Set, the Egyptian god of chaos, had many servants and worshippers. One of his most powerful servants in Ancient Egypt was the sorcerer Kheth-Amon and the magician often surrounded himself with allies and servants of his own who were loyal to Set. Though mostly active in Ancient Egyptian times these individuals have also appeared in the present where they were opposed by the heroic team Justice Inc.
Kheth-Amon is a sorcerer and servant of the god Set. Kheth-Amon gained his knowledge of magic over 5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt. Kheth-Amon was always seeking after more power and, as a servant of Set, to spread chaos and disorder. In Ancient Egypt he was often opposed by the powerful defenders of Egypt at the time, including the Elementals of Ra (predecessors to the modern day hero Metamorpho), the wizard Shazam, the sorcerer (and Lord of Order) Nabu, and the alien Seker (see Ankh). It was Kheth-Amon who was partially responsible for the corruption of the the magics empowering Khem Adam, a key part of the transformation of the prince into the villainous Black Adam.
Kheth-Amon also faced several modern day heroes who had traveled to the past on different occasions. In one of his confrontations with Seker, Kheth-Amon also faced the hero Surge, who had been sent back in time by a weapon of the time traveling villain Futurion. On another occasion he faced the heroes Tarantula and Quiksilver of Justice Inc. who were on a time travel mission alongside Blue Beetle and Booster Gold in an effort to rescue the Time Master Rip Hunter, who had been stranded in prehistoric times. During that confrontation Quiksilver was killed, but was resurrected by Nabu. Unnoticed at the time Kheth-Amon corrupted the spell, placing a piece of his soul in Quiksilver.
Kheth-Amon would continue to plague Egypt alone and with the aid of other servants of Set, continuing to be opposed by the heroes of that era. Eventually Nabu was able to decisively defeat and slay the sorcerer. However, thanks to the portion of his soul hidden Quisilver, Kheth-Amon did not die but instead was able to hide himself away into a pocket dimension to await the opportunity to return.
In the present day, Kheth-Amon created a new Mastabah and sent Jackal to Earth to prepare for his return. The pair attack Hudson University and attact the attention of Justice Inc., an intentional move on their part to lure Quiksilver to their master. The two flee to Egypt with Justice Inc., along with mystic ally Jared Stevens (aka Fate, the new wielder of the artifacts of Nabu) in pursuit. At Kheth-Amon's tomb in Egypt the group are drawn into the sorcerer's pocket dimension, which appeared as a mythic version of Ancient Egypt.
Inside the pocket dimension the pursuers are split up. Jackal, Mastabah, and a summoned Black Adam are able to the group of the heroes that included Quiksilver and bring the unconscious hero to a giant pyramid where Kheth-Amon is waiting. Once he has Quiksilver, Kheth-Amon starts a mystic ceremony and removes Quiksilver's heart, the source of the soul in Egyptian myth. As they are in a mystical dimension Kheth-Amon is keeping Quiksilver in a magical suspension to keep the body alive; should Quiksilver die before Kheth-Amon can retrieve the piece of his soul, the sorcerer would perish as well.
However, Quiksilver's teammate Cat (a daughter of the goddess Bast) is able to reach the chamber in the the pyramid where the ceremony is being performed. Cat gets the heart away from Kheth-Amon and, as she was instructed by Bast, uses a magic spear she was given to carve out the black piece of Kheth-Amon's soul from Quiksilver's heart. She destroys the piece and Kheth-Amon finally dies after 4,000 years.
Kheth-Amon is a powerful sorcerer who has studied magic for years in order to perfect his art. Beyond his natural mystic abilities, Kheth-Amon was also granted power by his master Set, the Egyptian god of chaos. Among the feats of magic that Kheth-Amon has performed are the spell that created his servant Mastabah, the corruption of the wizard Shazam's spell that gave power to Black Adam, the extension of his own life by concealing part of his immortal soul in a separate vessel, and the creation of his own pocket dimension.
Jackal is a servant avatar of the god Set. To create a Jackal, Set will send a fraction of his power to possess a mortal being and transform the person into its servant. In Ancient Egypt, Kheth-Amon would often have a Jackal working for him, especially when he needed to deal with a powerful foe. Jackal would often do battle with the avatar of Anubis, who was frequently sent to opposed Kheth-Amon's schemes.
Kheth-Amon summoned Jackal to the present day and dispatched him to New York City alongside a newly created Mastabah as part of the sorcerer's plan to achieve immortality. Jackal and Mastabah battled Justice Inc. and a returned Anubis in New York before traveling to Kheth-Amon's pocket dimension where they again faced Justice Inc. and Anubis, who had been joined by the reluctant mystic agent Fate. Jackal was defeated and at last word was trapped in Kheth-Amon's pocket dimension.
A Jackal possesses superhuman agility, strength, and resilience; and also has heightened senses and the ability to see in the dark. Jackal can move with great speed and agility, and can even move swiftly along any surface, even along a wall or ceiling with ease. Jackal's strength also lets him leap large distances. Set's power lets Jackal fire blasts of fire from his hands.
