Sub-Mariner: The Depths #1-5

Though his name may hold the title, make no mistake, as this is not a Namor led story. It’s about a man, Dr. Randolph Stein, as he joins a crew of “deep sea men” in the search of Atlantis. Not because he has any interest in finding it, but because he specializes in disproving myths and legends such as that of the legendary abominable snowman. In this Marvel Knights title by Peter Milligan of X-force fame and Art by Esad Ribic, whom you might know from Wolverine, Loki, or Silver Surfer fame, we learn that Namor is not the heroic, but arrogant, man we know of from WWII, but is seemingly a horrible underwater myth. He’s a creature of the night that will do anything to protect his underwater kingdom of Atlantis. And so it begins…

The book takes a much different approach to Namor and his world than what I initially expected. Instead of a world full of heroics, we are plopped down in a setting that is dominated by realism and rational thought. The age of reason and science, if you will. When the scientific community gets wind of a scientist, Dr. Marlowe, finding Atlantis while on an underwater search through a video reel that was sent up before the man disappeared, they feel it is only right that Dr. Stein set foot on an adventure to prove rather or not it exists. Stein, never one to ignore a challenge, accepts and the story begins.

Stein’s time at sea is a very long one. He’s not a seaman and being in the ocean makes him sick. His crew members are all believers of the superstition of Namor, but Stein completely rebels against every aspect of the myth, which causes immediate tension between him and the men he leads. He theorizes that the men are simply imagining it as a way to maintain their sanity as they go deeper into depths of the sea. It takes several odd moments of Stein either seeing or dreaming about Namor for his beliefs to begin to be shaken. As the stakes rise from issue to issue, Stein finds it harder and more difficult to believe that Namor and his kingdom do not exist.

The climax of the story is where the book really begins to become interesting. Dr. Stein and his men find Dr. Marlowe upon his ship, but Marlowe is the only one left alive. It’s here that the reader learns for sure that Atlantis does exist, but Stein continues to debunk it. This is the point in the story where tensions between Stein and his crew begin to rise to a boil. It’s where we get to see how shady Dr. Stein really is as a person and a scientist. It’s also one of the only points the book gives us more than a few panels of Namor’s presence as Stein comes face to face with him. It’s the setting off point that leads to Stein making several tough decisions that could put his life and career on the line once and for all. I’ll leave you guessing as to what happened with him, if you can’t already guess, but all five issues were a pleasure to read.

The art really helped to set the tone of this book, which I would describe as dark and realistic. You wouldn’t think that much could be done with the underwater/submarine/outpost settings, but I think Esad really pulled it off in a way that would draw you into the story without being distracting. I did find some shots involving Namor to be odd, but for the most part, it was all done effectively. If I had to really describe this book in a word or so, I think it’d fit under thriller or suspense. Namor is rarely seen in the first 4 issues and he’s always hiding in the darkness of the sea or in the imagination of the men. Namor himself, when you finally get a glance of his full posture, is a different being. More creature of the sea, less human of the land. I equate him to being a shark of a man quite literally. Namor in the mainstream universe may be a tough character, but this version can be seen as utterly ruthless.

The book does have some problems. Stein spends several issues speaking about his dead lover, Annie, that we never learn much about. He apparently did something horrible to her, but every time he’s about to reveal what he’s done, something dramatic happens. I also wish more time was spent on certain aspects of Namor especially near the end. It’s not a lot, but just some things that came to mind immediately.

In the end, one would think that a book named “Sub-Mariner” would feature more…”Sub-Mariner”. It doesn’t and, considering the tone and themes, it works. This isn’t really a book about Namor, but a book about an initially sympathetic character and his self-appointed job of dispelling myths and legends. When he can no longer do his job and all his rationality starts to cave in on him, what’s a man to do but question his own beliefs and morality? Tis a 4.5 out of 5. Go get it.

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