Chapter Summaries

Ishmael and Hassan tried to keep the eastern and northern districts out of the ruins, where they were searching for the Crown of Sabbac. A confrontation escalated into an armed standoff, leaving a gunfight on the verge of breaking out.

• Hassan said the excavation could take until dawn or several days, and Ishmael secretly left armed men guarding the cave entrance.
• The eastern district captain arrived with armed men and demanded a share of the ruins, but Ishmael and Hassan blocked the entrance.
• The northern district captain arrived with nearly a hundred mercenaries and joined forces with the eastern district, putting Ishmael and Hassan under pressure.
• The eastern district captain suggested entering the ruins only to look, but Ishmael warned Hassan that he could not be trusted.
• The eastern district captain taunted Hassan into pointing his gun at him, and Ishmael forced Hassan's gun upward as it fired beside the captain's ear.
• The eastern district captain ordered his men to attack, and both sides raised their weapons as a gunfight threatened to begin.

Ismael stopped the East and North District captains from fighting by giving them part of his share, then waited through the night until the passage into the Ancient Kahndaq ruins opened. Inside, Adrianna Tomaz translated an inscription about humanity’s aptitude for magic and susceptibility to darkness, which Hassan mocked.

• Ismael offered the East and North District captains ten percent of his share, and they withdrew with their men.
• Ismael waited as his men dug through the night while Hassan fell asleep nearby.
• A subordinate announced that the passage was open, and Ismael led his men toward the entrance.
• Hassan’s men blocked Ismael from entering until Hassan arrived, and they later escorted Adrianna Tomaz into the ruins.
• Adrianna translated the ancient inscription, and Hassan laughed at its claims about magic.

Adrianna and Ismael’s group found the tomb of Teth-Adam and the Crown of Sabbac, while Adrianna warned that the crown’s power must remain buried. Ismael confirmed the crown was genuine and realized he needed to die by divine power to claim its power.

• Adrianna translated an inscription saying the ultimate power had been hidden on Earth, and she feared Intergang would obtain the Crown of Sabbac.
• Adrianna warned the group to turn back at forbidden ground, but Hassan threatened her and forced her onward.
• Adrianna identified the site as Teth-Adam’s tomb, while Ismael dismissed Teth-Adam as a thug and continued into the burial chamber.
• Ismael and Hassan saw the Crown of Sabbac hovering in the chamber, and Hassan ordered a lackey to retrieve it.
• Hassan complained that the crown looked like scrap metal, but Ismael found hidden inscriptions confirming it was genuine and realized he had to die by divine power to claim its power.

Adrianna recited the spell that released Teth-Adam from the tomb, while the ancient Wizard Shazam sensed his return but was too weak to stop him. Teth-Adam killed an Intergang mercenary with lightning as Ismael escaped with the Crown of Sabbac.

• Adrianna recited the inscription and shouted “Shazam,” summoning a bolt of lightning that blasted the tomb and released Teth-Adam.
• The Wizard Shazam sensed Teth-Adam’s awakening and realized he was too old to stop him, so he resolved to find a new inheritor of the Power of the Six Gods.
• Ismael seized the Crown of Sabbac and hid in the shadows while Hassan ordered an underling to approach Teth-Adam.
• Teth-Adam crossed the chamber in an instant, seized the underling, and burned him to a skeleton with azure lightning.

Teth-Adam slaughtered Hassan, Ismael, and the Intergang mercenaries in the underground tomb before escaping to the surface. He destroyed the ruin and emerged in the camp, where more armed forces opened fire on him.

• Hassan ordered his men to fire at Teth-Adam, but the bullets could not injure him.
• Teth-Adam killed a machine gunner, caught a grenade, and unleashed lightning that annihilated the mercenaries and Ismael, leaving the Crown of Sabbac behind.
• Teth-Adam lifted Hassan and smashed him into the ground, killing Intergang’s ruler in Kahndaq’s West District.
• Teth-Adam flew through the tomb’s ceiling, buried the ruin and the Crown of Sabbac in darkness with lightning, and crashed into the surface camp.
• Intergang elites and other troops saw Teth-Adam and opened fire with guns and RPG launchers.

