Unspoken
(Inhumans) (Part #1)
Context
This profile is about one of Marvel Comics’ Inhuman characters.
King Unspoken first appeared in a 2009 Avengers story.
If you’re not well familiar with the Inhumans, you should first read our primers about the Inhumans. That’s “Inhumans” twice in a single inhuman sentence. Inhumans.
This article is slightly above our “read in one sitting” threshold. So it’s presented as a two-parter for the comfort of slower readers. The second half is there.
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Background
- Real Name: Unspoken.
- Other Aliases: The Living Terrigenesis, King Unspoken.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: Unspoken is a cousin of the Boltagon brothers. Which likely means ties to the entire Royal Family.
- Group Affiliation: Inhumans of Attilan.
- Base of Operations: The Great Refuge.
- Height: 7’6″ (2.29m.). Weight: 300 lbs. (136 Kg.).
- Eyes: Grey. Hair: Grey.
Powers & Abilities
King Unspoken is huge.
He’s a particularly successful product of Inhuman genetic engineering. One therefore assumes that his level of strength, endurance, reflexes, health, etc. is even higher than his species’ norm.
Miscellaneous assets
Unspoken demonstrated high levels of intelligence, charisma, authority and wisdom.
He could also survive normally fatal wounds, and likely has a healing factorThe power to heal wounds and regrow tissues, like Wolverine. Plus a gigantic lifespan.
He fought with great speed and power. But it seemed to be more a byproduct of his strength and reach than world-class martial training.
The Unspoken is extensively familiar with Attilan, its workings, its elites, etc.. But much of this knowledge was outdated by the 2010s.
He also has an excellent knowledge of Inhuman history – the accurate version. It is vaguely possible he may have been an historian before he was made King.
Metagenesis metapower
The Living Terrigenesis’ super-power isn’t entirely defined. My impression is that he can manipulate Terrigenesis powers, both in himself and in others.
Thus, he can :
- Eliminate the Terrigenesis mutations of others. Medusa feared that the King would destroy her crimson-curled capillary capabilities, leaving her powerless.
- Turn his own Terrigenesis manipulation ability into another super-power that Terrigenesis can grant. This ability will be extremely powerful. However, it seems that :
- He can only manifest one at a time. Notably, he no longer can nullify others’ Terrigenesis powers if he has converted this power of his into something else.
- Using such abilities requires focus, and focusing for a long while will drain him.
Demonstrated Terrigenesis powers
- Enhancing his strength and durability to “Class 100” levels. This is his most common power use.
- Cosmic energy control. However, this was only done at a reduced power, to enhance his strength and speed while nearly depowered. He could also make his hands burn or emit short-ranged but wide energy blasts.
- An enormous explosion around himself. In DC Heroes RPG terms, that may have been Flash – then Bomb.
- Turning tonnes of earth into a fast-moving wave he could surf atop. Displacing millions of tonnes of soil and rock to eventually unearth the Slave Engine.
- Emitting an energy blade from his hand. It could shear through massive obstacles.
- Rewinding his aging, to return within seconds to his physical peak.
- Blocking a shockwave with an invisible force shield.
- Emitting an energy beam that kinda looked like water (?) to block a huge fire blast.
- Super-leaps derived from enhanced superhuman strength.
- Growing to colossal size, dwarfing a Mazinger-style humanoid mechaSome form of cool sci-fi super-vehicle or super-robot.
- Shooting energy beams from his eyes.
- The power of turning into a giant minotaur with glowing energy veins. In this form he had four arms, “Class 100” strength and durability, and Validus-like “brain lightning” that may have been potent enough to kill Black Bolt.
One gets the impression that he had a huge potential range of powers. Yet the Unspoken tends to rely on a small set (strength, geokinesis, cosmic energy). This may imply that he needs to practice at length to properly use each power.
Like crystal, it’s not easy
It has also been demonstrated that the Unspoken’s power worked in tandem with Terrigen crystals. Specifically, that Unspoken’s ability was to pick the way Terrigen exposure would mutate him. This is odd.
First, it’s Terrigen *mist* that induces Terrigenesis. So either :
- He can generate water at the right temperature to have a crystal emit a bit of mist.
- The Unspoken’s power allows him to tap the crystal directly, without vapours. That seems simpler.
Second, previous appearances show no sign of him using any Terrigen crystal to power himself. Some hypotheses :
- Unspoken outgrew the need of actually touching a crystal. Hence his “the Living Terrigenesis” moniker. But he lost that asset once he was depowered.
- He had Terrigenesis crystals hidden in his costume all along, and the young Royal Family did not realise that.
- His loyal Alpha Primitives brought about 50 years’ worth of Terrigen crystals with them while Unspoken was in exile. From his hidden, private stash.
- The Unspoken could also use Xerogen crystals to acquire new powers. Perhaps he can use any sort of Metagenesis agent.
His powering-up process further *implies* that he can proceed in two ways :
- Destructively absorb Terrigen crystals, or destructively absorb Terrigen energy. This powers him up quickly, but this means he has a limited energy reserve. Once it has run out, he’s depowered.
