Hypable spoke to Iwan Rheon and the cast of Inhumans at San Diego Comic-Con, and got the scoop on what to expect from Maximus the Clever.

If there’s one thing Iwan Rheon wants you to know about Inhumans, it’s Maximus really isn’t a bad guy.

No, really.

Despite being the king Black Bolt’s brother, Rheon insists that Maximus is one of the most disadvantaged characters in the series. In the upcoming ABC series, the wiley prince has emerged from Terrigenisis without a single Inhuman power.

And that seriously sucks.

“It’s very difficult when you live in a society that’s basically based around this process of Terrigenesis, and that kind of defines you as Inhuman,” Rheon says. “It’s a caste system and that kind of defines where you sit in that caste system. So by him not having a power, he goes right to the bottom — it’s the worst thing you could possibly have.”

“That’s heartbreaking really,” Rheon muses of Maximus’s dilemma. “It’s difficult for him.”

Showrunner Scott Buck agrees, noting that Inhumans will present an ambivalent message about the traditional boon of superpowers.

“If you’re someone like Maxiumus, who’s eagerly awaiting to see what his superpower is, and all he discovered was that not only does he have no superpower, but his Inhumanity has been taken away from him — he’s been turned into a mere human — it’s not always a good thing,” Buck says.

“You’ll see some people there who, throughout the whole society, some people have great superpowers, and some people have really kind of lousy superpowers. Superpowers that might just make you very strong, but then lead you to a life of doing nothing but manual labor. So our society in Attilan is far from a perfect society, it’s very deeply flawed.

“But that is part of the story that we’ll be trying to tell throughout the season,” Buck concludes. “Our Royal Family lives a life of privilege, and they’re just now opening their eyes to see that the rest of the society is not.”

According to Rheon, Maximus’ forced recognition of that privilege positions him as a powerful populist alternative to his brother Black Bolt.

“He understands the people at the low end of the society,” he says. “He thinks that they’re treated horribly, and thinks that the society they live in is archaic, and that it’s time to change. So I think when you listen to what he says, written down on paper, I think I’d probably agree with him.”

Sonya Balmores, who plays the head of the Attilan Royal Guard, attests to the power of Maximus’ influence.

“He’s a passionate politician, and I think he’s very good with people,” she says. “And he makes some good points about where the city of Attilan should go, what Black Bolt is or isn’t doing… People will be loyal to him and his points of view.”

Related: Everything we learned at the Inhumans panel at SDCC

All that being said, however, even Iwan Rheon admits that there are selfish elements to his character’s machinations. The actor comes to Inhumans off his iconically villainous run as Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones, and is aware that there is both ambition and personal gratification at play.

“In theory, [Maximus] could have been king himself, but by not being Inhuman, he can never be,” he says. Rheon also doesn’t disagree with the idea that there are “creepy vibes” between Maximus and the Inhuman queen Medusa, another potential source of less-than-pure motivation.

“Creepy vibes, well, that’s what I do best!” the actor laughs. “Yeah, they were very good friends when they were younger — as they said, the bad kids running off together. But yeah, she kind of met his brother and ditched Maximus a bit, so he kind of got left — and he was all alone then.”

Still, Rheon remains sympathetic to his character’s perceived plight. “Everyone looked down on him, because he didn’t have a power,” he says, “So he’s basically just a loner. Yeah, so it’s quite tragic, really!”

Marvel’s Inhumans will debut in IMAX on Sept. 1, and premieres on ABC on Sept. 26.