Transcript

Taylor: All right, listeners, we have another interesting episode for you all today. We’re going to be tackling a pretty timely topic, given that this news is relatively recent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that we’re going to be seeing this particular character on the big screen in just a few months. Theoretically, if you listen to our last episode, you know why that may or may not be in question. But without further ado, we are talking all things Inhumans and Mutants today because Kamala Khan, she’s both now, and that’s a pretty big deal. So, Katie, why don’t you kick us off on this very meaty discussion?

Katie: Man, I don’t know how to start on this one and that and listen, we all know that’s pretty rare. And the few times I ever have these moments, we have to document them. But truly, I am not sure where to start. For background, we all should know and if you’re not familiar, I’ll make you familiar. Kamala is one of the most well-known Inhumans. I mean, I would argue, and I think, you know, Taylor, you might have even said this in another episode. We’ve got Kamala, we’ve got Blackbolt, and honestly, I would say Daisy Johnson. 

Taylor: Yep. 

Katie: Those are pretty prominent Inhumans. Those are probably your top three when anybody thinks of those types of characters, you’re thinking of them. And that makes sense, especially now at this point, I think putting aside comics and everything else, putting aside and bringing into the picture, I should say, the TV shows, the movies, there are your big three that you think of. 

Taylor: I agree. 

Katie: Obviously we watched Ms. Marvel and that revelation of her having a mutant gene, obviously took us all in a very different direction. And so from the get-go, that kind of opened a lot of conversations. I know we talked about it when we covered the show, but maybe not at great length because there was so much to talk about, including time travel and everything else. But I mean, now we’re here talking about it primarily because for those of you who might not keep up with some of the comic releases, they killed Kamala and then she was resurrected. And when she was resurrected, she was now named a Mutant. And as Taylor kind of teed everything up, she is actually not just a Mutant, she is a Mutant and an Inhuman all in one person, in one superhero. And that’s kind of where we’re at. And so when Taylor says it’s a meaty discussion, it’s meaty because, in some weird way, this is marrying to the MCU. It’s kind of the first time I think we see the MCU almost reflect into the comics more than the comics reflect into the MCU. Not necessarily like a full and I’m watching Taylor’s face, which is why I’m trying to explain. It’s not really one-for-one, but it definitely is kind of an interesting timing. It’s one of those where you’re like, hey, the MCU just did that and now she’s like this in the comics. It’s a little bit interesting.

Taylor: Yeah, I see where you’re going with that and I don’t disagree. I think we’ve had some other examples. Like, I know at one point people were really upset because, for example, T’Challa’s character was actually being put on the back burner after Chadwick’s death because obviously, they knew they weren’t going to have T’Challa as Black Panther anymore. So people were like, is this because you’re not going to get to play this character or have this character in the movies and that’s why he’s becoming less prominent? There have been other things, you know, obviously Samuel L. Jackson and Nick Fury. I’m not sure if that was comics to movie or they just really wanted him to play the character so they changed him in the comics before the movies. I don’t remember exactly how that goes.

Katie: I actually think and please don’t quote me on this because I can’t remember fully, but I feel like when I was doing a background on him for one of the newsletters, it was actually he was initially the comic version, not initially, the second version of him that we kind of see was modeled after Samuel L. Jackson, but it was prior to him actually playing the role. So they took him as an actor and modeled the comic version after him. But then years later, they pulled him in to actually play the Nick Fury role on the big screen.

Taylor: That’s kind of what I thought. It’s still interesting, though, because, you know, obviously they had the movies in mind, you know when they were going through and doing that. I think, you know, one other thing that I came across when I was doing this research for this episode is the whole idea of the Inhumans is because they lost the rights to the Mutants on TV, right and movies. So because they couldn’t depict Professor X or a Jean Gray or, you know, a Wolverine on film because they had sold those rights to Fox, they created a whole new group of enhanced individuals who could basically have the same kind of thing. And we’ll get into a little bit of the differences between the two because I know it can be a little confusing, I had to look it up. They basically are essentially the same type of enhanced, but now they could do it within or on the screen because they owned the rights to these characters. So, you know, I think we’ve seen this a few times, but I do agree that the timing is a little interesting. I also think, though, they use this opportunity now that she’s gaining in prominence, that she just had her show, and she’s going to be in The Marvels to bring her back to what they always wanted her to be. You know, because I remember we talked about this in the episode six reactions from Ms. Marvel. Her creators actually came out and said, actually, we’ve always wanted her to be a Mutant, but for whatever reason, they never specified, we were not able to do that and we were not able to make her a Mutant. She had to be an Inhuman. And I think now they’re kind of righting the ship and making her exactly what her creators always wanted her to be, while also not retconning what they’ve already done with her because she is such a famous Inhuman. So now she’s a little bit of both.

