Marvel Makes Major Change to Inhuman King Black Bolt

Blackagar Boltagon has been one of the most powerful members of the Marvel comics mythos since he was first introduced in 1965 (Fantastic Four #45) by Stan Lee and the late great Jack Kirby. With the gift — or curse, depending on your viewpoint — Black Bolt was born with, the Inhuman king had the power to raze cities with nothing but a whisper.

That is, of course, until fan-favorite writer Donny Cates got his hands on the character.

WARNING: Spoilers up ahead for Death of the Inhumans #5, which was released earlier this week. If you have yet to read the final issue book in the mini-series by Cates, Ariel Olivetti, and Jordie Bellaire, proceed with caution.

It’s been several months since Vox — the Kree-built bounty hunter responsible for hunting down all Inhumans in the galaxy — slit Black Bolt’s throat. And although the king was able to heal, his vocal chords had remained damaged.

As written about earlier in the series, Black Bolt had the opportunity to use his voice one more time and sure enough, that time came in Death of the Inhumans #5.

After stumbling across the Kree laboratory where they had been manufacturing these Vox bodies and placing the consciousness of the Inhumans they captured within said bodies, Black Bolt had decided that enough was enough.

The king took a deep breath and used his sonic-based powers for the last time in order to destroy the rest of the Vox bodies, presumably taking down the remainder of the extreme Kree cell that had taken over Ronan the Accuser’s government.

And even though we’re talking about comics — where the only guaranteed person to stay dead is Uncle Ben — the moment was still very poignant as the King sacrificed his iconic powers to save the rest of the Royal Family and in turn, the remainder of the Inhuman race.

With this issue being the last of the mini-series, it will be but a few weeks until the House of Ideas collects the title and prints it in trade paperback form. In fact, the trade was recently featured in Marvel’s December sales solicitations. The full solicitation can be read below.

DEATH OF THE INHUMANS TPB
Written by DONNY CATES
Penciled by ARIEL OLIVETTI
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
The alien Kree are on a killing spree, leaving behind a message: Join or die. Thousands of Inhumans have already made their choice — the evidence floats, bleeding, in space. Attilan died screaming without its king. Now Black Bolt, monarch of the Inhumans, sets out for vengeance — but will he lead the last of his people to their deaths? The Kree have a weapon of their own — one that will teach the Silent King what it truly means to be voiceless. When Vox strikes, Black Bolt will be left a wounded prisoner — and the Royal Family lambs to the slaughter! It’s an Inhuman massacre as rising star Donny Cates and sensational artist Ariel Olivetti bring the royals to the lowest point in their long and storied history — and quite possibly their last! Collecting DEATH OF THE INHUMANS #1-5.
120 PGS./Rated T+ …$15.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-91300-7