Teth-Adam massacred mercenaries in Kahndaq, prompting Doctor Fate to alert Hawkman that Adam was losing control. Ismael became Sabbac, and the old Wizard Shazam began summoning a young boy as a successor before the new threat could destroy the world.

• Teth-Adam slaughtered the mercenaries with lightning and flew away from the ruins.
• Doctor Fate saw the destruction and warned Hawkman that they needed to find and stop Teth-Adam.
• In Hell, Ismael accepted the six demons' power and declared himself Sabbac, who then reformed in the mortal world and blasted into the sky.
• The old Wizard Shazam sensed Sabbac's arrival and feared the combined danger posed by him and Teth-Adam.
• The old Wizard identified a resilient ten-year-old boy in a US city as the best successor and sent golden magic toward him.

Ten-year-old Billy Batson was transported to the Rock of Eternity, where Wizard Shazam told him the history of the Seven Deadly Sins and chose him as the world’s last hope. The chapter ended with Shazam ordering Billy to place his hand on the Staff.

• Billy Batson fled his foster home and entered an alley that transformed into a corridor leading underground.
• Billy reached the Rock of Eternity, where he saw the Seven Deadly Sins’ statues and the sealed Demon’s Eye.
• Wizard Shazam introduced himself as the last guardian of the Rock of Eternity and explained that a previous successor had unleashed the Seven Deadly Sins.
• Billy doubted that he was the pure-hearted successor Shazam wanted, but Shazam declared him the world’s last hope because Teth-Adam and Sabbac had awakened.
• Shazam struck his Staff against the floor and ordered Billy to place his hand on it.

The Wizard Shazam forced Billy Batson to accept his power, transforming the frightened boy into a superpowered adult. Billy fled the Rock of Eternity after the Wizard died, and a bald man returned there through a mysterious door ten minutes later.

• Billy recoiled from the Wizard Shazam’s offer until the Wizard threatened him and ordered him to say his name.
• Billy grabbed the Staff and said “Shazam,” triggering divine lightning that transformed him and granted him the powers of six gods.
• The dying Wizard gave Billy the Staff and told him that Kahndaq needed his help before crumbling into ashes.
• Billy panicked, dropped the Staff, and wished himself out of the Rock of Eternity.
• Ten minutes later, a bald man in a trench coat entered the hall through a mysterious door and celebrated his return after twenty years.

Doctor Sivana entered the Rock of Eternity, claimed the Demon's Eye, and gained power from the Seven Deadly Sins. After learning that Billy Batson was in Kahndaq, he discovered a broadcast showing Black Adam and Sabbac and was warned not to confront Teth-Adam.

• Sivana reopened the portal to the Rock of Eternity and seized the Demon's Eye after finding the Wizard dead.
• The Seven Deadly Sins escaped their statues and merged into the Demon's Eye, which fused with Sivana's right eye.
• Sivana left the Rock of Eternity, intending to take revenge on his father and older brother before hunting Billy Batson.
• A news broadcast showed Black Adam and Sabbac fighting in Kahndaq, and Sivana recognized the lightning bolt emblem.
• The Seven Deadly Sins identified Black Adam as Teth-Adam and urged Sivana to find and kill Billy Batson before challenging Teth-Adam or Sabbac.

Sabbac flew toward the ruins of the Ancient Kahndaq Palace to claim the throne and open a rift to hell, while Teth-Adam confronted memories of his son Hurut. Doctor Fate and Hawkman intercepted Teth-Adam to prevent him from fighting Sabbac, and their attack left him bound in golden chains.

• Sivana watched Sabbac and Black Adam on television and coveted the powers of the Six Gods and Six Demon Lords.
• Teth-Adam mourned Hurut before Hurut's statue, then flew toward Sabbac as the demon approached Kahndaq.
• Doctor Fate and Hawkman blocked Teth-Adam and said someone else would deal with Sabbac, but Teth-Adam refused to stand down.
• Hawkman struck Teth-Adam with his warhammer, and Doctor Fate summoned duplicates that bound him with golden chains.

Black Adam broke free of Doctor Fate’s magic and defeated Hawkman and Doctor Fate before Solomon tried to recruit him for Vought International. When Black Adam refused and tried to leave, Solomon stopped him effortlessly and punched him across the city.