Katie: It’s interesting that you bring up kind of how the writers wanted one vision of her and they, unfortunately, had to go the other way because this is a very layered discussion. It’s not just the writers. It’s also when you look at Marvel itself and you look at the version of Kamala that we have in the MCU on screen, all the adaptations of live-action, we’re going to be frank, I haven’t even seen it and I don’t need to. The Inhuman show itself was the Titanic. It went down. Now, it’s funny because there were a lot of articles when I was reading just to kind of get some background who kind of said it very, very bluntly, but I agree. Whatever Agents of SHIELD did for the Inhumans, the show, Inhumans, completely demolished. And so then you have this other aspect now of these onscreen adaptations that weren’t really part of the MCU themselves, still haven’t really been talked about fully if they are, or if they aren’t. Obviously, I think Agents of SHIELD is still the closest to whether or not it’s going to be in the MCU or not. But you have these that didn’t do well with the Inhumans. You have, and while this wasn’t Kevin Feige at the helm, you have X-Men movies to run away with. I mean, we all know the originals were the best, but there were still, you know what, three more, I believe, that came out afterward that still I mean, I believe and now I have to admit I really didn’t watch the other three yet, or the ones with Evan Peters and J.Law and everyone else. I have not watched the newest versions of them, but I do want to get around to it. It’s just not something I’ve been able to do yet, but I know people still really like that. I know the last one, Dark Phoenix, we’re not going to talk about that one. I understood that was not loved. But beyond that, I know a lot of people really liked the second version’s adaptations as well. Not as much as the first, but still. I mean, that’s hard to do sometimes.

Taylor: I mean, it’s hard to beat Halle Berry as Storm, let’s be honest, iconic.

Katie: Exactly and I mean, so you have these really well-done movies that people I mean, come on, the X-Men are iconic. So I think once again, you’re kind of like, well, we had the Inhumans and we kind of shot ourselves in the foot. And then we have the X-Men who are just I mean, everyone knows Wolverine. You’re crazy if you don’t know Wolverine. So I just think that you have that other side of it, the Marvel MCU content side that’s looking at this as well. It’s a very interesting parallel that we don’t get to see often.

Taylor: Yeah, and it really is just fascinating too, because then you bring in MoM where they did bring in Blackbolt and you wonder like.

Katie: And Professor X.

Taylor: Yeah. Oh yeah obviously.

Katie: I was like, how did you-

Taylor: I was thinking about specifically Inhumans and how you were saying how they basically are like moving as far away from that franchise as possible. We had Blackbolt in there. I think we’ve all known the X-Men are coming right that was the whole point of purchasing 21st Century Fox. So seeing Professor X wasn’t shocking. It made sense.

Katie: Yeah. 

Taylor: And we all knew it from the trailer anyway, so it was fine. But then you see Blackbolt and you’re like, is this a signal? Are we showing that we’re willing to go there again and like, you know, potentially bring these characters back? I think the Inhumans are so interesting, and it was done pretty well in Agents of SHIELD. I know you just watched it and I’m about a third of the way through season two now. So I’m really starting to get those full hints. They just said the word Kree in relation to the Obelisk for the first time. So I’m starting to get there too. And I just think there’s so much story there. Obviously everybody loves Daisy Johnson and there are plenty of other members of the royal family besides Blackbolt who would be interesting to learn about and follow. One member of the royal family actually marries Ronan, the Accuser, which we all know obviously isn’t possible in the MCU anymore. He’s been dead for like 10 to 11 years.

Katie: Well, we’re in the Multiverse.

Taylor: Well, assuming they’re on 616, you know.

Katie: Yeah, I’m just saying we’re in the Multiverse. Anything is really open. And we’ve seen time travel.

Taylor: This is all valid. These are valid thoughts. But I say all that to say that there are interesting storylines. They work with the Fantastic Four, they work with the Avengers, they work with the X-Men, and they have ties. And I also want to point out that one of the more interesting things that I don’t think I understood before was that the reason that these people, Inhumans, are just people with a specific gene, the same thing as Mutants. Again, we’ll get to the difference, I promise. But that gene was actually given by Celestials. So now we’re bringing in Celestials, which of course are tied to the Eternals. The Kree actually started experimenting on the humans because they saw an Eternal for the first time and saw how gifted he was and the powers that he had. So that’s why they started experimenting on the humans because they were inspired by an Eternal. Well, now they’re Eternals on the screen and now we know what they are. And maybe the show, I don’t know I haven’t seen it either, I plan on watching it just for posterity but maybe the show would have benefited from us having a little bit more background on what the heck is going on with some of these intergalactic species and groups and all of that. Because realistically, if you’re just going into that cold, it is tough.

