While perusing the interwebs I came across some interesting rumors regarding the next Marvel property to be adapted. The most interesting one I came across is the potential for an “Inhumans” movie. The Inhumans are one of the cooler concepts of the Marvel Universe that had never been adequately explored. I think this could make a very interesting movie but it would not be the typical superhero fair. It could be something very different and incredibly cool.
What Are the Inhumans?
The Inhumans are hidden society of super humans who first appeared in Fantastic Four #4. Their society was created millions of years ago when the alien Kree experimented early homo sapiens. With alien technology, selective breeding, and the mutagenic Terrigen Crystals the Kree were able to create a race highly advanced city of superheroes. They discovered the same factors in humanity that would eventually give the Hulk , the Fantastic Four and the X-Men their powers. After the departure of the aliens the Inhumans withdrew from the rest of the world becoming isolationists in their city in the Himalayascalled Attilan, the Great Refuge. After eons of isolation the Fantastic Four, ever the intrepid scientists and explorers, discovered the city and introduced the Inhumans to the rest of the world.
Who are the Inhumans?
The Inhumans have a caste based society, and are ruled by the King Black Bolt. One of the strongest super humans on Earth capable of staggering the Thing, the Hulk, and Thor in combat. His body absorbs ambient energy from the environment to make him stronger. Black Bolt’s greatest power is his voice. It is so powerful a whisper could level a city, and thus he’s taken a vow of silence to contain his destructiveness. His wife is Queen Medusa. In addition to enhanced strength and vitality, her hair is alive, nearly indestructible and capable of moving based on her will. Rounding out the rest of the royal court is Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, Crystal, Maximus the Mad, and Lockjaw. Notably Lockjaw is a pet dog with the ability to teleport whoever he likes anywhere in the the universe. Maximus Black Bolt’s brother, is a telepathic supergenius, with criminal motivations to rule Attilan and eventually the world.
What are the Inhuman’s deal?
As an advanced hidden society The Inhumans look down upon the rest of humanity. In some adaptations the Inhumans’ isolation is due to their inability to handle earth’s impurity (disease, pollution, etc). In other versions they don’t want their advanced technology to fall into the hands of violent and dangerous base line humans. In other versions its based regular fear. Their culture is almost eugenicist. Your genetic pedigree determines your elevation in society. This is due to the fact that Terrigenisis (the process of giving an Inhuman powers) can go horribly wrong if you have biological anomalies.
So why would this make a cool movie?
The Inhumans would be an interesting movie because it would allow film makers to explore our culture by showing the audience something fundamentally different. Much like how the X-Men films explore the ideas of racism and bigotry. Both the Inhumans and the humans could learn from each other and over come their prejudice. The characters are particularly interesting. Black Bolt is fair and honorable King. His vow of silence makes him particularly regal. His relationship with Medusa is fascinating and almost a tragic fairy tale. She acts as his voice. In some comics they can feel each others emotions, but Black Bolt can never tell his wife he loves her. Maximus has the potential to be one of the Marvel Universes greatest villains if the comics gave him something good to do. Imagine an evil Professor Xavier desiring to take over the world. Not only does he have a small strike force of X-Men but an entire city of tens of thousands of super humans. On top of all that, the design and art work behind Attilan and a super powered populous would be a designers dream. They could put the design of Asgard for Thor to shame. The Royal Court could be costumed in sci-fi fantasy armor, and regal robes.
How would I do it?
I’d borrow some ideas from Disney’s Atlanis: The Lost Empire. In those movies Milo Thatch is a scientist trying to find the lost sunken city. When he and his crew of explorers discover the city, one of the people he’s traveling with decides to steal Atlantis’s power source. The crew teams up to save the day and the underwater city. Another option would be to draw inspiration from the original Stargate movie, where a government team recruits a scientist for for a special mission. Ideally I’d make this a Fantastic Four Movie, and Reed Richards and Co. would take Milo’s place. Seeing as their rights are tied up with Fox we might have to go another option.
I’d make this movie a period piece taking place in past to capture the exploration spirit of an old Indiana Jones movie. I’d start the film with a Reed Richard expy giving a lecture on hidden cultures postulate the theory that mythological societies Atlantis, or Shangri-La might be the same society interpreted by different cultures. After the lecture he is approached by a SHIELD Agent, maybe a young Nick Fury, saying the government wants him to be an advisor on a mission to Attilan a previously hidden city behind an impenetrable barrier. When they get there, most Inhumans want to destroy the impure outsiders, however King Black Bolt is intrigued by the outside world. Humans are evolving quickly and the Inhumans might not be able to hide much longer. He would hope that being hospitable to the outsiders would open diplomatic channels. In the Atlantis movie the story was more about the journey than the destination. I would make the Inhumans more about finding and exploring the hidden society. Black Bolt and Medusa would give our scientist and SHIELD agent a tour of the city and the society, as they teach the royal couple about the outside world. Crystal might even develop a sweet spot for our scientist in place of the Human Torch or Quicksilver. All would not be well though. Maximus would be lurking around each corner manipulating characters like Grima Wormtongue. SHIELD would back the mission because they want to get access to Inhuman technology. They plan to use the terragen crystals to jump start their super human program. When our SHIELD agent is caught trying to steal a sample and the expedition is imprisoned about to be executed. Because Black Bolt let them in he would be regarded as a traitor too and deposed in favor of his brother. I would make it that the true villain Maximus. Using his telepathic powers he’d been contacting the outside world, and manipulating people. He would have engineered Attilan’s discovery and the theft of the Terrigen Crystals to hurt Black Bolt and stir up the Inhuman’s hatred for humans. Maximus’s master plan would be to poison the world with Terrigen Bomb, killing most of the human population and turning the rest into subservient Inhumans Maximums could dominate. Attilan would be kept safe from the poisoning behind its powerful barrier. The SHEILD agent and the scientist would be sprung from prison by Lockjaw have to team up to free Black Bolt. After a bunch of kick ass superhuman battles Black Bolt would speak and destroying the Terrigen Bomb and Attilan’s shield. Maximus would stand broken and defeated. With newfound respect for each other’s society the scientist would note that without the shield the Inhuman’s city might be doomed. Medusa would observe that they may have lost a city, but the Inhuman’s have gained an entire work, and they look forward to all they can learn from each other.
An Inhumans movie is still a rumor, but I think it’s a rumor with potential. Even if we can’t have the Fantastic Four meet the Inhumans there’s so much that could be done with the concept of a lost civilization in the world of superheroes.