Teth-Adam was given his power because Shazam believed he had the makings of a hero, but as soon as Adam began to no longer live up to these expectations, he was punished. While later comics would see Black Adam's powers and personality sealed away in an artifact, only to be awakened later, his first origin story is more of an existential nightmare. The wizard Shazam flung Adam to the “farthest star in the universe,” isolating him from all of humanity for thousands of years. The journey back to Earth took five thousand years to complete, and all the while Adam’s madness only festered inside of him. When he returned to Earth, it was with the intent of conquering it, but he quickly became more concerned with a vengeance once the wizard's new champions attacked him.