Daily Comic Book Force Update: Yesterdays update was all about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and specifically the character named Raina, who becomes an Inhuman. As the second season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. officially hits its midway point tonight with its mid-season finale, What They Become, fans have said that many of the shows mysteries are linked to the Inhumans, who are a superhuman race with connections to the Kree (which were briefly shown in Guardians of the Galaxy). While the Inhumans dont boast the rich history of commercial and critical success of other Marvel big screen stars like the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D., the Inhumans are undoubtedly getting a major push across all media with a new comic book series that launched earlier this year and their first feature film which will be released in 2018. Fans of the series may have seen possible Easter eggs such as the mysterious drawings that Director Phil Coulson has been making, which resemble Attilan, the Inhuman home city. Also, the blue alien who saved Coulson and Skyes lives in season 1 has been confirmed to be Kree, which is another connection to the Inhumans in the MCU. So, in preparation of the Inhumans presence in the MCU, Im about to run down 5 things everyone should know about the Inhumans. The first thing you should know is that the Inhumans actually debuted in a Fantastic Four comic back in the 60s. Medusa and Gorgon (both Inhumans) were introduced in Fantastic Four #36 and #44 respectively before the whole race appeared in Fantastic Four #45 in 1965. For a number of years to follow, the Inhumans were tightly linked with the Fantastic Four. Crystal (Medusas sister) is in a relationship with Human Torch and later on both her and Medusa become members of the Fantastic Four. Still, despite first appearing in the pages of Fantastic Four, 20th Century Fox, the studio that owns the cinematic rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men has never staked a claim to using these unique characters in any of its movies. As a result, that’s opened the door for Marvel Studios to build their own franchise around the Inhumans. That having been said, because both properties are owned by separate studios, don’t expect there to be a Fantastic Four/Inhuman crossover on the big screen any time soon, which is a shame. The second thing you should know is that even though the Inhumans is the name given to a whole race of beings, it is more commonly associated with just the Inhuman Royal Family. Black Bolt (the king of the Inhumans) wields his power via his voice, which has the capacity to destroy entire planets. That’s why Black Bolt tends to keep his mouth shut, though there have been notable exceptions when his voice doesn’t do the trick (like in World War Hulk though it was later revealed that Black Bolt was actually a Skrull in disguise). Black Bolt is also currently a character of the cryptic Illuminati group, the stars of Johnathan Hickman’s New Avengers series. Black Bolt’s wife is Medusa, who derives her strength from her long flowing hair. Since her husband cannot (and should not) speak, Medusa has emerged as the Inhuman’s chief diplomat. She has led the race in Black Bolt’s absence and is considered one of the most physically and politically powerful heroines in the Marvel Universe. Her sister, the aforementioned Crystal, is capable of manipulating the elements using her Inhuman powers. Beyond Black Bolt and Medusa, the Inhuman Royal Family is surrounded by loyal assistants/compatriots such as Karnak, Gorgon, Triton and the family pet, the oversized cosmic bulldog Lockjaw. Also, the chief adversary for the Inhumans is Maximus the Mad, Black Bolt’s younger brother. Maximus is often driven by his power lust to rule over Attilan. The third thing you should know is that Inhumans arent the same thing as mutants. Fans who have seen the dispute between Marvel Studios and Fox over the rights to the word mutant(s) will understand how important the Inhumans are to the former. The Inhumans were created by the Kree alien race as a special kind of super-powered species to take on some of the Kree’s deadliest enemies, such as the Skrulls. They derive their special powers from exposure to a vaporous substance known as the Terrigen Mist. The Terrigen Mist is a form of mutagen that alters anyone with Inhuman biology. So these characters are not mutants in the way that X-Men like Wolverine, Storm and Cyclops are. They werent exactly born with these powers (though they are biologically predisposed to them). However, the fact of the matter is that Marvel Studios cannot use any mutant characters in any of its movies, nor can it even imply that somebody is a mutant. Yet, Inhumans are fair game for Marvel, which explains why the company is so prominently pushing this property across all of its media right now. That’s why when Raina tells Skye that she has gifts that the Diviner (Obelisk) can unlock, fans are naturally speculating that Skye’s powers have some kind of Inhuman origin. Also, don’t be shocked if other major Marvel characters, including some that have mutant roots in the comics, end up being revealed as having an Inhuman link in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (hint: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch). The fourth thing to take note of is that the Inhumans are hard to sell. While some fans might think they’re being subjected to a heavy dose of the Inhumans currently, history has proven that Black Bolt and co. have always been a bit of a hard sell to the public, making their current exposure to the public a bit of a risk for Marvel. After first appearing in Fantastic Four in 1965, they didn’t receive their own dedicated stories until they emerged as a backup feature during the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run on Thor in 1967. From there, they finally starred in their very own book, Amazing Adventures, but that only ran for 10 issues. Industry icons Doug Moench and George Perez (who eventually gave way to Keith Pollard) collaborated for the very first Marvel book with Inhumans in the title. Once again, it was a short-lived experiment and lasted 12 issues, during an era when books with much stranger premises (Howard the Duck) had a significantly longer shelf life. These Bronze Age Inhuman stories have their fans, but the first series that really seemed to connect on a broader level was a 98-99 limited series from Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee that ran for 12 issues. Rather than focus on the fantastic “inhuman” elements of the Inhumans, Jenkins and Lee attempted to humanise the race, comparing their exposure to the Terrigen Mist as a sort of coming of age rite of passage a la a Sweet Sixteen birthday or a Bat Mitzvah. Jenkins and Lee received the prestigious Eisner Award for their efforts. Currently, Charles Soule is scripting and Ryan Stegman is providing pencils for Marvel’s newest Inhuman series, which will, in all likelihood, be a source of inspiration for how the cast of Attilan is interpreted for television and big screen efforts. After a bit of a rocky start, which included the departure of the book’s original intended writer, Matt Fraction, the book has consistently ranked in the top 100 for sales each month. The fifth and final thing you all definitely need to know is that the Inhumans have close ties to both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact, 3 members of the Inhumans are Avengers (Black Bolt, Medusa and Crystal). This would thereby provide Marvel Studios with a number of different ways to bring Black Bolt, Medusa and the other Inhumans into the MCU without having to acknowledge the Fantastic Four. Of course, the Inhuman’s connection to the Kree, one of the main adversarial groups in this past summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the likely blue aliens that have been featured prominently in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are one way to incorporate the Inhumans. Beyond that, 2009’s Realm of Kings crossover by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, brought together the Inhumans, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Nova Corps, as the latter two groups attempted to address a giant space-time tear called the Fault which was caused by Black Bolt (temporarily killing him in the process). It is discovered that the Fault leads to an alternate dimension known as the Cancerverse, containing corrupt versions of familial heroes such as the evil Avengers (known as the Revengers). In terms of connecting the Inhumans to the Avengers proper, the best way to go about doing it may come about from Quicksilver, who will have his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the comics, Quicksilver marries the Inhuman Cyrstal in a somewhat controversial inter-species relationship story line. Years later, after Quicksilver loses his powers from his sister Wanda’s “M-Day” decree (aka, “No More Mutants”), he regains them (and time-jumping abilities) in the Son of M miniseries by exposing himself to the Terrigen Mist and by implanting Terrigen Crystals in his body. So those were the 5 things everyone needs to know about the Inhumans. Feel free to leave any of your thoughts in the comments below and Ill see you tomorrow on another Daily Comic Book Force Update.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 12:39:00 +0000
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