Some of the most memorable characters from Marvel Comics were introduced to Agents of SHIELD in 2014, but, in the 11 years since, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has almost completely ignored them. Agents of SHIELD was the first TV spinoff from the MCU released following The Avengers, laying the foundations for the Defenders Saga on Netflix and, eventually, Marvel Studios’ own TV shows on Disney+. Agents of SHIELD has since been confirmed to not be canon to Marvel’s main continuity, but the seven-season-strong series could have brought a slew of fantastic characters into the MCU.
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While we wanted to see Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his SHIELD team return in the MCU proper, it was the introduction of Inhumans that would have changed the shape of the franchise forever. Agents of SHIELD debuted Inhumans in season 2, episode 10, “What They Become,” which first premiered on ABC on December 9, 2014, 11 years ago. The reveal of the Inhumans was one of Agents of SHIELD’s most ground-breaking, game-changing, and celebrated storylines, and they continued to be important throughout the entire show, but the superpowered species have been ignored by the MCU proper.
Why Marvel Has Mostly Ignored Inhumans Since Agents of SHIELD
“What They Become” revealed that Skye (Chloe Bennet) was, in fact, the Marvel Comics character Daisy Johnson, an Inhuman first seen in 2004. After the Inhumans were introduced to Agents of SHIELD, the series continued to explore storylines involving them for years to come, including those in their hidden community of Afterlife, the release of Terrigen into the world’s oceans, the return of Hive—the original Inhuman, and the establishment of Daisy Johnson’s Secret Warriors. Inhumans provided a rich wealth of content for the show to explore, so, why has the MCU otherwise ignored them?
After their Agents of SHIELD debut, the Inhumans were intended to be developed further in an eponymous 2017 ABC series, but Inhumans was an epic failure for Marvel Television. With poor reviews and low viewership ratings, Inhumans suggested to Marvel that audiences weren’t interested in following stories involving these characters, even though that may not have actually been the case. The disappointing performance and legacy of Inhumans caused Marvel Studios to ignore them, but Black Bolt’s (Anson Mount) appearance on Earth 838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness proves the tide may be changing.
Marvel Studios will be putting more stock in bringing mutants into the MCU’s Phase 7 and beyond, including the MCU’s official X-Men team. However, there is still space for the Inhumans alongside mutants, and the distinction between the two species could be an important source of conflict, leading to a rise in mutant discrimination, which is an important part of their mythology. After Black Bolt’s return in Multiverse of Madness, we’d love to see more Inhumans brought into the MCU proper—where they can be handled better than they were in Agents of SHIELD or their own Inhumans series.
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