Katie: Yeah, and honestly, let’s just break into the main differences putting it out there just so you know, all our listeners can kind of understand where we’re at when we’re having these discussions. So quite frankly, if we want to put it black and white, the Inhumans as Taylor said, were experimented on by the Kree. When I say they all, I mean Inhumans, I’m not referring to humans when I, as I continue to say, they all. They all have genes in their body that essentially will be dormant until they go through terrigenesis, which is when they are exposed to the Terrigen crystal and whether it’s broken or whatever in their presence. It was kind of weird because, in Agents of SHIELD, you could touch it if you were an Inhuman and you would go through terrigenesis. If you were human, you couldn’t. But then it was kind of weird because then it was like being used as a vapor. And then there were times that it seemed like people were touching the crystal. It was a little weird, but essentially the idea was when you come into contact with the Terrigen crystal, you go through terrigenesis, kind of like a cocoon state. And then when you come back out of it, you are now transformed into an Inhuman. You have whatever power was in that gene that was dormant and now here you are. In the case of some people, it’s a physical change, whether that’s their power or not. For other people, it’s like Daisy Johnson, a great example, it’s a literal power. The Mutants on the other side are kind of the same idea they do have a gene. Usually, it comes out more in their teenage years as they kind of start going through puberty, but essentially it’s just a mutation in their gene. I know that sounds super dumb to sit there and be like, well, the Mutants have a mutation, but that’s why they’re called what they are. They just have a mutated gene. It’s the X gene. That kind of just is, again, a little dormant in you, but it doesn’t need something to pretty much activate it. You just kind of start growing up and the gene itself comes out. So that’s really the main difference, they’re really not that different. It’s just more of the process of how they acquire their powers more than anything.

Taylor: Yeah, no, that’s a really, really good summary. And there’s just one little bit of nuance I want to add because I was reading a really good article trying to get my own head around it, make sure I had all the details and basically what the article was, one of the things that the article listed out was essentially Inhumans, they choose for the most part to go through the ritual of terrigenesis.

Katie: Or they can choose, I think is a better way to put it, because some, as we’ve seen in Agents of SHIELD, not everybody chose to go through it.

Taylor: Yes, that is true. I will say, though, I think what they were saying is like more the Inhumans who live in the Inhuman Society, they were basically saying like it’s kind of they called it like a rite of passage like you reach a certain age, you undergo terrigenesis, and you find out like what you’re going to be like as a full grown Inhuman. Whereas an X-Men or a Mutant because not all Mutants are X-Men. They will just like one day just like have it appear, you know, the article mentioned like stress can be a really big thing. Some people are just born with it happening. It’s a little bit more like anybody’s guess when it’s going to pop out or if it’s going to pop out, like if you even have the X gene. So there’s that nuance as well. But I think, Katie, your explanation was pretty spot on. It’s really just they created the Inhumans to basically be the X-Men, but like created differently so that they could have the same powers, not the same powers, but the same type of enhanced individual without having to deal with the fact that like, oh man, we sold off the rights to all these characters on the screens to another studio.

Katie: Yeah, and honestly though there are a lot of crossover characters, even just and I keep referencing Agents of SHIELD just because they are probably the best example so far of live-action Inhumans. But I think one example is Lincoln, Daisy Johnson’s boyfriend, obviously, he’s a part of the Inhumans. We see that he has this power over electricity. Obviously, he’s not on the same level as a Storm, but I see those two having a connection. I mean, I’m even thinking about Daisy herself and the way she wields her quake abilities, which we could have a whole separate discussion on how I don’t see how it’s possible the whole earthquake thing extends to the level of power that she has but whatever. That could be a debate for another time. But actually, a lot of that stuff reminds me of Wanda. It might not be magic, but a lot, I mean, even when she figures out how to fly pretty much and everything else, it very much reminds me of how Wanda uses her powers early on before obviously she goes fully into Scarlet Witch territory. Actually, that’s a good example, though, of a Mutant who is kind of making her way in the MCU, too, because there’s been some inclination in Wandavision that she has the Mutant gene. So it’s interesting, We’re seeing a lot of that crossover I think. It just the question becomes what’s coming in the MCU with it?

Taylor: Yeah, I think we all know the Mutants are coming. It’s just a matter of when. Obviously, we know Wolverine’s in Deadpool, Kamalas in here now she’s a full Mutant. They’ve confirmed that Namor is a Mutant. Wanda has been hinted at to be Mutant. That’s four already that are either already in existing properties or are about to be fully in the MCU in the next year when their movie comes out again, pending all of the strikes and the resolution there. That’s four. My guess, is next year at Comic-Con or D23, because I think they happen every two years and so this year was an off year and they also chose not to have Marvel Studios at Comic-Con. Maybe because of the strikes, I’m not sure, but it was very bizarre. All the big studios missed it. I think next year at the Cons, we’re going to start to see the big announcements happen. And so I think that is a safe bet. When it comes to the Inhumans, it’s tough because you pointed it out, Kate. The show was a disaster, just an absolute just poop fest. That’s what I’ve heard at least. The jury’s still out in terms of my opinion, but I will be sure to tell you all when I eventually get there. But poop fest, that is just the consensus. And so when you’ve had that, but then you’re bringing one of the main characters from that show back in another variant of themselves, you’re almost signaling, hey, we’re okay with this. But then you’re also not bringing in Daisy Johnson in a perfect moment to bring in Daisy Johnson. And then I’m like, back to, but are you really going to do this? So I’m just going to tell you what I want. I want the Inhumans. I think they can exist side by side with the X-Men. They’re not mutually exclusive, but I don’t think we’re going to get an announcement about it any time soon, especially because, again, they just made one of their more famous Inhumans, a dual character so there’s that.

