The Inhumans Special #1 (April 1990)

The Marvel Universe contains many wonders, and among them are the Inhumans. The Inhumans really have been forgotten in recent years (Heck, when they adapted Kamala Khan to the MCU, they erased her connections to them), so I thought I'd give them a bit of spotlight here. I personally think the Inhumans have a ton of potential, especially their Royal Family. I mean, think about it. Things like Game of Thrones have shown that people enjoy tales of royal intrigue. The Inhumans can be that, just with superpowers. 

I wanted to look at a lesser-known Inhumans story, so I thought I'd look at one that answered a question regarding the Marvel comic universe's history. You see, in Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965), we are first introduced to the Inhuman Royal Family as a group. But that still left one question: How did the Inhuman Royal Family end up in hiding in New York City? Well, in the dawn of the 90s, we finally got the answer. This is The Inhumans Special #1!

The cover is a Richard Howell piece. It's pretty good. It shows the Inhuman Royal Family sadly leaving Attilan, while a triumphant Maximus cackles madly in the background. It does feel like a Silver Age cover, which makes sense as the Inhumans were a part of the Marvel Universe's Silver Age.

"Remembrances of Revolutions Past"
Writer: Lou Mougin
Penciler: Richard Howell
Inker: Vince Colletta
Colorist: Richard Howell
Letterer: Diana Albers
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins, naturally, where many stories with the Inhuman Royal Family begin: in their home city of Attilan. There, Black Bolt enters a room that only he has access to. What is in the room that only Black Bolt can see?

"Zzzz...Made it, Ma! Top of the World...zzzz..."

The sleeping form of his mad brother Maximus. It's then that we start a flashback.

Many years back, around the dawn of the Age of Marvels, the mad Maximus used his mental powers to stir up an insurrection of Alpha Primitives, the slave race of the Inhumans. Three of these Alpha Primitives make their way to the Terrigen Chamber, the sacred place where Inhumans undergo Terrigenesis, the source of their amazing powers. This trio enter the chamber and expose themselves to the Terrigen Mist. Thing is, they use a much higher dose of the Mist than what is usually used in Terrigenesis. And as such, they undergo an incredible transformation.

"...we miss having hands."

Say hello to Trikon. Meanwhile, Black Bolt had been visiting the imprisoned Maximus, who rants and raves that the Inhuman monarch was the one who killed their parents, not Maximus. The big powerhouse hears of the rebellion and moves to quell it. During his short reign as king so far, Black Bolt has worked to improve things for the Alphas, instituting reforms to help protect them and improve working conditions. That's right, Black Bolt is a king for the working Inhuman. 

Medusa moves to protect her little sister Crystal. Maximus taunts her that there is no safe place to hide, as the Alphas will move for the palace. Medusa just mutters that she has half a mind to throw him at them. Would have saved the Inhumans a lot of trouble if she did.

Gorgon and Karnak take on the Alphas, while Trikon rescues Maximus. Medusa goes to engage Trikon in a flying sled-like device. The machine's blasters only make the Trikon laugh, and they blast the redheaded royal out of the sky. Black Bolt and Lockjaw move to engage the Trikon themselves. Lockjaw helps create a portal to the Negative Zone, and with a slight whisper, Black Bolt knocks Trikon into the portal. So, what of Medusa? Well, she's...alright.

"...did I leave the stove on?!"

Alright, but amnesiac, presumably due to the injures and trauma. The rest of the Royal Family find Maximus sitting on the throne, wearing Black Bolt's crown. Thing is, Maximus is insane, not stupid. He knows that the rest of his family will want him back in prison, so he has some insurance.

"Hey, son! He found out about the bootlegging!"

Yup, Maxie's got Gorgon's parents hostage, and he has no qualms ordering their deaths. The hot-headed Gorgon is forced to put the man down. Maximus leads the Royals to where he's keeping his hostages.

"I'm going to make them sing 'Bohemian Rhapsody'!"

He's taken the best and brightest minds of Attilan and gathered them here. Among them is Gorgon's mother. Supposedly, we don't actually see her. An enraged Gorgon attacks two of Maximus's loyalists, and in response, they kill two of the hostages. Based on Gorgon's reaction, we can assume his mom was one of them. Again, we don't see it, but we can assume. Maximus demands that Black Bolt hand him the crown...even though he was shown wearing the blasted thing earlier.

