The red-horned supervillain Sabbac appears in the new trailer for Black Adam, and he has a great comic book history like the film’s other characters. Black Adam's latest trailer has begun the uptick in the marketing for the October 21 release of the Dwayne Johnson-led DCEU movie, Johnson portraying the anti-hero from Kahndaq after having developed the film for over a decade. Black Adam himself won’t be the only metahuman in the movie, with the Justice Society of America appearing along with a demonic, super-powered antagonist.
As seen in the trailer, that antagonist is Sabbac (Marwan Kenzari), shown rising out of the water to go head-to-head with Hawkman (Aldis Hodge). First debuting in Captain Marvel Jr. #4 in 1943, Sabacc has long represented a literally devilish opposite to the more heroic Shazam (then-known as Captain Marvel). Sabbac has also had different alter-egos in his comic book history, most notably Timothy Karnes and Ishmael Gregor.
As Sabbac, Karnes becomes an entity of comparable power to Black Adam, Superman, and Shazam, wielding the power of demonic entities, specifically Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Crateis, the first letters of their names individually forming Sabbac similar to Shazam. Ishmael Gregor was a crime boss who killed Karnes to gain the power of Sabbac for himself. Marwan Kenzari is specifically portraying the Ishmael Gregor version of Sabbac, though the movie might combine some elements of Timothy Karnes version, while the scope of his powers make him a real challenge to Black Adam and the Justice Society.
What Are Sabbac’s Powers?
Sabbac’s powers function similarly to those of Shazam, with the individual endowed with them activating them by calling the name Sabbac. Once changed, Sabbac has immense superhuman strength, the ability of flight, and can blast fire at his enemies from both his hands and mouth similar to Shazam and Black Adam's powers including lightning blasts. These all make Sabbac a deadly villain for any hero to face.
In all of Black Adam’s marketing, Sabbac has been shown very sparingly. The brief glimpse of him in the new trailer is quite possibly the most in-depth look he has been given so far, with his horns and pentacle on his chest showing him to look very close to his comic book appearance. With the Justice Society having their hands full with Black Adam himself, that seems to indicate that Sabbac might be kept in check until later in the film, though his power level certainly seems hardly dialed back.
For as much hype as Dwayne Johnson is pushing behind Black Adam, keeping Sabbac in check in the marketing, in contrast to the prominence of the Justice Society of America, seems likely to be a very intentional move. If so, that would mean that audiences might have to wait until the movie hits theaters to see Sabbac in all his demonic glory. Still, with the powers of hell on his side, Sabbac’s big-screen debut in Black Adam will channel a lot of power and comic book lore into his battle with The Rock’s anti-hero and the Justice Society.
