By Marc Strom
The
Inhumans are mad as hell, and they're not gonna take it anymore.
After freeing their king from the
Skrulls' clutches, the super powered race strikes back in SECRET INVASION: WAR OF KINGS #1 on January 7, and in the process they might start one of the biggest intergalactic wars to ever hit the Marvel Universe.
The one-shot leads directly into WAR OF KINGS #1 next March, with both written by the cosmic writing duo of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning—or DnA to their loyal fans—and art on the special prologue provided by Paul Pelletier and Bong Dazo.
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"The Inhumans at the start of SECRET INVASION: WAR OF KINGS #1 are reeling from the events of SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS," Lanning fills us in. "[They] have retreated to Attilan on the moon where
Black Bolt has summoned a council of war to initiate his response to the atrocities inflicted on his family—and himself—by the Skrull Invasion force."
That response will come directly on the heels of the main SECRET INVASION series, letting fans in on what happened to those Skrulls that slipped through the clutches of Earth's heroes.
"We will be picking up directly from the end of the [SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS limited series], and [will also be] dealing with the remains of the Skrull armada from the end of SECRET INVASION, who have regrouped and are retreating from their defeat on Earth," Abnett explains.
One particular change that occurred in SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS came in the form of an alliance between the Inhumans and their creators, the
Kree.
"There will always be friction between the Kree and the Inhumans, as the Kree created the Inhumans to be their praetorian fighting elite, but the Inhuman rejected this destiny," Lanning offers up, giving readers a brief history lesson. "The Inhumans treat the Kree with suspicion
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because they feel the Kree have always manipulated them, and the Kree are wary of the Inhumans because they fear that one day they may surpass them."
But the Inhumans' troubles don't stop with the Skrulls. Recently,
Vulcan—the long-lost brother of the
X-Men's
Cyclops—usurped control of the
Shi'ar Empire, and now he has his eyes set on another prize.
"Vulcan is leading the Shi'ar Empire on a vast cosmic campaign of expansion," Abnett tells with a hint of foreboding. "He's pretty aggressive with regards to anybody he thinks he can annex, and the Kree Empire has been an enemy of the Shi'ar for a long time. Given the recent traumas suffered by the Kree in Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest, they would seem to be weak, and this appears to be an ideal time for Vulcan to make a play for them. As the story unfolds events take on a greater urgency and Vulcan's hand is forced."
Until then, though, DnA will keep the spotlight on the Inhumans while they try to recuperate from the Skrulls' attack.
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"This one-shot mainly focuses on the Inhumans and their royal family," Lanning reveals. "Fans of Black Bolt and company will not be disappointed. The story is told from
Crystal's [point of view], she's our eyes and ears to the Inhuman half of the story just as
Gladiator of the
Imperial Guard is to the Shi'ar side of things when the WAR OF KINGS series begins."
Abnett left off by teasing everything they have in store for next year's cosmic epic, whetting fans' appetites for the storm to come:
"We can confidently say that readers will be surprised and shocked by the time they reach the end of WAR OF KINGS #1, and we can promise more shocks and surprises as the series unfolds. Our aim is to write a story that properly advances and changes things. We don't just want to put some characters through their paces and then return them to their box. When the series is finished we want the cosmic landscape of the Marvel Universe to be irrevocably altered, and for readers to be demanding to know what this will mean for the future and where things go from there!"
Before launching into WAR OF KINGS, blast off with DnA's ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST from Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
Check out the official Marvel Shop for the best mighty Marvel merchandise!
