Did Marvel Just Make SPOILER the New King of the Inhumans?

Black Bolt has long been the king of the Inhumans, and while the powerful beings have seen better days, he is still widely regarded as their leader alongside Medusa. That said, the recent issue of Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men indicates there could be some changes coming to the top authority of the Inhumans, and if the breadcrumbs are leading to where we think they are, it could mean that Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan, could be the next person in line for the throne.

In X-Men #8 we see parallels drawn between Black Bolt’s journey after the T-bomb detonated in War of Kings and Vulcan’s. First and foremost there’s a page showing Vulcan after the Fault was created as a result of the bomb, and it directly mirrors an earlier page from Hickman’s previous run-in Fantastic Four (issue #6 to be exact).

Both images show them surviving the blast and floating aimlessly until their eyes light up with power, and it turns out according to a revealed Shi’ar battle record in the issue that not only did both survive their time in the Fault but seem to be linked somehow.

This image comes as a dream that Vulcan keeps having every night, tethering him in some weird way to Black Bolt. Going off of what the report says about both, it could mean that Vulcan ended up using his energy manipulating powers to turn himself into energy, therefore residing within Black Bolt, or in another possible scenario, perhaps they are somehow mentally linked after what happened in the Fault, or at least sharing some sort of consciousness, meaning these memories or dreams could be Black Bolt’s.

It was previously believed that both Black Bolt and Vulcan died after the T-bomb, but as you can see in the updates to the report below, that is indeed not the case.

“BLACK BOLT [Blackagar Boltagon]: Killed at the conclusion of the war when a T-bomb detonated, ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time. This anomaly is known as the Fault, and nothing has ever escaped it.

“UPDATE: He does not speak, so no one knows exactly how BLACK BOLT escaped from the Fault. Some say he died and returned as the MIDNIGHT KING. Others know better and understand the power of genetic prophecy. The wil lof a celestial messiah cannot be denied.”

“VULCAN [Gabriel Summers]: Also killed at the conclusion of the war when the T-Bomb detonated. VULCAN was also believed to have perished in the Fault.

“UPDATE: VULCAN never died.”

Hickman doesn’t often plant this sort of detail and tether without a reason, so this could very well pave the way for Vulcan to become an important part of what is in store for the Inhumans, and if indeed he is linked to Black Bolt in some way, perhaps he could also become their King.

It would be rather interesting to see that explored, especially after what happened with Vulcan after his last ruling stint, and we are quite intrigued to see what Hickman does next with this story.

X-Men #8 is written by Jonathan Hickman and is drawn by Mahmud A. Asrar, and you can find the official description below.

“GET READY TO RUN! The New Mutants are back from space, and they’ve brought intergalactic trouble with them!”

X-men #8 is in comic stores now.

What do you think of Vulcan as the new King of the Inhumans? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things comics!