| “ | Imagine you could never make another sound, not for the rest of your life. Not a sigh. Not a yawn. Not a single word. Ever. Then, imagine you were given one chance to speak. What would you say? | „ |
| ~ Marvel Knights Inhumans narration regarding Black Bolt. |
| “ | I. Am. Awake! | „ |
| ~ Black Bolt speaking. |
Blackagar Boltagon, better known as Black Bolt, is a fictional character and superhero that appears in the Marvel Comics, appearing as the titular protagonist of his comics, one of the main protagonists of the Inhumans comics, and supporting character in other comics such as the Fantastic Four.
He is an Inhuman, an offshoot of humans who were genetically altered by the Kree, and the ruler of Attilan and his fellow Inhumans. Though empowered by his physiology, his signature power is his hypersonic voice, and doesn't speak as it will cause massive destruction and uses translators or sing-language to speak to others. He is the member of the Inhuman Royal family and Universal Inhumans, and has been a member of the Illuminati alongside Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Professor X, and Namor the Sub-Mariner.
Since his debut in the comics, he has appeared in numerous media in television and video games. On ABC's Inhumans, which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was portrayed by Anson Mount, who reprised his role as an alternate version of the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
He was a created by the late Stan Lee and the late Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 in December of 1965.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Blackagar Boltagon (also known as Black Bolt), was born on the Island of Attilan to Agon and Rynda, and like his parents, is an Inhuman, a group of humans who were genetically altered by the Kree via experiments. He is also the brother of Maximus, and cousin to Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, and Gorgon. Inside his mother's womb, Blackagar was subjected to the Terrigen Mist, a substance that altered Inhumans biology, and Boltagon received powerful abilities that surpassed others. As an infant, his parents learned that he had the ability to cause mass destruction via his voice, as he caused massive damage when he first cried. Black Bolt was then placed into a chamber that was soundproof where he was trained to control his voice, causing him to be isolated from society.
Once reaching the age of nineteen, Bolt was able to remain silent and was freed form the soundproof chamber, finally meeting his brother and cousins. Black Bolt would develop a close bond with Medusa, who was betrothed to marry him as his queen, and Maximus, but his relationship with his brother became strained due Maximus' jealousy. When he encountered Maximus trying to make a deal with the Kree, Boltagon used his voice to destroy the ship the Kree were on. Though successful in stopping the Kree, the ship crashed and killed his parents, and his voice drove Maximus insane. Black Bolt also accidently activated Maximus mental powers, which the latter would use in his attempts to usurp his brother. Despite his guilt for accidently killing his parents, Black Bolt was forced to accept his role as the leader of the Inhumans and the royal family.
Classic Era[]
Black Bolt ruled Attilan for many years, but by the 1950s, the Inhumans started to fear that humans would discover them, and this fear was increased when Triton was captured by humans. Seeing that the Island of Attilan was at risk of being found, Black Bolt left his home to find a new location for the Inhumans to live. He came across the Eternal Ikaris, who invited him to meet his fellow species and told of them of his plight. The Eternals agreed to help Bolt by telling him to move his kind to the Himalayan mountains, and moved the island there for further safety. Afterward, Black Bolt and the Inhumans had to deal with the Trikon that were unleashed by Maximus, who managed to have his brother and royal family exiled from Attilan. Despite his exile, Black Bolt focused on trying to find Medusa, who had suffered from amnesia after the battle with Trikon.
Modern Era[]
By the modern era, Black Bolt and the exiled Inhumans established a home below Brooklyn, New York, and continued their search for Medusa. The Inhuman would encounter the Fantastic Four after Johnny Storm met Crystal, but would focus his attention on stopping Maximus' plans on killing all of mankind. Reclaiming the throne from his brother, Bolt used his voice to destroy Maximus' device, but the villain placed a negative zone barrier over Attilan. Afterward, Maximus would lose his mental powers after being blasted by the Seeker on accident, but he was driven more insane than previously. Following Maximus' imprisonment, Black Bolt and the Inhumans focused on trying to destroy the barrier to little results, with Boltagon injuring himself when trying to destroy it via a absorba bomb.
Black Bolt would learn from Maximus that the only way to destroy the barrier was by using his voice, and despite causing the destruction of Attilan, he succeeded in destroying the barrier. Following this, Black Bolt and the Inhumans left Attilan so it could be rebuilt, and would venture around Europe with his family. While Attilan was being rebuilt, Black Bolt had to deal with invaders such as Black Panther (who became his ally after learning of their friendship with the Fantastic Four), and Psycho-Man from the Microverse, and Plantman. Once Attialn was rebuilt, Black Bolt had to deal with his Maximus' plots to usurp him once again, such as the villain manipulating the Hulk to unleash rogue Inhumans. Maximus would briefly control the throne by imprisoning the royal family, but Black Bolt would be freed by the assistance of the Fantastic Four and Crystal (who had become a member of the team).
After participating in the Kree-Skrull war, Black Bolt was called by Iron Man alongside Doctor Strange, Professor X, Mr. Fantastic, Namor and Black Panther, and they discussed how they prevent another war like that. Seeing that they had the potential to unite and stop these threats, they created the Illuminati, but Black Panther decided not to join their self-appointed positions.
Portrayals[]
Television[]
- In Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., he was voiced by Clancy Brown, who voices Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants, and voiced Hank Anderson in Detroit Become Human, Hades in the God of War series, Otto in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!, Red Hulk in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., Captain Black in Jackie Chan Adventures, and Dr. Neo Cortex in the Crash Bandicoot series, and played Meacham in Cowboys & Aliens.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore, who also voiced Nikolai Belinski in the Call of Duty zombie series, Damon Baird and Tai Kaliso in the Gears of War series, Mario Auditore in the Assassin's Creed series, Soldier: 76 in Overwatch, Poseidon in God of War (2005) and Zeus in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
- Tatasciore reprised his voice for the character in Avengers: Ultron Revolution and Marvel Powers United VR.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy, he was voiced by Trevor Devall, who also voiced Dukey Test in Johnny Test, Shuichi Aizawa in Death Note, Marchosias in Shakugan no Shan, Iruini and Brutaka in BIONICLE, and Hot Dog in Krypto.
- In ABC's Inhumans, he was portrayed by Anson Mount, who also voiced Sebastian Castellanos in The Evil Within and Batman in the 2021 Injustice animated film, and portrayed Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Discovery.
- Mount reprised his role as an alternate version of the character in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Video Games[]
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, he was voiced by Liam O'Brien, who also voiced Asura in Asura's Wrath, War in the Darksiders series, Archer in Fate/stay night, and Gaara in Naruto.
Quotes[]
| “ | I am Black Bolt. I put myself here. | „ |
| ~ Black Bolt in his titular comic. |
| “ | NOOOO! | „ |
| ~ Black Bolt's response to Thanos. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Ranked 1st on Comic Book Resources list of "20 Most Powerful Inhumans".