Five thousand years ago, the city of Kahndaq was under the tyrannical
rule of king Anh-Kot, who intended to create the Crown of Sabbac, which
is known to give the wearer great power. After enslaving his people and
forcing them to dig for "Eternium" - the magical crystal needed to
create the crown - a young boy leads the slaves to revolt against him.
When the boy is given the power of Shazam, transforming him into
Kahndaq's heroic champion Teth-Adam, he kills Anh-Kot and ends his
reign.
In the present day, Khandaq is oppressed by the Intergang.
Archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz tries to locate the Crown of Sabbac, with
the help of her brother Karim, and colleagues, Samir and Ishmael. As
Adrianna obtains the crown, they are ambushed by the Intergang, killing
Samir in the process. Adrianna accidentally reads an incantation which
awakens Adam from his slumber, who subsequently slaughters most of the
Intergang troops. After an Intergang soldier shoots an Eternium rocket
at Adam which renders him comatose, it is revealed that Ishmael is an
Intergang member who intends to take the crown for himself.
Government
official Amanda Waller learns of the incident and contacts Carter Hall /
Hawkman to assist in taking Adam into custody. Hawkman is accompanied
by his fellow members of the Justice Society of America (consisting of
Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate, Maxine Hunkel / Cyclone, and Albert "Al"
Rothstein / Atom Smasher) to stop Adam.
Adrianna sees an
inscription on an inner part of the Crown which states "Life is the only
way to Death". Adrianna's son Amon sees Adam as Khandaq's hero, but
Adam denies it and departs. Wanting to prove to Kahndaq that their
champion has reawakened, Amon makes a ruckus with the Intergang,
successfully leading Adam to intervene and overpower them. The JSA
arrive in time to stop Adam from doing further destruction. As they
fight, Fate senses that Adrianna has the Crown of Sabbac. They manage to
stop Adam for a while before he flees to the ruins of Anh-Kot's palace.
The JSA ask Adrianna to give them the crown, but she declines until
they tell her the truth that Adam was the one who lost control of his
power five thousand years ago and destroyed most of Khandaq.
The
crown is given to Amon, who takes it back home. Ishmael is there with
Karim, and reveals his true colors. Amon runs away from Ishmael, who
shoots and wounds Karim, and chases Amon. Meanwhile, Adrianna and the
JSA meet Adam, and attempt to convince him that he can be a hero to
Khandaq, before Amon calls Adrianna, who pleads to Adam to save him.
Adam immediately comes to the rescue, but Ishmael manages to abduct Amon
and flees on an Eternium bike. Adam tries to rescue Amon by dealing
with the Intergang on bikes to no avail. As Adam goes back to Adrianna's
home, Hawkman manages to capture two Intergang members and interrogate
them about their hideout. Adam uses brute force to interrogate both of
them and learns where the Intergang's hideout is, but his way of
interrogation enrages Hawkman. As Adam and Hawkman fight, they find that
Amon hid the Crown of Sabbac in plain sight. They intend to use the
Crown to trade with Amon and must fight side by side to save him. On
their way, Fate reveals to Hawkman of his premonition about Hawkman's
death.
They reach Ishmael, who reveals that he is the last
descendant of King Anh-Kot and, wanting his rightful place in the
throne, demands the crown, which Adrianna willingly gives to save Amon's
life. Unfortunately, Ishmael betrays his part of the deal by shooting
Amon and putting the crown on himself. As Adam tries to save Amon, he
loses control again and destroys the hideout with his power, until the
JSA protects Amon and Adrianna as Ishmael dies in the process.
Guilt-ridden,
Adam flees to the ruins again. There, he reveals to Hawkman that it was
actually Hurut, his son, who was Khandaq's champion; knowing that Hurut
was invincible, the king's men executed Hurut's family instead, killing
Isis and mortally wounding Adam in the process. Hurut gave his power to
Adam to save him, but Anh-Kot's archer managed to kill the
now-powerless Hurut. Enraged, Adam slaughtered all of the king's men,
before he was summoned by the wizards of Shazam, who imprisoned him
after deeming him unworthy. Feeling incapable of becoming Khandaq's
champion and protecting it, Adam then surrenders to the JSA, who take
him to Waller's underwater prison. Soon after, Fate continues to see the
ominous premonition. It is later revealed that Ishmael intentionally
made Adam kill him so that he can be reborn as Sabbac, which he succeeds
in doing so, and arises from the underworld to Khandaq to claim his
throne.
The JSA arrive in time trying to stop Sabbac, who summons
the undead to Khandaq. Adrianna and Amon fight them, with Karim joining
them. Amon asks for the people of Khandaq to fight together against the
undead for Kahndaq's freedom.
The JSA prepare to face Sabbac in
Anh-Kot's ruins. However, Fate creates a magical force field which
forbids Hawkman, Cyclone and Atom Smasher from coming into the ruins,
and reveals that Hawkman's death can be avoided, with Fate's sacrifice.
Fate then fights Sabbac alone, and at the same time uses astral
projection to release Adam from his suspended animation so Adam can help
them. Adam manages to escape the prison, but Sabbac kills Fate. Fate's
death causes the force field to disappear, allowing Hawkman, Cyclone and
Atom Smasher try to fight Sabbac, who overpowers them. Just as he is
about to kill the JSA, Adam arrives, and engages Sabbac, but is slowly
losing as Sabbac's power can harm him. Hawkman uses Fate's helmet to
create magical duplicates and spells, having learned from Fate, to help
Adam kill Sabbac, ultimately stopping the undead.
The JSA depart
on good terms with Adam, who accepts his new role as protector of
Khandaq rather than its ruler. In a mid-credits scene, Waller
communicates with a defiant Adam, warning him about forces ready to stop
him, before he is confronted by Superman.