In DC Comics, Shazam! villain Black Adam has an iconic look that hasn’t changed much over the years, but after being gifted a Yellow Lantern ring by Green Lantern baddie Sinestro, Black Adam finally gets a much needed — and wildly underrated — upgrade in the cosmetic department. Getting a yellow ring of fear might have helped Adam become even more powerful than before, but it’s his new costume design that’s the real star of the show.
Seen in 2015’s Sinestro #17, by Cullen Bunn, Brad Walker, Neil Edwards, and Szymon Kudranksi, this issue picks up mid-battle as Sinestro and Black Adam team up against a threat neither can handle alone. Dubbed The Pale Bishop, this ex-Guardian of the Universe has a bone to pick with Black Adam as Adam once vanquished this deadly foe centuries ago only for him to return with a vengeance to ruin Adam’s — and the entire world’s — day.
Matched in strength and wits, Black Adam momentarily gains the upper hand, but before he can go any further, Pale Bishop uses his “tendrils of light” to bring Adam under his mental thrall. Coached by Sinestro to not give in to Pale Bishop’s power, Black Adam is on the verge of submitting when Sinestro bestows upon Adam his very own Yellow Lantern ring complete with a sweet new clothing style that’s way more underrated than it gets credit for.
Slipping onto Black Adam’s finger, the yellow ring of fear transforms Adam’s costume from his usual black and gold, lightning bolt adorned get-up to something similar, yet far more visually interesting. Swapping the gold trimmings for yellow, Black Adam’s white chest symbol expands from his chest up to his collar, with his cape attaching to his shoulders via two brand new manifested Sinestro Corps symbols. Furthermore, Adam’s new look adds a blue-tinted belt, Sinestro’s V-shaped yellow accents to highlight his transformation, and even a Yellow Lantern-specific colored aura around his body, completed by his recently acquired power ring that glows brilliantly on his hand.
Not the first time that one of DC’s various heroes and villains have received a Sinestro Corps upgrade (Batman’s take on a Yellow Lantern is a big fan favorite), Black Adam getting his own sweet visual redesign is a fun fan moment that easily turns an already cool-looking hero into something even more badass. Couple this with the fact that Black Adam’s Lantern costume keeps the best of what made his original suit so iconic while adding the necessary flairs to make it worthy of Sinestro himself, and you have a costume design that begs to be placed up there with the best Lantern looks of all time.
So while this version of Black Adam was never meant to last, his new suit design is a criminally underrated and overlooked addition to his superhero fashion wardrobe that fans should remember. Yellow Lanterns always seem to get a sweet cosmetic upgrade whenever they wield the power of fear, but Black Adam’s is hands down one of the best that unfortunately, has never been seen again.