UPDATE: See below for new info since this post was originally made. If you haven't read this article prior to the update, read it first, then scroll down.
Marvel's TV shows have been hit or miss lately. While the Agents of Shield got off to a rocky start, Daredevil on Netflix proved that a TV series based on a superhero could actually be good. Jessica Jones backed up that theory. Then Marvel and ABC attempted a show called Marvel's Most Wanted, a spin-off of Agents of Shield, but that was canceled before it started. Then, Luke Cage came out and while not bad, it just didn't hit on all cylinders like Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Iron Fist was critically panned for the most part and the mash-up "The Defenders" has been nearly 50/50 with audiences.
Enter Marvel's InHumans, a concept originally started with Agents of Shield, which was rumored to get its own movie. Marvel was really looking to put some heavy marketing effort behind this project. This was because Marvel Studio could not get the rights to the X-Men universe, as the film/TV rights are owned by Fox, so they wanted to sort of brand the InHumans as a replacement for the mutant team.
For whatever reason, the plan to make a movie out of the InHumans was killed and turned into a series on ABC. If for someone reason you're not familiar with the InHumans, don't worry, most of the world isn't either. So let's look at just a few of the InHumans … the characters ABC and Marvel Studios want to build a brand around.
Medusa – The wife and Queen of the Inhumans … married to Black Bolt. Her hair movies like liquid or an animal tail or something and it can grab stuff, seriously, that's her power.
Lockjaw – A CGI (for the show) bulldog, that is massive, like the size of a VW Beetle, who can teleport.
Karnak – Another cousin of Medusa and Black Bolt, he's a martial artist, oh, and he's good at sensing other's weaknesses, which is handy when all you can do is martial arts.
Gorgon – Another cousin of Black Bolt, who has hoofs and smacks them together to make seismic waves.
Crystal – Medusa's sister who can manipulate Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, basically she's the Avatar.
There are a few others, who are also cousins but let's skip those (they stink too) and talk about Black Bolt, the King of the Inhumans.
Black Bolt – Medusa's husband and oh, did I forget to mention earlier, they're cousins too, so the show has that going for it. He has a highly destructive, hyper-sonic voice. Yeah, seriously. He can't talk or even whisper. He has basically trained himself to not utter a word, even in his sleep. This, everyone, is the main character of a TV show, a guy who can't talk and uses some sort of intergalactic sign language to communicate.
That's the Inhumans, for the most part. That's the concept that Marvel thinks or at least thought, would be more interesting than characters like Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, etc. We're left with a bunch of kissing cousins and siblings, whose coolest powers are on par with being able to bend a spoon (I'm being facetious).
When the first trailer debuted, it went over like a fart in church. People just tossed up their hands and were like, this, really?!? It was mocked and trashed relentlessly. But, Marvel and ABC continued to develop the show. So much so, that they released the pilot in theaters, in IMAX no less. It's grand total for the weekend, $1,521,787. If that didn't signal a lack of interest, I don't know what else would.
So, before the show even airs, Marvel and ABC have released a poster, which features some odd wording on it.
First, we see the "First Chapter" in IMAX on Sept 1. Perhaps each episode will be a chapter, because below that we see, "COMPLETE SERIES" starts on September 29. Does that mean that there will be no other series after that, as in, the show is getting a one and done season? It would seem that way. The show has yet to air, but it's apparent that the show is not favoring well with fans, or critics for that matter, as reactions on rotten tomatoes are not good either.
It's certainly possible the show could find an audience after it premiers and the executives at ABC keep the show going. It's also possible we don't get the full season and ABC cans it after 2-5 episodes. Either way, money was spent on this show, so my guess is that they'll try to push the show as much as possible to recoup money and then break even before the final episode of the season and call it quits.
It certainly doesn't help the show's chances at success, when the most recognizable person in the cast is Iwan Rheon who played Ramsey Snow in the popular HBO show Game of Thrones. Ramsey was quite possibly the most disliked character in Game of Thrones, aside from Joffrey.
What are your thoughts on Inhumans?
UPDATE:
So James Gunn, the director, and co-writer of Guardians of the Galaxy (1 and 2), was recently on a Facebook live and was asked about the Inhumans and essentially all the bad things about it. Gunn was not too shy with his response, stating:
"It does not look like there is much saving left for the Inhumans."
Ouch. That's got to sting. Hopefully trashing a product of the company he's working for won't get him fired from Guardians 3. Either way, it looks like Inhumans is overcooked and is just waiting for someone with a fork to show up.
