 | |
| Bolivar Trask | |
| Aliases: | Dr. Bolivar Trask Doctor Bolivar Trask |
| Continuity: | Marvel Universe |
| Notability: | Antagonist |
| Type: | Scientist |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Associations: | Human Council Mutant Response Division |
| Relatives: | Donald Trask, III |
| Status: | Deceased |
| First: | The X-Men #14 |
| Final: | X-Factor #206 |
| Actor: | Peter Dinklage |
Bolivar Trask is a fictional scientist and an antagonist featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is part of the mainstream Marvel Universe and is associated with the X-Men line of comic titles. He first appeared in The X-men, Volume 1 #14 in November, 1965.
Biography[]
Bolivar Trask was a scientist with a degree in anthropology. He was also knowledgeable and obsessively fearful of the growing mutant population, and believed that if left unchecked, mutants would become the dominant lifeform on the planet, ultimately subjugating mankind. In order to quell the rising tide of mutant activity, Trask designed a deterrent system which involved the mass production of robotic Sentinels, specifically designed to track down, apprehend and/or exterminate mutants.
When Charles Xavier learned that Trask was petitioning the U.S. government into pressing these robots into service, he attempted to nip things in the bud by having a live televised debate with Trask. During Trask's demonstration, one of the Sentinels malfunctioned and attacked its creator. They also ended up abducting Xavier's students, the X-Men. [1]
The Master Mold of the Sentinel program developed its own sense of superiority and believed that robots were superior to both humans and mutants. It captured Trask and instructed him to mass produce more Sentinels to serve its own agenda. Through the course of events, Trask learned that his previous attitudes against mutants was wrong, and that the Sentinels represented the true threat to humanity. Trask destroyed the Sentinel laboratory, and died in the explosion.
Years later, a unique Sentinel known as Bastion used nanotechnology to resurrect Bolivar Trask and he became a member of a group called the Human Council, which championed Trask's previous anti-mutant initiatives. During an assault on X-Factor, Bolivar Trask wrested control of himself from Bastion and, after ordering the end of the assault on X-Factor, committed suicide. [2]
Marvel Cinematic Universe[]
Peter Dinklage as Trask in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Bolivar Trask was an industrialist and business owner. He was the President and CEO of Trask Industries. Throughout the late 1960s, Trask took a strong interest in the growth of the country's mutant population. He believed that the ever-increasing rise of new mutants would ultimately spell extinction for the human race. To combat the perceived threat of mutants, Trask began developing a series of mutant-hunting robots dubbed Sentinels.
He became a strong advocate of human independence against mutants and petitioned the United States government to sanction his Sentinel program. In the original timeline, Bolivar Trask was assassinated by a mutant terrorist named Mystique. He became a martyr to the cause, and the country took a strong stance against mutants. Trask's Sentinel program was put into motion and mutants quickly found themselves being targeted and terminated to the point of extinction. From a point in the distant future, the surviving X-Men took one of their own, Wolverine, and sent him back in time to the 1970s to prevent Mystique from assassinating Trask.
Bolivar Trask was later found guilty of selling military secrets and was imprisoned. What became of him following these events is unknown.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Bolivar Trask was created by writer Stan Lee and artists Jack Kirby and Werner Roth.
- The first of Bolivar Trask's creations was the Sentinel MK I model, which immediately turned against him during their initial introduction.
- A version of Bolivar Trask also appeared in the Ultimate Marvel continuity of Earth-1610 and was responsible for the creation of that realities Sentinel MK III models.
- A version of Bolivar Trask was the main antagonist in the 2014 feature film X-Men: Days of Future Past. He was played by actor Peter Dinklage.
See also[]
External Links[]
- Bolivar Trask at MDP
- Bolivar Trask at Wikipedia
- Bolivar Trask at Comic Vine
- Bolivar Trask at the X-Men Movies Wiki
Appearances[]
- Uncanny X-Men 14 (1st appearance)
- X-Factor 206
X-Men animated series
X-Men film series