Somewhere there is an alternate universe where the the X-Men have had a massive resurgence in recent years as a result.
Like the mutants, the Inhumans are their own separate race of people with a genetic predisposition toward superpowers. They begin their lives as normal people, but when they are hit by Terrigen Mists, their powers activate. This is very similar to when the X-gene is activated in mutants when they reach puberty. The powers of both species can sometimes take the form of physical deformities that make them stand out among the population. For this reason, both mutants and Inhumans tend to stick to their own kind while also fighting to protect the world at large.
Back in 2014, when Marvel was in the process of finalizing its plans for Phase Three of the MCU, it was announced an Inhumans film would be released in 2018. At the same time, Marvel Comics began placing less and less emphasis on the X-Men, which had once been its most popular franchise. Though the company has never said why they did this, the commonly held belief is that it was because Fox owned the screen rights to the mutants. This is no longer an issue now that Disney has absorbed Fox, but at the time Marvel did not want to shine a spotlight on any properties used by a rival studio. The company held a similar attitude towards the Fantastic Four, whose film rights were also owned by Fox.
Following the conclusion of the massive Secret Wars crossover in early 2016, the Fantastic Four were completely written out of the comics for several years. And while mutants were still around, they were an endangered species. In a very transparent move to show that the Inhumans were about to take their place, it was discovered the Terrigen Mists are deadly to mutants. This created even more tension between the two species, which culminated with Cyclops attacking the Inhumans in the Death of X storyline and the heroes going to war in the Inhumans vs. X-Men crossover.
Despite Marvel’s best efforts, the Inhumans books never really took off with readers. And even though the X-Men did not enjoy the same popularity they had during their heyday in the 1990s, they still had a core base of dedicated fans. Over in the MCU, the Inhumans were introduced on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series prior to their anticipated big screen debut. These plans changed when the Inhumans movie was removed from the MCU’s slate of films in 2016. Their appearance instead came in the form of the Inhumans television show, which received poor reviews and was canceled after season 1.
Disney finally made a deal in late 2017 to acquire Fox and regain the film rights to the X-Men. The following year’s Death of the Inhumans miniseries was the nail in the coffin of Marvel’s plans to make the Inhumans the next big thing. One positive to come out of this endeavor was the introduction of Ms. Marvel, a wildly popular Inhuman character who is set to make her debut in the MCU. And while the Inhumans never really got off the ground, the X-Men are enjoying a renewal of popularity in the comics, with Jonathan Hickman’s recent relaunch of the series opening up a world of story possibilities. It just shows that no matter how hard people try, mutants are not going down without a fight.