Black Bolt struggles with the decision. It's no secret that under Maximus, Attilan will become a fascist state. Maxie does have a tremendous ego and genuinely does not care about anyone else. The Royals can fight back, but it could cause more bloodshed. It might end with everyone dead. Black Bolt ultimately decides the potential deaths are not worth it...and abdicates the throne. The people are angered with him about this, and I would not be surprised if Maximus is subtly using his mental powers to stoke these fires. It's something he would do. Lockjaw gets them out of there.

Maximus orders the head conspirators in his rebellion killed, as they're no longer useful to him. Unsurprisingly, he never cared about the Alpha Primitives' desire for freedom, they were just a means to an end for him. The other Royals find Medusa's crashed sky-sled, but no corpse. There's hope Medusa's alive.

The Royals spend months looking for the missing Medusa. During that time, their appearances and powers get people frightened and angry. Gorgon rescues Crystal from a group of angry villagers that look like the came right out of a Hammer horror movie. They wanted to burn her like she was a witch or something. He then heads off, saying he'll be back in two weeks. Where is he going? Well, he's not going to grab a pizza. Although I would not blame him for wanting one. Mmm, pizza...

Gorgon has actually returned to the Great Refuge of Attilan. He ambushes a couple of guards, demanding they take him to Maximus. And of course they do, as they really don't want to get kicked by Gorgon's hooves anymore. Hooves hurt.

Maximus decides to hear Gorgon out. The powerhouse offers a deal: he allows the other Royals to come home, and they won't revolt against him. After all, Crystal needs a home and friends her own age, something she can't have in the human world. Not to mention Medusa is presumably still alive. Again, Maximus is crazy, not stupid. He accepts the deal but makes two conditions: the other Royals find and bring back Medusa. Her being alive and well will help him look good in the eyes of the people. He also will release his hostages, but Gorgon's parents will still remain under house arrest. It'll help keep the hotheaded Gorgon in check. Gorgon agrees but wants to see his parents. 

Maximus agrees to this. He asks another Inhuman called Seeker to take him to where they're being held. As a result, we get a nice reunion.

"Oh, son! He wouldn't stop singing Smiths songs! It was horrible!"

Huh, so his mother wasn't one of the hostages that was shot earlier after all. That's good. However, Milena (Gorgon's mom) has some sad news. There was an attempted insurrection against Maximus with Gorgon's dad being one of the ringleaders. It failed, and he was killed...by the Seeker.

An infuriated Gorgon isn't able to do anything about it, as Seeker blasts him with a stun ray. He wakes up outside of Attilan. The Inhuman heads out on his mission, knowing he's being used. But that doesn't matter. He'll get his revenge on Maximus. So, where is Medusa? Well, she's found herself in the wild streets...of Paris. 

Medusa is fleeing from an angry crowd, some seeing her as a monster, others wanting attention. The redheaded royal manages to make her way into a building, where she finds some company.

Paul's attempt at hairdressing went horribly, horribly wrong.

Meet Paul Dumas, thief extraordinaire. Unlike the rest of the crowd, he sees something special in Medusa and offers her some refuge. He finds a bit of commonality with her, as she does not remember her past, and he has no use for his. Over the next few weeks, Medusa and Dumas become the scourge of Paris, her prehensile hair and beautiful looks allowing her to enter places and make off with the jewels. 

In their apartment, Dumas notes that Medusa is unhappy. It's because she is still unaware of her own past, and their adventures together have given her no hints or clues. As such, she wants out.

Paul then calls the police on her. After all, the man is not only a thief, he is living proof of the phrase "no honor among thieves". While fleeing from the cops, she runs into Gorgon. The two briefly scuffle (Gorgon not wanting to harm her), but she wins and keeps on running. She eventually finds a place to hide out in an island in the Mediterranean. She would eventually be found by Bentley Wittman, aka the Wizard. This leads to her being part of his villainous team known as the Frightful Four, as shown in the events of Fantastic Four #36, #38, and #41-43. Thanks to these activities, Gorgon finds her...but so has the Seeker. This leads to the events of Fantastic Four #44-48. 

After the events of #48, Gorgon is after Maximus's blood. However, Maximus was prepared for this. He secretly put a device in the headband the hooved powerhouse wears to hit him with a nasty electric shock.

Thank goodness for Black Bolt! He removes the headband. But Maximus has another trick: He's able to control the mind of Black Bolt.

"And now, Black Bolt...DO THE FUNKY CHICKEN!"

