Who is Black Bolt? The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no more! Long live the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse (Editor: Doubt that’ll catch on)! Yes, Stephen Strange and the Scarlet Witch’s desecration of reality has expanded the MCU timeline in ways we never thought possible. This basically boils down to some pretty incredible Doctor Strange 2 cameos. Spoilers ahead.
We’ve now had a big-screen version of The Illuminati; made up of Captain Carter, Captain Marvel, Baron Mordo, Mister Fantastic, Professor X, and – most surprisingly of all – Black Bolt. Yeah, we didn’t think we’d ever see Blackagar again, but it just goes to show you, when Kevin Feige says you can ‘never say never with the MCU’, he’s not lying.
But who is Black Bolt? Well, that’s a good question. He’s an obscure character from a much-maligned TV Series. Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to watch Marvel’s Inhumans (we wouldn’t wish that on anyone). Instead, we’ve created a little dossier on the King of the Inhumans for your convenience.
Who is the MCU Black Bolt?
Black Bolt, real name Blackagar Boltagon, is the King of the Inhumans, a race of genetically altered super people who live on the Moon (comics are weird, OK). We first saw the MCU’s Black Bolt on the ABC TV series ‘Marvel’s Inhumans’. The series saw Blackagar contend with an attempted coup against the Inhuman Royal Family by his brother Maximus.
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Marvel’s Inhumans was met with poor reviews and low ratings, so it was cancelled after a single season. Still, Marvel wasn’t done with Black Bolt, and a version from Earth-838 appeared in Doctor Strange 2. This new version of the character was much closer in design, at least, to the comic book version of the character and was a member of The Illuminati.
Black Bolt helped the Illuminati kill Thanos before he could gather all the Infinity Stones in his universe, but after the battle, they could no longer ignore the crimes of their Doctor Strange. As such, they condemned Strange to death, with Black Bolt himself delivering the killer blow, or should that be whisper?
Who plays Black Bolt?
Black Bolt is played by Anson Mount in the Inhumans TV series and Doctor Strange 2. Mount is perhaps best known these days for his role in the Star Trek universe, playing Captain Christopher Pike in season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
What are Black Bolt’s powers?
Black Bolt is one of the most dangerous and powerful members of The Illuminati. Born an Inhuman, Black Bolt possesses similar superpowers to the rest of his people. Basically, he’s super strong as well as tough enough to go toe-to-toe with an Eternal, and would make short work of an ordinary human. These aren’t the only powers he possesses, however.
The Inhuman King, like all members of his race, was exposed to the Terrigen Mists – special mists which gifts those exposed a random superpower. Black Bolt’s power is particularly devastating. The speech centre of his brain was altered so that he could manipulate electrons through speech.
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The application of this ability is that it allows him to destabilise electrons when he speaks, giving him the power to destroy things with his voice. Basically, he can kill a person with just a whisper, while a full scream is supposedly powerful enough to destroy an entire planet. As you can imagine, Black Bolt rarely talks out of fear of causing mayhem.
Using the fork on his head (that Doctor Strange laughed at), Black Bolt can focus his powers, further amplifying his considerable strength and also giving him the ability to fly.
What Happens to Black Bolt?
Black Bolt is the first member of The Illuminati to be killed by Wanda when she invades their compound. He meets his unfortunate end when the supposed “smartest man in the multiverse”, Reed Richards, rather stupidly tells Wanda that Black Bolt could kill just by opening his mouth.
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Wanda then does the obvious thing and removes Black Bolt’s mouth, so when he screams, the pent up energy has nowhere to go, and it blows out the back of his head. RIP Blackagar Boltagon. We hardly knew thee.