Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-3406131-20161105171445/@comment-61022-20161107172130

It should also be pointed out that the earliest of Inhumans were the results of experimentation by the Kree. They were engineered in such a way that the Terrigen Mists would alter them when exposed. Inhumans Vol 3 went so far as to say that they were engineered in such a way that once exposed to the mists they would mutate info a form approximate to various alien races that were considered enemies of the Kree at the time. This was explored further in Secret Invasion: Inhumans Vol 1 when Triton found a world full of water breathing beings that looked identical to him.

The backbone of the Inhuman history of selective breeding was established in. The Genetic Council basically decided who got to reproduce, and with whom. A lot of this was to keep Inhuman stock as pure as possible.

I think that when you compare Inhumans to NuHumans it's more or less a similar scenario as when you compare Eternals to normal humans, granted on a lower scale in terms of power bases. Inhumans were the product of Kree genetic modification (which was on top of the genetic modifications done on humanity by the Celestials centuries earlier)

The Inhumans have for the most part been a self-contained gene pool until some of their numbers started journeying out and cross-breeding with other branches of humanity. The results have varied. There are extreme cases such as the Hidden Ones who were a mix of human and Inhuman. They all had specific traits that were all similar in power and appearance.

The other iterations are NuHumans, who are almost like mutants in a way. They appear as normal humans, but exposure to the Terrigen Mists activate powers instead of puberty.

It's also interesting to note that the NuHumans are that they are practically the only ones that turn into cocoons when they are exposed to Terrigenisis (unless this is now a new thing across the board?) Terrigenisis with pure Inhumans on the otherhand are in controlled environments so maybe they form cocoons as well unless they are in a situation where circumstance dictates that they are safe during transformation and it is therefor unnecessary in a controlled environment.

At any rate... Pure Inhumans do have genetic benefits of eugenics as well as being birthed by parents who had already experienced Terrigenesis. Karnak is a great example of this because, as others have identified, he has Inhuman enhancements in terms of longevity, slowed aging, and enhanced strength, even though he has never been exposed to the mists (apparently). His abilities are all derived from his religious training as opposed to extra-normal powers.

Do NuHumans share these additional genetic traits? I honestly don't think that this has been as fully explored as it can. I think it's going to be a similar case as mutants in that -- most mutants get their powers at puberty and the type of powers vary, but there are exceptions to the rule. I suspect that how much, if any, Inhuman genetic traits are in a persons DNA will impact how they are pre-Terrigensis.

Maybe some Nuhumans have enhanced abilities or slowed aging prior to Terrigenesis, perhaps not. I think the main issue with this is that until recently the concept of NuHumans are an un-thought of notion and nobody was really looking at those traits. What doesn't help is the fact that the majority of NuHumans life spans have been measured by human standards and the vast majority appear to be in their relative prime and operating within acceptable standards of someone of their physical age. Ms. Marvel is a good example. By all appearances she looks like a teenager and has been operating in society as such. You can trace her life back 15 years or whatever to when she was born.

Was anyone measuring her strength, or longevity, or aging process prior to her transformation? Not that has been revealed since nobody was really looking (at least not that has been revealed as yet)

Compare this to Black Bolt, who appears to be a man in his early 30s, even though he's been a full grown adult since at least the 1950s.

I think a lot of this boils down to time and further exploration of the phenomenon. Right now there just isn't enough empirical data to point one way or the other.

That all said, I think our best avenue is to wait and see what continues to develop. Until then, I don't think we should be using concrete statements while describing a NuHuman's attributes prior to Terrigenesis. Perhaps using phrasing such as "Appeared to be an normal human being until they were exposed to the Terrigen Mist" and put a footnote somewhere explaining that any similarities or differences between pre and post Terrigenesis NuHumans and baseline Inhumans have not been fully explored.