Katie: I actually think we’re not going to get Inhumans at all, but in the sense of I think they’re going to take this track with Kamala, with all of them. I think we’re going to see all Inhumans, such as if we had Daisy Johnson come in, Yo-Yo Rodriguez, Black Bolt, or any of these bigger people that we’ve seen. Hold on, Taylor’s making faces at me. Give me one sec. I have a horrible feeling they’re going to do that. And it’s because we’re going to see the Mutants regardless. At the end of the day, you’re never going to not want to have a Wolverine on the screen. You’re never going to not want to bring in people like Rogue, Jean Gray. I mean, you just hinted at one of your bigger ones, Scarlet Witch, which on her own was already kind of a weird play when she was brought in at the end of The Winter Soldier. You’ve already hinted that she’s a Mutant herself and she’s not done. We all know that. She’s coming back. So when you have that force going for you and you just had the comics create a duel, I almost had citizen, but almost, I guess in their own way.

Taylor: I mean, technically she could be a citizen of Absalom and Krakoa, so she is a dual citizen.

Katie: So there you go, I’m going to call her a dual citizen. When you just created a dual citizen of the Mutants and Inhumans in the comics and you already have her, you already are calling her a Mutant on the big screen. I start to take that step back and think, are we ever going to really see Inhumans or are we just going to start seeing Inhumans that are kind of just being considered Mutants?

Taylor: I have two thoughts, and one is a theory that just came to me, so you’re going to have to, hmm, now I’m walking back on my theory. We’re going to talk through my theory in a second. But my initial reaction and the reason I was making faces is I could see Yo-Yo and Quake being made to be Mutants. I struggle when it comes to Black Bolt because he is king. And his story about his mother being exposed to Terragen gas when he was in the womb and basically being like the first, my understanding is like he’s like the first one who’s like born with it in that way. That’s why he’s super powerful. Like being an Inhuman is who he is. He is the leader of the Inhumans, and that’s where I think I draw the line. Do I think that Yo-Yo and Daisy could 100% be Inhumans? I’m sorry not, be Inhumans who are Mutants on the big screen, on the small screen, whatever. Totally. Because they like Kamala, yes it’s who they are. But you can make that change and it wouldn’t change the fabric of the entire royal family, you know? So I think that’s where I kind of like have to step off your theory a little bit because I can’t quite go that far to include Black Bolt, but the other two I’m okay with.

Katie: And who’s to say honestly that they’ll include Black Bolt? It’s just possible that and I mean, I think we can all agree we feel there was a missed opportunity in Secret Invasion not because we wanted Secret Invasion to be a cameo fest, but I mean, in the predictions episode, we’ve made it very clear Daisy and Yo-Yo are both enlisted by Nick Fury to be part of the Secret Warriors in an attempt to fight the Skrull invasion. And so a lot of people expected her. I know I was on Twitter every single week. I saw it. And while it didn’t ruin the show, I think the show did itself its own favor. I think at the end of the day, that was a good place to have done it and to bring them in. And whether that confirms, I mean, this will all get thrown out if anybody ever makes Agents of SHIELD canon so we’ll see about that.

Taylor: Well, that’s why I feel like there’s a part of me that feels like they just don’t want to make a decision on it. And that’s why they haven’t brought her back in one way or another because they know that no matter what they do, they’re going to PO part of the fandom because some people are so adamant that it is in 616 it is in universe. I personally don’t think that you negate the show in any way by making it another part of another universe.

Katie: Not at this point.

Taylor: No, it’s just as valid. Once that Multiverse was confirmed, that meant that Agents of SHIELD, whether it’s 616, I’m going to make up a random number, 305. I don’t even know if that exists in the comics. Who knows?

Katie: I assume just because they all have to have a number. We’re good. 

Taylor: Yeah. So even if it’s universe 305, it’s still a very valid show. I have my theories for where that point is, and I know I keep saying that, but we’re going to get to an episode where I actually get to tell you guys. So I’m just Easter egging you until that moment. But 305 still is valid as if it’s 616. But there are people in the fandom who don’t feel that way, who feel that it is 100% 616. They’ve yelled at me on the Internet and they feel very strongly about it. And so there’s a part of me that just wonders if Marvel is just sitting there and they’re like, maybe we just don’t make a decision and we just kind of ignore it forever and never bring these characters in, which is a disservice to very, very interesting and fun characters that I would really like to see again.

Katie: I just want to go on the record and say Taylor gets yelled at on the Internet by complete strangers often, and if you don’t follow her on her private account and watch it happen, you’re doing yourself a disservice because it’s funny.

