Is It True…? Featuring Black Bolt (Vol. 1)

    Welcome to a new series on this blog called “Is It True” where I will be examining some wild claims by comic enthusiasts (or sometimes hardcore fanboys) using the very evidence they present to support their claim.

   I am an avid comic book debater, but I pride myself on being objective and letting the books present the evidence for the winner in any given contest as defined by the rules of engagement for that contest.

   Recently in a debate about Black Bolt versus Wonder Woman…a wild claim was made. Now, it stands to reason that the person making the claim should be able to back it up with evidence to support it. We will examine that evidence together here and see if it indeed was a wild claim, or a well thought out observation.

The Claim: “Black Bolt’s max shields are 13 times stronger than a straining Superman.”

   This claim was made by comparing two feats. The first was from Marvel Two-in-One Annual 4 wherein Black Bolt contained 13 mini-black holes with his magnetic shield. The second was from JLA # 77 wherein Superman contained a black hole with his hands.

   The supposition here is that Black Bolt’s feat requires power 13 times more powerful than the strength of Superman…but to make this claim, each of the 13 mini-black holes must be equal to the one Superman dealt with or else the feat cannot be 13 times more powerful.

   So, without further adieu, lets begin an objective, logical and microscopic examination of the two feats to see if the claim holds up.

   Firstly lets examine this scan and uncover some facts about the black hole Superman dealt with. We learn from this scan that the black hole is no bigger than a speck of dust. We can also see in the scan that the black hole even looks like a real stellar phenomenon you would see in deep space…emphasizing the claim by Atom that it is indeed a miniature black hole the size of a speck of dust.

 

   Next we see from this scan that when the magnetic containment is broken, the gravitational force of the hole acts upon reality….warping it briefly before Superman can contain it. Superman remarks that even a miniature black hole (remember, it is the size of a speck of dust) can cause a disaster of the first order (presumably that first order is the destruction of Earth). He is indeed flexing his muscles to contain the effects of the hole….as briefly seen in the third panel.

  

   Now in this scan we see in the first panel that the brief effects of the black hole disrupted the teleportation field of the teleporter and the sensors registered the gravitational effects. In the last panel we see Green Lantern using ALL his willpower to back Superman up as they head for a wormhole to dispose of the problem. The problem is significant enough that it cannot be dealt with on Earth and must be dealt with using another stellar phenomenon.

  

   In this final scan of evidence, we see Superman again remark about the gravitational force of the black hole, even with GL assisting him, he feels it will soon be too much for him to handle.

   Now…lets recap some major FACTS about the black hole Superman dealt with.

1.) It is the size of a speck of dust.

2.) It looks like a real black hole as seen in space.

3.) It exerts extreme reality warping gravitational force when left unconfined.

4.) It is so dangerous it has to be removed from Earth

5.) It’s gravitational force disrupted the teleportation field of the teleporter and the sensors registered it's gravitational effects…confirming the reality warping seen earlier.

6.) Green Lantern needed to assist Superman…already making the claim that started all this inaccurate, but I digress.

7.) It must be disposed of by using a wormhole (presumed to be the case by the JLA).

   In order for the original claim to be true….a single black hole that Black Bolt dealt with MUST be the exact same as the one we just examined. At the very least, and being generous, it must at least exhibit similar power and properties of the the one we just examined.

  

   Ok….looking at this first scan we can find some very interesting facts. Firstly Graviton says clearly that the things he is calling “minature black holes” are really “minute bits of my substance.” We can also clearly see that they are much bigger than a speck of dust. Secondly we see that they are able to fly through the air at the behest of Graviton’s desires. Black Bolt is able to dodge them (and if you look closely you can count there are 14 in that panel). In the last panel we count 18 holes…and observe Graviton’s own words concerning how these holes function (they need to touch to be effective and when they do will take a fragment of mass with them).

 

   In this next scan we can make even more observations. The Thing, heeding the words of Graviton does not want to be polka-dotted and in the second panel we count (again) 14 “black holes.” Black Bolt uses magnetic immaterial force to divert the course of the holes (notice Graviton is the only source to call them black holes, as the narration in the next panel just calls them “threatening voids”) and in the third panel, we see 13 go up into this force while one does not (presumably the other 4 counted earlier already were snagged by Black Bolts power?). The one that did not get snagged reaffirms that Graviton was telling the truth as it hits a wall…and takes a fragment of the wall’s mass with the  collision.

   Now…lets recap some major FACTS about the “black holes” Black Bolt dealt with.

1.) They are much bigger than a speck of dust.

2.) They do not look like real black holes as seen in space and indeed are said to actually be substance from Graviton himself.

3.) They do not exert extreme reality warping gravitational force when left unconfined and must make physical contact to be effective.

4.) They do not appear to be so dangerous that they need to be removed from Earth.

5.) They fly through the air and change direction at the will of Graviton

6.) They only take a fragment of mass of any object they make contact with.

   CLEARLY….the black holes Black Bolt dealt with are not even remotely similar to the black hole Superman dealt with. The only real thing they have in common is being called “minature black hole.”

   Now…a counter argument was made that it was the artist fault (you know the position is weak when the artist is being blamed). Somehow he did not draw them correctly…but that has nothing to do with the observed properties of the holes, despite how the holes look, or the stated facts by Graviton of what they really are and what they will do.

  

   In conclusion…there is not a single shred of evidence that these two holes (specifically comparing the one that hit the wall for a 1 to 1 comparison) are the same or even similar in any way to support the claim that Black Bolt’s power is 13 times stronger than a straining Superman. Wait…my mistake, the words “minature black hole” were used in both instances, so we can ignore all the other FACTS of the case (sarcasm).

   Chalk this claim up to a fanboy gone wild.


Agree...disagree....? Please leave a comment below.