Clearly Jack Kirby had plans for Black Bolt. He is set up from the beginning as a major power center in the Marvel Universe, the first and most potent of the Inhumans, a race bristling with might.
Black Bolt's most striking feature is his inability to speak, at least his inability to speak without profound consequences. Several heroes in the MU had powers which sometimes betrayed them (Cyclops of the X-Men comes to mind) but none more so than Black Bolt.
His utterance of a single syllable could forever rock the existence of those around him. He is mute by choice, but the choice appears to be at once clear and tragic. It speaks to his constant need for self-control, a characteristic which is necessary in leaders as we've all come to learn to our lasting chagrin in modern times.
Rip Off
Great retrospective you have going, Rip! Good to see the FF getting some love. And what a period in the title that was! Truly staggering the number of concepts and characters being introduced at the time. Incidentally, the cover to issue 45 is a beauty- one of my all- time favorites.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Black Bolt's character and costume.
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