By Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten and Sunny Gho
There is a big theory from many fans that since Marvel owns the movie rights to the Inhumans and not the X-Men, that Marvel is trying to make the Inhumans the new X-Men. Uncanny Inhumans came out this week, and after giving it a read, it would be impossible not to agree with the theory. There are even former X-Men on the team, i.e. Beast. It is possible to just enjoy this book for what it is, but if you’re a scorned X-Men fan, chances are that this will probably enrage you further.
Charles Soule clearly has some experience writing many of these characters, as he was the writer on Inhuman. There are definitely parallels between what the Inhumans are going through this issue and what the X-Men have gone through. Soule is a good enough writer, but this whole issue just feels wrong. This is clearly an attempt by Marvel to popularize the Inhumans, and they’re just a really hard sell. Many of these characters are no-names and readers generally have no interest in. The issue gets good when Medusa has an interaction with Beast. Soule plants a nugget of information that Cyclops is somehow involved, which is very interesting and will hopefully be expanded on as the series moves forward. Black Bolt, Triton and Reader attempt to retrieve Black Bolt’s son from Kang, which is alright, but ultimately not that interesting. One of the things that Soule does that feels exactly like an X-Men book, is he has Medusa defeat some Chitari in Central Park. This is met with reporters questioning why they were helping out, etc. If you feel a sense of déjà vu, it’s because this has been the X-Men for decades.
The pencils are handled by Jay Leisten with colors by Sunny Gho. The art in this issue is very good. Steve McNiven’s name is a big draw, but he’s just the inker. Leisten’s art resembles McNiven’s a lot, which is never a bad thing. His lines are clean and neat. Leisten uses some hatching and cross hatching in close up panels of certain characters, like Reader, which works well. There really aren’t too many negative things you can say about the pencils here. Many of the characters look great and Leisten draws Beast and Human Torch great too. The colors are handled by Sunny Gho. He does a wonderful job of making the colors look good, but they’re not too vibrant. When the Human Torch arrives, he lights up the page, which is very cool. The art on this book is gorgeous and everyone involved should be thrilled about that.
This is by no means a bad book, it’s actually pretty enjoyable, but this is just a rehash of everything the mutants have already gone through. You could honestly switch Black Bolt and Cyclops and it wouldn’t matter. Marvel is trying to push these characters on us, but they don’t have an original story yet. The art was very good and gave this book a good vibe. In order to be successful, Uncanny Inhumans need to distance themselves from the mutants.
I’m sorry but how exactly is this story a copy of the X-Men. Black Bolt is trying to get his son back. He’s not trying to save his species from bigotry and extinction. Medusa talking to the reporters could be compared to almost any other superheroe group in existence, Fantastic Four, Avengerss, Defenders, Squadron Supreme, Justice League etc. Speaking of the FF, if Beast being on the team means this team is imitating the X-Men then doesn’t that mean they are also imitating the FF as well. The logic you’re using is heavily biased. I’m surprised you would post something this jaded. I’m not even saying this book is a masterpiece but some of the things you discussed here are heavily based on rumors and speculation.
Also are you really trying to diminish the fact a potential conflict with Kang the Conqueror. He’s easily one of Marvel’s most interesting villains.
Black Bolt trying to get his son back doesn’t seem at all similar to Cyclops ever trying to get Cable back? As for Medusa talking to reporters, it’s that they question why she is helping. That doesn’t sound like the X-Men? This never happens with the Avengers or Fantastic Four. they’re recognized as heroes. Beast being on the team is more to the tune of they’re even using characters in the X-Men. Nothing against Kang, he’s a great character, it just wasn’t an exciting part of the book
How is Cable being poisoned with a techno-organic virus and sent to the future similar to Black Bolt giving up his teenage son in order to save his life, from the universes destruction. The terrigen bomb and Attilan’s crash in New York could easily be seen as a terrorist attack. Why wouldn’t they try to have some positive PR. While the Avengers and the Fantastic Four have both dealt with the media after they have been responsible for potentially catastrophic events. Are you really saying that these things are only ever happening in X-Men comics? Having Beast on the team = X-Men replacement but having Johnny on the team = nothing!? This kind of logic seems incredibly biased. None of the similarities you pointed out seem exclusive to the X-Men. All of of this seemed to be based on the idea that the Inhumans are the official replacement of the X-Men even though no one at Marvel has said this, there are 7 X-Men related books, a bunch of Deadpool books and Marvel just made a deal with Fox to coproduce two X-Men related shows.
cyclops and black bolt both gave up their sons in order to save their lives. that’s similar. johnny isn’t officially on the team by the way, he’s the liaison. was fred duncan a member of the x-men? no he was the fbi liasion. Human beings view X-Men as terrorists, they have called them this several times. this all feels like familiar territory to me
Johnny’s just as much advertised as being part of the team as Beast is. Neither character is an Inhuman so neither should be given the designation. If Johnny’s role is significantly less than Beast’s, later in the series, then you may have point. As it stands, both characters have comparable roles in the series. Most people who fear mutants dislike them for being freaks/different. As I stated, there are similarities but the specifics of what is actually happening in the series are what are going to separate it from the X-Men. Also, did Cyclops neglect to consult the child’s mother, did he force his son to become a mutant, did he give his son to a known villain to be raised in exchanged for safety.
I could easily make a comparison between other characters as well. Batman and Daredevil have similar origins, both had their parents gunned down by criminals, they both lack superpowers, fall for women that are extremely dangerous and are part of secret leagues of assassinations, primarily operate at night, and they both refuse to kill their archenemies. Taking these facts out of context would lead anyone to believe that the two characters were virtually identical. However, upon further examination one can clearly point out the individual details that distinguish the two. When Cyclops goes mute and Black Bolt starts leading a movement about Inhuman rights, then I’ll start agreeing with you.
i don’t care if you agree with me or not. these are similarities based on this first issue, which is what was reviewed. i’m not worried about later on.