Marvel’s Inhumans was a flawed show. It was better than most folks give it credit for, but not nearly as good as it should have been. I watched the final episodes this week. Since I’ll reveal some plot details in writing about it, I’m going to activate the traditional warnings about that.
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
I think of the Inhumans as villains. They subject their children to mutagenic crystals in the name of religion. They created their own slave race in the Alpha Primitives. And, as of this TV series, they have a cruel caste system. Villains.
That may have been part of the reason for the show’s failure. The “heroes” were pretty uniformly unlikable. Black Bolt was a lousy leader. Medusa wasn’t any better. Gorgon was a bully. Karnak was full of himself. Crystal was a spoiled princess. Initially, Lockjaw was the only one I liked.
But there was growth in these characters. Black Bolt and Medusa do come to realize what terrible leaders they were. After receiving a brain injury, Karnak became less self-assured, more interesting and someone you could root for...even when he makes a terrible mistake involving another Inhuman. Gorgon becomes less of a bully and more of a protector. Crystal discovers that being a princess isn’t all she is or can be. As for Maximus, he’s a villain you love to hate and his fate in the final episode is just right.
The scene where Maximus shaves off Medusa’s hair in heart-breaking. It also saved a lot of money because that was one less CGI effect in the budget. Triton never looked convincing, which is probably why he was off-screen until the last two episodes. You can tell where other financial corners were cut.
In the final analysis, Inhumans was probably too ambitious for the small screen. Clearly, Marvel didn’t have a lot of faith in either the characters or the series. However, now that the Inhumans are on Earth, I hope some of them make appearances on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD...and maybe even the more realistic Marvel Netflix series. Not as a steady thing. Just as an occasional “that’s cool” moment.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
Inhumans was worth watching. It has some great moments and moving performances. It wasn’t a safe bet, which is fine by me. I want to see comic books translated to movies and television reach a little higher. Even if they fail to achieve their lofty goals.
My son Ed and I have been watching the Punisher, but I still have three more episodes to watch before I can review the Netflix show. Instead, you get my quick comments on The Punisher #15-17 and #218. My first quick comment is...why does Marvel numbering keep getting more confusing? Sheesh!
The Punisher #15 [$3.99] is a done-in-one story with Frank Castle hunting a twisted killer who pushes his victims in front of subway trains. Written by Becky Cloonan with art by Matt Horak and colors by Lee Loughridge, it’s a welcome change-of-pace adventure for the Punisher. The killer isn’t really a match for Castle’s expertise, but the issue is well-written and drawn.
Issues #16-17 [$3.99] has another singular protagonist for Castle. Face is a grotesque killer who can’t feel pain, both the result of a prior meeting with the Punisher. Face is slaughtering citizens to lure Frank into a trap. This two-parter didn’t work as well for me, though the second half has some fun supporting characters.
The new creative team of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Guiu Vilanova come aboard with issue #218. I would love to see the math on how Marvel came up with that number.
In the new story arc - “Punisher: War Machine” - Chernaya smugglers are buying guns for the Chernayan army in America. A military coup ousted Chernaya’s president and is slaughtering children and other civilians. Nick Fury recruits the Punisher to take out the coup. As incentive, Fury tells Frank where he can find the War Machine armor of the late James Rhodes. By the end of the issue, Frank has taken control of the armor and seems quite pleased with it. Since we see Castle in the armor on the cover, I figured there was no need for spoiler warnings.
I wasn’t bowled over by the first part of this story arc, but the issue is mostly set-up for what’s to come. I’ll figure out what I think about it when I finish the entire arc.
Unusual Suspense #1 [Charlton Neo Media; $6.99] has a cover date of Fall 2015. The 52-page, full-color comic book has three features of varying lengths. None of three strips are award-winners, but, like the comics of the legendary publisher from which this company gets its name, they are quirky fun.