Taylor: Okay, to be fair, I am no longer on this, well, I am on the service that is formerly known as Twitter, but I have been less active, so I haven’t been getting yelled at as much lately. But I have had some very, very rude comments. If you’re out there and you know who you are, it’s just unnecessary and you need to just take a chill pill.

Katie: Yeah, I mean, I don’t remember what it was that one time, but I just was on I think I was on my I could have been on my account and I just wasn’t watching. It was just an entire, like, chain of messages. It was so bad. And you, you were so nice trying to, like, argue your point and the person was just like, it was so bad.

Taylor: I know. It’s like when one person is trying to be really classy about it and just have like a civilized conversation and the other person’s like, you’re ugly. And I’m like, dude, like, I just want to have like a debate here.

Katie: No, no. Literally, like, that is how I remember that so clear as day. And I was like, what is going on in this conversation? And I just was like, that seems like a her problem. I’m just going to keep scrolling.

Taylor: I mean, it doesn’t keep me up at night, but I do wish it would not happen. But yeah, so, you know, I do know from personal experience that people feel very strongly about this point. So that’s why I kind of wonder if they’re not going to ever make a decision. Again, I think it’s a waste, but I think that’s a possibility we have to think about. I do want to throw out a crazy theory, and I don’t think it quite works because I forgot about Captain Carter.

Katie: So do I, or at least try to.

Taylor: I know, but what if the universe with Black Bolt, well, two things. Two things, actually.

Katie: 838?

Taylor: You know the number? Good for you.

Katie: It’s Multiverse of Madness and Wanda was in it. Of course, I know it. 

Taylor: I’ve only seen it once, but I’m wondering if, like, could we make an argument that that is the universe of Agents of SHIELD, or does Captain Carter negate that?

Katie: She would negate that. Because Peggy, no, because Steve-

Taylor: Is alive and Captain America.

Katie: Yes because all of the events of Winter Soldier still happen exactly the right way. We just see the other end of it.

Taylor: So then point B and this could also be mitigated depending on how they set up the Inhumans show. Could that be the universe of the Inhumans show? 838? Depending on whether they specifically tie that show to the MCU.

Katie: So that’s a lot harder for me to make that call because I didn’t see that show. But I would say if that wasn’t a perfect time point so like a one-for-one time point, say we’re in 2025 and they went to that universe at exactly 2025 and that was instead in the future of that universe. I mean, I think you could argue anything. You know what I’m trying to say?

Taylor: I do. I do. Basically, you’re saying Inhumans takes place in the past of 838, but we’re now seeing the present. So if Inhumans came out in 2015 or 2016, whatever, I don’t actually know the year those events took place. Now we’re eight, nine years later or whatever, and now we’re seeing what is present day.

Katie: Well that could be even further. I’m actually thinking maybe even a bigger time jump because I’m considering what that universe looks like, right? And so I’m thinking that’s a very futuristic-looking universe because, too, they have the Illuminati. So I’m thinking, you know, they could have gone even 50 years in the future and maybe there’s just all sorts of aging technology or cyro is still very much a thing and things like that.

Taylor: Or Inhumans may age at a different rate.

Katie: Or that, that’s what I mean. So I think I can’t throw that out. I just don’t think we’re out of one from one-time point.

Taylor: Fair, fair. I will report back once, Katie, will probably get to it before I do depending on her watch list.

Katie: Yeah, I’m solidly on episode or in season five, so we’re good. That’ll be next.

Taylor: So one of us will report back on the feasibility of that. But I did want to point that out because those are the only two properties we’ve ever seen Black Bolt in. So if you’re going to tell me you’re not going to ever bring him back, I would like him to have been the same, the same Black Bolt. No variant in those two properties.

Katie: Yeah. I think, you know, you made a good point of showing all this. This really does come down to the fact that Marvel really doesn’t want to make a choice about what to do with the Inhumans. The Mutants are not a question, and they never will be. And I think I’ve made that very clear throughout this entire episode so far. The Mutants will never be on the chopping block. They will never be questioned because the Mutants are I mean, you do not need to be a big Marvel fan or even be a fan to know the X-Men. It’s just not, even with the Fantastic Four. I mean, nowadays, yes, Iron Man is a big name, but in the comics, 30 years ago, no one gave a crap about Iron Man 90% of the time, he was not a big character that people were backing behind. It was Spider-Man. It was the X-Men, it was the Fantastic Four. These were your big names. The Incredible Hulk, which he’s been nerfed so bad in the MCU so we don’t talk about it. But he was a big name, so we’re not going to worry about the Mutants. As far as the Inhumans, it really is they don’t want to make a choice. They don’t want to have to sit down and say for sure whether or not they’re going to do away with this group completely in the MCU. Never bring them in, never reference them, dabble in them, which I already think is a dangerous game they’re playing because of Kamala Khan being inherently an Inhuman, having Black Bolt come in, in Multiverse of Madness. I mean, when you start making those choices, not to mention, you have him sitting next to a Mutant. It’s dangerous games to play when you don’t get the confirmation. We all are just left wondering what is going to happen with the Inhumans. Quite frankly, I go back to what I said earlier. I have a bad feeling we’re not going to see a distinction happen in the MCU.