Through a bit of cleverness, Gorgon convinces Seeker to kill him himself. Seeker agrees, and blasts at the powerhouse. However, the hooved hero is able to make the blast hit the tuning fork on Black Bolt's head. This causes feedback that knocks Maximus silly. 

Seeker uses his gun to create a massive, weighted object to pin Gorgon down...except for his legs, which he uses to create a shockwave that gets Seeker crushed. Literally. Gorgon's okay, though. The object protected him from the worst of it. Gorgon also got something else: Satisfaction. He avenged his father, his mother is okay, and Maximus is now presumably a harmless gibbering moron. There's still work to do, rebuilding Attilan and working on a way to free the city from the barrier Maximus covered it in, but for right now, things are okay.

The story ends with a return to the present time, lamenting Maximus's fate. The story ends with Medusa asking Blackagar to walk her home.

I did enjoy this comic. I do have a couple minor issues, mainly the portrayal of Crystal. You see, when I read Fantastic Four #65 (her first appearance), I always got the impression that she was around Johnny Storm's age, around the late teens at youngest. But here, she's portrayed and drawn almost like she's a child. I get that she's the youngest of the Royal Family, but I never got the impression she was a little kid in the old stories. Trikon is a one-note villain, created just to give the Royals something to fight. I would have liked to see...them? return. Maybe to give more depth and cause further problems for the Royals in the future.

Howell's art to me has a bit of a storybook quality. It's what I imagine a fairy tale looking like. It really feels unique to what superhero comic art was like, especially in the early 90s.  

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback The Inhumans: By Right of Birth. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965)

The Fantastic Four are a very important group in the Marvel Universe of the comic books. From an in-universe perspective, the group's debut helped ignite a new age of superheroes after the fall of the First Line in the 1980s. From a real-world perspective, the FF helped unleash a new wave of realism in superhero comics, as the group was a microcosm of the Marvel-style superhero: an origin story with a touch of the tragic, and emphasis on characterization. Unique for the era, they were portrayed as a dysfunctional yet loving family that ended up using their powers to fight crime.

The Fantastic Four also helped form the bedrock of the Marvel Universe as we know it today. Many of the concepts and characters introduced in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's over 100-issue run are still used and emphasized over 60 years later, most notably the Black Panther and Wakanda. They also introduced a group of superhumans that would get an all-too brief time in the major spotlight: The Inhumans.

When the character of Gorgon was introduced, he was originally a villain. Lee and Kirby were brainstorming origins for the character and decided to have him come from a strange land in Europe where everyone was superpowered like him. Eventually, it was decided he would come from a place called Attilan. The name Attilan came from a 1941 story written and drawn by Kirby in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). That story focused on a caveman character named Tuk the Caveboy, describing that Attilan as an advanced city on a Stone Age-era Earth. The History of the Marvel Universe miniseries would end up connecting Tuk to the Inhumans. 

The Inhumans would end up getting a surge in spotlight thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to Inhuman mythology being used in Agents of SHIELD, and the Royal Family appearing in the critically-panned one-season Inhumans series. Sadly, after the failure of the Inhumans series, the Inhumans would end up seemingly brushed aside and ignored. For example, when Kamala Khan and Lunella Lafayette (two Inhuman characters) were adapted to the MCU miniseries Ms. Marvel and the animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, their Inhumanity was erased (Kamala was made a mutant, and Lunella a non-powered heroine). And now with Disney's purchasing of 20th Century Fox (meaning they now have the live-action film rights to the X-Men back), it's likely the Inhumans will never get to make a big comeback. 

So, how did the Inhuman Royal Family make their big debut? Let's find out in Fantastic Four #45!

The cover is a Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Stan Goldberg, and Art Simek piece. It gives mt the vibe of a movie poster, the heroes front and center, and the Inhumans being shown in a villainous light, looming over the FF while Black Bolt gets ready to hit them with a big rock.

"Among us Hide...The Inhumans"
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Colorist: Unknown
Letterer: Art Simek
Editor: Stan Lee

The story begins with Johnny Storm, the second Human Torch, rescuing his brother-in-law Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Ben Grimm/The Thing from a collapsed building. They ended up being in this situation because of the events of the previous issue.

