By Kiel Phegley
From his earliest appearances as a renegade teenage prince during comics' Golden Age to his longstanding place as an antagonistic foil in the Marvel Universe, Namor the Sub-Mariner holds the crown for most confrontational super hero in comics. But fans who have pigeon-holed the Atlantean scion into the category of super jerk will be surprised at the dangerous new take on the character bubbling up from Peter Milligan and Esad Ribic's new Marvel Knights four-issue limited series SUB-MARNINER: THE DEPTHS, issue two set to hit October 1.
"When reading THE DEPTHS it's probably best to forget all you thought you knew about the Sub-Mariner and Atlantis," explains Milligan, a writer best known for his work on titles like X-STATIX and X-MEN. "This story will shock a lot of readers and upset some, especially those with weak stomachs and a reluctance to look at Namor in a new light.
"The character—especially his look and his quality of 'strangeness'—always appealed to me. I mostly I saw that the [Marvel Knights] banner [would allow] me to use Namor in a way he's never been used before. THE DEPTHS operates outside of super hero continuity and is a complete re-imagining of Sub-Mariner. But it's also true that the MK banner allows me to go to places, to explore certain moral and philosophical areas more thoroughly than I might be able to do with Marvel U."
The focal point of the series falls upon Randolph Stein, a legendary adventurer bent on discovering the secret that swallowed a crew of explorers near Mariana's Trench. And as with any great explorer, Stein's inclination towards cementing his own fame may pull stronger than the ocean itself.
"Stein is not a monster," Milligan notes. "Given the chance he'd save any survivors of this lost crew. But they are not his paramount concern, which is Atlantis, the legendary city that the missing captain is reputed to have found. In many ways this is Randolph Stein's story but Namor is an increasingly important character. A brooding menace who comes out of the shadows to take center stage."
Of course, taking center stage in the task of bringing Namor to life is Ribic, whose lush paintings brought him acclaim on projects like SILVER SURFER: REQUIEM and whose work to date on THE DEPTHS has his writer floored.
"Everything I have seen from Esad is incredible, and his work on THE DEPTHS is truly magnificent," Milligan praises. "His style contributes hugely to the atmosphere of a journey into the great vaults of the ocean. But what makes Esad exceptional is that while he can do those grand oceanic vistas he is equally adept at conjuring up a real sense of sweaty claustrophobia, which is essential in a story like THE DEPTHS.
"When I see the pages I'm amazed at the sense of space and scale he gets—immediately followed by a personal scene where so much detail is brought to the tiniest facial expression. Esad is so good at creating atmosphere, a sense of the foreboding."
That tension will mark THE DEPTHS in a way the brash crowing of "Imperious Rex!" can't touch, marking this series as a standout from the normal Sub-Mariner fare.
"In this story, Namor is not a jerk," Milligan states plainly. "He's as far from a jerk as it's possible to be. It might appear that the story is about the relationship between the Atlanteans and the surface world, but that's exactly what it is
not about. There'll certainly be a lot of conflict in The DEPTHS but it doesn't come from there. Maybe this is the new 'angle' I bring to the Sub-Mariner canon in THE DEPTHS: it ain't about what the Sub-Mariner is usually about."
While you wait for SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #2 to come your way October 1, check out more Namor on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
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 "SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #2 preview art by Esad Ribic")
 "SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #2 preview art by Esad Ribic")
 "SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS #2 preview art by Esad Ribic")