Taylor: I think they’re getting rid of distinctions in the comics, too, and here’s why. Kamala. But here’s an interesting little thing about terrigenesis and Terrigen gas, it’s actually lethal to Mutants. So if it is lethal to Mutants, but now you have someone who has both genes. What does that mean?

Katie: Interesting. Well, and I think that’s interesting because we even mentioned how in Agents of SHIELD originally, it was made very clear that humans also couldn’t touch any Terrigen crystal or be exposed to its gas.

Taylor: Yeah. So I just feel like that’s another way where they’re chipping away at the differences between the two because you had this gas that would either make you super powerful or kill you depending on which gene you had. But now you have a person who is able to, one, hold both genes. But then that also means the gas which worked for her, you know, activated the Inhuman gene, but then she wasn’t hurt by the Mutant gene that lived inside her. 

Katie: Yeah, it’s a gray area. It’s another gray area, I should say.

Taylor: It’s also a really odd retcon. It’s an odd thing to retcon when you’ve established that fact already. It’s just odd. Just odd. I get why they did it, but it’s odd.

Katie: You know what I just thought about which is semi-related, semi-unrelated?

Taylor: No, tell me.

Katie: So we know that the whole Thunderbolts premise so far, what we’re told is they’re going to be kind of in an almost arms race going to the island of Tiamut. I wonder if there’s going to be more than just the precious metal found on that Celestial.

Taylor: You think it’s Krakoa?

Katie: Well you already talked about the whole idea of how the Celestials and the Kree are connecting to make up, not I shouldn’t say it that way. The Celestials did not connect with the Kree to make the Inhumans. I mean, the storylines themselves connect and kind of that’s your flowchart to the Inhumans. So I almost wonder it could be we could find Terrigen crystals. I don’t know. I feel like it could open some doors if they do choose to open the Inhuman door. If they do it that way, though, I think you’ll be seeing anything from Agents of SHIELD, anything from the Inhumans show retconned. I don’t think if you’re going to see Daisy Johnson come in, it’s not going to be Agents of SHIELD, Daisy Johnson, who has seven seasons of history with us and technically, if it was actually canon, would run parallel to the what we’ve already seen in the universe. It would be a newly formed inhuman Daisy Johnson.

Taylor: I agree. I also think my weird throw out of Krakoa made absolutely no sense because to just introduce the Mutants in their home world is just kind of a lot. So toss that one out.

Katie: Yeah, I mean, it was a little wild, but that’s why I was like it could be. I was like, sure Taylor.

Taylor: Look, I just was like, where is she going with this? But no, I do think if they find the Terrigen crystals, yes, it could work. It could work. And I do agree that if if they go that route, it will not be Agents of SHIELD Daisy Johnson. They’re going to basically confirm, heyo, this is a different universe, still very valid.

Katie: And that’s if they want to do Inhumans. That’s if they do want to go that route, they want to bring them in. I could see that being another opportunity to do it and to actually start them from the ground up.

Taylor: Yeah, I mean, I think to again, I keep coming back to the Celestial part because I think that was a missing piece from Agents of SHIELD and I’m assuming also the Inhuman show. Is that now that we have the Celestials and we have confirmation that the Celestials were on Earth, how do you think the Celestial got inside Earth? You know, now we know that they have to have had contact with humans at some point. I mean, frickin what’s his face was outside of our planet at the end of the movie.

Katie: Arashem.

Taylor: Which everybody forgets happens. Hello?

Katie: I mean, everybody forgets that Tiamut is just floating in the ocean. You know, there’s that.

Taylor: I can’t. I can’t. So anyway, so we know that they’ve been here in the past. We know they’ve been here recently. Heck, maybe he was annoyed Arashem, and was like, actually, you want to care about these humans so much, let me go ahead and like, alter their genetics and now they’re a little funky. And then you bring in the Kree who are probably more excited about Earth than they have been in 30 years because they’re enemies, the Skrulls, are now being hunted, and now Earth becomes a little bit of a central place for the whole dang universe.

Katie: And that brings up a really good quick point in adding that part of the Kree’s process of engineering the humans, the Inhumans, I should say, was to fight the Skrulls. If nobody was aware of that fact, I want to throw it out real quick.

Taylor: Or, you can go back to our theory from the Ritson episode and say that now that they’re allying themselves with the Skrulls, they’re just doing their part to their two pronged war against those pesky humans.

Katie: It could be interesting. It could be done very well if the thought process is there. But I think if we bring this all back to Kamala because I think it all rests on her, both in the comics and in the MCU. I don’t know the way the comics are going, to me, it’s starting to blur that line. I have that feeling that the MCU is going to take that specific new comic book precedence and run with it. I just have that that feeling, man.

