Blackagar Boltagon | |
Aliases: | Black Bolt |
Continuity: | Marvel Cinematic Universe |
Series: | Inhumans |
Notability: | Main character |
Occupation: | King |
Gender: | Male |
Race: | Inhuman |
Location: | Attilan, Earth's moon |
Associations: | House of Agon |
Relatives: | Maximus Boltagon Medusalith Amaquelin Crystal Amaquelin Gorgon Petragon Karnak Triton |
Status: | Alive |
First: | "Behold... The Inhumans" |
Actor: | Anson Mount Lofton Shaw [1] |
Black Bolt is a fictional super-powered king, and a major recurring character featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is based on comic book properties published by Marvel Comics. She was a main character on the 2017 television series Inhumans on ABC, and was played by actor Anson Mount. He first appeared in the pilot episode of the series, "Behold... The Inhumans".
Biography[]
Blackagar Boltagon, mostly known as just Black Bolt, was a member of the genetically engineered race known as the Inhumans. He was the son of King Agon and Queen Rynda, and had a younger brother named Maximus. At a young age, Black Bolt underwent terrigenesis, which gave him the super-power to generate massive seismic shock waves using only the power of his voice. Black Bolt had no control over this ability however, and even the slightest whisper could cause untold devastation. While in consultation with his parents, Black Bolt asked, "Why?". The sound of his voice hit them with such impact that there was nothing left of Agon and Rynda but a stain on the wall.
As an adult, Black Bolt became the king of the Inhuman city of Attilan which remained hidden behind an invisible wall on Earth's moon. He took a woman named Medusa as his queen, who also served as Black Bolt's voice to the people, as he would never dare utter a single syllable less it should destroy everything around him. Over time, the bond between husband and wife grew so strong, that Medusa could communicate with her husband using only the slightest of gestures.
Black Bolt's primary concern was the safety of his people. He believed that remaining hidden on the moon, isolated from their Inhuman brethren on Earth was the most sure way to maintain this. He asked only for those who followed him to trust in their king. In a continued effort to maintain Attilan's isolation, he sent a member of the Royal Family, Triton, to Earth to recover other Inhumans and bring them to the moon. When the other members of the Royal Family learned of this, they were taken aback by the fact that Black Bolt never informed them of this secret mission.
Maximus meanwhile, who never developed any superhuman abilities as a result of terrigenesis, always remained in Black Bolt's shadow. He vehemently disagreed with his brother's isolationist strategies, and felt that the Inhumans should return to Earth to claim it as their birthright. Despite addressing his concerns to the King, he received no satisfaction.
Maximus ultimately felt that the only way that his fellow Inhumans would ever be free was to forsake the caste system. To this end, he staged a coup, which resulted in the Royal Family being forced to leave Attilan for Earth. Black Bolt intended on staying behind and was prepared to use the "voice" to stop his brother when family pet, the teleporting dog known as Lockjaw materialized in his personal chambers and whisked him off to Earth. They arrived in the middle of a busy city street in Honolulu, Hawaii. [2]

"Have you seen my wife? Medusa? Big hair?"
Lockjaw disappeared as quickly as he came, leaving Black Bolt stranded. His sudden appearance caused quite an uproar, as a taxicab had to come to a sudden stop to avoid hitting him. People tried taking pictures of Black Bolt with their mobile devices, but he snatched one out of a woman's hand an threw it on the ground.
He left the busy street and hid in an ally. Medusa, who had likewise been exiled to Earth, contacted him on her comlink to ascertain that he was okay. He placed the comlink to his heart so she could hear it beating, indicating that he was safe - at least for the moment.
Black Bolt knew that he had to blend in, so he entered a clothing store, where the attendant helped outfit him in an expensive business suit. As he did not have any money, he simply tried leaving the store. A security guard attempted to stop him, but Black Bolt brought him to the ground.
Walking back out onto the streets of Honolulu, he found several police cars converging on his position. Apparently shoplifting is taken very seriously in Honolulu. When the cops tried to stop him, Black Bolt resisted, and they began beating on him with their batons. One officer used a taser that he fired into Black Bolt's back. The pain was sufficient enough to make him grunt, which activated his power. A shock wave went forward from his mouth, knocking a police car backwards several feet.
Black Bolt decided to comply, and let the officers take him in. At the police station, they attempted to question him, but Black Bolt remained stoically silent. He freed himself from the handcuffs with ease and placed them gently on the desk, indicating to the police that he will be cooperative. After booking him, they placed him in jail facility in general population. [3]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Black Bolt was originally created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Fantastic Four, Volume 1 #45 in December, 1965. The Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Black Bolt was created by Scott Buck.
- The comic book version of Black Bolt had the ability to fly in addition to his destructive shock wave voice. The MCU version only has the shock wave generation.
- The comic book version of Black Bolt wore a capped half mask, whereas the MCU version does not wear a mask at all. The body costume of both versions are similar to one another, but the comic book version also had scalloped glider wings underneath his arms to assist when flying.
- Most comic book versions of the Royal Family of the Inhumans who have undergone Terrigenesis have antenna atop their forehead. The MCU versions of these characters do not have this mutation.
- In the comics, Black Bolt's full name is Blackagar Boltagon.
Appearances[]
See also[]
The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Agent Carter
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Jessica Jones
The Inhumans
External Links[]
- Black Bolt at MDP
- Black Bolt at Wikipedia
- Black Bolt at Comic Vine
- Black Bolt at the Marvel Universe
References[]
- ↑ Actor Lofton Shaw played young Black Bolt in flashback scenes in the series.
- ↑ Inhumans: Behold... The Inhumans
- ↑ Inhumans: Those Who Would Destroy Us