Basically, in the last issue, the FF fought the mechanical menace known as the Dragon Man, and he kidnapped Sue Richards/Invisible Girl (She would not be known as the Invisible Woman until John Byrne's run). Also, a mysterious horse-hoofed being called Gorgon made off with one of the Frightful Four's members: the equally mysterious Medusa, Mistress of the Living Hair. 

After the rescue, Reed orders Johnny to go scout for Sue and the Dragon Man. The Matchstick manages to find the two. 

"Dude, are you aware you are on fire?!"

The metal monster has Sue in his meaty metal claws, so Johnny can't give him the world's worst hotfoot. The Dragon Man, ripping off a certain Japanese King of the Monsters, tries to blast Johnny with its own version of atomic breath...in actuality, a thermal blast. Sue covers her eyes, allowing Johnny to blind the robot with his Nova Blast. This forces the Dragon Man to land and release Sue. She tells Johnny that she's got this handled. Makes sense, modern Sue is often seen as the most powerful and versatile member of the FF with her powers. However, before we see Sue potentially show why she could be a guest character in Mortal Kombat, the scene shifts to...a jail.

"Sand Man Walkin'!"

What, seriously? NOW the scene shifts?!

Yeah, what a bad bit of timing. Anyway, what's so special about this jail? Well, it contains two of the Frightful Four: Flint Marko/Sandman and Pete Petruski/Trapster (formerly Paste Pot Pete). Bentley Wittman/The Wizard is in the prison's hospital, still recovering from a Ben Grimm-provided beatdown. Sandman tries to punch his way through the window of his cell, but the designers of the cell kept that in mind, shocking the Sandman hard.

Meanwhile, Sue and Johnny return to the Baxter Building...thanks to the Dragon Man?!

Let me explain. You see, Dragon Man is a fearsome and destructive machine, but he also has the mind of a small child. She was able to convince the robot to bring her home safely. Johnny retreats to his room. He goes his phone, hoping to call his then-squeeze Doris Evans. He hadn't spoken to her in days. However, she tells him she has other plans, which Johnny grumbles about. Dude, you haven't spoken to her in days. Your own words, pal. You should not be surprised she decides to go off and do her own thing.

Feeling in a bit of a mood, Johnny decides to go out for a walk. He ends up wandering near some condemned buildings, where he finds a surprising sight.

This remake of The Seven Year Itch is WEEEEEIRD...

Johnny finds himself quite entranced by this orange-haired beauty. She is startled by his presence. The young lady screams at Johnny to stay back from her and kicks up some winds. Yes sir, Johnny Storm has just met Crystal Amaquelin, the younger sister of Medusa. And he finds her quite unforgettable, in more than one way. 

The next day, the FF are clearing out a room in the Baxter Building for Dragon Man to reside in. His mind is occupied by thoughts of Crystal, and it for some reason causes him to act grouchy towards his fellow Fantastic Four members. He leaves to get some air. He returns to the desolate neighborhood he encountered Crystal in hoping to see her again. Lady Luck is smiling on him as she is indeed there again.

He tries to talk to her, but she flees, saying "they" mustn't find her. She tries to scare Johnny off by creating a blaze, but Johnny's own powers allow him to tame the flames. Heh. I'm a poet and I didn't know it. Crystal thinks Johnny is a fellow Inhuman, so she introduces herself to him. Johnny asks her what she's doing here all alone, but the thing is, she isn't alone. She has the Inhumans' Best Friend with her: Lockjaw, everybody!

Lockjaw is going to lick Johnny's face so HARD...

That's right, Lockjaw! He likes hugs. The big dog guides them to a secret chamber built by a fellow called "Black Bolt". Johnny at this point is unaware of the Inhumans, so he is unsure who this "Black Bolt" is, and he knows Crystal isn't a mutant, because the X-Men would have known of her. So, how is moving Dragon Man into the Baxter Building going?

Oh, rather swimmingly. The Dragon Man is being surly and fighting with Reed and Ben. Sue ends the crisis with a tranquilizer gun...even though the Dragon Man is an android. 

Thankfully, Reed and Ben weren't too busted up by the Dragon Man's tantrum. Their powers helped with that. They notice that Johnny has never returned, but the Dragon Man, and Ben's own struggles with his self-worth are taking their attention at the moment. Back with Crystal and Johnny! 

Say hello to Karnak. He has the power to find the weak spot in any structure, which he uses with his martial arts skills to shatter just about anything. He also demonstrates his skills and strength by tossing Johnny like he's a burlap sack.

