenders + Justice Society). But he is far from a pushover. If anything were to happen to his wife or his country, it could very well lead to World War III. And should he ever decide that he was right all along, then the Age of Adam shall truly begin, and no one will know mercy ever again.
Powers & Abilities: Adam was born with the natural ability to control his body at the molecular level. This allows him access to a host of superhuman abilities such as enhanced strength, durability, and longevity. He can shapeshift his body any way he likes, from imitating people, to increasing his size, to turning his arms into deadly weapons. He can fire energy from his eyes and hands and move objects with telekinesis.
All these abilities were enhanced thanks to the Celestial Titan technology he found and integrated to his body. It also allowed him even more powers such as teleportation, barriers, the ability to control technology, and can even enhance other people with superpowers of their own.
But even with all that, Adam will always take the opportunity to become even more powerful. And there's no better sign of that then when he took the power of Mar-Vel for himself. By shouting the word, "MAR-VEL!" Adam takes on a new form with all the power of his original body and so much more. Naturally, Adam stays in this form at all times and never uses the word to change back. With this, he gains the following:
The Courage of Mehen. Adam gains the physical and psychological resilience of Mehen, an Egyptian snake god. With this power, Adam can shrug off bullets, heal from practically any wound, and will never age.
The Strength of Amun. With Amun's power, Adam already amazing strength becomes incomprehensible.
The Power of Ra. The light of the sun god is what allows Adam to summon the lightning bolt every time he says "Mar-Vel." It also allows him to project mystical bolts of lightning from his body.
The Speed of Vayu. The Hindu god of the wind gives Adam flight and speed that is only exceeded by speedsters.
The Wisdom of Enki. The Sumerian god of intelligence blessed Adam with heightened senses and, well, intelligence.
The Stamina of Loyalakpa. The greatest wrestler in Meitei mythology grants Adam untold stamina. He'll never feel tired and no longer needs food, drink, sleep, or even air to keep fighting.
Appearance: Adam was born with gray skin, pointed ears, red eyes with white pupils, and blue lines along his lips and face. He has no hair.
He is always seen in his transformed state, which features a black costume covering his body except his hands with a blue lightning bolt on his chest. After augmenting himself with Celestial Titan technology, he now wears a blue metal collar that hides his neck. He also wears blue metal boots, blue shoulder guards, and blue gauntlets that connect to a blue belt by the back with long cables. The belt has a large black "A" emblazoned on the front.