- Gradually absorb energy from nearby Terrigen crystals. The initial power level is observably lower, and his energy reserve only slowly builds up. But since the process is non-destructive, he can accrue a large power level and — especially — a deep energy reserve over a long time.
If he has but a tiny sliver of Terrigen crystal, eating it likely makes the most sense. He won’t be powered up for long, but it’ll be almost his full power. Non-destructively draining such a sliver wouldn’t take him anywhere useful – unless he did that for centuries.
Soundtrack
The first thing that comes to mind is, admittedly, very much Old Man Music. By Randac’s beard, get off my lawn you jackanapes !
History (part 1)
In the rough vicinity of 1960, the aged Inhumans King Agon and Queen Rynda were killed.
This occurred when their traitorous son Maximus Boltagon tried to ally with the alien Kree. Maximus’ brother Black Bolt stopped the Kree spaceship. But a complex interplay led to the ship crashing onto the royal couple.
The Boltagon brothers were too young for the throne. It was clear that Black Bolt would be King, but he needed time.
In the interim Unspoken, the most powerful and “genetically perfect” Inhuman, became King.
Master of the hidden city
Though it was bound to be short, his reign seemed popular. Yet despite his qualities, the King was blind to the issues of Alpha Primitives.
Late during Agon’s reign, Inhumans activists had been arrested for teaching Alphas. One Alpha, naming himself Elisha, both learned to read and managed to escape from Attilan.
After learning much in the Human world, Elisha returned to organise a revolt.
An Alpha Primitive ambush against the King and the Boltagon brothers was nearly successful. This was thanks to special techno-arrows brought by Elisha. The arrowheads nullified even Black Bolt or the King’s powers.
But Black Bolt’s cool head allowed him to turn the tables.
Elisha escaped, though Maximus murdered the rebels’ co-leader.
Political manoeuvres in the dark
Elisha switched to a different tactic. He tried to convince the Boltagon brothers that the King was plotting to eliminate them to retain the throne.
That likely wouldn’t have worked on its own. But the King’s Viceroy, Kadlec the Seeker, *was* scheming to a/ murder the Boltagon brothers and b/ force the underage Medusa to marry him.
Medusa was thus forced to flee Attilan. The Boltagons, unable to tell whether Kadlec was acting on his own or following royal orders, joined her and Elisha.
Uprising
In the end, the young Royals returned to Attilan. They had defeated the Seeker, and they defeated Elisha’s uprising.
The Alpha had been understandably unable to trust Black Bolt. Nevertheless, the future king promised that his reign would begin with improvements to Alpha Primitive status.
While he clearly had saved the Inhumans, Black Bolt still thought that he was too young for the throne. He therefore declined King Unspoken’s offer to abdicateWhen a monarch renounce their throne.
History (part 2)
King Unspoken remained popular – even beloved. But he took steps away from Attilan society.
He did not seem to have a Viceroy anymore, or even ministers. Most of the King’s staff were Alpha Primitives conducting simple tasks, as he preferred their company. Unspoken also brooded over Inhuman history, society and racism.
Eventually, he confiscated the Slave Engine. He had come to see it as an abomination, and its use as debasing for the Inhumans. Mustering his immense strength, the King physically carried it far underground. He waded through Subterranea’s perils and lava rivers to reach a secret cavern.
The Vallattilan Debate
(It’s a joke . Sehr lustig.)
However, young Inhuman Karnak sensed the disappearance of the Engine. It was a sudden vulnerability appearing in Attilan as a system.
The youth could also sense that the King was now greatly weakened. He correctly deduced that the immense effort to carry the enormous Engine so far had drained the monarch.
(There are continuity discrepancies in this story – Mighty Avengers #27. Here I’m going with Inhumans: Once And Future Kings as being “more correct” than MA #27, since it was published later.)
Alarmed, the young Royal Family confronted the King.
The situation degenerated. Blackagar Boltagon ended up punching out the weakened King, and taking the crown.
He who shall never be spoken of
The fallen King refused to say where the Engine had been hidden. The young Royals saw this as treason, threatening the survival of Attilan.
Black Bolt’s sentence was that the Inhumans would “turn their backs” on his predecessor. This meant that :
- He and his reign were erased from Inhuman histories. He was unspoken, had never existed, and Black Bolt had directly succeeded his father as King.
- Even in confidential, uncensored History books kept by Inhuman rulers, his name was redacted. It only appeared as a censor bar — Unspoken.
- The last time his name was ever spoken by an Inhuman was by Black Bolt. The new King whispered his predecessor’s name to execute him.
Mountainous
This scene seems to take place in the Himalayas.
Yet back then, Attilan still was in the North Atlantic.
Our No-Prize HypothesisA made-up explanation to plug a plot hole :
- The young Royals could determine that the Slave Engine was roughly under Tibet.
- They had brought Unspoken there to give him one last chance to take them to the hidden Engine.
- It was a good site to use Black Bolt’s voice, anyway. Much like nuclear bomb testing is done in deserts.
- King Unspoken had taken the Engine in Tibet in the first place since it topped the shortlist of secure sites to move Attilan to. Just in case he ever changed his conflicted mind.
Continued !
This profile continues in its second half !
Source of Character: Marvel incomics.
Helper(s): Darci.
Writeup completed on the 27th of November, 2020.