A Better Way to handle the Mutant/Inhuman Conflict

We can rebuild them. We have the ideas. We can make them better than they were. Better, more developed, more intruging. And kudos to one of my online friends for the intro.

At least, that's the credo Marvel should be having when it comes to handling the two races of superhuman beings running around the Marvel Universe right now, mutants and Inhumans. And with this coming up, I think this blog entry would be appropriate.

Yup. This is a thing that is going to happen. The X-Men and Inhumans are going to war. Yup. Joy.

Anyway, reading about the status quo Marvel has created for the mutants and Inhumans, I ended up realizing something. Marvel is taking the easy way out. They are taking the lazy way out with this.

Instead of telling stories that really examine what it is to be a mutant or an Inhuman in the Marvel Universe, they are simply just going with an extinction plot (AGAIN) and an upcoming war between the two species.

Since I'm on the internet, I thought I'd express my idea of how Marvel should handle the status quo between the two groups of superpowered people in the Marvel Universe after Secret Wars:

1) No M-Pox

Let's face it. Having the X-Men deal with fighting off extinction again so soon after just dealing with Decimation just seems...like a rather lazy move. Some would argue that the X-Men are at their best when they are fighting for survival and they have their backs to the wall. The problem with that is, if you constantly have the X-Men in extinction crisis after extinction crisis, it gets BORING. Especially since we know that mutants are really not going to go extinct. It just gets tiring.

So, no M-Pox. If it were up to me, I would keep the Terrigen Cloud floating around, it just wouldn't hurt mutants. It'd just be floating around creating Inhumans. Gotta keep the origin of Kamala Khan somehow. Because Kamala is awesome. And I would also keep the Skyspear thing, as a threat to the Inhumans could be used as an excuse for Medusa and Crystal to travel the world gathering as many Inhumans as they can find. That can also be used to give them a simmering threat in the background. Also, I would keep Medusa establishing New Attilan as a haven for her people. That would also be great idea fodder.

Instead of having the X-Men having to fight off potential extinction AGAIN (Because let's be honest, Marvel will never actually pull the trigger on killing them off unless it's a What If tale. Mutants = Money), we can do something else with them instead.

2) The deconstruction and reconstruction of the X-Men

The X-Men do admittedly have a reduced profile in the Marvel Universe these days. Many have held up the conspiracy theory that Marvel not having the film rights having something to do with it, but I think it's silly. Marvel must be getting a cut of the money from the films' box office. After all, Fox just can make movies with them, they don't own the X-Men. And honestly, I think many X-Fans are just mad that Marvel has finally remembered that there are other characters in their universe besides the X-Men and are finally giving the non-mutant heroes some love.

The reduced profile to me is something I actually consider an opportunity to do something I think the X-Men need: an examination of the X-Men as a concept. We can take it apart, then rebuild and update it. Make the X-Men better.

To me, this biggest problem with the X-Men as a concept is...for a group that was all about promoting human/mutant peace...they don't seem to do that much actual promotion of it. Yeah, they do help save the world and protect people from evil mutants, and that's perfectly fine. That's not the problem. The problem is...we never see these guys using that momentum to promote their cause. We never see them using the media.

We don't see the X-Men talking to reporters much, except for soundbites. We don't see them go on talk shows and talk about being mutants and what life is like for them. And guess what? We live in the age of social media. I'd love to see the X-Men have a website, have blogs and Twitter and Facebook and the like. Using social media to promote their message would be a great step towards showing the X-Men actually working at creating human-mutant peace.

Such a thing would allow the X-Men to interact with humans and build up popularity and create one thing they really need right now: human allies. Rogue once claimed the Avengers only fought for the status quo while the X-Men tried to make it better. In response, the Avengers should have asked Rogue how exactly the X-Men had actually made things better.

Some would argue that the X-Men being open would ultimately make things much more dangerous for mutants, citing Stryker's attack on the Mansion. However, this can be used to show that the X-Men need to find a balance between being open and being private. After all, they also went the other extreme once, with Utopia. To me, Utopia seemed to be showing that the X-Men had lost their way, and forgotten why they had supposedly been formed in the first place.

I want to see the X-Men evolve into something more than just another group of superheroes. I want to see the X-Men evolve into essentially the mutant version of the NAACP. I want to see them acting like a group that fights for civil rights. I want to see them not just fighting evil mutants. I want to see them making human allies. I want to see them using the media. I want to see them calling for boycotts of businesses that refuse to serve mutants. I want to see them testifying before Congress about mutant equality. I want to see them organizing mutant pride marches. I want to see them on talk shows, I want to see them be the subject of documentaries. The X-Men should be more than just another superhero team. They were created to be a metaphor for anyone who was different, so let's start seeing them actually fighting prejudice and bigotry as well as supervillains.