Johnny wakes up and sees Gorgon, Medusa, Triton, and Crystal. The orange-haired elemental manipulator reveals that Medusa is her sister. Crystal was unaware that Medusa was a member of the Frightful Four, so she's shocked when Johnny wants to layeth a fiery smacketh down on Medusa. They realize that Johnny is not an Inhuman...somehow. Gorgon knocks Johnny into a trap. It starts filling with water, but Johnny is able to escape and call the rest of the FF for help. 

Johnny leads them to the Inhumans' lair, but the Kree-enhanced beings are ready for our heroes. Karnak uses his power to bring a wall down on them. It doesn't work (thanks to Ben), but that's alright. 

Yup. There's still one Inhuman left. The mightiest one of all.

I'm Not-Batman!

The King of the Inhumans, Blackagar Boltagon, aka Black Bolt, has arrived. Yup, the Fantastic Four are in trouble. 

I did enjoy this issue. One thing did bother me. When Johnny first met Crystal, she said that "they" mustn't find her. Who was this "they" she was talking about? It couldn't have been the other Inhumans, they're her family. It couldn't have been from the Frightful Four, they were in jail. And she couldn't have been acting to lure Johnny into a trap.

What can I say about Jack Kirby's art that other people have not said, and well, a lot better? His art is very dynamic, and it has a strong sense of storytelling.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback The Inhumans: The Origin of the Inhumans. Thanks for reading this blog entry!

Fantastic Four #36 (March 1965)

It is no secret to Marvelites that the Fantastic Four is the team that gave birth to the modern Marvel Universe as we know it today. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in their over 100-issue run on the FF's book laid the foundation for many of the concepts that still exist within the Marvel Universe today. One of them was the Inhumans.

While Marvel has pretty much adopted the mentality that the Inhumans no longer exist these days (to the point that when they brought over one of the most popular Inhuman characters to the MCU, they erased her connections to them), they still have a fanbase. And they still have a long history with Earth's heroes, having been given features and appearing in various books over the years. 

The comic we're going to be looking at here is part of Lee and Kirby's classic run and is the introduction of one of the characters that would later be established as not only an Inhuman, but also a member of its Royal Family: Medusa. Did this comic give Medusa a strong introduction, or did it turn out to be a royal disaster? Let's take a look at Fantastic Four #36!

The cover is a Jack Kirby, Chic Stone, Stan Goldberg, and Sam Rosen piece. It's pretty good, showing our debuting team of villains about to siege the FF in their own home. I suppose some may find an issue with the top third of the cover being so covered by text. It doesn't bother me so much here. Maybe the announcement of the Frightful Four could have been put on the bottom? WOuld have helped frame the action on the cover.

"The Frightful Four!"
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Chic Stone
Colorist: Unknown
Letterer: Artie Simek
Editor: Stan Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Stan Lee

The story begins with the titular heroes being swarmed by the press. Why? Well, the elastic scientist Reed Richards and the mistress of invisibility, Sue Storm, have announced their engagement. 

It's a joyous day indeed! A delivery boy arrives with a gift for the FF. Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, opens it and finds...a bomb. And not the bad movie kind.

Naturally, it causes a bit of a panic. Being the heroic powerhouse he is, Ben uses his big rocky hands to smother it. 

"ROSE BOMB, BABY! WHOOOOO!"

Yeah, it was a gag gift. The "bomb" just spews flowers everywhere. Angry and humiliated as he realizes it's one of the Yancy Street Gang's typical pranks (They were Ben Grimm's old childhood gang, and they supposedly loved playing pranks and tormenting him. It would later be retconned that Johnny Storm was behind the pranks), he stomps off.

Meanwhile, at a dock, the supervillain known as the Trapster (at the time going by Paste-Pot Pete. Yes, that was his name) is waiting for the Spider-Man rogue known as the Sandman to show up. And he does: in style. 

"And now...I shall eat you."

Another villain floats down to meet them: Bentley Whittman, the Wizard. He was last seen in Strange Tales #118 floating in space towards his doom. Well, it turned out the Sandman and Pete had found him when they were breaking out of jail. They rescued him and as they fled, the Wizard had an idea.

What if we formed our own version of the Fantastic Four? All they needed was a woman. Wizard knows of a powerful woman they can recruit. He tells of her of a time he went to an island in the Mediterranean Sea. There, he saw her fight some cops...with her hair.

Medusa does not approve of police brutality.

