Why is the Internet Roasting the “Inhumans” Trailer?

Two weeks ago, Marvel revealed a trailer for an upcoming ABC series, based on the fictional race created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The race, called the Inhumans, were created from humans by the alien “Kree” race, who sought to create a powerful mutant army. The test subjects that resulted from this ended up creating their own society, Attilan. The Attilan society, comprised of the Royal Inhuman Family and many other Inhumans, is rigidly conformitive and each person has their own place within the society. Attilan resides in wherever the island is moved for the safety of its inhabitants.

The Royal family consists of Black Bolt, an Inhuman with a supersonic voice so powerful he chooses to remain mute; his wife Medusa, whose name gives away her main power to control her hair; Maximus the Mad, the intelligent but insane brother of Black Bolt, who has mental abilities such as mind control; and Lockjaw, a large bulldog-like creature who has the ability to teleport, and serves the Royal family. Maximus the Mad often tries to turn the Inhumans against his brother in a coup d’etat, so that he may gain power and allow the Inhumans to inhabit Earth, but relations between the race and the humans are tense and wary at best.

With such a rich and intense storyline, you would believe that a television show premise would take off in an instant. However, upon viewing the trailer for the new series “Marvel’s Inhumans”, the Internet exploded in criticism and mockery. The main targets for this were what people perceived as weak writing, campy acting, and poor CGI effects used in creating Lockjaw and Medusa’s hair effects. Though the show is not set for release until the end of September, this show is not off to a good start with its marketing.

In my opinion, I’d have to agree with the mass population. Watching the trailer myself left me feeling uncomfortable and like it was very low-budget, rather than a highly regarded sci-fi Marvel series. Though, I can see potential for improvement. With a cast starring Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels, Conviction, Tully), Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones, Misfits), and Serinda Swan (Graceland, Breakout Kings), there is sure to be some sort of improvement and payoff for this series. Unfortunately, we will have to make that judgment for ourselves.