Namor: The Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores #1: The Glub at the End of the World

Just below the surface, journey to the world as the few survivors try to make the best of a world that’s completely covered in water. What’s a creature like Namor, a creature of two world’s, to do with this dichotomy? Namor the Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores, by some of today’s hottest creators, giving us a potential dystopian future that hangs precariously on the edge of oblivion. What can Namor do? What should he do?

The premise of this story is set 100 years in the future, and it’s like a scene from the 1995 film Waterworld, featuring professional bodyguard, Kevin Costner, where most of the entire planet is covered by water, the polar ice caps had melted, and those who survived are in constant competition for the resources that are left. While it’s clear that there’s a hierarchy to the world, there are still some things that are a constant; there will always be a voice to champion for those who are most vulnerable, and like what we have today, we have Captain America to be the one to embody what is the ideal for us to live our lives by. Having that authentic, and consistent voice for Steve added a nice touch for me. 

Cantwell’s Namor is definitely showing his age, he’s regal, with an air of superiority, but there’s a kindness there that’s always on the fringes of any good take on Namor. He’s also got this pensive vulnerability there, that he hides well, but those closest, aka Namorita, who sees it, can call him out on it. Namor’s no longer the monarch, having given that role up to Namorita could elevate to that level, and it’s a different dynamic. We’re used to seeing Namor as either the unquestioned leader of Atlantis, or the deposed monarch, who flees to his surface world acquaintances to center himself, but here it’s not like that. He’s the elder statesman, who uses his position and reputation to move through this world to this new place he finds himself in. 

Not everything is all as it seems. Years ago, when the Kree came to earth to temper the rising threat of the human race on the galactic stage, and they melted the ice caps, all of the superheroes (minus Cap, Namor, and a few others), would leave the world to go to war with the Kree to avenge those who perished as the sea levels rose, engulfing a majority of the dry land, decimating so many. Unfortunately those who left would never be heard from again. With the heroes absence, the effects are fully felt here, and it’s giving Cantwell a unique chance to weave a tale that we don’t normally see in Cape comics. Cantwell’s giving us an almost The End comic for Namor here, that has hints of Thompson’s story where Carol was shunted to her own pocket dystopian future, and gets me a little giddy as I read this. I can’t wait to see what comes next. 

Pasqual Ferry’s art is sublime here. Looking at the world through this lens, Ferry’s art makes it almost glisten with a sense of awe. The characters all have this level of wonder and charisma that just feels right, even if this is set a century from now. Namor’s imposing, and regal, vulnerable, and arrogant, he’s all these things, and it takes a real craftsman who can give a character all of these qualities, intermingled together, yet not overwhelming or overcompensating, trying to use style over substance. He’s the real deal, and I can’t wait to see what else he’ll bring to us.