A Jackal is a skilled fighter both unarmed and with martial weapons, but the possessed host's intellect is suppressed so the Jackal is not an innovative combatant and will resort to animalistic attacks if pressed.
Mastabah is a servant of Kheth-Amon who takes his name from a type of Ancient of Egyptian tomb. Kheth-Amon has created several Mastabahs over the millennia; most recently transforming archaeologist Dr. Craig Belosh into one. Belosh was a professor of archaeology at Hudson University in New York who learned the location of the legendary Egyptian sorcerer Kheth-Amon's tomb.
Securing funding, Belosh began excavations at the site in Egypt. Dismissing the warnings of experts and locals alike, Belosh managed to uncover and open the entrance to the tomb. An eerie howl a decaying wind emerged from the opened tomb, frightening off the diggers and leaving Belosh to enter the tomb alone. Inside he discovered an ornate sarcophagus with hieroglyphics identifying Kheth-Amon. Suddenly Belosh found himself frozen, unable to move, and was horrified to see the sarcophagus begin to open from the inside. A terrifying mummy emerged and reached right into the frozen Belosh's body. The mummy then returned to the sarcophagus and closed the lid.
Belosh was suddenly wracked with pain as his body began to contort and change. He grew nearly a foot in height, developed superhuman strength, and his skin took on an ashen color. Belosh's clothes were also transformed and he now wore Ancient Egyptian garb. Now under the complete control of Kheth-Amon, Belosh found his way back to New York and broke into Hudson University to steal some Egyptian artifacts stored there. This brought him into conflict with Justice Inc. and some of their allies, battling them alongside another of Kheth-Amon's servants, Jackal.
The pair acquire the artifacts they were after, and also take a sample of the Mercurialite metal from the hero Quiksilver. They are then able to escape the heroes and proceed to travel back to Egypt, where they use Kheth-Amon's tomb as a gateway to travel to the pocket dimension where the sorcerer had hidden himself away. Justice Inc. pursues them into the dimension where they again battle Mastabah and Jackal as well as the villain Black Adam, who Kheth-Amon has summoned to help him. Mastabah and the others are defeated, and Justice Inc. moves on to defeat Kheth-Amon as well.
Mastabah was last seen in Kheth-Amon's pocket dimension. With the sorcerer's apparent demise it is not known if Mastabah will ever return, or if he will ever be able to be changed back to Craig Belosh.
After his transformation to Mastabah, Dr. Belosh possessed superhuman strength and resistance to injury. He also had mental defenses that could ward off psychic attacks. In addition to his strength, Mastabah's touch could also cause normal matter to disintegrate, a power he often used to gain access to locations by melting his way through walls.
Dr. Belosh himself was a trained archaeologist and an expert in Ancient Egypt. After his transformation into Mastabah, however, his intellect and personality were almost entirely submerged and he was a slave to the will of Kheth-Amon.
Born in 1279 BC, Teth-Adam was a prince in the empire of Ancient Egypt who was selected by the wizard Shazam to be a champion for good. By speaking the wizard's name, Adam would be transformed into the hero Mighty Adam possessing the mystic power granted by the gods invoked in the wizard's spell. At the start the Mighty Adam was a great hero to the people, but unknown to Shazam the sorcerer Kheth-Amon corrupted the original spell. Along with the demoness Blaze, who also served the god Set as Kheth-Amon did, the pair were able to seduce Adam over to the side of evil. From this point on he became known as Black Adam.
To stop him the wizard Shazam eventually strips Black Adam of his power, trapping it in a scarab necklace and restoring the villain to the mortal form of Teth-Adam. Having been kept alive far longer than the normal life span, Teth-Adam quickly ages and dies turning into withered cadaver.
In the present the necklace was found by archaeologists and fell into the hands of the murderous criminal Theo Adam, a distant descendant of Teth-Adam. By using the magic word "Shazam", the necklace would grant Theo Adam the power of Black Adam. Eventually the necklace would no longer be needed, and when Theo Adam would use the magic word he would transform into the Black Adam. While before he would be Theo Adam with the power of Black Adam, now it was the true Black Adam who would appear in Theo's place, though Theo would still have some influence.
Black Adam would be a frequent foe of the wizard Shazam's latest protégé, the heroic Captain Marvel, and would occasionally battle other heroes as well. When the sorcerer Kheth-Amon made an attempt to gain immortality in the present day he summoned Black Adam to help. Black Adam was transported to Kheth-Amon's pocket dimension where he battled against the heroes from Justice Inc. and their allies Anubis and Fate. Black Adam was defeated, but was eventually able to escape from the pocket dimension and return to Earth.
Thanks to the spell that created him, Black Adam possesses the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru (Horus), the strength of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti (Thoth), the power of Aton, and the courage of Mehen. These abilities can be seen in Black Adam's superhuman strength and resilience, his ability to move at super-speed, and his ability to fly.
