Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Black Adam.Sabbac is the main villain in Black Adam movie, though he and the titular antihero were occasional allies in the original comics. Three different versions of Sabbac have been presented by DC over the years, each with dramatically different backstories. Despite this, they have maintained the same sinister powers and hellish origins, being a frequent thorn in the side of the Shazam Family.
Sabbac proves a worthy and interesting antagonist for Black Adam, as they are both dark mirrors of Billy Batson's Shazam. The key difference between them is that Black Adam, for all his violent ways, still has the desire to do good. Sabbac, by contrast, is a being of pure evil, who draws his power from demonic forces. The DECU version of Sabbac borrows elements from all three incarnations of the character in the comics but introduces a new wrinkle by having his powers channeled through a magical artifact, the Crown of Sabbac, rather than a magic word like Black Adam and Shazam.
Sabbac's Origins In DC Comics
The first incarnation of Sabbac first appeared in Captain Marvel, Jr. #4 in 1943 and was created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Carreno. This comic introduced Timothy Karnes, a goofy-looking wizard with a bald head and severe overbite, who was recruited by a group of Nazi saboteurs to use his dark arts to them against Captain Marvel Jr. Inspired by a promise that he would be made governor of America when the Third Reich won the war, Karnes worked a ritual to summon the six most powerful demons in Hell. The demons agreed to give their powers to Karnes whenever he said the word "Sabbac," which was an anagram of their names. This gave Karnes abilities to match those displayed by Captain Marvel Jr., transforming him into a hulking being with an even more pronounced overbite.
A revamp origin introduced years later drew a deeper connection between Timothy Karnes and Captain Marvel Jr.'s secret identity of Freddy Freeman. In the new history, Karnes was Freeman's foster brother, though he went through a succession of abusive homes whereas Freeman was happily reunited with his grandfather and gained access to the power of Shazam. This caused Karnes to develop a deep hatred of Freeman, which was unleashed when he learned he was heir to the Bagdan line and the powers of the demon Sabbac.
The second incarnation of Sabbac first appeared in Outsiders Vol. 3 #8 in 2004 and was created by writer Judd Winick and artist Tom Raney, who were also responsible for revamping Timothy Karnes for the Post-Crisis DC Universe. This version of Sabbac was a Russian gangster named Ishmael Gregor, who had learned of Timothy Karnes's powers and decided he was better suited to wield them. After abducting Karnes and stealing his power with a dark ritual, Gregor became the new host of Sabbac and went on to fight Nightwing and the Outsiders alongside the Fearsome Five and Secret Society of Super-Villains, while working to take over the criminal underworld of Las Vegas.
The third incarnation of Sabbac first appeared in Justice League Vol. 2 #21 in 2013 and was created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank. This version of Sabbac was a physical manifestation of the Seven Deadly Sins of Man, created when they possessed a single human host. A wicked man named Mr. Bryer, whose sons bullied Billy Batson, became the Sins' chosen host and was transformed into a 50-foot-tall demonic being with red skin and horns.
How Powerful Is Sabbac?
All three incarnations of Sabbac in the comics have power enough to go toe-to-toe with any member of the Shazam Family or Black Adam. The first two versions of Sabbac possessed the strength of Satan, the invincible body of Any, the wisdom of Belial, the fire-powers of Beelzebub, the courage of Asmodeus, and the flight and speed of Craeteis. The modern version of Sabbac, who drew power from the Seven Deadly Sins of Man, seemed less intelligent than the first two, essentially being a demonic giant or kajiu, and lacked the magical knowledge displayed by both Timothy Karnes and Ishmael Gregor.
How Black Adam's Sabbac Compares To The Comics
The DCEU version of Sabbac in Black Adam most closely resembles the Ishmael Gregor origin from the comics, taking the form of a red-skinned man with horns and a flaming pentagram tattooed on his chest. The host of Sabbac in the movie is a gangster named Ishmael, though he is part of the Darkseid-affliated Intergang rather than the Russian mob as in the comics. The DCEU Ishmael also resembles the revamped Timothy Karnes, showing some knowledge of sorcery while being heir to a dark legacy as the last descendant of King Ahk-Ton, who first forged the Crown of Sabbac and sought the power of Hell. As in the comics, Sabbac is a being of immense power, defeated only through the combined efforts of Black Adam and the Justice Society of America.
Want more Black Adam articles? Check out our essential content below...
- Black Adam Post-Credits Scene Fully Explained
- Everything We Know About Black Adam 2
- Your Biggest Henry Cavill Superman Questions Answered
- Black Adam's Massive Death Explained
