Today, we look at how long it took before we learned that Black Bolt’s first name was the extremely “on-point” Blackagar Boltagon.
This is “Provide Some Answers,” which is a feature where long unresolved plot points are eventually resolved.
You could argue that this really isn’t a matter of an “unresolved” plot so much as it is something that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee simply never gave any thought to addressing and so it went unaddressed for decades until a certain writer who happened to care a lot about little details like this got involved. As we all know NOW, Black Bolt’s real name is Blackagar Boltagon, which is a very much “on point” first name, on par with stuff like Rainbow Raider’s real name being Roy G. Bivolo or the Riddler’s real name being Edward Nigma or Fancy Dan’s real name being Daniel Brito (okay, that last one probably doesn’t count). So when did the name debut?
The question was tweeted to me recently…
And yes, no spoiler reasons here. Nope, just a general Black Bolt question that could be asked at any point in time.
WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT BLACK BOLT EARLY ON
The Inhuman known as Black Bolt is one of the most powerful beings on Earth, but much of his power comes from the hypersonic qualities of his voice. Therefore, since even a whisper from Black Bolt could be deadly, he almost always remains silent. Due to this silence, he is difficult for people to understand, but even beyond his reluctance to speak, Black Bolt was one of the most fascinatingly inscrutable comic book characters that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee ever created.
When we first met Black Bolt in Fantastic Four #45 (by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Joe Sinnott), all we knew was that he was very powerful…
We soon learned that he was the deposed ruler of the mysterious race of super-beings known as the Inhumans. Black Bolt’s exile did not last long, as by Fantastic Four #47, he was already back in control of his people, rocking one of those amazing crowns that only Jack Kirby could envision.
In the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee heyday of the Marvel Universe, there were five prominent monarchs in the Marvel Universe: Odin, Namor, Doctor Doom, Black Bolt and Black Panther. A recurring theme between those five was the notion that being in charge of a group of people causes you to sometimes do things that you wouldn’t be proud of otherwise, but you feel that you have to to protect your people. This was clear in the very first Inhumans feature in the pages of Amazing Adventures (where Jack Kirby was given the chance to script and draw a comic for Marvel by himself), where Black Bolt’s mysterious ways drew questions from his royal cousins, who took issue with the way that Black Bolt made decisions without consulting anyone.
While Black Bolt is clearly a good man, that way of ruling has always been the way that he has handled things. He has always been a “it’s my way or the high way” type of leader, which is especially interesting when you realize just how empathetic a person he is at his heart. However, he has a very specific view of how a leader should handle things and over the years it has caused a lot of stress due to how disconnected he can be from his people (even his closest allies).
That disconnect also likely explains why we took so long to actually learn what his “real” name was.
WHEN DID WE LEARN BLACK BOLT’S REAL NAME?
I have a whole column called “Book of Knowledge,” which is about revelations about characters that were not made in the pages of a comic book, but rather an outside media source, like, say, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Mark Gruenwald was famously fascinated by the continuity of the Marvel Universe and so in the pages of that guide, he would occasionally reveal brand NEW facts about characters. This totally feels like something he would have revealed in the handbook, right?
And yet, in Black Bolt’s OHotMU entry (with art by Mike Zeck), his name is pointedly unrevealed…
So you be thinking, “Oh well, I guess Mark Gruenwald didn’t get this one,” but wait just a minute!
A fascinating aspect of Medusa and Black Bolt’s relationship is the fact that they didn’t actually get married until 1984! They had basically been acting as though they were married for years and most comic books treated them as though they were effectively married, but they actually didn’t get married until Fantastic Four Annual #18 (by John Byrne, Mark Gruenwald, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich), shortly after Attilan moved to the moon.
Wait, is that Mark Gruenwald’s name there? Why yes, it is! He scripted the issue in question and wouldn’t you know it, on the page before the actual marriage, Gruenwald reveals to us not only Black Bolt’s real name of Blackagar Boltagon, but Medusa’s real name of Medusalith Amaquelin…
There’s something so soothing to seeing Mark Gruenwald doing Mark Gruenwald things. He really was one of a kind (in a good way).
Thanks for the request, Schaefges! If anyone has a suggestion for a comic book plot that got resolved after a few years (I tend to use two years as the minimum, as otherwise, you’re probably just in the middle of the actual initial reveal of the storyline, ya know? But I’ll allow exceptions where a new writer takes over a storyline and has to resolve the previous writer’s unresolved plots), drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!
Read Next
About The Author
