Mishandling the Source Material

Part of the problem is that Marvel's Inhumans seems to be trying to retell the story of Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee's Marvel Knights Inhumans series, but loses a lot of the nuance in the transition from comics to television.

Like the show, the story involves the Inhumans' isolation from humanity. At the time, Attilan was located on Earth as opposed to the moon but was still a separate society. Conflict begins when mercenaries stage an outright assault on Attilan. It is the Royal Family then who petition Black Bolt to fight back against the humans, but Black Bolt is as secretive and stoic in the comic as he is on the ABC series.

The Inhumans comic book series goes on to tell a darker story that engages with the subject of Inhuman caste society structure in a more nuanced way.

Two scenes from the premiere are taken straight from the Jenkins and Lee comic. One is Maximus cutting Medusa's hair. The other is the Terrigenesis ceremony.

That scene is key in the story and plays out very similarly. A group of Inhuman children undergoes Terrigenesis. Like in the show, one becomes a flier and is celebrated, but the "failed" Terrigenesis turns one of her classmates into what appears to be an Alpha Primitive, the slave labor class of Inhumans seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Agents of SHIELD.

However, it is later revealed that Maximus had a hand in directing the boy's Terrigenesis to suit his needs. At the time the comic takes place, the Alpha Primitives have been granted a new level of freedom, but choose to remain in the substructure of Attilan. Maximus manipulates them into insurrection as part of a larger plan.

There's also a subplot involving another girl who was a friend of the Inhuman who became a flier. When she gets her wings, the new flier starts to believe that she is too good to hang out with the other girl, who at first seems to have only gotten elongated fingers as a gift. The girl later discovers that she has healing powers, but that subplot and some others make a case that the Royal Family and the upper caste of Inhuman society aren't the heroes some may think.

Jenkins' and Lee's Inhumans series doesn't provide very satisfying resolutions for these issues. The entire story makes all of the Inhumans look bad, but at least Jenkins and Lee seemed to understand that was the case. The Inhumans television series seems to think it's telling a simpler, good versus evil superhero story.

The Internet Reacts

As mentioned, this hero and villain problem in Marvel's Inhumans has been called out by many on social media. Here are a few examples from fans and critics alike.

It's possible that the rest of Marvel's Inhumans will reveal something about the Royal Family to alter this point of view, much like the comic book series eventually revealed that Black Bolt had a secret plan, but for now, the narrative of the show seems woefully burdened by not knowing who the real villain is.

Marvel's Inhumans airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.