The Marvel Universe has a rich history of postapocalyptic future stories, particularly when it comes to the X-Men franchise. But until now, we haven't seen one of these stories focus on Marvel's so-called first mutant, Namor the Sub-Mariner. That all changes with the release of Christopher Cantwell and Pasqual Ferry's Namor: Conquered Shores.
Conquered Shores could be described as the Namor's answer to Old Man Logan. This five-issue series is set 100 years in the future, in a time when a combination of global warming and a Kree attack has left Earth nearly covered in water and humanity struggling for its very survival. In this era, only the kingdom of Atlantis is thriving, but that doesn't mean all is well for Namor.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive preview of Namor: Conquered Shores #1. Then read on to learn more about the direction of and inspirations behind the series from Cantwell himself.
The World of Namor: Conquered Shores
Namor: Conquered Shores will inevitably invite comparisons to past Marvel stories like the aforementioned Old man Logan and Days of Future Past, as well as movies like Waterworld. But as Cantwell explains to IGN, the series is actually more inspired by a pair of critically acclaimed war movies than anything else.
"To me the biggest inspirations were movies like The Thin Red Line and Aguirre: The Wrath of God, that show the absurdity of civilization and societies and systems in the face of sheer chaos, and how no matter where we are, we bring our petty obsessions and small minds and anger to situations offering us transcendence if we would just pay closer attention," Cantwell reveals. "The comic Coda by Si Spurrier and Matias Bergara had also forever changed how I approach stories of collapsed worlds."
Cantwell developed an extesive back-story for this alternate future setting, even if not all of those details will mae it into the final story. In this particular vision of a 22nd Century Marvel Universe, the war with the Kree has robbed Earth of many of its greatest heroes when it needed them the most.
"The climate catastrophe on Earth was greatly accelerated and worsened by an eco-terrorist attack by the Kree, who felt Earth was becoming too volatile and powerful for the stability of the galaxy," Cantwell reveals. "Almost all our favorite heroes left Earth to go fight in the ensuing war. Most are gone and never came back, now casualties or missing. Namor stayed to protect Atlantis. Others stayed for similar reasons—protecting the vulnerable remnants of Earth. It’s not many, but we’ll see a few."
As Cantwell alludes, Conquered Shores will feature a handful of other familiar Marvel faces – heroes who, like Namor, have powers that have enabled them to fight the ravages of time.
"[Namor is] aged and looks seasoned, but he’s fit. Atlantean DNA," Cantwell says. "I liken it to Spock in Star Trek. Vulcan lifespans are long. Namor is superhuman above and beyond as well. So he’s aged gracefully. The same is true for the handful of other superhumans kicking around. Luke Cage’s physiology has helped him hang on, but he looks older than Namor. The same is true with Cap. Jim Hammond is an android so he’s in good condition. And Frankenstein’s Monster… my new favorite character to write from the Marvel universe… is a very thoughtful and stoic zombie who could theoretically live forever. Also, Namor had to age well; he’s so dashing. He’s like if an Olympic swimmer were superhuman. His body is a work of athletic perfection."
However, Cantwell makes it clear that one band of death-defying heroes won't be playing a big role in Conquered Shores. In his mind, the X-Men were among the many casualties of the war with the Kree. This is one post-apocalyptic Marvel story where Wolverine won't be putting in an appearance.
"In my mind, some went to war, many vacated to Arakko or other newer colonies, and I feel the Kree super-weapon took Krakoa et al out of commission," Cantwell says. "The Kree would be smart enough to do that, but also smart enough to use back channel diplomacy with a group increasingly seeing themselves as separate from humanity. So in my mind, a large portion of mutants became isolationists off-world in the ensuing conflict, while some (your favorite mutants) went to fight the Kree and died. Wolverine died. There. I said it. Nightcrawler too. And Strong Guy."
Namor 100 Years in the Future
As we've already established, Namor himself has survived the past century of death and destruction mostly intact, with only his graying temples hinting at the fact that he's now several hundred years old. In many ways, he's succeeded as king of Atlantis beyond his wildest dreams. His kingdom is thriving in this new age, while humanity is barely hanging on and all but totally dependent on aid from its undersea neighbor.
"Atlantis is at its absolute zenith at our story start, and Namor is largely responsible for that," Cantwell reveals. "This is peak Rome, America post-WWII, the British Empire at its height. But Namor has just retired from the throne. So he has more time on his hands to reflect. And he is still a living legend, he has the will of the people, and a lot of agency to affect change. But not as much as the supreme ruler does. That’s Namorita now. And she is very much the new generation forged by Namor’s perspective as emperor."
Namor has always been a hero torn between these two worlds, and that still hasn't changed 100 years later. Even as Atlantis prospers, Namor feels the weight of his responsibility to the surface world more keenly than ever.
"It’s been a hundred years, so the temperature has cooled into resentful factions," Cantwell says. "The surface humans don’t love being subjugated by an Atlantean empire, but they’re literally dying out. Many in Atlantis are content to just let that happen… they see themselves as the future… but remember Namor straddles both worlds. As he’s grown older, it just doesn’t sit with him right to let a bunch of helpless refugees die. This is coupled with him reflecting on his mercurial superiority complex that often drove him in the past, and also informed the credo of his people."
Cantwell adds, "I always am looking for ways to write superhero stories that feel relevant to now. This was less some grim tale and more of a window into a new Namor story. How would he react? What would happen given something like this cataclysm, both grounded in future warnings of the real world and the aftermath of a true Marvel-like seismic event?"
Namor: Conquered Shores #1 will release in October 2022, a month before Tenoch Huerta plays the character in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
As revealed at Comic-Con, Cantwell is also poised to wrap up his Iron Man run with the oversized Iron Man #650. For even more on Comic-Con, be sure to brush up on everything that was announced at the show, and see IGN's picks for the winners of Comic-Con 2022.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.