- "The mutant threat is the defining issue of our time. We can choose to stem the impending tide of extinction or we can stand by passively and allow it to wash away any remnants of our species."
- ―Bolivar Trask
Bolivar Trask was the President and CEO of Trask Industries, and the inventor of the mutant-hunting Sentinels.
Biography
Background
Even from his early years as a research assistant, Bolivar always maintained a particular interest in the origin and evolution of humanity. Following in the footsteps of Mendel, Watson and Crick, Trask made it his goal to unlock the mysteries of human DNA. What he did not anticipate was the discovery of the X-Gene, a genetic finding that would prove to be the most significant of the 20th century.
Trask soon hypothesized the impending extinction of the human race. His early theories were ridiculed by his contemporaries and with no one to fund his research, Trask cared enough about humanity to invest in the founding of Trask Industries in 1967. Since its founding, Trask Industries has been at the forefront of human progress, partnering with domestic and international governments since the Nixon administration. Trask’s early ambition for genetic progress continues to fuel our technological innovations today.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Trask experimented on mutants for their DNA to create robots called Sentinels, whose sole purpose is to track and kill mutants (despite Trask having respect for them). Among those he experimented on and killed were Azazel, Angel, Emma Frost, and Banshee (though a viral marketing suggests Azazel and Angel were dead before Trask experimented on them), although Mystique was able to save Havok, Toad, Daniels and Ink from this fate. Mystique sought revenge on Trask for killing her comrades and using their bodies for science.
Trask was denied funding for his Sentinel project. Trask later attends the Paris Peace Conference held between the US and Vietnam military leaders. Whilst there, Trask shows communist generals the prototype specs for the Sentinels and the mutant detection devices to be fitted into each of them, until he detects Mystique's presence in the room. Mystique shoots Trask in the head, this triggers the awakening of the sentinels, because of Trask being killed by a mutant and because of Mystique being experimented on for her DNA to complete the sentinels. The sentinels would then bring about an apocalyptic future once they begin targeting humans as well.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Trask experimented on mutants for their DNA to create robots called Sentinels, whose sole purpose is to track and kill mutants (despite Trask having respect for them). Among those he experimented on and killed were Azazel, Angel, Emma Frost, and Banshee (though a viral marketing suggests Azazel and Angel were dead before Trask experimented on them), although Mystique was able to save Havok, Toad, Daniels and Ink from this fate. Mystique sought revenge on Trask for killing her comrades and using their bodies for science.
Trask was denied funding for his Sentinel project. Trask later attends the Paris Peace Conference held between the US and Vietnam military leaders. Whilst there, Trask shows communist generals the prototype specs for the Sentinels and the mutant detection devices to be fitted into each of them, until he detects Mystique's presence in the room. Mystique tried to kill Trask, but Wolverine, Charles, Hank, and Magneto stopped her. However, as a result of a battle from Magneto trying to kill Mystique, the people were horrified by the existence of mutants and Trask's sentinel program was approved; furthermore, Trask obtained Mystique's blood and used it to create the sentinels.
After saving President Nixon from being killed by Magneto, Mystique tried to kill Trask, but Charles Xavier convinced her not to, averting the bad future. Because a mutant saved the president, the sentinel program was shut down, and Trask was later arrested for selling military secrets. After the mid-credits, Trask was revealed to have been imprisoned in a cell under Pentagon where Magneto was imprisoned for killing JFK.Relationships
- William Stryker - Subordinate
- Mystique - Killer (Original Timeline); Savior (Revised Timeline)
- Mutants - Enemies
Trivia
- In X-Men: The Last Stand, there is a character named Trask who is loosely based on Bolivar Trask.
- Though it is never specified, it is possible that Trask killed Riptide as well.
- Concept art from X-Men: Apocalypse revealed that Bolivar Trask was at one point in consideration to be in the film.
External links
Bolivar Trask on the Marvel Wiki
Bolivar Trask on Wikipedia