The Inhumans Take Center Stage in Marvel’s INHUMANITY Event

Infinity still awaits, but Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on Marvel’s next big event, focused on Black Bolt and the Inhumans. It’s appropriately entitled Inhumanity. Here’s a glimpse at some of the main players from artist Steve McNiven. Angela’s no surprise, but hey, isn’t that Nightcrawler?

MARVEL-INHUMANITY

After the Terrigen Mists descend on the Earth, the cosmic catalyst activates latent Inhuman potential in millions of seemingly ordinary humans. The result: millions of super-powered beings all linked by a heritage they never knew they shared. It all plays out in Matt Fraction’s Inhuman, a new series likened to Game of Thrones for its complex political intrigue. It’s also billed as a return to the classic Marvel metaphor for alienation.

Says Fraction: “We’re telling science-fiction stories, but really it’s about race, gender, sexual equality. It’s a very relevant, pertinent metaphor.”

It sounds like a big story. A veritable saga.

The ramifications of “Inhumanity” will spread across the globe — and beyond — as Inhuman society grows and splinters into factions. “The ashes of this royal family smolder,” says Fraction. “You see who lives, who dies, who’s left, and how they begin to try and rebuild. Once this city falls, all kinds of bigger things start happening.” Alonso compares the event to Game of Thrones, and promises to explore the Inhumans’ “long, torturous history.” The ripple effects of “Inhumanity” will last awhile, with far-reaching implications for the whole universe. But for Fraction, it’s all about the simple gut-punch appeal: “There is a secret superhero kingdom, and you might belong there. What do you do? And what does Iron Man do? We’re turning the entire Marvel universe into a potential battlefield. And regular people are in the middle.”

The reverse M Day?


Comments

  1. Is Peter Parker Back for this event??

    That’s regular Spider-man’s costume. Not superior.

  2. “After the Terrigen Mists descend on the Earth”

    Did they just spoil the end of Infinity before the event even starts?

    • I was thinking the same thing, seeming as how Hickman loves to use the Inhumans.

    • Well, Geoff Johns spoiled the end of “Trinity War” in a YouTube video (SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNqDibHj1ac) and honestly since they have to start promoting these things months in advance, you can kind of guess who lives and who dies based on the cover artwork (oh hey look it’s Nightcrawler!).

      Now, knowing a big twist can ruin a surprise, but it can only ruin a story if it’s not that good in the first place. However, these aren’t stories. They’re “events,” kind of like the Super Bowl or World Series. They only matter in a sense of who lives, who dies, who gets a limb cut off, who loses their powers, who gets new powers, and what the new status quo is at the end. It only matters to you if it affects one of YOUR favorite characters, much in the same way a football or baseball game only matters if your team is playing.

      Compare that to Mark Waid’s “Daredevil.” Foggy Nelson has cancer. That’s a story. He’s a beloved character and the ultimate “best friend” in the Marvel Universe, it’s coming at a time when Matt Murdock is struggling to keep it together, and even beyond all of that, it’s something probably every reader has some experience with, unfortunately. Even if you told me how it turns out, I still would read it because of the creators and characters involved.

    • I think the September and October solicits actually spoiled the end of Trinity War before Johns did. With the announcement of Villains Month and then the launch of all the Forever Evil mini series it’s not hard to figure out what happened. Especially when it tells you what happened to the Justice League right in the solicits for Forever Evil #1 which comes out in September. And those September solicits came out on June 10th. The only way to avoid spoilers nowadays is just to avoid all comic book sites on the internet until you read the issues.

  3. I don’t think I can be bothered, Event overload..

    • You know, that was my reaction to the headline (Infinity hasn’t even STARTED!), but after reading the pitch, I think it sounds really cool!

    • That’s now my default for any event. Actually been pretty successful at keeping out since Secret Invasion. No events for me. Sometimes I read the periphery books – like Iron Man during the hammer thing – but otherwise, I stay far away from events.

  4. Nightcrawler!!!

  5. I’m excited for this because of what Matt Fraction has been doing for the last year or so in addition to his description of this on CBR but isn’t it starting to feel like Marvel is just turning into one event after another.

  6. I’m tempering my excitement a bit – because I haven’t seen an example of Fraction writing cool space opera type stuff in the Marvel universe specifically, that I’ve liked. I’ve really enjoyed his Hawkeye and FF, but his F4 has been lacking, and I didn’t particularly enjoy what I read of his Iron Man.

    But, I enjoy the Inhumans as characters so I’m looking forward to see what he tries.

  7. I loved the Earth X trilogy, so as long as Fraction does that exact same thing (which it kind of sounds like he is), I think we’ll be in business.

    Seriously, Earth X was wonderful and vastly underrated. It’s extremely complex, often confusing, occasionally disappointing– but also awe-inspiring in its Morrisonesque “everything-is-canon” approach, and as philosophically contemplative as Watchmen, without Watchmen’s formal unity.

