Uncanny Inhumans

The Uncanny Inhumans continues Marvel’s franchise-building effort. First arc Time Crush is now available in collected edition.

The Uncanny Inhumans picks up where Inhuman left off, pre-Secret Wars. Black Bolt and Medusa remain estranged, but are forced to work together to save their son, Ahura, from time-traveling villain Kang. After Black Bolt, along with Triton and Reader, make a failed attempt to liberate Ahura, Kang uses the boy (whose power finally emerges) to wipe out the Inhumans via strategically placed attacks in various time periods. The trio then teams with Medusa and Inhuman polymath Iso to mount a new rescue plan. Also along for the trip are the Human Torch, appointed as New York City’s liaison to the Inhumans (also Medusa’s new love interest), and the Beast, as a “visiting scientist” trying to crack the sterilizing effect the Inhuman Terrigen Cloud has on mutants. It all leads to a fierce showdown with Kang in a past era key to the Inhumans.

The Uncanny Inhumans is positioned as the main book for the franchise for the “All New, All Different” era. Writer Charles Soule does some nice work with the complex Royal Family dynamics, especially the marital dysfunction between Black Bolt and Medusa. He also comes up with credible reasons to incorporate fan favorite non-Inhumans Beast and Human Torch into the regular cast (though the latter’s romance with Medusa feels rather forced and poorly motivated). Soule makes good use of various of the recent “NuHumans” introduced over the past couple years. Reader and Iso are most prominent and each continues to develop in interesting ways.

Setting Kang as the main villain in Time Crush is a smart way to tie the series into the Marvel mainstream. Soule gets into some of the “Inhumans vs. mutants” concept, but wisely doesn’t push it too hard in this first arc. Ultimately, The Uncanny Inhumans is a nice mix of action, family drama and political intrigue that sets the series on a steady path.

Steve McNiven handled the pencil art for Time Crush, giving The Uncanny Inhumans a high profile launch artist. McNiven remains a dependable stylist, turning in clean, detailed work with lots of energy that keeps the action moving. He doesn’t get overly fussy with layouts, but incorporates some creative panel twists when appropriate. His design work on the various characters is geared more toward judicious updates than wholesale re-workings. Working with inker Jay Leisten and colorists Justin Ponsor and Sunny Gho, McNiven crafts a compelling visual identity that sets the right tone for The Uncanny Inhumans. It’s a polished, dynamic way to launch the title.

The Uncanny Inhumans does require knowledge of what’s been going on with the characters the past couple years. The events of Infinity and Inhuman especially inform Time Crush. For fans who are up on those stories, The Uncanny Inhumans is an enjoyable read.