The mechanics of his transformation are identical to those of Billy Batson, yet the stakes are infinitely higher. When Teth-Adam utters the word Shazam, he is struck by living lightning that replaces his aging, fragile anatomy with a magically reinforced vessel. However, unlike Billy—who remains a child at heart—Adam’s mortal form carries the weight of five millennia. Because he has spent centuries in his empowered state, his natural body has aged far beyond its biological limit. In many storylines, reverting to his mortal form is a death sentence, as the thousands of years he has lived would instantly catch up to him, turning him to dust.