The Inhumans? Who?

The Inhumans are another Marvel property that will get a movie in a few years. I’m not sure how many non-comics readers have heard of them since they were never really A-listers.

The Inhumans are a genetically altered subculture that first appeared in the Fantastic Four in the ‘60s. Although basically human, they acquire superpowers when exposed to the Terrigen Mist. The group lived for centuries in the city of Attilan in the Himalayas. After the Inhumans began to suffer the effects of Earth’s pollution, Reed Richards helped them move Attilan to the blue area of the moon, a lunar area with a breathable atmosphere that is home to the Watcher and was the place where Dark Phoenix disintegrated herself.

The king of the royal family of the Inhumans is Black Bolt. His voice is so powerful that one whisper from him could shatter mountains, so he is silent except in very rare circumstances. His great rival for the throne has been his brother, Maximus the Mad. Black Bolt has been one of the great leaders of the Marvel Universe and is now part of the Illuminati. 

The queen is Medusa, a woman with long red hair that she can manipulate as if the strands were hands. She has served as a member of the Fantastic Four when the Invisible Girl was on maternity leave.

Another member of the family is Crystal, who has the ability to control the four basic elements of earth, wind, water and fire. She also served briefly on the Fantastic Four and was an Avenger. She has had relationships with the Human Torch and the Sentry and I believe had an affair with the Black Knight. Crystal was also married to Quicksilver (making her part of the convoluted Maximoff/Lehnsherr family tree) and they had a child, Luna. In a twist, Luna was that rare Marvel Universe child of superheroes who was born a normal human with no powers. The marriage was later annulled.

The other main Inhuman members are the amphibious Triton; Karnak, who can detect the one flaw in an object and then use that knowledge to destroy the object; and the superhumanly strong Gorgon. Last but certainly not least is the royal family’s dog, the beloved Lockjaw. He is a massive dog with a tuning fork on his head that allows him to teleport several Inhumans at a time. He has served as a member of the Pet Avengers. You heard me right: the Pet Avengers.

The Inhumans played a major role in the great miniseries Earth X, which was a look at one of the Marvel Universe’s possible distant futures. In the story, everyone on Earth received superpowers due to the Terrigen Mist’s release to the general populace. Black Bolt sacrificed his life to call Galactus (not actually Galactus but a vastly powerful Franklin Richards believing himself to be Galactus) to stop the Celestials from birthing the Celestial embryo in the Earth’s core. It was a pretty involved plot.

There is speculation that Skye from Agents of SHIELD is an Inhuman and her father is Maximus the Mad. There is also speculation that Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch will be Inhumans instead of mutants because all mention of mutants in the Marvel Studios movies is verboten. Since the Terrigen Mist is a common origin for superpowers like mutation, that’s a good way to get around the tangle of rights issues.