• Black Adam shattered Doctor Fate’s magical chains and scattered his duplicates with a burst of lightning.
• Black Adam caught Hawkman’s mace, crushed his breastplate with a punch, and knocked him out.
• Black Adam broke through Doctor Fate’s shields and lifted him by the throat before Solomon arrived.
• Solomon introduced himself as a representative of Vought International and invited Black Adam to join, but Black Adam refused and warned him that Sabbac was dangerous.
• Black Adam tried to leave, but Solomon stopped him, endured his lightning, and punched him across the city into the ruins.

Solomon examined Black Adam’s power and the ordinary base attributes of Doctor Fate and Hawkman, then heard Doctor Fate warn him about Lex Luthor. After stopping Black Adam’s renewed attack, Solomon defeated him and gained the power of the six Egyptian gods, pushing all his attributes past level 7.

• Solomon found that Black Adam’s attributes were balanced at level 6.5, while Doctor Fate and Hawkman had ordinary base attributes.
• Solomon let Doctor Fate’s telepathic warning through and learned that he should be careful of Lex Luthor.
• Doctor Fate explained that his helmet chose its own master and offered to let Solomon try wearing it later.
• Black Adam charged Solomon, who caught his punch and again offered him generous terms to join Vought International.
• Solomon defeated Black Adam and gained the power of the six Egyptian gods, raising all his attributes beyond level 7 and unlocking rule power.

Solomon discovered that his attributes had granted him 17 wisps of rule power and tried to recruit Black Adam into Vought, but Black Adam refused. After rebuking Hawkman for her no-killing rule, Solomon left, while Hawkman warned Doctor Fate that Vought and Solomon posed a grave threat.

• Solomon learned how rule power worked, realized he could copy it from enemies, and counted 17 wisps gathered within him.
• Solomon offered Black Adam a place at Vought, but Black Adam refused to submit to anyone again.
• Solomon invited Black Adam to meet Vought’s other godlike members, but Hawkman objected, condemning Black Adam for killing more than a hundred people.
• Solomon confronted Hawkman and mocked her no-killing rule, while Doctor Fate realized Solomon knew the future in which he had died.
• After Solomon left, Hawkman warned Doctor Fate that Solomon was more dangerous than Black Adam and urged him to prepare for Vought.

Doctor Fate warned Hawkman not to oppose Solomon and pressed him to give up his spare Nth metal, while Solomon overheard their exchange and continued toward Sabbac with Black Adam. Superman and Wonder Woman fought Sabbac above Kahndaq, but he overwhelmed them and aimed a deadly blast at them as they lay injured.

• Doctor Fate warned Hawkman that Solomon would soon leave and urged him not to make an enemy of him.
• Doctor Fate reminded Hawkman about his spare Nth metal, and Hawkman reluctantly agreed to give it up after understanding the danger of refusing.
• Solomon overheard the conversation with his Super Hearing, then flew toward Sabbac with Black Adam to show him Vought's gods.
• Superman and Wonder Woman intercepted Sabbac outside Kahndaq, but his demonic flames burned through Superman's defenses and sent him crashing into a mountain.
• Superman and Wonder Woman attacked Sabbac together, but he used the Lasso of Truth to smash Diana into Superman.
• Sabbac formed a demonic death ray and aimed it at the injured Superman and Wonder Woman.

Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Superman coordinated to suppress Sabbac but could not overcome his durability and regeneration. Black Adam joined the fight and helped turn the stalemate into a one-sided assault, leaving Sabbac battered and unable to resist.

• Martian Manhunter struck Sabbac with a psychic assault, disrupting his death ray and giving Wonder Woman an opening to bind him with the Lasso of Truth.
• Superman attacked Sabbac while Martian Manhunter continued suppressing his mind, but Sabbac’s regeneration and strength kept the three heroes from defeating him.
• Solomon and Black Adam arrived above the battlefield, and Black Adam said he would deal with Sabbac himself.
• Black Adam crashed into Sabbac and attacked him, breaking the stalemate and joining the other three fighters.
• Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Black Adam battered Sabbac until his body was badly damaged and he lost the will to resist.

Black Adam killed Sabbac and agreed to join Solomon’s Vought International on the condition that he could remain in Kahndaq and protect it. Solomon accepted, allowing Black Adam to kill irredeemable villains as long as he avoided doing so in front of cameras and the media.