Yes, everyone! Meet Medusalith Amaquelin, the future Mrs. Black Bolt, and queen of the Inhumans. At this time, she was amnesiac, thanks to injuries she suffered thanks to Maximus taking the throne of Attilan. 

The FF are unaware of this villainous plot, as they're getting ready for the engagement party. The Frightful Four are also preparing, getting themselves some spiffy new outfits.

"Sandman, you lazy jerk!"

Well, okay. Not quite so spiffy in Medusa's case. I love that Sandman just changes the colors of his shirt and pants. The FF hold their engagement party. The X-Men and the Avengers are the guests. Spider-Man also makes an appearance to get some cake. He thinks he wasn't invited. I can imagine that the FF did, but in the typical Parker luck, a dog ate the invitation. Unknown to the heroes there, the Frightful Four land their craft on the Baxter Building. They wait for the party to end to launch their attack. Considering how hard superheroes party, it could be a while.

They ambush a sleeping Ben Grimm, using a bit of Pete's adhesives and Wizard's sleeping gas to make sure the Idol o' Millions stays in dreamland. Sue and Reed try to fight Pete, Sandman and the Wizard, but the three manage to overcome them. The Wizard wants to make sure that Ben, Reed, and Sue won't be able to bother him ever again. He attaches his anti-gravity discs to the three heroes. Unknown to them, Alicia Masters was in the kitchen. She's able to make her way to the unconscious Sue Storm...and to her flare gun. 

In a garage some blocks away, Johnny Storm is working on a car. He spots a flare forming a "4" in the sky. He flies off to check it out. Medusa manages to catch Alicia and restrains her with her prehensile hair. The Wizard attaches Alicia to the other three FF members and lets them float off into the sky. The Torch swoops down, and grabs the Wizard, taking him into his craft.

Johnny forces the Wizard to take off and get the other members of the FF. As for the rest of the FF, well, they're in a bit of a pickle. Reed stretches his body and envelops Sue, Ben, and Alicia, creating a temporary air pocket for them. However, this leaves Reed vulnerable. The group are going higher in the air, the air thinning and the temperature going down.

You know, this makes me think of something. The Wizard built these little anti-gravity discs that can take a person to orbit. That mean they're capable of reaching escape velocity a lot faster and more energy-efficiently than a big ol' rocket could. He should have patented this and leased it to NASA. He'd have made a legit mint!

Reed sees the Wizard's ship heading towards him and stretches desperately for it. Johnny is able to get the others on board. The other members of the Frightful Four pursue Johnny using the FF's Pogo Plane. The Sandman jumps on board the Wizard's golden saucer and hardens his body to be like rock, hoping the extra weight will force the saucer down, but it doesn't work.

Sue uses her forcefields to force the Pogo Plane to stall and spin out of control. She then uses her forcefields to make the Pogo Plane land safely. The FF engage the Frightful Four, and curbstomp their evil counterparts. The Wizard makes his saucer self-destruct, covering the Frightful Four's escape. 

I enjoyed this comic. It's a fun action-packed adventure supported by Jack Kirby providing great art. What I found cool was the party that was attended by many of the active superheroes of the era. It helps show the idea that the Fantastic Four have brought the Marvel heroes together into a community, like they are the center of the Marvel Universe. It's especially interesting that the X-Men of the era are enjoying the party as well, considering how far they've distanced themselves from humanity sixty years later. 

What I also found interesting about this comic is that it really doesn't establish or even hint that Medusa is an Inhuman yet. Nor was it explained how she ended up amnesiac on the island the Wizard spotted her in. She would battle the FF a couple more times until Gorgon was introduced in Fantastic Four #44 (November 1965). This led to her reuniting with the rest of the Attilianian Royal Family, and the rest is history.

The Frightful Four themselves would go on to appear numerous times since, and like the FF themselves, the roster would be fluid. Characters such as Thundra, She-Hulk villain Titania, and Spider-Man villain Hydro-Man would be members. The Wizard would be a mainstay of the group. being part of almost every incarnation. The group would also appear in the 1978 and 1994 Fantastic Four cartoons, as well as the 2000s animated series Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes and in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. The latter three are watchable on Disney+.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Inhumans: The Origin of the Inhumans. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Inhumans SDCC Trailer, My Thoughts

The Inhumans TV series got itself a new trailer that premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con! And here it is for all of you to enjoy!

