Now that Marvel's The Inhumans has officially started airing, the true motivations of the royal family have come into question. Maximus and Black Bolt's relationship is fraught with tension with the younger brother of the king feeling like an outcast amid a heavily powered royal family. Trapped in a rigid caste system based on eugenics and unlucky enough to have his inhuman genes manifest no unique abilities, Maximus becomes an unlikely revolutionary. In a twist on the comic books where he is a constant antagonist to the occasionally distant yet generally good royal family, he becomes a mentor and an ally to inhumans who feel repressed by the system that Black Bolt represents. How he goes about it might be suspect but ultimately his goals are rooted in freedom for other people, or at the very least a sense of equality between inhumans who are born without surprising and unique abilities. It makes him an unusually good hearted antagonist for the series, but he is, in essence, the hero of Marvel's Inhumans.His story begins with Black Bolt. Black Bolt is portrayed to some extent as a difficult but reasonably compassionate leader who is trying to do the best for his people along with his wife. In the comics, Maximus is pictured as a usurper, a Loki of Asgard like figure who wants his brother's crown but won't lead with the best foot forward. In the Once and Future Kings story in the 616 continuity written by Christopher Priest and Phil Noto, Maximus is depicted as supporting the enslavement of Alpha Primitives, the working class of the inhumans society, while Black Bolt suggests that by enslaving a man you remove the best parts of himself.The TV show has taken this from a different perspective. Black bolt is loyal to his family first and foremost, protecting his brother but doing nothing to ease the plights of the lower classes. He isn't cruel, simply obtuse and unaware of the situations they experience, especially odd, considering his brother is a "human." While he already avoids speaking with his voice due to the nature of his powers, he is staying completely silent on the matter and conforming to the status quo when he and Medusa have the power to change things. The word "human" is tossed out as an insult by Crystal, Medusa's younger sister even while her family is being beaten and attacked by humans on earth for being different. It would appear as if the royal court has a lesson to learn in humility that might be beneficial, but where does that leave Maximus and his insistence that he would be a "better king" than his brother?
He certainly seems to be a more compassionate ruler. During the terragenesis ritual, he comforts the brother of the "flyer," the inhuman blessed with a pair of gossamer butterfly wings. The boy's parents talk about how their hopes that their children's ritual will turn out better than they did are underscored by how Maximus shows real compassion to the weakest among them. The rest of the royal family are in awe of the other inhuman, the boy's sister. Gorgon and Karnak watch the sister's wings declaring that "flyers are awesome," completely unaware that they because of the society that they have lived in have condemned a second person right in front of them to a life of misery and torment. Only Maximus reaches out to comfort him.Director Roel Reine has said that there's more to Maximus than meets the eye and that he's not really a "villain." His compassion for the boy with his butterfly winged sister presumably having more opportunities than him demonstrates that. He's also won over the loyalty of the palace guard. He's educated himself and inspires the lower caste to rise up and with Black Bolt gone he can, at last, be free to remake their society into something where they no longer have to suffer under such harsh conditions. What this new society will look like remains a mystery, as to why no one has risen up before (or attempted to) but clearly there are more questions that will hopefully have answers. He reminds Crystal that the Genetics Council, the group who oversees the Inhumans and their rituals that give them abilities was not something that her parents would have wanted. Could disbanding them be the major step forward he wants to take in episodes 3 and 4? Will destroying them, which he presumably could not do without Black Bolt's permission be a major step forward in an equal inhuman society?
Maximus's talk about fighting against a corrupt system is what won over the people. The Inhumans is literally a meritocracy with more powerful individuals put in places of honor while those with less are put on the bottom. This has been seen in the comics as well. The Inhuman Lash who Marvel fans saw in Agents of SHIELD season 3 was guilty of doing this in the comics, going so far as to murder inhumans who he deemed unworthy or with "weak abilities." That changed in the television show, but it would appear as if the Inhumans on the moon have adopted a similar scenario. While no inhumans are killed (that we know of) the Royal Family does seem to base its structure on the gifts given by the mists. Maximus aims to change that.
Is Maximus right to want to change the system? Yes. How he's going about it, however, isn't leaving room for compassion to his family members, as well as human beings and inhumans on earth. What begins as a valid cause, liberation and the adjustment of a corrupt system might be negated by his desires and his emotions. He's heroic but in order to do heroic things he's having to do some less than kingly things to get there. For instance, everything that the MCU has shown about inhumans and their abilities is that they, like mutants, consider it a part of themselves. His assault on Medusa was seemingly born of a deep hatred at her romantic rejection of him. His shaving her head was like a punishment. Instead of saying that "flyers are awesome" and degrading her with words, he attacked her and effectively took away her inhuman ability. Did he have a right to do that? His guard had the ability to knock her out, what he did come across as a deeply personal act of shaming. Revolutionaries in history have shamed their oppressors before but to do so in such a deeply personal way after first trying to sway her to his side? Hopefully, he expresses regret.
Every revolution includes some level of sacrifice, but Maximus's heroism could be negated by his actions. So far the audience has no idea What his plans are for the upper echelon of inhumans or NuHumans on earth. We don't know how his plan impacts humans on earth either. His actions towards his people are heroic, but he needs to make adjustments towards how he behaves towards others. Hopefully, his interactions with humans who don't carry the inhuman gene will be seen in future episodes. We know he's interacted with them and that the agents chasing Triton and others on earth are working under his command. How he swayed humans to his side is an easy sell. In addition to Triton investigating the contamination of earth's water supply thanks to Daisy Johnson and her mother, he could easily share stories of his parents who were killed by Black Bolt when he manifested his own abilities.
His actions indicate that he could be a good king and his desire to protect his people isn't in question, but he's cloaking predatory intentions towards other inhumans behind his decent and good ideas for fixing a broken system. His actions when it comes to his family - particularly with his sister in law - are suspect. Just where do normal human beings, the Avengers included, fit into his plans? Until he can distance himself from his own prejudices Maximus is more Loki than Magneto, trying to rule without actually working towards the betterment of his people. Time will tell just what his intentions and his grander plan might be - if he's truly burdened with a glorious purpose or if this is all just a smoke screen. The potential for him to be a better king than his brother is there, but he's ruled by his impulses. To truly embrace the hero he can be he must face up to the wrongs that have been done to him and his people in the past.
The royal family does have wrongs to answer for. They're perpetuating a xenophobic society based on eugenics and completely unaware of their actions. Maximus could change all that but he must grow beyond his prejudices to do so. He must come to terms with the humanity in his inhumanity in order to lead the people and become a good king.
People truly working for change have a concrete plan to work with those in power and fight them when there are true atrocities committed. The inhumans in the lower castes, while seemingly inspired by Maximus's speeches didn't seem entirely convinced quite yet as to his intentions. That could change, but for the moment he remains an uneasy and unlikely hero. The change that inhumans can believe him is there, however. That same boy who faced scrutiny and discrimination for how his ritual played out becomes his advisor, using his clairvoyant ability to protect him. He pulls him out of the mines where his father works digging with his mole-like hands and makes him an advisor. Change is beginning, where it goes remains a mystery. At the moment, however, Maximus is an uneasy king on an unsteady throne who has a lot to prove. The proof is there if he can conquer his doubts within himself. Maximus needs to focus on making life better for the people and allowing their voices to be heard since they, much like his new advisor might have family members who have higher abilities. He's taking the right steps in uplifting the marginalized inhumans, truly making him the hero of the Inhumans.
Marvel's The Inhumans airs Fridays at 9 PM ET on ABC