As a leader of the underwater City of Atlantis, Namor has resentments against the surface, but they may be his undoing.
In one version of the Marvel Universe’s future, the planet is in dire straits. The Kree launched an assault against the Earth and poisoned much of the surface world to air. In order to combat the threats, almost all of Earth’s heroes left to fight the Kree in space. Few heroes, such as Captain America and Luke Cage, stayed behind. During this time, Namor and Atlantis thrived as their civilization spread across the entire ocean.
In Namor The Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Pasqual Ferry, the ramifications of this future are fully seen. Feeling some sort of connection to the surface world, Namor periodically visits the humans in order to help out a bit. He even tries to offer Luke Cage assistance as the first human baby in years had been born. Unfortunately, the baby died. Even given all the surface’s struggles though, Namor still holds them at a distance because of his prejudices over how the surface world treated Atlantis in the past.
The Submariner Forgets Atlantis Is On Earth Too
It shouldn’t be any surprise to Marvel comic fans that Namor has a very tenuous relationship with the surface world. After all the pollution and overfishing, it’s understandable that he’s indifferent to the suffering of surface dwellers. However, he’s missing out on the bigger picture. When the Earth is left alone, the surface and Atlantis are at odds with one another. But in this issue, they face a common threat. Whatever happens in the water certainly affects people on land, as humanity now sees with climate change. The reverse can also be true, as the surface can undoubtedly have an effect on what happens below the ocean waves.
The surface and the underwater world are still both on the same planet. If the Earth is destroyed, it doesn’t matter if people are on land or underwater, everyone will die. Namor’s anger and rage towards the surface is often justified, but he’s missing out on the fact that they are both intrinsically tied to one another. By turning a blind eye on the surface, he endangers his own livelihood underwater. When the planet as a whole faces a unique threat from outside, Namor should realize that unless he and the surface work together then it’s possible none of them will make it out safely.
Namor The Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.
