Sub-Mariner no more! Can Atlantis survive an ancient threat when Namor refuses ever to swim the oceans again? Your Major Spoilers review of Namor #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!
NAMOR #1
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Paul Davidson and Alex Lins
Colorist: Neeraj Menon
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 17, 2024
Previously in Namor: War rages beneath the waves, from the lost cities of the Secret Seas to the fathomless depths where the Elder Whales reign. Seven kings, old and new, fight to rule the watery realm. But where is Namor, the once mighty Sub-Mariner?
He’s sitting behind bars on the surface, with no intention of ever setting foot in the seas again.
IMPRISONED AND HUMILIATED
Having finally turned himself in to the United States government for his various crimes against humanity (most recently, the events of volume 2 of Atlantis Attacks, but not forgetting his flooding of Wakanda, various attacks on the surface world, and even the time he flooded NEW YORK CITY back in the ’40s), Namor languishes in prison. The specifics of his incarceration include depriving him of moisture, which keeps his mutant strength controllable, and forcing him to beg for any amount of liquid. The sadistic guards take great pleasure in taunting him, dousing him in urine, and treating the Sub-Mariner like a monster. And worse, that’s how he sees himself. Having given up his throne, King Namor has no idea of the state of his kingdom until a faction of Atlanteans breaks into the prison by force. Though the guards worry that they’ve come to free him, they’re actually an assassination squad, including two of his former Defenders of the Deep. That ends up giving him the edge he needs to defeat them, but the arrival of Stingray brings a darker truth to light: Atlantis has fallen. The undersea world is in chaos, with seven different would-be kings claiming their territory by barbarism and blood, and only Namor can stop it.
And he has exactly four days to do it.
SOMEONE’S GETTING ‘IMPERIUS REX!’-ED
The difficulty of the Namor character has been in the extremes of his actions throughout his history. Often portrayed as an all-out supervillain, allied with some of the worst that the Marvel Universe has to offer, he’s also been a stalwart Defender, a key part of the Invaders, and even an Avenger. So extreme are his mood swings that he’s canonically living with both bipolar disorder and PTSD, but Aaron’s script uses all of that to his advantage. Namor begins the issue, having vowed never to enter the sea, but his responsibilities as monarch override that, with a little help from his old colleague, Stingray. This issue also has a second narrative set in the past, with a school-age Namor dealing with bullying by fellow students, ostracized for his strange skin color and his ankle wings, serving as a counterpoint to the grizzled, one-hundred-plus-year-old prisoner of the present day. The way the artists are credited makes me think that one artist handled the childhood sequences and the other the prison story, but it’s hard to say for sure, and the transitions are seamless. Perhaps the most interesting detail for me is that they make a visual point of making his hair stick out in all directions, a clear sign that everything has gone wrong with our usually-perfectly-triangle-headed hero.
BOTTOM LINE: AARON IS A GOOD CHOICE
Given his previous work with Thor and Punisher, having Jason Aaron writing Namor #1 feels appropriate, and it gives us a look into the psyche of the most unpredictable comic character this side of Bizarro, with some very modern, attractive art and maybe a little too much grit and squalor during the prison sequences, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. I was a fan of Aaron’s run on Avengers, but I’m looking forward to seeing him focus on a single character again. Also, big props to Marvel for undoing Stingray’s meaningless, brutal, and unnecessary death back in Avengers #700.
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NAMOR #1
We find Namor at his lowest point, and it's truly ugly, but the situation under the sea is even more so, requiring our hero to face the ghosts of his past. It's an impressive start.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring7
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