Marvel's Inhumans: A Guide

Marvel’s latest TV entry, which will bow on IMAX Sept. 1 before its ABC debut on Sept. 29, follows a race of superhumans with diverse and unique powers and explores the never-before-told epic adventure of Black Bolt and the Royal Family. Who are the Royal Family? Check out our primer to get the scoop from showrunner Scott Buck.

The enigmatic and commanding King of the Inhumans, Black Bolt, has a voice so powerful that the slightest whisper can destroy a city. “This is a terrible burden for him to bear,” Buck says. “It renders him so extremely powerful, but there’s more to him than that. He’s extremely intelligent and cares very much about the people of Attilan. He has an extremely close relationship with his wife, Medusa, who is not just his wife but his Queen and his advisor as well who he respects tremendously.”

The Queen of the Inhumans and wife and trusted advisor of Black Bolt, Medusa is a fiercely resilient warrior who has the ability to move and control her hair the way most people use their hands and fingers. “Medusa is someone that was not born into the world of royalty,” Buck says. “She married Black Bolt never imagining that she was going to fall in love with this man and eventually become the Queen. So she never imagined this life for herself and, in some ways she’s had to subjugate who she really is in order to be the wife to the most powerful person in Attilan, and that’s a journey that she will continue to explore throughout this season.”

Maximus is a clever and charming Inhuman who is fiercely devoted to the people of Attilan, especially his brother, the king — although he harbors an intense desire to wear the crown himself. “Maximus, as a youth, someday imagined he would be the King of Attlian and yearned to be the King of Attlian because it’s something he felt he was so in tune to be,” Buck says. “But ultimately, h was denied that because his terregenesis left him wholly human and no human could ever rule Attilan. So his life has been a terrible disappointment for him, but at the same time, he is extremely intelligent and has wonderful ideas on things that can perhaps be done better on this planet — whether people listen to him or not is a struggle he will continue to face.”

Cousin and close advisor to Black Bolt, Karnak has the ability to see the fault in all things – people, plans, structures, everything. “Unfortunately, there is a negative side to that as well, which is that everything is imperfect,” Buck says. “It’s not just the glass is half empty: The glass is shattered and spilled on the floor, so it’s led him to lead a dark, isolated life in some ways.”

The cousin of Black Bolt, Gorgon is the leader of Attilan’s military. With super strong legs, complete with hooves, Gorgon can generate destructive seismic waves with a single stomp, making him a force to be reckoned with among Inhumans. Gorgon is the yin to cousin Karnak’s yang. “He is just the opposite of Karnak because his gift is he has the legs and hooves of a powerful beast,” Buck says. “With one stomp, he has the power of an earthquake. But unlike Karnak, he thinks his gift is the greatest in the world. What could be better than having hooves? He is someone who thinks purely from the heart. He acts without thinking and so because of that, he and Karnak, as much as they may love each other, are constantly butting heads.”

The youngest member of the Royal family, Medusa’s impetuous but deeply devoted sister has the ability to control the four elements of fire, earth, water, and air. “It sounds like a tremendous gift, but she lives in an artificial environment on the moon where anyone can press a button and turn the wind machine on, anyone can press a button and make it rain,” Buck says. “So it’s not until she gets to Earth that she is able to explore and really learn how valuable her gift is. As the youngest, she’s also probably the most protected of the Inhuman family. She’s the one who is probably most in fear of Earth as well, so she doesn’t happily go to Earth thinking this is going to be fun. She’s scared for her life when she arrives.”

Lockjaw is Crystal’s one-ton teleporting dog. “Lockjaw is, well, he’s like any other 2,000-pound teleporting dog,” Buck says with a laugh. “The thing that’s important to keep in mind about him is that despite these gifts, he is just a dog, who thinks and acts like a dog. There were versions in some of the comic books in which the possibility [he was a human who had gone through terrigenisis] was explored, but in our version, he is not an inhuman — he is a dog.”

Black Bolt’s cousin has the fish-like ability to live underwater. “Triton is the extremely competent, capable emissary,” Buck says. “You would also think Earth is a much more hospitable place for him, because he’s a creature who should be in the water and he’s living on the moon where there is no water.”

Louise is intensely focused on her job at a private aerospace company, and extremely passionate about space. “Louise is our eyes and ears into this world,” Buck says. “She’s one of the first humans who meet our Inhumans cast and she’s been fascinated by the possibility of this her whole life, so she’s never imagined that something so fortuitous would happen to her. But here she is meeting Inhumans for the first time, and it’s just the most terrific adventure for her.”

A no-nonsense member of the Royal Guards, Auran is fiercely loyal to the King of Attilan. “Auran is just below Gorgon, who is the head of the Royal Guards,” Buck says. “She is the second in command. But she is a character, in so many ways, that’s so powerful and confident that she’s a very formidable warrior.”