Thanos will be the main villain of Avengers: Infinity War, whose two parts come out in May 2018 and May 2019. What’s most important is that the Inhumans provide a link between Marvel’s terrestrial characters and its trippier cosmic ones, like the races glimpsed in Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Thanos, the purple meanie portrayed by Josh Brolin. Got all that? Think Star Wars, think Hamlet, and definitely think X-men. Meanwhile Crystal ( elemental powers), another member of the royal family, has had more contact with the rest of the Marvel Universe than most, serving as a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers and becoming romantically entangled with the Human Torch and the Avengers’ Quicksilver (who had a post-credits cameo at the end of this summer’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and will appear in next year’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron).

Bolt’s brother Maximus, who has telepathic powers, is in love with Medusa and eager to take the throne. Gorgon (super-strength), Triton (fishlike anatomy), and Karnak (strength and agility) are also cousins of Black Bolt, and serve as his inner circle. (Imagine how cool that will look and sound on screen.) He’s married to his cousin Medusa, who can manipulate her own hair into powerful tendrils. Their king is Black Bolt, whose voice is so concussive he rarely speaks. The Inhumans inhabit the moveable city of Attilan, which has been located on Earth, on the Moon, and far off in space (more on that later).

The Inhumans by Paul Jenkins