Uncanny Inhumans #11 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Mondays

Burn It! Burn It All!

Written By: Charles Soule 

Art By: Carlos Pacheco, Andy Owen, David Curiel
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 29, 2016
Publisher: Marvel Comics

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

*Due to this being a Civil War II Tie-In, there will be SPOILERS for Civil War II #2 in this review*

I’ve been familiar with the Inhumans for a while but ultimately, I haven’t read a whole of their books. The Inhumans were always compared to the X-Men but there was plenty that separated them in their early days. However, it would seem that now (assumingly due to movie rights) the Inhumans have taken a more central role in the Marvel Universe in place of the Mutants, which is something of a shame since I am such a huge fan of the X-Men. Anyway, the Inhumans have played a huge role in the Civil War II crossover event as a member of their people has been at the center of the entire conflict. With all that’s happened in Civil War II already, let see what happens in Uncanny Inhumans #11...

The issue picks up where we last saw the Inhumans, which was about halfway through Civil War II #2. They are standing in front of Stark Tower ready to break in after Tony Stark has kidnapped Ulysses, a new Inhuman from their own sovereign city. Other heroes, led by Captain Marvel, have come to stop them asking that they let them go after Tony Stark and return Ulysses to them. Medusa, the Inhuman leader, agrees to let them take the lead and keeps her followers in check while they are in the public eye. However, once they return back to New Attilan (The Inhuman sovereign state) she reveals her plans for moving forward.

The Inhumans cannot appear weak but Medusa doesn’t want to attack Stark Industries because there are plenty of innocent people who depend on the company for their livelihood. Instead, they would launch a full out assault on Tony Stark’s personal life and do so publically so the world knows that the Inhumans are not to be messed with. As we flip each page we see an incredibly well executed attack on Tony Stark by the Inhumans. All of his personal funds are transferred to an account in the Caymans, no longer available to Tony Stark. Tony’s personal communication devices are hacked into, allowing the Inhumans to leak all of Tony’s emails (causing a sexting scandal to appear in the news). Tony’s collection of expensive and valuable objects are destroyed as well. His homes? Up in flames. It is a really effective and entertaining montage of events and shows just how powerful the Inhumans are. We even get a scene with Tony saying that since they aren’t attacking the company, he will not retaliate and that he understands why they are coming after him. In a way, he understands that he did something wrong and he’s going to accept the consequences.

However, not everyone is happy with Medusa’s plan. We see a member of the Inhumans named Triton meeting with Maximus the Mad. Triton’s inner dialogue reveals that he believes that to protect the Inhumans and keep them from being taken advantage of again, they must take extreme steps to make sure any attack on their people is met with overwhelming and immediate retaliation. They should go “too far” to ensure that no one else dares to attack them.

We cut back to Medusa as she stares out onto the New York skyline, Stark Tower in the middle of her view. She remarks upon how the attack she set in motion was incredibly successful and that she is confident that her people are safe. She says something along the lines of “if we act like monsters, humans will treat us like monsters. That is why that Tower is still standing.” But as soon as she finishes her words, a massive explosion occurs at Stark Tower, bringing the building down. This is where the issue leaves us.

Honestly, I wasn’t too excited about reading this tie-in but I was won over very quickly and I started seeing the Inhumans as kind of awesome. Seeing this coordinated attack on Tony Stark was impressive but seeing that there are those who are a part of the sovereign state that disagree makes a lot of sense. It gave the viewpoint of a new and small nation that has suddenly been attacked and must decide how to respond. In addition, the art is very good and fits very well with the tone of the issue. The issue’s dialogue is really impressive and very well explains the idealogy and philosophy of those involved with the attack.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue was a breath of fresh air as it ties into the Civil War II crossover directly instead of just being a side-story of things that just so happen to occur at the same time. The issue makes the Inhumans impressive, which is a feat that few writers would have been able to accomplish and the art is really nice to look at. In addition, it leaves you with a cliffhanger that is not only exciting and properly set-up but will also have a huge impact on the world.

9.0/10