The difference between the Inhumans and the Mutants

[Factor]

I think the biggest thing about the Inhumans is that they are this race with a very established culture and government system. They have their own traditions and for most of their existence, they seemed to be ok with staying in their own little corner.
Now, all of a sudden their city gets destroyed and their population grows exponentially. There are inhumans all over the world, yet very few of them have any knowledge of the traditions of their own people. "Nuhumans" have stopped belonging to normal human society and at the same time have no knowledge of Inhuman valors and lifestyle.
Inhumans should be a book about "original" inhumans trying to re-establish an Inhuman nation at a time their race seems more scattered than ever. I'd view this book as a metaphor for nations trying to keep their culture in the era of globalization. It should be a book that's much more about cultural identity than it is about oppressed racial minorities.
X-men, on the other side, should be about oppressed minorities fighting for social inclusion. They shouldn't be trying to distance themselves from society, but to become an accepted part of it. I think that should be the big difference.

[Myetche]

Inhumans can't be yet another race of "hated and feared" because that's already the X-men's thing.

As far as I know, the Inhumans and the human race are actually getting along just fine, much moreso than with mutants.

[Vic Vega]

The Inhumans actually have leaders with popular support or a mandate.

Even the Unspoken had a legit claim to the throne.

Lash doesn't, but he has a large number of followers.

The Mutants have nothing close to this.

[pageturner]

Inhumans have a central society can culture which the newbies can either become part of or not. Mutants are either Xmen, villains or nobodies.

The mutans are the feared and misunderstood bunch. The Inhumans are more like the Asgardians used to be when Thor put them in Oklahoma. Kind of like the movie Alien Nation except these aliens are from earth originally.

[Post Monster]

As far as I know, the Inhumans and the human race are actually getting along just fine, much moreso than with mutants.

Pretty much this.

Now I'd love to see them get into the cosmic end of things again, which is where they would end up treated as a threat.

[Post Monster]

I'd add to this, "hated and feared" varies in context. It wouldn't feel like X-men if it's with alien empires in space, because the Inhumans aren't a stuck up, self-righteous, cause, they're a people. IMO, some fear from both sides is appropriate for them.

[Wellman]

I like the idea of their already being a set Inhuman culture that the new Inhumans can embrace or reject at their own peril. It is sort of like discovering that part of your family is from another country/region and being given the option to start taking in the new pieces of tradition that may be there or alienating them and turning your back on it. Mutants are often seen as genetic lotteries for the most part unless they come from a long family line, Inhumans its pretty much in the whole family as long as they sample the Terrigen Mists.

[Xhatch]

They need to make the mutant x gene be something the vast majority of people in the world don't want to be born with, ala having most mutant births just be horrific deformations with no powers and a huge death toll on the mutant births. Have like 0.01% of mutant births actually give those people mutant powers. Then they could make the mutant gene kind of catch-able by non mutant humans, only that it just causes these humans to die from a mutant disease. Then people would really fear mutants, as overall it would be a bad thing for mankind.

[dragonmp93]

I think that the Inhumans and the mutants are already really different.

[ImprobableQuestion]

I think the mutants have to act more like mutants rather than the Inhumans having to act less like them. All this stuff in current X-Men about leading "the mutant people" just doesn't sit right by me. The mutants have never been one big community, and acceptance by the public used to be goal of the mission rather than the mission itself.

Nuhumans and X-Men really only seem similar to each other on a conceptual level. On paper they are very much distinct.

[MichaelC]

The problem with the Inhumans is they are a metaphor for people who are usually villains: aristocrats. While both Inhumans and X-Men use super-powered freaks as a metaphor, the metaphors are completely the opposite. The Inhumans are metaphors for the old world aristocrats who bred really "pure" and ended up with all sorts of deformities and health problems. Hence the Inhumans being "superior" beings who can't even breath normal air. The main Inhumans aren't likable because they aren't supposed to be likable; you're supposed to disapprove of their slavery and eugenics and arrogant presumption of superiority.

Meanwhile the X-Men use freakishness as a metaphor for all minorities, with a subtext of them being like the Christians in the time of Roman persecution. Notice that the X isn't that far from the Christian symbol during Roman times, and the tagline of protecting a world that hates and fears them isn't that far from turn the other cheek and such?




Inhumans and X-Men literally use freakishness as a metaphor for polar opposite things, which makes it impossible to use the main Inhuman characters if you want to reinvent the Inhumans as X-Men 2.0. The only way to do it is ignore the "classic" Inhumans and focus entirely on the new people being transformed.

Heck, the very names have opposite subtext. X-Men is basically Cross-Men or Christian-Symbol-Men, whereas Inhuman has the double meaning of Not-Human and Cruel or Brutal.

[Tofali]

The mutants should aspire to become what the Inhumans have achieved in establishing their own society and government.

[Myetche]

The mutants should aspire to become what the Inhumans have achieved in establishing their own society and government.

They've tried. Several times. And it always ends with the mutants trying to kill each other due to disagreements.

[MichaelC]

The mutants should aspire to become what the Inhumans have achieved in establishing their own society and government.

That sounds like a horrible idea. Mutants are supposed to be martyrs, Jesus-metaphors who protect a world that fears and hates them. Making them isolationists destroys the metaphor.

[RLAAMJR.]

Mutants are awesome while Inhumans are not. Joke!