    Bit surprised they’re giving this to Fraction after Fear Itself (though we know he can produce really good work when you leave him alone). I was kinda hoping to see Remender take a turn at the wheel.

  8. I’m really intrigued by the way this will bring the Inhuman and Mutant worlds together. You know, if new mutants are popping up (even after adolescence), and latent Inhumans pop up as a result of the Terrigen Mists, I can see some interesting developments coming out of the confusion between the two… is “species” the right word?

    Beyond the method by which their powers develop, I wonder if there’s any practical difference between a mutant and an Inhuman?

    Related: this is why I still tend to like these big, high-concept events — the premises are always so ripe for speculation!

    • The cynic in me says the difference is that Inhumans are still “in house” for Marvel Studios, and mutants are controlled by Fox…

    • Hello, it’s your friendly neighborhood anthropologist. I believe “subspecies” would be more appropriate. Homo sapiens sapiens, Homo sapiens superior, and Homo sapiens inhumanus all belong to the same genus (Homo) and species (sapiens). Different subspecies, but can breed and produce fertile offspring.

      As a side note, “Inhumans” is a misnomer since all members of the Homo sapiens species are humans.

    • @Master Destructo: Don’t tell Magneto that. He believes in Homo Superior, not Homo Sapiens Superior.

  9. Um ,wait, we haven’t even started Infinity, and we’re already teasing what’s next? Plus, maybe giving away the ending of Infinity? It’d be kinda funny, if it weren’t so sad. No wonder by the end of the year I might be buying more Valiant titles than Marvel . . .

    Honestly, as an Inhumans fan, this doesn’t sound appealing to me. It sounds as though they’re taking away what makes the Inhumans unique and simply making them another big race of people with superpowers. Also, how is this a return to the classic Marvel theme of alienation when it effects millions of people? Sounds like a pretty large subset to me. Sigh. Actually, the more I think about it, this sounds like Marvel’s version of New Krypton & we all know how many long term consequences that had . . .

    Maybe I’ll just finally read Jenkins’ Inhumans series instead . . .

    Finally, that’s one ugly outfit on Wolverine.

    • So much of what you said clicked with me even though I hadn’t put into thoughts yet, so thank you. I really wanted a Inhumans series, but this just doesn’t look like Inhumans. It’s Marvel’s version of “Game of Thrones” with Mutants and Inhumans. Look at Fraction’s quote; “It’s about race, gender, and sexual equality”. Kinda like what GoT talks about and has been for 3 years(?). I mean I love GoT, but I don’t need to see it with Marvel characters.

  10. Avatar photo PymSlap (@alaska_nebraska) says:

    BAMF!! I love the new dichromatic uniform Wolverine’s got on. I think it pairs nicely with Iron Man’s armor. It reminds me of something Adi Granov would design.

  11. I haven’t ought an “event” comic in years, but this one ounces really old. I think will check this out!

  12. Why is nobody talking about Yondu?

  13. The premise sounds pretty cool, even if it does sound like something they’d do to waitaminute this is basically the premise to the DC Online video game.

    Good to see they’ve updated Angela’s costume for the modern era.

  14. “Oh; the inHumanity!”

  15. “After the rise of the Inhuman Nation and Black Bolt’s sacrifice, the Inhuman Avengers are forced to find a new home in the stars. This December: Eventuality!”

    “On an Earth devasted by the Inhuman Wars, the Residual Avengers fight for their lives against…Humanity!”

    “The Human Avengers discover a new energy source in the Dark Pits of Latveria. Welcome to Doom Nation! ”

    “The Doomed Avengers are cursed with a knowledge that could save Humanity at the cost of Inhumanity. Now they are forced to make a choice: 2B or not 2B!”

  16. So, Marvel’s been in constant event mode since AvX, huh? I think AvX was fairly successful and the ending generate a lot of buzz, but Age of Ultron seemed like a misfire with generally little buzz and a lot of criticism, now we’re not even into Infinity and we’re onto another. (I have to admit, much as I like Fraction the idea that he’s being given another event to oversee after Fear Itself is worrying.)

    While I like the premise they’re talking about, I also really liked the described premise of Fear Itself, which included various Marvel characters meeting their biggest fears. This never really came to pass inside the event and ultimately it just became a weird Marvel version of Blackest Night.

  17. Is that Wolverine or Constrictor (frank payne)?

  18. EW is covering comic events? COOL!!
    just wondering is EW owned by Disney in some form??

    • Nope, its just getting close to ComicCon

    • EW is a division of Time which is owned by Time Warner. (Which owns Warner Bros. Entertainment which owns DC Entertainment which publishes DC Comics.)

      They cover comics stuff on an occasional basis.

