The difference between the Inhumans and the Mutants

[useridgoeshere]

How they get their powers seems pretty irrelevant to the whole replacement discussion.

The big difference to me is that the Inhuman story was focused on a powerful slave-owning monarchy that lives separately from humanity in a distinct, mysterious society. They're being changed to be a minority living as a part of the broader MU society that involves regular people who are getting super powers. That's a lot closer to mutants. Inhumans are definitely now being changed to be more like mutants, but they're not completely there yet. From what I've read on these boards, they're not yet analogous to any real world minority.

[vitruvian]

How they get their powers seems pretty irrelevant to the whole replacement discussion.

The big difference to me is that the Inhuman story was focused on a powerful slave-owning monarchy that lives separately from humanity in a distinct, mysterious society. They're being changed to be a minority living as a part of the broader MU society that involves regular people who are getting super powers. That's a lot closer to mutants. Inhumans are definitely now being changed to be more like mutants, but they're not completely there yet. From what I've read on these boards, they're not yet analogous to any real world minority.

Well, neither are mutants, really, though they're arguably closest to LGBT(+ or Q, whichever you prefer).

1) Frequently born to 'baselines' (i.e., straights) rather than LGBT parents, so not inheriting their difference from their folks.

2) Frequently don't discover their differences (i.e., powers, physical mutations, being hunted by Sentinels) from baselines until adolescence... but some do manifest much earlier, and some not until later.

3) Majority do not have any striking physical, visible differences from the baseline population, but some do.

4) By virtue of being born mainly to baseline parents and mostly brought up in baseline-majority cultures until their teens or later, the subculture is one adopted, at least in part, by individual choice and affinity, and a wide diversity within the group. Just as there are LGBT folk of every race, color, and creed (although some get rejected by their religions), so too are there mutants from every ethnic group, culture, and religion out there.

The main difference, of course, is that the defining difference of mutants involves having superpowers and sometimes physical mutations, as opposed to a difference in sexual orientation, expression, or identity.

So, now that there are new Inhumans popping out of their cocoons all over the place, most of the same factors apply to them. However, there are some differences remaining between them and mutants still:

1) The whole cocoon thing (though I'm not sure it's universal - did Kamala grow a cocoon?) is a much more definitive point of transformation, and makes it quite visible whether somebody has become an Inhuman, as opposed to mutants where those with more subtle powers may be able to hide them and the fact that they've manifested as a mutant reasonably well.

2) The age range seems to be wider for Terrigenesis than it does for activation as a mutant. Although I'm not sure we've seen any senior citizens transforming, have we?

3) While the new Inhumans are coming from every culture and ethnicity, just as with mutants, they are not on their own in terms of forming a subculture centered around their essential differences from the rest of humanity, at least not to the same degree, in that there exists the original Inhuman culture of Attilan which will, if they so desire it, adopt them as its own.

[Myetche]

The big difference to me is that the Inhuman story was focused on a powerful slave-owning monarchy that lives separately from humanity in a distinct, mysterious society.

Didn't the Inhumans stop holding slaves on Black Bolt's decree?

1) The whole cocoon thing (though I'm not sure it's universal - did Kamala grow a cocoon?) is a much more definitive point of transformation, and makes it quite visible whether somebody has become an Inhuman, as opposed to mutants where those with more subtle powers may be able to hide them and the fact that they've manifested as a mutant reasonably well.

Kamala did the cocoon thing in her very first issue, so I would say that it is universal.

However, the universal design for the cocoon seems to be a green, squishy pod. Kamala's came out black and almost glass-like. Either Alphona screwed up on this rule, or there's a storyline reason as to why she was the odd one out.

[dragonmp93]

Really so long as a mutant doesn't walk around wearing a X on their clothes I'm not sure how anyone would even know whether or not they were a mutant.

Well, the purifiers and the sentinels always know when someone is a mutant or not.

