Inhumanity spread across Earth when Black Bolt detonated a Terrigen Bomb in the fight to save his race and stop Thanos during Infinity.
The bomb ignited long dormant genes inside the human race transforming some people into Inhumans. How are Marvel’s heroes, villains and what’s left of the Royal Family reacting to the sudden emergence of (thousands, millions) of new Inhumans?
Writer Charles Soule, artist Joe Madureira will explore the classic and brand new characters in this strange new world in Inhuman #1. Soule and Editor Nick Lowe answered fans questions and revealed plans for the factions in a Marvel liveblog. Here are the highlights with stunning preview art of Queen Medusa and brand new characters:
“The Inhumans are almost a mythological creation. Just the idea of being an ordinary person until you’re exposed to this catalyst is neat. You can be a random person walking along the street when a cloud comes along and changes your life forever.”
“I’ll be playing with the Royal Family, but also taking a street level approach, which we don’t often see with the Inhumans.” said Soule.
“Ever few years, we like to put the focus on characters who haven’t gotten as much. You saw it years ago with New Avengers, you saw it last year with Guardians of the Galaxy, and you’re going to see it again now with the Inhumans.” said Lowe.
Black Bolt and Medusa are King and Queen of Inhumans. He is presumed dead. She’s at the center of the storm left to save her race.
“Medusa has turned out to be a fascinating character to write. She’s a queen in exile, removed from her power base. She can stand on her own, but having Black Bolt there didn’t hurt. Attilan blew up and there are new threats. She’s trying to pull together the pieces, locate her husband and find out why he did this, deal with emerging threats from new Inhumans and existing factions–she’s got a lot on her plate.” says Soule.
“Black Bolt rarely explains anything, and if he does, you don’t want to be anywhere near him.” says Soule.
“The idea that we’ll have a series called Inhuman and not address Black Bolt and what he’s done would be crazy, but we’ll let the mystery spin out a bit before we get to it.” – Soule
“We want to amplify these characters as super heroes, but also as characters you can relate to. Medusa is a warrior queen, a woman dealing with a huge amount of loss and expectations by kicking some ass. Charles and Soule are really playing with her power set and having her unload. I think people underestimate her” adds Lowe.
On the NEW Inhumans:
“Lash is a hidden Inhuman who did not live in Attilan and is emerging now. He lived in the town where Thane was found in Infinity. That society is one of the things I’ve been developing. That city could not do the Terrigenesis ritual, they could only grant it to some people who they thought would have useful powers. It was almost religious. Lash finds Inhumanity to be heretical. He’s a tough dude. His power allows him to change energy from one form to another, like fire to light. He’s dedicated and believes he is right.” says Soule.
“Medusa will be measured in a very large way by Lash.” adds Lowe.
“Inferno was a regular dude who everything changes for. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Inferno has powers like the Human Torch, but no control over them. He could burn himself to a cinder and die unless he figures this out.” reveals Soule.
“Reader’s Inhuman ability is that anything he reads he can make real. If he reads the word ‘fire’ everything lights on fire. The society he grew up in realized he was dangerous and blinded him. He has strips of paper with braille on them around his waist that he’ll pull out and use as a weapon. He wander the Earth looking for new Inhumans like Inferno.”
“I think Reader is super cool and has potential to be the breakout character. Lash is amazing. There’s a young Chinese girl who we haven’t talked about who is really cool. All of them are Rocket Raccoon.” says Soule.
“Since a lot of these characters are new, you don’t know what’s going to happen. If you see Iron Man, you know he’s probably going to survive the story. You don’t know that with these guys.” – Soule
“I’m bringing back a character named Lineage who I introduced in Thunderbolts #17. His line of ancestry is all present in him and manifest all over his body as little faces. He has knowledge to all of Inhuman history and becomes a power broker. He’s a one man faction.”- Soule.
Enemies and Factions of Inhuman:
“There will be a corporation that has been run by an Inhuman for years and years. They’re looking for a new head of their group.” – Soule
“The biggest faction of all is the new Inhumans. Young, old, men, women–you name it. They outnumber everybody.” – Soule
“This is a very important group of characters to us and we’ve been talking about them for years. That’s why they played such a big role in Infinity. You saw in Uncanny X-Men #15 that A.I.M. is collecting Inhumans, which will play a big role in Inhuman, but also elsewhere. You’ll see Spider-Man dealing with Inhumans. These first six issues really set the board, telling you who the Inhumans and their major players are.” – Soule
Themes and Connections to Marvel Universe:
“Nobody’s off the board. There are so many characters, it’s just a matter of deciding who to focus on first. I plan to use every one of the thousand new Inhumans over the 600 issues this series will run.” – Soule
“Public perception of Inhumans is a large part of the series. As far as what that perception is, it’s interesting. Mutants appear at puberty; if you’re not a mutant when you’re a teenager, you won’t be. If you’re an Inhuman, you could be 90 and your life could change. Some people are terrified by this, others see it as an opportunity. Some people want to be Inhumans.” – Soule
“It’s constantly evolving. Since this project was announced, the ‘Game of Thrones’ analogy has been out there and it’s not inaccurate. Medusa will be central as will a core group of heroic new Inhumans. The antagonists will vary. Lash is one. There’s a great character called the Unspoken who was king of the Inhumans before Black Bolt. Medusa is the axle around which the story turns, but the spokes around her are all very interesting.” – Soule
Kamala Khan is one new Inhuman now in her own series. Another new Inhuman was introduced in Fearless Defenders. Soule was asked if they will appear.
“I like everything Ms. Marvel, the book and the character. If we get a chance to use her, I’d love to, but only if it makes sense with what they’re doing in that series.” – Soule
On working with Joe Madureira:
“Joe Mad is doing incredible work. He really likes drawing Medusa’s hair, and I would too. He’s one of the best designers in the business and it blows my mind that I’m getting to work with him on this.” – Soule
“Joe Madureira is locked down for the first three issues and will be followed by “a supernova of a rising star” who Nick does not want to name just yet.” Soule
Inhuman #1 arrives April 2.
By Editor