N.E.O stands for Non-Sequentially Evolving Organism. It’s written by Paul Kupperberg with art by the late P.D. Angel Gabriele. This 21-page story introduces us to a creature from the future pursued by other creatures from the future. This story’s hero is the first successful clone warrior, the first of an army created to fight in an interplanetary war. Any further character and plot development - such as why the hero’s creator is evil and why he has fled instead of fight and why he doesn’t want his creator to get his DNA - gets shoved aside for the action scenes. I’m moderately intrigued, but that’s the best I can say at this point.
Ms. Molecule by Rene King Thompson with art by Sandy Carruthers is the most together series in the issue. The diminutive heroine has inoperable cancer. However, when she shrinks, her symptoms vanish. A scientist herself, she uses her abilities to help other patients and work towards a cure that affect her even when she’s not on her tiny form. She’s a super-hero with disabilities who uses her abilities to help others. That clicks off a lot of my happy boxes and is why I got a kick out of this 18-page story.
Mr. Krime: King of Chaos by Jean-Emmanuel Dubois and Mort Todd is a second generation master villain who terrorizes Europe. The six-page story is mostly set-up, but the concept and the possibility of the original Krime still being alive is interesting. I would like to see what happens next.
The last four pages of the comic and the inside back cover are all blank. That seems like an odd design choice to me.
I’ve been buying these Charlton Neo Media comics via Amazon. They have started showing up in Diamond’s Previews catalog as offered by AC Comics, but I’m not sure those comic books are the same as the original editions. I’m confused.
My recommendation? If you like somewhat nostalgia, somewhat quirky mainstream comic books, you might enjoy the publications from this company. I do.
That’s all for now. Tony Isabella's Bloggy Thing will return in 2018.
© 2017 Tony Isabella
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
SPOILERS AHEAD
I think of the Inhumans as villains. They subject their children to mutagenic crystals in the name of religion. They created their own slave race in the Alpha Primitives. And, as of this TV series, they have a cruel caste system. Villains.
That may have been part of the reason for the show’s failure. The “heroes” were pretty uniformly unlikable. Black Bolt was a lousy leader. Medusa wasn’t any better. Gorgon was a bully. Karnak was full of himself. Crystal was a spoiled princess. Initially, Lockjaw was the only one I liked.
But there was growth in these characters. Black Bolt and Medusa do come to realize what terrible leaders they were. After receiving a brain injury, Karnak became less self-assured, more interesting and someone you could root for...even when he makes a terrible mistake involving another Inhuman. Gorgon becomes less of a bully and more of a protector. Crystal discovers that being a princess isn’t all she is or can be. As for Maximus, he’s a villain you love to hate and his fate in the final episode is just right.
The scene where Maximus shaves off Medusa’s hair in heart-breaking. It also saved a lot of money because that was one less CGI effect in the budget. Triton never looked convincing, which is probably why he was off-screen until the last two episodes. You can tell where other financial corners were cut.
In the final analysis, Inhumans was probably too ambitious for the small screen. Clearly, Marvel didn’t have a lot of faith in either the characters or the series. However, now that the Inhumans are on Earth, I hope some of them make appearances on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD...and maybe even the more realistic Marvel Netflix series. Not as a steady thing. Just as an occasional “that’s cool” moment.
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
SPOILERS OVER
Inhumans was worth watching. It has some great moments and moving performances. It wasn’t a safe bet, which is fine by me. I want to see comic books translated to movies and television reach a little higher. Even if they fail to achieve their lofty goals.
My son Ed and I have been watching the Punisher, but I still have three more episodes to watch before I can review the Netflix show. Instead, you get my quick comments on The Punisher #15-17 and #218. My first quick comment is...why does Marvel numbering keep getting more confusing? Sheesh!
The Punisher #15 [$3.99] is a done-in-one story with Frank Castle hunting a twisted killer who pushes his victims in front of subway trains. Written by Becky Cloonan with art by Matt Horak and colors by Lee Loughridge, it’s a welcome change-of-pace adventure for the Punisher. The killer isn’t really a match for Castle’s expertise, but the issue is well-written and drawn.
Issues #16-17 [$3.99] has another singular protagonist for Castle. Face is a grotesque killer who can’t feel pain, both the result of a prior meeting with the Punisher. Face is slaughtering citizens to lure Frank into a trap. This two-parter didn’t work as well for me, though the second half has some fun supporting characters.
