Fantastic Four #577
Universal Inhumans
Six months ago: The Inhuman Royal Family has made the decision to go into space, but with the Time of the Gathering draws near, they must leave one of their own on the Moon. Black Bolt and Medusa have chosen Dal Damoc to stand watch. After triggering the summoning, Black Bolt and the rest of his people take to the stars. Two months ago: As Dal Damoc continues to watch the approach of those summoned. The approach has also attracted the attention of Uatu the Watcher. Eventually, the day comes and Dal Damoc turns the Watcher's attention to a massive ship that has appeared over the moon.
The landing of the alien ship has attracted the attention of the Fantastic Four. Mister Fantastic gives his team a briefing on the arrival of the alien ship. Not knowing what the ship is intended for, Mister Fantastic tells them to get ready to take a trip to the moon. A half-hour later, the Fantastic Four take off from the Baxter Building in a rocket. Within moments that are orbiting the moon and land a capsule in the ruins of the Blue Area. When they get to the ship, they discover that there are multiple life forms aboard the vessel. Before they can investigate further, they are interrupted by Dal Damoc who welcomes the long time friends of the Inhuman Royal Family. He welcomes them to the dawn of a new age for the Inhumans.
Dal takes them aboard the massive ship and tells them of a grand destiny where four races become one. First he takes them to Eldrac the Doorway, an Inhuman that was once a politician but now has become something more: A threshold between this world and other places. He then reminds the Fantastic Four of the origin of the Inhumans, how they were experimented upon by the Kree. However, he surprises them when he explains that the Kree experiments on humanity was not the only race experimented on. They had succeeded with five other races as well, however, each race became Inhuman through different processes. The Inhumans of Earth gained their abilities from Terrigenesis with the Terrigen Mists. Dal Damoc then introduces them to the Universal Inhumans: The Centurian Royal Family led by Oola Udonta, the Moord Council of the Brood led by Aladi Ko Eke, the Kymellain White Room led by Queen Onomi Whitemane, and lastly Goddess Avoe, ruler of the Dire Wraiths. The Fantastic Four discover that the four queens have come to join Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans of Earth and establish a new holy land they will call New Hala. The Fantastic Four realize that this may be trouble as they are not interested in colonizing the Moon, but are looking to colonize Earth.
The Fantastic Four learn of the large population of Universal Inhumans that live on the City-Ship. They learn about the over 700 criminals locked in its Black Level of the ship. They also learn about the Light Brigade, a team of six of the greatest Inhuman warriors who must take part in a ritual called the Offering. The Offering is a series of trials to prove that they are worthy of the collective. To date, there has yet to be a Light Brigade that has survived longer than a year.
Recurring Characters
Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Maximus, Gorgon, Triton, Lockjaw), Universal Inhumans (Oola Undonta, Onomi Whitemane, Aladi Ko Eke, Avoe), Dal Damoc, Eldrac, The Watcher
Continuity Notes
The scene involving the Inhuman Royal Family initiating the summoning happened between the events of Silent War #6 and Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1. As per Secret Invasion: War of Kings #1, the Inhumans are in space and have taken over their former masters the Kree. The narrative of the story states that this even happened six months prior. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, this measurement of time is accurate.
