Inhumans
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Template:Superteambox The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics' universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They have also appeared in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, during the Ultimate Fantastic Four issue, Annual 1: Inhuman.
The Inhumans first appeared in Fantastic Four #45 (December 1965), though members Medusa and Gorgon appeared in earlier issues of the series (#36 and #44, respectively).
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Fictional history
At the beginning of the Kree-Skrull War, millions of years ago in Earth time, the alien Kree established a station on the planet Uranus, a strategic position between the Kree and Skrull empires. Through their work at this station, they discovered that sentient life on nearby Earth had genetic potential invested in it by the alien Celestials. Intrigued, the Kree began to experiment on Earth's then-primitive homo sapiens.
Their goal was apparently twofold — to investigate possible ways of circumventing their own evolutionary stagnation, and to create a powerful mutant race of soldiers for use against the Skrulls. However, although their experiments were successful in creating a strain of humanity with extraordinary abilities, the Kree abandoned their experiment for reasons which are not yet clear.
Their test subjects, the Inhumans, went on to form a society of their own, which thrived in seclusion from the rest of humanity and developed advanced technology. Experiments with the mutagenic Terragen Mist gave them various powers, but also caused lasting genetic damage and deformities. This led to a long-term selective breeding program to try to mitigate the effects of these mutations. Their city Attilan has frequently been relocated and, as of 2005 stories, rests in the oxygen-bearing Blue Area of the Moon.
The once-secret existence of the race has come to light among the general public as the Inhumans interact more often with many of Earth's superheroes — including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men — whom they have aided against threats such as Galactus, Ultron 7, Magneto, and Apocalypse.
The Inhumans are led by their king, Black Bolt, and his royal family, consisting of Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, Maximus the Mad, and the canine Lockjaw. Both Crystal and Medusa have been members of the Fantastic Four; Crystal has also been a member of the Avengers.
One interesting observation is that Attilan's society and culture are predicated on a conformist belief system which permits individuality as it applies to genetic development and physical and mental ability, but demands rigid conformity in that each member of society is assigned a place within that society according to those abilities following exposure to the Terragen Mist. Once assigned, no Inhuman, no matter how great or powerful can change their place within this rigid caste system.
Another interesting note is that the Inhumans' culture strictly prohibits miscegenation between Inhumans and other races. Although a member of the royal family, the Inhuman Crystal, appears to have ignored this prohibition married outside of her caste to wed the mutant Quicksilver. However, this may be a privilege due to Crystal's standing as a member of the royal family.
In contrast it appears that such permissive behavior is lost on the children of the immediate members of the royal family. Gorgon's daughter, for example, attempted to form relationships outside of her caste and was strictly prohibited from doing so, although this may have been because her relationship was with an Alpha Primitive, the lowest Inhuman caste. It is not clear, however, whether commoners face such strict disciplinary measures under similar circumstances.
However, Inhuman society changed radically recently. Ronan the Accuser sought to use the Inhumans as an army to disrupt the Shi'ar control of the Kree after their defeat in the Kree-Shi'ar war. Appearing over the city of Antilla, Ronan seized control in a surpise attack and forced the Inhumans and their King Black Bolt to obey or he would destroy their only home and everyone in it. During their time in forced servitude to Ronan, he(Ronan) revealed that the Inhumans had always been intended as weapons in service to the Kree. To this end much of the genetic attributes that were encoded in them during the original experiments were meant to give them the abilities and appearances of various alien races. The idea being that these Inhuman slaves could be used to infiltrate alien worlds and races to conduct espionage, and/or assassinations to weaked potential conquests. Ronan used the Inhumans in just this manner disrupting treaties being negotiated by the Shi'ar and launching attacks on ships and bases. Eventually, King Black Bolt sought to free his people by challenging Ronan to a personal battle. If Ronan won the Inhumans would continue to serve him. If the king won the Inhumans would go free. After a terrible battle Black Bolt won and Ronan demonstrating that the Kree still had honor kept his word and left the Inhumans. All was not over however, as the Inhumans were not willing to just follow Black Bolt back to Earth. Pressure had been building in the closed society of Antilla since open contact with the outside world had been made. During their enslavement by Ronan the Inhumans had wished for their freedom but had also developed a sense of pride in their power and a belief in their own destiny. They no longer believed that Black Bolt or the royal family was fit to lead them in the new life they wanted and exiled the royal family from Antilla. Antilla itself, which had been Ronan's mobile base of operations among the stars while he was in control left with the Inhumans to make their own destiny. The royal family returned to Earth to find theirs.
Ultimate Inhumans
They made their debut in the Ultimate Marvel Universe during the Ultimate Fantastic Four issue Annual 1: Inhuman. It begins with two mountain climbers reached the walls of their city, Atillan, in the Himalayas when they are turned back with their memories erased. The Inhumans made themselves known to the Fantastic Four when a member of their royalty, Crystal, fled to New York after being ordered to marry Black Bolt's brother. Johnny came across Crystal and attempted to save her from two royal guards from Atillan who were trying to capture her. Beaten, Crystal took him back to the Baxter Building, and revealed herself to the Fantastic Four. She left her dog behind, who had the ability to teleport, which the Fantastic Four used to enter Atillan. Once their presence was discovered, the city was abandoned and the Inhumans, including Crystal, relocated.
They claimed that their city had remained secret for 10,000 years, which makes their ancestors contemporaries with Ultimate Marvel Atlantis. Curiously, advertising material for the annual claimed that the story was linked to the Tomb of Namor storyline, but no links were found. The link will probabaly be shown in the Ultimate Invasion crossover.
Bibliography
- The Mighty Thor #146-152 (back-up stories) (1967-1968)
- Amazing Adventures #1-10, (August 1970 - January 1972)
- Inhumans #1-12, (October 1975 - August 1977)
- What If #29-30 (back-up stories) (1981)
- Inhumans Graphic Novel (1988)
- Inhumans Special (aka Inhumans: The Untold Saga) #1 (Marvel Comics, April 1990)
- Marvel Comics Presents #168 (Marvel Comics, 1994)
- Inhumans: The Great Refuge #1 (Marvel Comics, 1995)
- Alpha Flight/Inhumans Annual ’98 (1998)
- Inhumans #1-12 (1998-1999)
- Inhumans #1-4 (2000)
- Inhumans #1-12 (2003-2004)
Other media
The Inhumans were featured in The Fantastic Four animated series in several episodes.it:Inumani