| Bolt | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Larry Boltiansky Blue Devil #6 (November 1984) Terry Boltiansky Teen Titans (vol. 3) #55 (March 2008) Alinta DC Connect #6 (October 2020) Malik White Black Adam #1 (August 2022) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Larry Boltiansky Terry Boltiansky Alita Malik White |
| Species | Human(Larry, Terry) Metahuman(Alinta, Malik White) |
| Abilities | Larry/Terry: High-tech suit grants powers such as energy blasts, flight, and teleportation Alinta: Connection toSpeed Force grants several powers including superhuman speed and enhanced physical attributes Malik White: Derived powers fromBlack Adam includes: superhuman strength, speed, stamina, enhanced intelligence and wisdom, flight. invulnerability, magic and spell-casting potential. |
Bolt is the name of several unrelated characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. Although the characters vary in being bothsuperheroes andsupervillains, some versions of the characters are related to one another.
Bolt first appeared inBlue Devil #6 (November 1984) and was created byGary Cohn,Dan Mishkin,Paris Cullins, andErnie Colón.[1]
Larry Boltiansky is aspecial effects artist and assassin.[2] He designed a special suit that gives him the power to teleport and project energy blasts. Now calling himself Bolt, he has faced the superheroes Blue Devil,Captain Atom,[3] and Starman (Will Payton).[4] Bolt appears inSuicide Squad #63–66 (1992) as part of a more villainous version of the Squad supporting a dictatorship in the island of Diabloverde.Amanda Waller and the Squad take out him and his colleagues while attempting to remove the dictator.
He joins a sub-group of assassins that call themselves the Killer Elite. One of their many battles puts them up against the merc team called theBody Doubles. Bolt is hospitalized in an off-panel battle.[5] He joins the third incarnation of theSuicide Squad and is killed by mutant ants on his first mission.[6] Bolt later turns up alive again in the pages ofIdentity Crisis #1 and is badly injured by two street kids, suffering a punctured lung and two punctured kidneys.[1] He has since joined theSociety.[7]
Bolt is a member ofLuthor,Joker andCheetah'sInjustice League Unlimited and is one of the villains featured inSalvation Run. He is one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell free card from theSecret Six. Bolt is killed by his son Dreadbolt, who uses his own suit's teleporting ability to send him into a brick wall.[8] During theBlackest Night event, Bolt is temporarily resurrected as a member of theBlack Lantern Corps.[9]
Bolt returns following the "Infinite Frontier" relaunch, where he appears as a member of the Suicide Squad underPeacemaker. He is killed by an unstableTalon of theCourt of Owls the team was meant to rescue.[10]
Bolt's son Terry Boltiansky appears inTeen Titans #55.[11] He initially attempts to befriend Blue Devil's former sidekick,Kid Devil, before revealing he is following in his father's footsteps asDreadbolt.[12] He tries to persuade Kid Devil to join his team, theTerror Titans, but when Kid Devil refuses, he joins the rest of the Terror Titans in defeating him. Later, at the request of the newClock King, he is sent to help defeatRavager, who already took outPersuader andCopperhead. He threatens to killWendy and Marvin, but Ravager calls his bluff and defeats him alone. He regroups with his teammates and attempts to take her down again, but is apparently killed in the ensuing explosion caused by Ravager breaking a gas pipe. He is later revealed to have used the teleportation system in his suit to get himself and his teammates to safety.
In theTerror Titans miniseries, Dreadbolt is tasked by Clock King to kill his father, thereby proving himself worthy to lead his fellow Terror Titans.[13] Clock King then renames him Bolt when he finally does.[8] Disruptor, having lost favor from Clock King to Ravager, tried to manipulate Terry into killing her, but Terry is not fooled.[14] When Clock King sets in motion his plan to destroy Los Angeles with an army of brainwashedmetahumans, Ravager sets out to stop him. Bolt and the Terror Titans battled her, only to be outmaneuvered.Miss Martian, who had posed as one of the metahumans, freed the others from their brainwashing, and they came after the Terror Titans. Retreating to Clock King's lair for help, Bolt and the others are aghast to see Clock King kill Disruptor for her failure, and leave them at the mercy of the oncoming metahumans. Bolt offers to hold them off while his teammates get away, but they insist on fighting together and are subdued, with Dreadbolt being defeated byStatic. Two weeks later, Bolt and the remaining Terror Titans escape from custody, planning revenge on Clock King.[15]
Alinta is a metahumanspeedster similar tothe Flash who lost their legs to pay off her parents' debts. Withspecialized prosthetic running blades and a connection to theSpeed Force, Alinta becomes a student at the Teen Titans Academy. Alinta was introduced in theFuture State event and incorporated into the main continuity shortly afterward inInfinite Frontier.[16][17]
Malik Adam White (sometimes referred to asMalik-Adam) is an African-American man and a descendant of theantiheroBlack Adam. Throughout his appearances, Malik adopts two different codenames, initially known asWhite Adam and later settling onBolt.