    • If I remember correctly, it was this time last year, Marvel chose Entertainment Weekly to break the first news about Marvel NOW! My girlfriend subscribes to the magazine and while comics are not their main focus, they do seem to cover them more than in the past. Though I will say, if anyone’s seen the cover, it does not raise my hopes for the next Spider-Man film (not that I saw the last one . . .)

    • There’s a guy who’s been doing periodic comics stuff since at least in EW for the last decade.

    • Great!! I get EW and I’m pleasantly pleased at ANY ink comics gets (movies,issues or a blurb in the books/graphic novels section!!)

  19. I want to not like this because it’s an “EVENT”, but this sounds really awesome. I’ve wanted to read more Inhuman related comics since Hickman’s F4/FF run, so it looks as though this might be my first “event”. Plus that preview image has Bucky, Black Widow, and Silver Surfer in it, all of whom require my attention. As long as I can afford to buy this, I’m going for it.

  20. I’m really confused why it seems most people get mad when DC has one event in 2 years with Trinity War. Saying they are tired of events. But I can barely remember a time in the past year or two when Marvel DIDN’T have an event going on and everybody thinks it’s great. Or is it just me?

    • Yeah, I’m imagining all those negative comments above this…

    • I think there was a brief break in between “Fear Itself” and “AvX”. Now I think Marvel is speeding up their events. This is just me, but I think Marvel is gonna burn itself out with double monthly shipping, event-after-event-after-event, multiple Spidey/X-Men/Avengers books. I could be wrong, but I don’t think it can keep this up.

      And for people talking about how “forced” Trinity War is, and how soon it is for it; TW has been set up over the past 2 years. Marvel’s set up their current event in the last 2 pages of their last event. Which ended last month.

    • Agreed, say what you will about the execution of Trinity War, but at least it was built up to slowly piece by piece. Remember how Fear Itself just popped out of nowhere only to disappear into nowhere as if it never existed? Maybe it didn’t. If it wasn’t for Journey into Mystery, I’d swear that it hadn’t . . .

    • In a weird way, Journey Into Mystery was the real event of Fear Itself.

  21. I just realized that that his promo looks a hell of a lot like the Marvel Now promo shot from last year. Is going to be an annual thing a group of characters posed in front of a Glamour Shots background to announce a new event from Marvel?

  22. I hate where the industry is SOOOO MUCH… Snyder, Tomasi, Azzarello, Lemire, Fraction, Bendis (occasionally), and Williams: if not for these writers, I would be DONE with Marvel and DC! And this kind of shit is really disheartening to an aspiring writer, such as myself. Shit like this makes me worry that by the time I’m ready to enter the industry, I’d be handling 5 titles at a time, 2 limited series tying into “The Infinity Box” or some shit, and Bruce Wayne as a woman or Doc-Ock still as Spiderman…

  23. I thought this was about Hickman writing an Inhumans series, which made me think “Hey, that would make me break my self-imposed sbbatical from Marvel!” but no! He’s writing an event that will lead to a Matt Fraction Inhumans series (I’ve got nothing against Fraction, I like alot of his stuff. But he can not compare to Hickman writing the same characters)!

    Jesus, I think “Infinity” just became the “Age of Ultron” for “Inhumanity”, which is funny because “Infinity” came after “Age of Ultron” which just finished LAST MONTH!!!

    This is one of the reasons I’m done for Marvel for the time being. I mean at this point it feels like the Marvel Universe isn’t changing, they just keep adding coats of paint to it. Like these stories don’t matter at all, because in (minus) six months something else is gonna come along and add another coat so why bother? Sorry for the mini-rant, I had caffeine this morning. This story might be good, and I’m sure thousands will buy it. I won’t be one of them though.

    • Yeah, I have nothing against Marvel. But trade waiting this stuff is so much easier to try and keep track of what is going on instead of trying to sort out the issues and reading order in real time. At least in a trade it is already collected for you and in the proper order. I think I might jump off the Justice League books also after Trinity War in August ends too. With all the Forever Evil stuff starting with tie ins etc I think I might just start trade waiting that stuff too. Maybe I’m just getting old. 😉

    • If trade-waiting needed a sponsor, I’d nominate you @Daningotham 🙂 .I finally finished Hickman’s FF run, in trades from my library. It was wait-for-it…FANTASTIC! Next I’ll finish Fraction’s Iron Man run, then maybe his Thor, and hopefully catch volumes 3 and 4 of Waid’s DD. Other than all that, I have little interest in Marvel.

      I’m undecided on Trinity War, but I will probably pick up 4-5 of the Villain’s Month issues (1 or 2 are sure things, the rest depend on quality). I tell what I do want to read in trade right now: Aquaman. Wonder Woman. Frankenstien Agent of Shade. Demon Knights. All DC. That’s what gets me excited each month (plus a few image books).