Another aspect for stories with the X-Men that should be explored is that...the X-Men are born with superpowers. Think about it. Cyclops can literally blast the face off of anyone he looks at. Storm could easily fry someone with a lightning bolt or freeze someone to death with a blizzard (She actually did use this tactic to slow down Sebastian Shaw during the Dark Phoenix Saga). There would be people who would legitimately fear people who could do that. That fear is understandable, especially since many comics have shown there are mutants out there who would not care if people get hurt when they use their powers. The fear of mutants is understandable based on this, and as a result, it makes it harder for the X-Men to achieve their goal as they can be seen as living, breathing WMDs.

Based on this, I would love if X-Men stories also did deal with themes of power and its effects on people. The fact that many mutants are born with powers, some with potentially devastating effects, and that anyone could be a mutant, that is...that's pretty scary when you think about it. Look at Magneto. Or Sabertooth, until Axis magically transformed him into a superhero.

On one of his videos, Linkara of Atop the Fourth Wall, Linkara pointed out that to him, the big problem of the X-Men was that people like the Fantastic Four got treated like celebrities because of their powers, the X-Men were feared and reviled. As much as I love the guy, I think he missed something. The Fantastic Four's identities and origins are known to the public. Ben Grimm was looked at as a monster in his early days as the Thing. But now, he's a celebrity, the 'Idol o' Millions', one of the most respected heroes in the Marvel Universe.

With the X-Men...what does the public know about them? They don't do interviews on talk shows, they don't use social media...all the public in the Marvel Universe really know about the X-Men are what they learn from the media, and considering the media can sensationalize things, and the X-Men seemingly make no effort to change that...

In essence, the FF won people over, and the X-Men have not. Part of making the kind of change that the X-Men want to make is that they should be interacting with humans, making allies, winning over hearts and minds. In all the X-Men stories I have read, I really haven't seen the X-Men doing that. And that's the kind of thing the X-Men should be doing. The X-Men had their biggest opportunity to improve mutant/human relations when the Beast joined the Avengers. One of their own! The X-Men could have capitalized on that! But they didn't! And Hank McCoy himself sure as hell didn't capitalize on it during his time with Earth's Mightiest Heroes!

Honestly, if I were a mutant in the Marvel Universe, I would find the X-Men an embarrassment to my species.

Instead of forming their own Utopia and hiding out in Magik's Limbo, I want to see the the X-Men dealing with the outside world and politics. Speaking of politics...

3) Show the Inhumans are better politicians

This ties in to the deconstruction of the X-Men. Medusa is the current leader of the Inhumans. She is the queen of Attilan. She was also a member of the Fantastic Four and Frightful Four (albeit she was amnesiac then). This is a woman who has spent quite a bit of time amongst humanity. She knows how humans think.

She's also someone, as a queen of the Inhumans, has had to deal with Inhuman politics and PR. This is something that gives the Inhumans an advantage over the X-Men, at least at first. Medusa knows how to deal with public opinion. As such, she can handle dealing with politics and weaving her way through places of power.

Some good stories can come from this. For example, I'd love to see a story where New Attilan tried to join the United Nations. That would be a neat story if done well.

If you want tension between the X-Men and Inhumans, maybe it can be shown that some X-Men are somewhat resentful that Medusa is able to win over hearts and minds by simply being more media-savvy and being better able to deal with people in power than they can, and perhaps some other mutants calling them out over their failure to really make things any better for mutants could help push along the X-Men's deconstruction and inspire the X-Men to rethink the way they have fought for their cause.

4) Use the All-New Inhumans to explore Inhuman society

Many new Inhuman characters have arisen from the floating Terrigen cloud, like Flint, Naja, and most famously, the current Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan. These characters can be used to help be a reader's introduction to the Inhumans' society.

The All-New Inhumans can be used in their series to give us a reader's eye view of Inhuman society and how it works. I want to see what the Inhumans who are not members of the Royal Family do in their daily lives. How do they live? Do they have sports? What are their favorite songs? What games to they play? The All-New Inhumans can explore that, taking the readers with them on their journey learning about life in New Attilan.

You could get some great drama and stories from the All-New Inhumans learning about life in New Attilan and the ancient, practically alien culture within. I can imagine some of them would be very uncomfortable with the idea of the Inhumans always having a place, and that social mobility is not allowed, leading to some maybe using their ear with Medusa to convince her to make some changes they feel Inhuman society needs.