[ImprobableQuestion]

The main difference, of course, is that the defining difference of mutants involves having superpowers and sometimes physical mutations, as opposed to a difference in sexual orientation, expression, or identity.

So, now that there are new Inhumans popping out of their cocoons all over the place, most of the same factors apply to them. However, there are some differences remaining between them and mutants still:

1) The whole cocoon thing (though I'm not sure it's universal - did Kamala grow a cocoon?) is a much more definitive point of transformation, and makes it quite visible whether somebody has become an Inhuman, as opposed to mutants where those with more subtle powers may be able to hide them and the fact that they've manifested as a mutant reasonably well.

2) The age range seems to be wider for Terrigenesis than it does for activation as a mutant. Although I'm not sure we've seen any senior citizens transforming, have we?

3) While the new Inhumans are coming from every culture and ethnicity, just as with mutants, they are not on their own in terms of forming a subculture centered around their essential differences from the rest of humanity, at least not to the same degree, in that there exists the original Inhuman culture of Attilan which will, if they so desire it, adopt them as its own.

Well put, particularly #3. I can clarify a few things:

1. Kamala did coccoon, though she broke out before anyone found her (it seems to take anywhere from under a minute to 12 hours to T-Gen, depending on the person).

2. Dante's mom cocooned and died; she was likely in her 40's-50's based on how old her kids are. And there was that baby Kamala and Spider-Man found. Also, there's no particular age restrictions on it, but the controlled T-Gen is supposed to take place during adolescence.

3. Inhuman T-Gen is generally somewhat more esoteric than mutation (in fact it used to be that normal looking Inhumans were viewed with disdain compared to freaky looking ones, which says a lot about how badass Black Bolt must be). Even people like psychics and healers, who amongst mutants are generally have little in the way of physical traits, can have odd things like super long index fingers or that one Inhuman who looked like a baby in a bubble.

[ImprobableQuestion]

Whatever happened to that Inhuman? He was a diplomat to the UN during the graphic novel.

[CraigTheCylon]

1) The whole cocoon thing (though I'm not sure it's universal - did Kamala grow a cocoon?) is a much more definitive point of transformation, and makes it quite visible whether somebody has become an Inhuman, as opposed to mutants where those with more subtle powers may be able to hide them and the fact that they've manifested as a mutant reasonably well.

2) The age range seems to be wider for Terrigenesis than it does for activation as a mutant. Although I'm not sure we've seen any senior citizens transforming, have we?

Regarding point 1: The cocoon process seems universal for Inhumans, though something bugged me about it and, upon checking Infinity, Thane did NOT use a cocoon to change after the Terrigen wave reached the hidden city where he was living. The other Inhumans around him did, but he simply erupted in flame and began to externally mutate immediately, which also caused his deathbringing powers to flare and kill everyone around him. Of course, Thane is the son of Thanos, so there's a strong likelihood he's got hybrid genetics that tweaked the process substantially.

Regarding point 2: as ImprobableQuestion noted, Dante's mother didn't survive her Terrigenesis, and she was of advanced age, so I'm guessing the changes caused by the process can sometimes be too taxing for the nervous system of an older body to handle. Maybe that was why the more regimented process used on Attilan stuck with teenaged Inhumans, although I'd more expect it to be a symbolic gesture - with the Terrigenesis tying into the change from child to adult.

[Post Monster]

As far as the in-universe explanation goes, it's pretty simple:

1) Superpowered mutants get their powers from the X-gene. It appears to be a single gene mutation that somehow gives different individuals born with it (either by mutation or inheritance from X-gene positive 'mutant' parents) wildly different powers. The potential for the X-gene to crop up in the overall human population is believed to be a legacy of genetic tampering long ago by the Celestials, alien space gods who also created the variant human races of the Eternals and Deviants. Reasons for the mutant population exploding in recent decades are unclear, with theories ranging from exposure to radiation from nuclear tests to pollutants as mutagens to it just being time for the next stage in evolution (never mind that the potential for the X-gene was artificially introduced by mile high aliens) to it being the Celestial plan for Earth (never mind that the Fourth Host gave Earth the thumbs up while still populated mostly by baseline humans rather than mutants).

