Marvel Database
Register
Advertisement

History

Origins[]

Much of Black Bolt's early life mirrors that of his Earth-616 counterpart.

Black Bolt became the ruler of the Inhuman kingdom of Attilan. Throughout his life, he was plagued by his younger brother Maximus, who desired the throne. The Terrigen Mists granted Black Bolt a voice that could shatter mountains, condemning him to silence. He eventually married Medusalith Amaquelin, and the two had a child by the name of Ahura. Ahura was taken from his parents by the Inhuman council, to be raised by them for fear that he would inherit his father's destructive voice. [1]

At some point, Black Bolt seemingly learned of the grand cosmic plot of the Celestials, and Earth's part in it; the Celestials had manipulated humanity, granting them the ability to manifest great powers such as his own, in order to protect the Earth, as it housed an infant Celestial, which upon birth would destroy the planet and all those living on it. Black Bolt would keep this a secret, unable to tell anyone, even his wife.

Mutation of Humanity[]

Eventually, the Inhuman populace became restless, wanting to leave their lives in seclusion and to go out into the world at large. At the same time, Black Bolt's brother, Maximus built a bomb that would release the Terrigen Mists into the Earth's atmosphere, in a bid to create a world of Inhumans ruled by him. Although the Inhuman Royal Family stopped him, Black Bolt secretly released the mists into the air so that his people would not be persecuted by a humanity that would brand them as mutants, and in order to make the polluted air of the outside world safe for them. In order to ensure that his role in the mutation of the entire human race would remain a secret, Black Bolt secretly blinded Uatu, the Watcher.[1]

The burden of Earth's fate weighed heavily on Black Bolt. Seeking to escape his destiny, he and the Inhuman Royal Family left for outer space, believing that the Celestial birth would not come about for a long time. Decades later they came across a planet that appeared to be destroyed from the inside out. Its people (later to be revealed the Eternals) were encased in Vibranium. Realizing that he needed to return to Earth to stop the Celestials, the Inhumans turned back towards Earth.[2][1]

The Final Host[]

Under the auspices of marrying their son to Luna, the Inhuman Royal Family returned to Earth and found a world where everyone had mutated (none aware of what Black Bolt had done). In search of answers, the Royal Family met with Ben Grimm and Reed Richards, sharing what they knew of the Eternals' fate and learning what had happened to the Earth. [3]

Throughout this time, Black Bolt remained nearly entirely unresponsive, steeling himself for what he knew was to come.[1]

When Reed later learned that the entire human race had mutated into a race of Inhumans due to exposure to Terrigen Mists, the truth about Black Bolt's involvement in the cause of the mutation came to light. When X-51 came to Reed to warn him of the coming Celestials, Reed asked Black Bolt for a final favor. Black Bolt flew into space to face the Celestials. For all of his power, he was no match for them. His body was destroyed in the battle, but with his dying breath, at Reed's behest, he called for Galactus (calling him "Franklin") to come and save the Earth from destruction.[1] [4]

Realm of the Dead[]

After his death, Black Bolt became one of the many souls that would roam the Realm of the Dead. He soon joined Mar-Vell's army of the undead in their fight against Death, turning the tide at a crucial moment which eventually led to Death's death at Mar-Vell's hand.[5] [6] After Mar-Vell created Paradise, Black Bolt was one of the souls selected to be transmutated into one of the Avenging Host.[7] [8]

Joining Captain America, Hank Pym, Phoenix, Tony Stark, Victor von Doom and Matt Murdock in the Host to collect souls from the Realm of the Dead who were ready for Paradise, the Host soon learned bringing people back caused Paradise to expand into the Negative Zone.[9]

Eventually confronting Mar-Vell with this, he killed the Avenging Host which marked the start of a Kree invasion of Paradise, which was turned back by the many heroes that resided there.[10] After Mar-Vell passed on his Cosmic Consciousness to Reed Richards, the Avenging Host - Black Bolt included - were resurrected and joined by a new member: Hawkeye. Presumably, Black Bolt continues to defend Paradise.[11]

Attributes

Powers

Seemingly those of his Earth-616 counterpart.

In the Realm of the Dead, Black Bolt retained all his original powers, however he was able to speak without causing mass destruction with his voice.

When Black Bolt became a member of the Avenging Host, he was transmogrified to appear as an angel with a skin pattern and wings that resembled his costume. He was able to fly, and travel between Paradise and the Realm of the Dead. The exact extent of his abilities as a member of the Avenging Host are unknown.

Abilities

Black Bolt is able to communicate through sign language

Weaknesses

When he was alive, Black Bolt was unable to speak, otherwise his voice would destroy everything in it's path. When he was in the Realm of the Dead, he (like all who reside there) believed that he was alive while everyone else he knew that was still alive were dead. If he were ever reminded of the true situation, any method to jar his memory back to the way of thinking in the Realm would cause him to lose any interest in what he was doing and partake in the usual activities of the Realm: namely endless fighting.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Black Bolt previously had access to the technological resources of the Inhuman Hidden City

Transportation

On occasion Black Bolt has used the teleportation tuning fork that once adorned the head of the Inhuman dog Lockjaw. Also he and the Inhuman Royal Family had their own space ship which was capable of interstellar travel.

See Also

Links and References

References

Advertisement