The Inhumans have been a group that has been given the opportunity to elevate their status during the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For as much as Marvel has attempted to do so they fumbled the creative direction for the team’s franchise hopes. Positioning them against the heavy fan favorites of the X-Men and sometimes Avengers certainly didn’t help. That led to 2018’s Death of Inhumans story giving Marvel a reason to place the team in a metaphorical vault.
Now in 2025 the stage is possibly set for the Inhumans to claim the glory that they’ve long sought after but failed to claim in the past. That is all thanks to the current big cosmic event taking place in the Marvel Universe known as Imperial. Let’s look at how the most recent events leading into the finale of Imperial have given the Inhumans the chance to rise.
THE INHUMANS FINALLY RISE THROUGH IMPERIAL WAR
The big question that kicked off the Imperial event was about who was behind the poisoning and assassination of many cosmic leaders. These leaders included Hiro-Kala of Sakaar and Empress Victoria of Spartax. Both had a deeper connection to the Marvel Universe as Hiro-Kala was the son of Hulk and Victoria was the half-sister of Star-Lord. Initially this, and the assassination of Emperor J’son, were blamed on Wakanda, which then led to Skrulls being revealed to be the ones who publicly did all these things.
The Skrulls being the public villains of Imperial is because the true instigators of the cosmic event have been revealed to be the Inhumans. This was shown during Imperial #3 that featured a cosmic chess match between Maximus and Grandmaster. Through this chess match and Black Bolt’s eventually killing Grandmaster we see the Inhumans planned everything.
We learn more about why they secretly instigating the cosmic war in the Imperial War: Nova – Centurion one-shot. The Inhumans utilized the current instability of the Marvel Universe to gain the power they’ve, and the help of Marvel as a publisher, tried to claim for so long. Creating a universe spanning war with all the cosmic leaders was the stage they needed to accomplish this. We see this with how Medusa leads the Inhumans to easily defeat the Skrulls, who were the public villains of Imperial.
THE ILLUMINATI PLAY KEY HIDDEN ROLE IN IMPERIAL
The Inhumans rise through Imperial is certainly shown to have been well planned out by the group. But they didn’t find this opportunity to claim power alone. They actually had unintentional help by one of Marvel’s most powerful groups: the Illuminati.
That’s right, the Imperial War: Nova – Centurion revealed that Black Bolt leveraged his membership in Marvel’s Illuminati to benefit the Inhumans. It is something that Shuri, Nova, and Star-Lord piece together once they discover the Inhumans treachery.
This revelation is not all that surprising. This type of revelation gives a whole new way to view many of the Illuminati’s appearance, specifically post-Death of Inhumans. Most recently we saw Black Bolt be part of the Illuminati who faced off against The Maker in Ultimate Invasion #1. So, with his continued membership he had an in on everything going on in the Marvel Universe and other secrets shared between the members.
As Imperial #3 and Imperial War: Nova – Centurion show the Inhumans are playing like they have nothing to lose. Going through Death of Inhumans can be explained why they would risk being the villains if found out. Being found out would still lead them to gain power, something they have not had.
WHAT IS NEXT POST-IMPERIAL EVENT
No matter how Imperial it will be a big positive for the Inhumans. If they can keep up their façade the Inhumans will be seen as the heroes of the Marvel Universe. They could very well replace what the Guardians of the Galaxy represented. But if they are publicly revealed to be behind the events of Imperial, they still accomplished their goal of weakening the cosmic powers that be. There are massive holes left that they can easily fill because of the ongoing Marvel’s cosmic instability.
From Marvel’s recent solicitations we know that She-Hulk will continue to be operating out of Sakaar and Richard Rider will be a Nova for hire. There are also hints that Xandra Neramani will form a new Exiles team that will fill a similar purpose that the Guardians of the Galaxy once filled. The events of Imperial will also lead into the new Infernal Hulk series with Bruce Banner torn apart from his powerful counterpart.
On the unknown side things is what Marvel will plan for Black Panther, Star-Lord, Kree, Skrulls, and other cosmic powers. Black Panther and Star-Lord seemed primed for new ongoings that will closely tie to wherever things go next for the cosmic side. Black Panther is already leading Wakanda to use their resource to rebuild devices to make travel easier. Star-Lord meanwhile seems to be taking his sister and father’s spot as Spartax’s Emperor.
We still have Imperial #4 and Imperial War: Imperial Guardians set to release in October. Both issues should set the stage for what fans can expect to see in the future from the Marvel Universe.
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