2) Inhumans can get superpowers from exposure to the Terrigen mists (rather than dying from them) because they were genetically engineered and tampered with by a different alien race, the Kree, rather more recently - but still a long, long time ago. This genetic tampering may have built on the stuff the Celestials had already done to the human genome. For a long time it was thought that the Inhumans were all sequestered from the larger world in their Hidden Land, but it's recently turned out that there is a minority of people around the world with enough Inhuman ancestry from groups that wandered off and interbred with other peoples that they can successfully undergo Terrigenesis as well, and a whole bunch of them recently got powers from Black Bolt and Maximus exposing the world to the mists (but in a low enough dosage it didn't kill regular humans without the Inhuman genetics).

As for what makes an Inhuman different from mutants, prior to the Terrigenesis, the 'pure strain' Inhumans that have been living in the Hidden Land (and then the Himalayas, and then the Moon, and then in Kree space, and then floating above NYC, and now kind of scattered or in the crashed city) are supposedly stronger, healthier, and longer-lived than regular humans even without exposure to the mists, but they don't get powers on their own. Mutants develop their powers and other mutations spontaneously, usually but not always at puberty. As for all the recent Inhumans who thought they were just regular humans and turned out to have enough Inhuman ancestry to undergo Terrigenesis, I don't think we've been shown or told if they were any different from normal before the mists touched them.

As for what the franchise stands to lose/gain, I think it's mainly an additional franchise, not a replacement, as mentioned above. Within an in-universe context, I suppose it would make some sense to say that what the Kree managed to do was just create a modified X-gene that only got activated by Terrigen, making Inhumans just a different type of mutant and the two groups in some sense one and the same.

I'd add Inumans have alien DNA, possibly from multiple species which is activated by the mist. Also they were created as spies/assassins/weapons by the Kree. So unlike mutants they are a creation. But they are a distinct species, unlike mutants (unless your Magneto).

[Post Monster]

Inhumans go through a genetic process, the mist, also usually during your teens. This process instantly selects your power and thus your roll to the kingdom.

Sort of. The mist actives DNA already in place in Inhumans. Your bloodline matters as an Inhuman. The Kree were probably shotgunning with DNA from many, many alien species to make Inhumans, so each Inhuman may have different alien DNA present. Kree wanted to conquer and control through the Inhumans.

[Post Monster]

Except the inhumans have to have the Inhuman gene for the mists to do anything.

Inhumans have a recessive X-Gene but the Mists turn it dominant.
The Mutants already have a dominant gene...

Nope. The Inhumans have alien DNA thanks to the Kree. It's just dormant. Totally different than the X-gene, and frankly makes a lot more sense. I mean, who is going to buy one gene having that many ridiculous power variables?

[ImprobableQuestion]

Sort of. The mist actives DNA already in place in Inhumans. Your bloodline matters as an Inhuman. The Kree were probably shotgunning with DNA from many, many alien species to make Inhumans, so each Inhuman may have different alien DNA present. Kree wanted to conquer and control through the Inhumans.

Also the mists are partially sentient/attuned to fate in that they pick powers that better prepare the race for future events. Like if a really big fire was to break out in 20 Years then a whole bunch of people might come out as hydrokinetic.

[Doomuniverse]

Are they really gonna flip Wanda and Pietro into being Inhumans or not?

[megaharrison]

It's pretty undeniable there's a Marvel deliberate editorial policy to shaft X-Men and push Inhumans in their place, and this comes from the movie wars.

However, there are a few things Marvel failed to consider:

1.) X-Men were too big to fail and still one of their best selling franchises

2.) Their replacement, the Inhumans, were handled horribly. First they take the 2 most popular characters (BB and Maximus) out of the book, then they kill off the 3rd most popular character (Karnak), then they introduce a bunch of new people nobody cared about. All to try and erase Inhuman history to make them more able to replace the X-Men niche, while simultaneously sabotaging them doing such. Combine that with delays and last minute changes and the attempted coup against the X-Men stood little chance.

