Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

This shows a lot more than I expected it would: the breadth of the genetic differences in the Inhumans, the way their caste system works, the inner politics of the royal family, and just how far they will all go to protect their people, especially their King and Queen.  

Black Bolt allows his subjects, and his family, to question his methods, although Medusa bears the brunt of this assault on Attilan.    And it is an assault, from both within and without.   She actually thinks of what happens to herself as her being brutalized, humiliated, of having everything shorn away from her.   Other such words are used, as well, and while nothing that most readers would think of as exceptionally physically violent happens to her, it is a violation, complicated by her own complicity in these actions.   Does that make her less?   And will Black Bolt, her husband, still love her? 

Of course he does.   This was all part of his plan, after all, and while it's not stated so plainly, Black Bolt takes responsibility for what he's done and the choices he's made.   He worries, too, that he's lost the trust of his family, but it doesn't seem he's been put through as much of a trauma as Medusa has.   (I would have liked to see a little more focus on what she's sacrificed.   It wouldn't fit at the beginning, but there are bookends to this book, as it's told from Black Bolt's point of view at the beginning and end, seemingly brushing away Medusa's trauma.   It would have been nice to acknowledge that just a little more.   I feel as she's more of the hero of this story than Black Bolt was, and thus it seems a little odd for him to be contemplating this at the end when she's given up so much more and has used much more violent terms to describe what's happened to her.   Also odd is the honoring of an unlikely hero, while her part in this is neatly swept away and silenced a bit by the men's voices at the end.)

That being said?   What happened to her was a violation, and something she would have never allowed had it not been the only way to protect her people.  Her hand was forced into complicity by Black Bolt's brother, Maximus.   And it was nice to see him as the villain, here, to dig a little more into why he's Maximus the Mad, into his relationship with Black Bolt.   Sadly, there is so much going on in these twelve issues that their interaction was kept at a minimum: it hinted at the conflict within that, within Black Bolt.   Maximus is clearly not right in the head, and I think on some level, Black Bolt hates his brother, hates what he's become, at least, and it's clear that there's resentment and hatred on Maximus' side of things.   Then again, that last panel between them?   There's clearly some sort tenderness, between them both; they're family and they feel for each other.   It's just all twisted up now, and there's a lot to mine here.   That, however, is another story.   I do hope more of it gets told eventually, though, as I found Jae Lee's illustration to the panel where Maximus realizes what will happen to be quite poignant:

It's moody and evocative.   Given that Maximus has been willing to use and abuse Black Bolt in a variety of ways, I can't see Black Bolt letting any enemy get that close, touching them in such a way without killing them, except his brother.    It may not mean much without knowing the characters, but when you do recognize where they come from, I find this quite haunting, especially since the answer is never given: Black Bolt can't give it without killing his brother, and the innocents his brother has manipulated, and he's clearly not willing to do either. 

No one else ever answers him.   Yes, Maximus is locked away, but it's where he started.   He's no more of less punished for what happens in this collection.    (Although this could be an interesting statement on how the Inhumans treat their mentally ill: no therapy is ever seen, or referred to, which begs the question: do they believe he is mentally ill, or is the title 'the Mad' a reference to him doing what they find 'crazy' despite him being sane?   If the former, then the solution seems to be prison; if the latter, this makes far more sense to me.)

It drags in a couple guest stars for some cameos, and gives another little nod to the entire Marvel universe to; if anything, it makes it feel like it's aware that it's set in one small, isolated corner of the universe.   (Attilan has been said to live in self-imposed exile, and the Inhumans have literally moved to the moon so they don't have to deal with humans.)

Between the scrambling for power, both by Maximus and human players outside of Attilan, and the side-plot with Namor and Atlantis, there is more than enough a political game for this to be entertaining, thought provoking, and just plain fun.    Highly suggested.   Unfortunately, the Comixology Inhuman sale ended a long while ago.  I hope anyone interested snapped these up when they were on sale!