• Clark stopped attacking the defeated Sabbac and offered him a chance to surrender, but Black Adam explained that surrender would send Sabbac’s soul back to eternal torment in hell.
• Black Adam seized Sabbac by the horns and tore him in half, destroying the demon and ending the threat to Kahndaq.
• Solomon, Clark, Diana, and Martian Manhunter descended; Diana acknowledged Black Adam’s strength, while J’onn watched him warily.
• Black Adam told Solomon he would join Vought International but would not take orders from mortals or leave Kahndaq for long.
• Solomon agreed to promote Black Adam as Kahndaq’s guardian and allowed him to kill irredeemable villains, provided he did not do so in front of cameras and the media.

After Sabbac’s defeat in Kahndaq, Solomon recruited Black Adam and gained the Power of the Six Demon Lords, raising all his attributes to level 7.1 and his rule power to twenty-nine strands. He then went to meet Justice Society heroes Doctor Fate and Hawkman, while J’onn wondered about Solomon’s motives.

• J’onn suspected Solomon had released Sabbac as a pretext to recruit Black Adam and resolved to discuss his concerns with Lex Luthor.
• Black Adam agreed to restrain himself around cameras, and Solomon arranged for Vought to announce him as Kahndaq’s permanent guardian.
• Solomon harvested Sabbac’s power, gained the Power of the Six Demon Lords, and raised his attributes to level 7.1 with twenty-nine strands of rule power.
• J’onn explained the Justice Society to Clark, and Solomon invited Clark and Diana to meet its heroes; Black Adam refused and flew back into the ancient city.
• Solomon led Clark, Diana, and J’onn to Doctor Fate Kent Nelson and Hawkman Carter Hall, whose injuries had nearly healed.
• Hawkman cautiously assessed Solomon’s group, but Clark’s sincere goodwill eased his hostility toward the Vought heroes.

Solomon rejected the Helmet of Nabu but secured Doctor Fate’s promise to deliver the remaining Nth Metal to Vought. Meanwhile, Billy Batson called Vought for help after a wizard transformed him, and Lex Luthor erased the call and began tracking him.

• Solomon refused to become Nabu’s agent and asked Doctor Fate what he had seen in the river of fate, but Kent Nelson said he could not reveal it.
• Doctor Fate agreed that Carter would arrange for the remaining Nth Metal to be delivered to Vought headquarters, and Solomon left Kahndaq with three Justice League members.
• Billy Batson called Vought from a Philadelphia phone booth and explained that a wizard had transformed him into a muscular man with godlike powers.
• Lex Luthor stopped the customer service representative from dispatching help, used his powers to make her forget the call, and had her delete its records.
• Lex Luthor returned to his office and began searching Vought’s Global SkyNet for Billy Batson.

Lex Luthor found Billy Batson in Philadelphia and gained his trust by buying him a huge meal while asking about his transformation. Billy recalled that he had escaped the Wizard’s chamber by shouting, “Let me out of here,” giving Lex a possible way to return there.

• Lex Luthor reviewed Billy Batson’s history and traveled to Philadelphia to find him.
• Billy accidentally tore the door off Lex’s car, and Lex invited him to McDonald’s instead.
• Billy ate a mountain of food while explaining his encounter with the Wizard and the Power of the Six Gods.
• Lex asked Billy how he had left the chamber, and Billy remembered shouting, “Let me out of here.”

Billy and Lex Luthor returned to the Rock of Eternity, where they discovered the Seven Deadly Sins had escaped. Luthor found a mysterious caterpillar and pocketed it after it offered to help him defeat Boss.

• Luthor persuaded Billy to focus on returning to the cave, but their first attempt at teleportation failed.
• Billy panicked at the thought of remaining in his demigod body and shouted that he wanted to go back, teleporting himself and Luthor to the Rock of Eternity.
• Billy found the Wizard's Staff, the demon statues, and the magical orb missing, and realized the Seven Deadly Sins had escaped.
• Luthor questioned Billy about the escaped demons, then noticed a green caterpillar inside a glass jar on a stone pedestal.
• The caterpillar telepathically offered to help Luthor defeat Boss, and Luthor picked it up and tucked it into his suit pocket.