Marvel has largely settled into the reality over the last 6-7 months that the X-Men are here to stay, imo. They've given up on replacing them, and Axis is testament to that. But there's limits on how much Marvel will tolerate, of course. It's why outside of Bendis (who is just doing his own thing) we're seeing unremarkable, unimportant, mostly Solo X-Books, with significant constraints on what new material they can create. The books are sidelined and rarely relevant to anything else in the MU. However that is not to say Disney has given up completely on their dream of erasing the X-Men to screw Fox. They are striking back, the whole "death of Wolverine" was a deliberate attempt to kill off the most profitable X-character both in the comics and in the films. It's why I predict Logan will not return under the comic book movie fad blows over.

Of course, the Fantastic Four were not like the X-Men and Marvel was able to get rid of them without major issue, replacing them partially with the Guardians of the Galaxy (whose book has become earth-centric sci-fi, former First Family territory).

In any regard to deny Marvel is deliberately working against X-Men and F4 these days comes off as delusional to me.

Or, for TL;DR:



No more needs to be said.

[Iron Maiden]

That poster and others have really been kind of insulting to me as a long time Fantastic Four fan. When I pointed out to Tom Brevoort the fact that on the official symbols out there, the Fantastic Four don't even appear he just gave that dismissive answer about reading rumor sites. Hell, this is no rumor. It's right here where you can see it. Namor should be on there to since along with Cap and the Original Human Torch, he should be represented as a character going back to the beginning of those 75 years. If the movie hadn't been made, I doubt you would have seen Rocket Racoon front and center on that. At least Groot is a Jack Kirby creation from the years when Marvel was not producing superhero comics but the Monster of the Week kind of things.

[brainwasher]

It's pretty undeniable there's a Marvel deliberate editorial policy to shaft X-Men and push Inhumans in their place, and this comes from the movie wars.

No more needs to be said.

That poster and others have really been kind of insulting to me as a long time Fantastic Four fan. When I pointed out to Tom Brevoort the fact that on the official symbols out there, the Fantastic Four don't even appear he just gave that dismissive answer about reading rumor sites. Hell, this is no rumor. It's right here where you can see it. Namor should be on there to since along with Cap and the Original Human Torch, he should be represented as a character going back to the beginning of those 75 years. If the movie hadn't been made, I doubt you would have seen Rocket Racoon front and center on that. At least Groot is a Jack Kirby creation from the years when Marvel was not producing superhero comics but the Monster of the Week kind of things.

What people like you don't realize, is that there is no reason for Marvel to cancel X-books or FF for this movie wars. It's obvious that they are going to focus their market and licensing efforts on the properties they fully own. It's how business works. And that' all.

Comic-wise only a very naive person could think Marvel didn't realized "X–Men were to big to fail". They have all the experience and data (a lot more than you) to know how their characters fare. And it would be crazy for them to cancel some of their best selling books. They have their bigger writer (Bendis) and their bigger promise (Soule) working on X-books, plus Remender. They recently launched a lot of solo books with mutants. AXIS was clearly in the work since a couple of years (before all this stupid rumours) because we saw Red Skul / Onsluaught in the first arc of Uncanny Avengers. This is not how you cancel books.

FF wil be realunched after it ends, Brevoort already hinted at that few days ago. Consider how you are fixated on this FF cancellation. When the current run of FF started and it was clear it was a Fall story, you were repeating how this was clearly the end. Then we saw the story will end with the team reunited. Then there was Sue working with SHIELD in Avengers, and again, they broke the family, they will use the characters in other franchising and so on. After a month we discovered Sue was just a mole. And I could go on, you keep dreaming clues because you just want to think you are right.

The marketing and licesing divisions of Marvel are definitely focusing on the movie characters, but the comics will keep being published.