      The crazy thing? When I started out I was a full Marvel Zombie. Now it’s like I did a 180. Guess I’ve grown up quite a bit!

    • I assumed this would have been a Hickman venture, too. The oddest thing, to me, is that a few websites had a brief about Fraction’s Inhuman’s arc a few weeks back that said it would be a massive reinvention of the group into more of a “Game of Thrones” political houses-type drama. That doesn’t mesh with the premise here which – not to do the old “Marvel/DC is ripping off DC/Marvel” thing – sounds an awful lot like DC’s INVASION event in the late 80s. During that one, the Dominators drop the “MetaGene” bomb on the world which gave average joes and some non-powered super heroes super abilities. (I believe this was how rejustified Black Canary’s Canary Call amongst other things.) While metahumans have more or less disappeared in DC since 2000 or so, it does pop up from time to time. (The Power Company had a few main characters who revolved around the MetaGene Bomb). My particular favorite is when they made the argument that the MetaGene Bomb gave Batman the Metahuman ability of “superior detection.” I kid you not.

    • @IthoSapien: That’s what I have been doing too. I’ve bee reading a lot of older Marvel stuff in trades. I’m about halfway through Astonishing X-men series that started in 2004 and have recently started Peter David’s run on X-Factor. I love both of them. They are just so much easier and enjoyable to read in trade format for me anyway. And MUCH cheaper. I don’t think I will ever drop the Batman family issues but I am trying to drop everything else and just read what I want in trades. It’s a very hard process though to let go.

  24. Why is Spider-man wearing his old outfit? Why is there a Nightcrawler? Why does Wolverine need another new outfit?

    Why are we getting 3 events this year!? Is there going to be another one after Inhumanity?

    Ok, I am officially less interested in everything Marvel is doing. There’s only so many times I can take “AND THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING” in one calendar year.

  25. I’m excited for this. Marvel is, IMO, doing just about everything right since Marvel Now started. I do wish they would have waited til after Infinity was underway to announce this, but what can ya do?

  26. Avatar photo filippod (@filippodee) says:

    After reading this and the October Marvel solicitations I realized that I must find the courage to drop all Marvel books and switch to Digital Unlimited. I still like the stuff but it’s time to stop wasting my time in advance-ordering, pull-list juggling exercises and overspending guilt trips. I’ll just keep a few 2.99 books I love.

    • Marvel Unlimited has been great at keeping my Amazon wishlist a bit more manageable. The delay from release to popping up on the app is still inconsistent, so I’m not shrinking my pull list yet, but Unlimited is like having a healthy library of collections at your fingertips. (I still wish the app was more stable/faster).

    • I read everything on the Marvel unlimited app, the Marvel Now books have started to appear there as well. I’m reading books I probably wouldn’t have risked spending money on. Thor, Fantastic Four, FF, Avengers Assesmble, and more.

      The only thing I by day-and-date now is Ult. Spider-man, if Peter came back I’d probably break and buy Amazing too.

      Anything else if unlimited or trade.

  27. Digging Wolvie’s threads, god I miss Nightcrawler, Medusa’s new look is sexy without being exploitative, and who doesn’t love giant Pugs…Just get “Belt-Girl” back out of the Marvel U as soon as is contractually possible.

  28. I’m out. Fear Itself taught me a lesson. I’m happy enough though with Hawkeye and FF.

  29. So….Hickman is starting this Inhumans stuff in New Avengers (which now that moment last month makes more sense) and yet Fraction is writing this?

    Sigh.

  30. Maybe someone can help me out. I didn’t read Hickman Inhuman stories (felt like he ignored DnA’s use of them). Did all of the Inhumans come back to Earth? They were ruling freaking Kree for @#$% sake’s, why would they all come back?

    Also releasing the Terrigen Mists onto the mass of earth was the plot given out to Quicksilver after M-Day. So its re-hashing a plot from only what 5ish years?

    • SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
      It’s kinda complicated (Hickman’s FF plot was pretty intricate); basically Ronan brought back the Supreme Intelligence which came to Earth to destroy the last Kree experiment because it was prophesied that one would rise up and kill it, The Inhumans follow it to Earth so Black Bolt can kill it, but a future version of Franklin Richards comes along and rewrites the time-stream negating the prophesy. So the Inhumans decide to stay near Earth and I think BB makes Ronan his right hand in dealing with the Kree. I’m missing some other details but I think that’s the gist of why the Inhumans are back here. I highly recommend reading Hickman’s FF so you can understand it better, plus it’s a pretty awesome run.

  31. Could be good when it hits the public library.

    Remind me again next year…

  32. Nightcrawler is back, but dies again at the end of the event.

    Fraction is hit or miss for me, wish it was Hickman.

    Also a month after this ends we are going to see Ultimates versus Avengers as the 2 Universes merge.