Warning! Spoilers for Darkhold: Black Bolt #1 by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is revealing a more twisted path for Black Bolt in a story that's already proving to be much more interesting than the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation of Inhumans. In a preview for Darkhold: Black Bolt #1 by Marvel Comics, the leader of the Inhumans is shown a much darker fate after reading the Darkhold - and even in the slight taste of the upcoming story, the missed potential of Inhumans television series is apparent.
While the MCU has found its footing when it comes to live-action series such as The Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki, their attempt to adapt the Inhumans turned out to be a massive failure. The ABC show, which starred the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee creation's Black Bolt, Medusa, Maximus, and other members of the Inhuman Royal Family, only ran for eight episodes before it was canceled. Inhumans was criticized for its storylines, pacing, acting, and special effects and ultimately proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Inhumans in both the MCU and the Marvel Comics. Marvel even killed a majority of the Inhumans in The Death of the Inhumans, but Black Bolt has recently returned in the current Darkhold event.
In a new preview for Darkhold: Black Bolt #1 by Mark Russell, David Cutler, Roberto Poggi, Matt Milla, and VC's Clayton Cowles, Black Bolt awakens on Terros, struggling to remember what's happened to him. He soon recalls while on the Inhumans home of Attilan, he was told Maximus was planning a coup against him and the Inhuman Royal Family. In the present, Black Bolt wonders if his brother successfully stole his throne and is attacked by a desert Kraken. He reveals Terros is where the Inhumans keep their most dangerous criminals, with its monsters serving as executioners.
Black Bolt's Darkhold visions somewhat follow the plot of the Inhumans TV series but in a much more interesting way. In the show, he ends up in Hawaii after Maximus' coup attempt, which sadly effectively became Marvel's advertisement for the state featuring the Inhumans. In the new comic, Black Bolt ends up on Terros, where he's sure to face off against the evil Inhumans he left to die. The stakes are so much higher, as Black Bolt will likely encounter Inhumans he personally imprisoned. It's exactly the kind of drama the show needed.
It's a shame the Inhumans MCU series was such a misfire. The Inhumans are great characters with plenty of stories left to tell in both the comics and in live-action. Hopefully, Black Bolt's return in the Darkhold crossover event creates renewed interest in the characters, as they don't deserve to be sidelined after one failed attempt at introducing them to a general audience. Black Bolt's new journey begins in Darkhold: Black Bolt #1, which arrives in comic book stores Wednesday.