Podcast Reaction: The Inhumans Edition

This week on the podcast, there was no Watson.  Watson is away.  He’s traveling.

That leaves behind Ryan and Jenny, who can discuss the printed word without wondering if Watson qualifies as literate from the sounds of things.

Where is Watson?  Somewhere else.  He’s traveling.

Now, I don’t want to say anything about Jumanji, so I won’t.  Here’s the trailer anyway:

And I don’t really want to talk about books and comics I’m reading, because, well, I review all those as I finish them anyway.  Generally SPOILER FREE too, if you want to know what I give a thumbs up to or not.  But really, Jenny, is anyone reading Paper Girls?  I mean, is anyone reading it?

So, let’s talk the Inhumans.

Why is Marvel trying to make them A Thing?

I know, I know, they don’t have film or TV rights to the X-Men, their print bread and butter, but the Inhumans seem to be filling the void of “random power types” when mutation is off the table.  The problem is the Inhuman Royal Family, even when they’re doing cool stuff, just don’t hold a candle to the X-Men.  The X-Men are far more relatable as characters.  Anyone can be a mutant.  Living in a modern democracy, not everyone can be a king, and trying to sub a Royal Family for the Children of the Atom doesn’t cut it.

That doesn’t mean that royalty can’t be used be used for cool stories.

But royalty by its nature steps away from any sort of egalitarian society, and that doesn’t always appeal to people.

The thing is, the Inhumans have been around for decades and generally only as Fantastic Four supporting characters.  Sure, Crystal joined the Avengers for a while, but they tend to move along the outskirts of other stories and series, such that maybe they aren’t really the sort of characters that shine in the spotlight.  And given their whole alien society, and how suddenly Inhumans are being treated as a whole separate-but-equal thing in various Marvel storylines, well, the whole thing is a mess.

And that doesn’t even get into how strong Medusa may or may not be.

Heck, that whole trailer looked like Ramsay Bolton vs. Black Bolt, who can’t talk.  Everyone else just kinda…stood around.  Then again, I don’t generally care for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans showrunner Scott Buck gave us both Iron Fist and the worst seasons of Dexter, so the fact the trailer did nothing for me isn’t overly surprising considering everything I’d heard and seen so far hadn’t done much for me.

Point is, that show has it’s work cut out for it.

Now go read a book.  It’s good for you.  I’ll have more reviews coming soon.  I read two or three things at a time, so there’s always something being finished up.