One of Black Bolt’s deadliest and most tragic screams ended up being the final nail in the coffin for the Inhumans at Marvel Comics. In Death of the Inhumans #5 by Marvel Comics, the writing was on the wall as Marvel intended to move on from the alien heroes as prominent players in their stories after the rights to the X-Men were reacquired by Marvel Studios. In their last series as a team, Black Bolt was forced to kill some of his Inhuman allies, which ended up being a strange send-off for the group of heroes.
The Inhumans are one of Marvel’s oldest superteams, as the Inhuman Royal Family debuted in the pages of Fantastic Four by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The group made regular appearances alongside Marvel’s First Family, with the likes of Black Bolt, Medusa, Lockjaw, Karnak, and Crystal playing small but important roles in the Fantastic Four’s adventures. However, when Marvel Comics decided to sideline the X-Men in the 2010s as they didn’t own their movie rights, the publisher somewhat controversially pushed the Inhumans as a replacement for the mutants, giving them their own ongoing title with a heavy promotion in events. However, the Inhumans were again pushed down the totem pole after a failed Inhumans live-action series and the movie rights of the X-Men returning (allowing them to start doing more X-stories) capped off with Death of the Inhumans from Marvel Comics.
In Death of the Inhumans by Donny Cates, Ariel Olivetti, Jordie Bellaire, and VC’s Clayton Cowles, Marvel teased the Inhumans’ death as the miniseries served as an end for the character’s elevated status in the pages of Marvel Comics. The comic lived up to its name as the Super-Inhuman Vox led the charge in killing the home and thousands of Inhumans, who were turned into his soldiers. It left Black Bolt and the Royal Family (joined by Beta Ray Bill) to fight back against their turned allies. In a heartbreaking moment, Black Bolt, despite his voice being weak after it was slit and only having one scream left before he lost it entirely, unleashes one last attack with his powers to take down some of the Inhumans turned Vox soldiers.
Black Bolt lost his voice in the fight, which was another sign Marvel Comics was intending to sideline the Inhumans for the foreseeable future. Since the Death of the Inhumans and Black Bolt’s last scream, the characters have sparsely appeared in other comics, including, most recently, the Darkhold Saga. However, the Inhumans have a minimal role now, as the deadly miniseries proved to be their last title. It’s hard to say they didn’t go out with a bang.
With Black Bolt making a surprise reappearance in the MCU, the Inhumans may again have an ongoing title in Marvel Comics. However, the Death of Inhumans, which featured Black Bolt wiping out the last of his kind outside of the Royal Family with his incredible powers, marked a clear endpoint for now for the characters. With the X-Men back, the Inhumans stood little chance at maintaining the spotlight Marvel gave previously gave them. However, the minuscule amount of Black Bolt and the Inhumans content that’s come out since the miniseries remains surprising – even if their sidelining was inevitable by Marvel Comics.