 This can be used to tie in to my next thing that can be done.

5) The deconstruction and reconstruction of the Inhumans

Much like the X-Men, this whole mutant/Inhuman thing is also an opportunity to take apart and rebuild the Inhumans.

One thing that the Inhumans are known for having is a rigid caste system in their society. Everyone has a place, and you are expected to stay within that place. Even the Royal Family is not immune to this edict. They have a place, and are expected to stay in that place. This has been used by X-Men fans as an argument that Inhumans can't be used to replace mutants. The problem with that argument is that it only really applies to the Royal Family and the natives of Attilan. Right now in the Marvel Universe, there are activated Inhumans living all over the world, and you can bet that they aren't getting much more love from the public than mutants are right now in-universe.

As these new Inhumans are being brought to New Attilan, it can be shown that perhaps they find discomfort with the rigid society and caste system of the Inhumans. I can also imagine the Attilan natives also finding discomfort with the new ideas and thoughts these new Inhumans bring to the table. Remember, for much of Attilan and the Inhumans' existence, they were isolated from "normal" humanity. As a result, they have developed their own way of doing things, and new Inhumans coming in from the outside world can have an effect on that. There's drama in this conflict.

The Inhumans' caste system and selective breeding were created in the first place to mitigate the genetic damage caused by their people's early experimentation with the Terrigen Mist, not to mention help maintain their numbers. This could be used to help instigate change in Inhuman society. With the increased number of Inhumans, there won't be much more need of selective breeding. But I can imagine there are many Inhumans who think the old ways are perfectly fine, and these new Inhumans would wreck Inhuman society and create anarchy. Also, I can see some of these "natives" viewing these All-New Inhumans as "undesirables", being a metaphor for hostility towards immigrants.

One possible story is maybe some Inhumans don't like the idea of Medusa supporting and welcoming these new Inhumans, and considering that Medusa is also actively adventuring as a member of the all-female superteam A-Force, maybe they feel Medusa's loyalties to her people are wavering, and thus, new leadership that will put the Attilan Inhumans first is needed...

As for the reconstruction? Medusa could use this to make a change to Inhuman society, realizing that after millions of years of isolation, the society may be more technically advanced, but it has socially stagnated. It needs new ideas, a new way, and the All-New ones can help show the way. Will it be smooth? No, but it will show actual growth for the Inhumans as a people.

Some would argue that superhero stories shouldn't have those kind of stories, as they are not considered exciting enough. However, I would like to respond with the popularity of Game of Thrones and House of Cards, two series that deal with political machinations. They are considered two of the best series on television, and I think that the Inhuman books should have some of this in it, especially if they focus on the Royal Family.

6) Heavy is Medusa's head, for she wears the crown

Medusa is the current leader of her people, and she has a LOT on her plate right now. She is dealing with a massive influx of Inhumans coming to Attilan to seek asylum. She's dealing with the friction between Attilan natives and the All-New Inhumans, which may lead to further problems. She's also actively adventuring with A-Force. Not to mention the threat of the Skyspears. It'd be nice to see all that wearing on Medusa a little bit, and forcing her to lean more on her family members a bit.

It would be a great way to show that the Royal Family, despite their disagreements and dysfunction, truly do love and care about each other. Which can be used to help humanize the Royal Family.

Which is why I hate the way Medusa is being portrayed in current comics. In current comics, the X-Men go on about the Terrigen Mists killing them and Medusa does nothing about it, citing that the Mists are sacred. And some books show she fans the flames of anti-mutant hatred with mercenaries. WHY? Especially since they could find another way to remove the mists!

This is so stupid! Now, one could argue that fanning anti-mutant hatred is a political move on Medusa's part, an attempt to get in good with the humans and win them over. It'd be one heck of a stretch, though. Instead, why not show Medusa and the Inhumans in a more honorable, decent light? I'd think the smart thing for these writers to do is to make the Royal Family sympathetic and likeable.

In essence, I think the rising of the Inhumans can make for some very fascinating stories and great idea fodder, it's just shame that Marvel just seems to lack this vision and instead go for yet another extinction crisis for mutants so they can set up a mutant/Inhuman war. It's a real shame.

Now, what I've been saying is, admittedly some basic stuff. I'm sure someone a lot smarter than me can do something more with my ideas and suggestions. Marvel has always called itself the "House of Ideas", and I think if it went with the approach I wrote here, they could truly keep living up to that title. It certainly would be better than another silly war and extinction storyline.