Anghus Houvouras reviews Marvel’s Inhumanity #1…
“After INFINITY, The Marvel Universe has changed. The Avengers find themselves face to face with Karnak who has discovered The secret of The Inhumans THAT will shake The Marvel U to its core.”
Infinity may very well be one of the most terrible event comics ever committed to the printed page. I know very few comic fans who enjoyed it, and know even more who just kind of abandoned it halfway through. I can’t say I blame them. I did the same thing with the terrible Age of Ultron which was as pointless as any story in recent memory.
In spite of despising Infinity, I continued reading out of a morbid curiosity. I’ve spent enough time detailing its many flaws, and have no interest in poking that corpse with a stick, but it’s necessary as Infinity laid the foundation for the next sharp left Marvel has taken the 616 with the concept behind Inhumanity. For those who didn’t finish Infinity (consider yourself lucky), the Inhumans have taken center stage. Not only is Thanos’ deadly son Thane an Inhuman, but Black Bolt and his mad brother Maximus released the terrigen mists revealing the inhumanity in long dormant members of the alien-human hybrids.
Inhumanity serves as a fantastic primer for those who are unfamiliar with the Inhumans. The issue quickly catches everyone up to date on the destruction of Attilian and Black Bolt’s plan to activate the latent members of his race. The issue centers around Karnak, an Inhuman who has the innate ability to find flaws and comes with a kung-fu grip. After the destruction of their homeland, Karnak goes off the deep end and begins to shout his conspiracy theories to the heroes of the Marvel Universe. In captivity, he reveals Black Bolt’s plan to the Avengers. The Earth has been covered in the mists and now there are millions of new Inhumans each of them with mutant-like potential.
The concept does feel remarkably “X” like in theory. Instead of latent mutant abilities, you have the latent alien DNA that is brought to the surface turning normal people into super powered beings. The execution (tee hee) is a little more grand in scope. The intergalactic origins and connections to those corners of the Marvel Universe make this feel a little less earthbound than the X-Men.
Matt Fraction is a great writer and manages to take a very dense and obtuse concept and make it feel accessible. And this is from a guy who had pretty much checked out of Infinity at the halfway mark. So the fact that I found Inhumanity compelling and an entertaining read is a testament to his talent. I knew very little about Karnak before this read, other than he had a bitching moustache and had one mean karate chop. This is by far the most interesting the character has ever been, which is (SPOILERS) unfortunate since he doesn’t survive the end of the first issue.
I like the idea behind Inhumanity. Marvel has been working at a fevered pitch since the Marvel NOW! relaunch and there’s a lot of inspired work being put out by the House of Ideas. I picked up Inhumanity out of curiosity, and I’m glad I did. It feels fresh, like a new unexplored corner of the Marvel Universe. They’ve wiped the slate clean and seem to be starting fresh with the concept of the Inhumans, and Inhumanity #1 is a great jumping on point for anyone looking to get on board.
Rating 9/10.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon.
Originally published December 5, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