Taylor: As annoying as it is because I think there’s so much story opportunity because we have so many of the players that are important to the Inhumans storyline lines that are in play now in ways that they weren’t when Agents of SHIELD was focusing on it. The way they weren’t when they were airing the Inhumans show. There’s a whole world out there that we have built that have now made this storyline so much more rich, and I think that’s a wasted opportunity. But I also think that your thought process is very much in line with what they’ve done in the past, and it is probably likely how they’re going to go, and that’s really freaking annoying.

Katie: I know, I know. I mean, it’s hard because I think I guess this is partially hindsight bias, but I think we watched episode six of Ms. Marvel. I had a very different thought process just because I really was like, I don’t care about Inhumans. I’ve never heard of them. 

Taylor: I remember.

Katie: Yeah, because, I mean, I didn’t watch Agents of SHIELD. I had no exposure to them. And so to me I was like, that’s cool. I like the Mutants anyway, more and I still do. That thought process has not changed, but I was just like, cool, I don’t really care. Like to me, cool, Mutants coming, confirmation. Nice. I think now I definitely knowing the difference, seeing people like Yo-Yo and Daisy and some of the other Inhumans that we got to expose ourselves to and Agents of SHIELD and I, like I said, I can’t speak to the show itself of Inhumans, but to even that as well. I think it’s unfair to those characters to completely just forget their origins. But then again, look at Kamala. And while they wanted her to be a Mutant initially, and I understand there were some technicalities and the fact of they couldn’t do it for some reason. That’s why she was an Inhuman. They are back in the source material now and making these changes. And to me that just screams we’re never going to see a full Inhumans slate unless we’re like 20 years from now and we’re desperate.

Taylor: I don’t disagree. I’m just annoyed. I think that’s my thesis for this episode.

Katie: I mean, it’s a fair thought process. I think too, like I said, when you see these changes happening in the comics that are so clearly reflecting things that are happening in the MCU, that to me is immediately a red flag.

Taylor: Oh, I totally agree. Totally agree.

Katie: So I don’t know. I feel like saying rest in peace to the Inhuman storyline, because I really I also think right now there’s no room for them. When you’re trying to bring in the Mutants, where’s the room for the Inhumans?

Taylor: Well, yeah, you’re right. And I think they’re so easily confused to someone who’s not like, how many minutes in this episode did we just talk about explaining the difference between the two? We both had to do research to understand the difference between the two. And we’ve seen Agents of SHIELD. We’ve seen the beginning of the X-Men movies or the first iteration of the X-Men movies. We watched X-Men ‘97 growing up. We know this stuff.

Katie: But we just want to make sure we’re saying it correctly.

Taylor: Yeah, like not in the comics, obviously we’re not, that’s not an area of the comics I really even dabble in, but like we both had to look it up to make that what we remember from the shows and the things we’ve watched that they were accurately depicted from the comics, all of that so that we could make sure that you all were clear. Imagine trying to do that now and introducing them at the same time. Like if you were to introduce them five, or ten years apart, I think you can like audiences who have grasped one group can be like, oh, okay, this is slightly different from the other one because of X, Y, and Z, or they’ll do their research on the comics, but to like introduce them both at the same time, it’s just like here are two groups of people. They have the exact same thing, it’s just one people needs a gas and the other people just needs a lot of cortisol. Like what?

Katie: Exactly. I think it’s all against the Inhumans. I think Kamala’s storyline in the comics is now against the Inhumans, and I just think the future is going to tell. I think it’ll be very interesting. I mean, listen, I’m not going to lie. Now, one of the bigger reasons I not that I would not have gone to see The Marvels, naturally of course I would have. But I got to say, one of the bigger things I’m going to be watching for is Kamala and understanding her character, watching her character throughout the movie, seeing if there are hints or comments or something made throughout it. I mean, that’s what I’m paying attention to at this point. No offense to Monica. No offense to Carol, but Kamala has got my attention because Kamala might be bringing the Mutants in.

Taylor: I mean, realistically, I mean, I read an article that said she was the first Mutant in the MCU, and June 2022, well, Wandavision. The first confirmed Mutant.

Katie: Yeah, I was like, that depends on how you view Wandavision I think.

Taylor: Because she even predated Namor, who was obviously November of last year. So she beat him out by like five months and he was a confirmed Mutant. So you got the first two within five months of each other. But Kamala’s the Queen, she won. June comes before November, the last time I checked. And so to your point, like, if anybody’s going to bring them in, I think it’s going to be her. And when is she going to be up to bat next? November.

Katie: Yep, well, exactly. And I think, you know, that’s just going to be what it is. I think she’s going to really be the one starting to bring it all together. I think, too, the next project that will really solidify anything will be Deadpool. But unfortunately, that’s obviously on pause right now. So until I think we get to that project, we’re really at a possible standstill.

Taylor: Yeah. It’s interesting, I think, and this is the last thing I’ll say that’s not fully focused on Kamala, but we have so much going on in the MCU right now. We have all the cosmic voodoo. We have all of the magical voodoo. We have the Multiverse.