The trailer begins with Triton meeting an Inhuman with yellow eyes. He tells her that there is a place for her and fellow Inhumans. Based on this and what we have seen in the previous trailer, Triton must be trying to rescue this young lady.

The Inhuman city of Attilan and Inhumans running around on Earth makes for an interesting concept. What if you suddenly found yourself with strange powers and abilities? What if those abilities caused you to be looked at with fear and suspicion? And what if there was a place where there were other people like you? But unlike the X-Men, who only have a pseudo-university...it was a city? An ancient city that holds a thriving civilization?! That's the interesting thing about the Inhumans in the MCU. They have a refuge and don't even know it.

We do get a brief scene of Maximus about to preach to a group of Inhumans that most likely did not get Terrigenesis. We also see a Moon Rover on the Moon.

Maximus does raise a good point. Attilan will be discovered at one point. If human technology keeps advancing, they may spot it on the moon at some point. Whether it's on a telescope or with a manned flight, it will be found.

Gorgon collects rovers. NASA is going to be so mad at you, man.

Triton does raise another good point. We've seen how humanity reacts to Inhumans in Agents of SHIELD. Could you imagine how they'd react to the idea of a city full of them? A city full of superhuman beings. And if such a population could easily become an army...that's some scary stuff.

We do next see Maximus talking about how the Inhumans need to get to Earth now, talking of "striking first". It seems Maximus may have darker plans for the Inhumans' return to Earth. Medusa points out it would lead to war. She could be right about that.

I'm getting the idea that Maximus is starting an armed insurrection, a coup against his family. Maybe this could lead to his going crazy. After all, Maximus is called "The Mad" in the comics. I haven't seen any hint of using his mind-control powers from the comics. Maybe he never underwent Terrigenesis yet.

I don't get why people are so angry about the CGI Medusa's hair. It looks fine to me. Oh wait, Medusa's an Inhuman. I did like her seeing using it on Maximus.

I also really liked the choice of song for the trailer, "Human" by Rag 'n' Bone Man. I do like the symbolism of it. The Inhuman Royal Family have the powers of gods, but are still only human, warts and all.

I enjoyed this trailer. It was action-packed, we got to see more of the Inhumans, and it was exciting. Can't wait to see this show!

Inhumans Trailer, My Thoughts

The Inhuman Royal Family is coming to TV! Yup, they'll be getting their own eight-episode TV miniseries on September 29, and the first two episodes will be played in IMAX theaters on the 1st. Because they are the Inhumans, a lot of people have whined and complained about them. But let's give the trailer a looksee.

The trailer begins with a view of Earth from space. It then switches to the Moon, and a voice states that sooner or later, the humans will find them. The view then switches again to Anson Mount's  Black Bolt meditating in a room. I think there is a special room in the comics in which Black Bolt can speak to people without his voice, you know...wrecking a city block.

We get a glimpse of the Royal Family sitting at a table eating together. It's kinda neat to see them dining together like a family, and all that. I know the costumes have gotten flak, but has anyone ever considered that those outfits might be the Inhuman equivalent of casual wear? Why would Black Bolt wear his hood and mask to a family dinner?

Maximus really wants to go to Earth. He's got a big list of things he wants to do there: Go to Disneyland, meet his online pen pal, try those 'scone' things everyone talks about, get a Netflix account, ride roller coasters, see a live wrestling show, man's got a lot of stuff he wants to do. He also feels that Earth is their rightful home, and as such, they should be living there.

Black Bolt then ends up in Hawaii thanks to Lockjaw. He should go see a volcano when he's there. His presence causes...a bit of a disturbance. Since he can't talk, he should bring a pad and paper with him in case of stuff like this.

There's lots of action scenes, including some glimpses of Triton. From what little we see of him, he does resemble his comic counterpart, which is great to see.

The trailer doesn't reveal a whole lot, but the basic gist seems to be that Maximus wants to go to Earth, and he wants to lead the Inhumans be there, the rest of his family be damned.

I honestly don't see it. I don't see why everyone is so angry about this trailer. The costumes are simpler, yeah, but at least the characters are recognizable. It's not like they're all in generic black leather *cough*X-Men*cough*. And the trailer is a minute-and-a-half long. It's not going to reveal everything. But then again, if it did, people would grumble about spoilers. Honestly, I think they're just whining about the trailer because Inhumans.

I'll give this series a shot. It could be a ton of fun. Besides, I like Lockjaw.

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.

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.