Vulcano's assistant
Banned
Agent 355 was a gut punch.
feel bad man
Agent 355 was a gut punch.
I had just turned 10 when I read Kraven's Last Hunt for the first time. Still sits in my mind as one of the best mini-arcs ever, almost 30 years on. He proved himself Spider-Man's better in his own mind and now he's done, so he goes out. So cool.
The kid is a paralyzed boy that Black Adam empowered with Captain Marvel style powers, and the crocodile has been his meek sidekick/comic relief for several issues, constantly complaining that he's hungry. The kid reverts back to his normal form by saying Black Adam's name, which the crocodile tricks him into doing so he can kill him, because the crocodile has been biding his time for such an opportunity. It ties into the Egyptian mythology that underlies Black Adam and his backstory.
It doesn't work too well isolated like that, but if you read all of 52 up to that point, it's a jawdropper.
Is it strictly a 52 thing, or should I read any previous Captain Marvel stuff to get a better hold on it?
You can read 52 and be fine.
If you want like the entire story then I'd say it starts with John's JSA, think it was Black Reign where it establishes most of Black Adam's background, but he joins the team way earlier. Then 52 (Black Adam has a small role in Infinite Crisis), WW3 is an optional read, Black Adam the Dark Age, then comes back around to John's JSA where it ends with his last volume. After that point Black Adam doesn't appear again until New 52. Billy's story is in JSA, Day of Vengeance + DoV Special.