In the eponymousBlack Adam series, Malik is introduced as a medical student and aspiring surgeon who sometimes works as a doctor illegally and is flunking medical school. When Adam contracts a dangerous disease, he seeks out his descendant to grant him his powers and pass on a legacy in an attempt for atone for his crimes, making Malik his heir and successor.[18] Malik resolves to understand the plague infecting Adam, but ends up catching it himself, later learning that he and Adam are allergic toNth Metal and suffering frommetal toxicity.[19] Malik also navigates his normal life possessing superhuman powers and works alongside Adam in battling theAkkad pantheon resurrected through alien bacteria assuming their forms,Ibac, and the Oni Grace, who has connections with the old Circle of Crow and seeks to usurp Teth's rulership. Malik assistsMary Marvel in theLazarus Planet event, with the pair learning ofShazam's dilemma with theRock of Eternity becoming one with him and resolving the problem.[20]
Larry Boltiansky is a skilled electrical engineer andthief. Thanks to a special suit that he designed, Bolt can teleport or fly short distances instantaneously. The suit contains an energy blaster, which can also be used as a weapon.[21] Terry's suit has all of the same abilities.
Knowledgeable inmedicine to act as an unlicensed physician prior to his empowerment, Malik possess the same powers as Black Adam in which he derives his power from, which includes:[22]
| S | Stamina ofShu | The equivalent to the "Stamina of Atlas", the stamina attribute from Shu enables Malik to maintain his empowered state for an extended period without any time limitations. Additionally, the empowerment provides Amon with substance, eliminating the need for eating, sleeping, and even breathing. As a result, Adam can operate at peak efficiency, unaffected by the physiological requirements that typically apply to ordinary individuals.[23] |
| H | Speed ofHorus | The equivalent to the "Speed of Mercury", the Speed of Horus grants Malik super speed, enhanced reflexes, motor skills, and flight, enabling them to move at incredible speeds, react swiftly, and perform precise maneuvers.[24] |
| A | Strength ofAmon | The equivalent of the "Strength of Hercules", this bestows Malik an exceptional level of superhuman strength. He gains the ability to exert immense physical power, surpassing the capabilities of ordinary individuals. With this heightened strength, they can effortlessly lift and manipulate objects of tremendous weight, overpower adversaries with ease, and deliver devastating blows in combat.[23] |
| Z | Wisdom ofZeuheti | Similar to the "Wisdom of Solomon", the Wisdom of Zehuti grants slightly different powers; the wisdom enhanced Malik's mind, granting him neareidetic memory, a greater understanding of mathematics, combat strategy, languages, sciences, and can also sense mystical forces.[25] Similar to the Wisdom of Solomon, the power is considered an active one a champion must channel to activate.[23] |
| A | Power ofAten | The equivalent to the "Power of Zeus", this attributes fasciliates the transformation that grants Malik access to the full range of his powers, including the ability to shoot bursts of electricity and lightning. He also possesses limited teleportation, allowing him to effortlessly travel to and from the Rock of Eternity with a single thought. Notably, the Power of Aten empowers him with the potential to use magic and cast spells. This power is considered the most difficult, requiring the most study, focus and discipline.[23] |
| M | Courage ofMehen | The equivalent to the "Courage of Achilles", the Courage of Mehen grants Malik peak physical defenses, rendering her nearly invulnerable. This heightened level of invulnerability provides significant protection against physical harm. Additionally, the empowerment grants Adam resistance to various elements, including heat, force, disease, and the effects of aging. This attribute allow Malik to withstand extreme conditions and maintain his health and vitality against formidable challenges.[23] |
| Living Lightning | Malik possesses the Living Lightning derived from his empowerment by Black Adam. Malik potentially possesses the same powers as Adam, with magical abilities including lightning control and amplification of spells.[25] | |