Katie: I was going to say the literal voodoo of magic when you were saying that, like the real voodoo.

Taylor: I know. Well, I couldn’t think of a word and then I was like, well, now I have to say magic, but you have all of these different realms, you know, and it’s tough. And then you have the street-level stuff going on still. And I think I’m still not seeing how all of this is tied to the Multiverse like we know right, that it’s supposed to all be about the Multiverse. But there are so many things. How do the Mutants fit into the Multiverse? Does the Multiverse bring them in? So many questions about it. But if you have Kamala on 616, you don’t need the Multiverse to bring them in.

Katie: But I think the Multiverse could be a good way to bring in an established group because I don’t know if the MCU is going to want to do a whole Mutant takeover.

Taylor: Yeah, that’s fair like a whole origin all over again.

Katie: Yeah, just like with the Fantastic Four and how Spider-Man was handled. I don’t think we’re going to see that for the third time.

Taylor: That’s fair. That is fair. I just my whole point in saying all of that is there just seems to be a lot of really unconnected storylines. And then you have the whole gods’ realm. We haven’t even talked about or mentioned that in forever.

Katie: Yeah, we definitely need to have an episode on that because that’s, that’s fuzzy.

Taylor: I know there’s Bast, there’s Hercules, he’s out there and he hates Thor. Like, there’s a lot happening and it just seems like there are so many categories now. We used to have, you know how Falcon says the big three of villains we used to have like the big three of categories. You had your space, you had your magic, and you had your on-the-ground people. But now you have your space, you have your magic, you have your on-the-ground, you have your gods, you have your Multiverse, you have your Mutants, you have all of this stuff going on. And it’s like, what? How does this all work together?

Katie: Yeah. And they’re weirdly being interchanged because if you think Kamala is now entering the cosmic realm, which in itself is weird. We’ll get to that when we get closer to covering it.

Taylor: But is it though, because of Captain Marvel?

Katie: I guess it’s hard for me because when you look at her in the comics, yes, it’s weird, but when you look at her iteration of the MCU, I’m kind of like, well, you force it kind of down our throats from the get-go when she was obsessed with Captain Marvel so.

Taylor: I mean, she is in the comics, too, but to your point, she’s more of like an Avenger than she is like a space person.

Katie: Yeah, like she’s not really a team-up with Captain Marvel kind of gal. So I think that’s kind of what is weird for me. And then she has literally not a single connection to Monica. So that is also going to be the only connection there is literally Monica, knowing Captain Marvel from when she was eight. So it’ll be interesting. I think we just need to be eagled-eyed and have our ears open when we get to The Marvels and, you know, Kamala’s going to do it. It’s just going to depend on how.

Taylor: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more.

Katie: And I also think we should say goodbye to ever hoping the Inhumans are going to make an appearance in the MCU.

Taylor: I can’t get behind that because I’m sad, but logically, I get behind it.

Katie: Yeah, at least not as a main storyline. And I just have that feeling we’ll never actually hear Inhumans when they had the chance to say that at the end of Ms. Marvel and instead, they said she had a Mutant gene.

Taylor: Or when they could have brought in Daisy Johnson as a Secret Warrior but that’s fine.

Katie: That too.

Taylor: Well, on that note, I think we’re going to have to call it an episode because I’m sad and I no longer want to talk about this because we didn’t come to the conclusion that I was hoping we would.

Katie: I’m shocked you thought we would.

Taylor: No, I don’t think I ever thought we would. I think I was hoping we could convunce ourselves.

Katie: Convunce ourselves?

Taylor: You know what? I was just going to let it go and I really wish you would have. I really wish there have been things that you said that I let go of because I am the kind sister. And I think-

Katie: I have a speech impediment, though what’s your excuse?

Taylor: I’m tired. Anyway, if you are looking forward to our coverage of some more interesting topics, we’re going to be covering Agents of SHIELD in an upcoming episode as well. So if you’re looking forward to us talking more about that, definitely make sure you’re following and subscribing to all the good things on your podcast platform of choice. Make sure you’re also checking out the website. We have all kinds of good information on there about what’s going on with the show, and it’s just a really, really good hub of fantastic information on there. You can also support the show through our affiliate links on the home page, which we appreciate because it helps us make the show better for you.

Katie: Go follow us on Twitter/X at SisAssembledPod and Instagram and Threads or Instagram/Threads or both at SistersAssembled. We will have all the episodes, when our blog posts go up, some great content of just Taylor and me, you know, just being Taylor and me. And maybe that’s not grammatically correct. It could be Taylor and I. Either way, just go give us a follow because it’s always a lot of fun on there. And as Taylor said, we have some interesting things coming up. We are hitting our 100th episode, so it’s going to be great. We’re going to have some guests on to cover it. We’re just going to have a full-blown party because 100 freaking episodes, guys, that’s awesome and we’re really, really excited. So make sure you guys are ready to join us for that because it’s going to be awesome. In the meantime, keep up with Marvel, Marvel’s News, and keep up with us because Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.