The new creative team of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Guiu Vilanova come aboard with issue #218. I would love to see the math on how Marvel came up with that number.
In the new story arc - “Punisher: War Machine” - Chernaya smugglers are buying guns for the Chernayan army in America. A military coup ousted Chernaya’s president and is slaughtering children and other civilians. Nick Fury recruits the Punisher to take out the coup. As incentive, Fury tells Frank where he can find the War Machine armor of the late James Rhodes. By the end of the issue, Frank has taken control of the armor and seems quite pleased with it. Since we see Castle in the armor on the cover, I figured there was no need for spoiler warnings.
I wasn’t bowled over by the first part of this story arc, but the issue is mostly set-up for what’s to come. I’ll figure out what I think about it when I finish the entire arc.
Unusual Suspense #1 [Charlton Neo Media; $6.99] has a cover date of Fall 2015. The 52-page, full-color comic book has three features of varying lengths. None of three strips are award-winners, but, like the comics of the legendary publisher from which this company gets its name, they are quirky fun.
N.E.O stands for Non-Sequentially Evolving Organism. It’s written by Paul Kupperberg with art by the late P.D. Angel Gabriele. This 21-page story introduces us to a creature from the future pursued by other creatures from the future. This story’s hero is the first successful clone warrior, the first of an army created to fight in an interplanetary war. Any further character and plot development - such as why the hero’s creator is evil and why he has fled instead of fight and why he doesn’t want his creator to get his DNA - gets shoved aside for the action scenes. I’m moderately intrigued, but that’s the best I can say at this point.
Ms. Molecule by Rene King Thompson with art by Sandy Carruthers is the most together series in the issue. The diminutive heroine has inoperable cancer. However, when she shrinks, her symptoms vanish. A scientist herself, she uses her abilities to help other patients and work towards a cure that affect her even when she’s not on her tiny form. She’s a super-hero with disabilities who uses her abilities to help others. That clicks off a lot of my happy boxes and is why I got a kick out of this 18-page story.
Mr. Krime: King of Chaos by Jean-Emmanuel Dubois and Mort Todd is a second generation master villain who terrorizes Europe. The six-page story is mostly set-up, but the concept and the possibility of the original Krime still being alive is interesting. I would like to see what happens next.
The last four pages of the comic and the inside back cover are all blank. That seems like an odd design choice to me.
I’ve been buying these Charlton Neo Media comics via Amazon. They have started showing up in Diamond’s Previews catalog as offered by AC Comics, but I’m not sure those comic books are the same as the original editions. I’m confused.
My recommendation? If you like somewhat nostalgia, somewhat quirky mainstream comic books, you might enjoy the publications from this company. I do.
That’s all for now. Tony Isabella's Bloggy Thing will return in 2018.
© 2017 Tony Isabella
As an old school fan...I was born in 1966 and started my comics phase in either 1972 or 1973...I am a proud supporter of Charlton Neo. Most of the current output of DC and Marvel leave me cold. But Charlton Neo makes me feel like a kid again.
ReplyDeleteCould not agree more with your Inhumans comments. Sometimes people gripe too much, just to gripe.
ReplyDeleteYour description of "INHUMANS" reminds me of the "BATTLESTAR GALACTICA" redo. When it started... ALL the characters were unlikable. EVERY ONE of them. I felt like I was watching a slow-motion train wreck that for some undefinable reason, I couldn't take my eyes off.
ReplyDeleteBut then, after about a year or more... you began to see real character growth. I was stunned. And after about 2 years, they started really doing some interesting things. My favorite moment is probably when they "jumped" the ship INTO the upper atmosphere of a planet and launched their fighters right THROUGH the flames that were being generated by the sudden heat friction. It seemed like the kind of thing they might have tried on "SPACE CRUISER YAMATO".
On the other hand, the best thing the redo did was make me wanna dig out my tapes of the original series. I watched it start to finish for the first time in decades... and wound up ENJOYING the living HELL out of it, MORE than when it was first-run. Didn't see that coming!