Sub-Mariner: The Depths is a 2008 Sub-Mariner series by Marvel Comics, released under the Marvel Knights imprint. It was written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Esad Ribić and Cory Petit.
In the 1950s, Dr. Randolph Stein is a gentleman of science and reason, known for debunking even the most compelling of hoaxes. With that in mind, he sets his sights on the great mystery of Atlantis and vows to prove, once and for all, that the fabled land doesn't exist.
With a crew who knows much more about the deep sea than Stein does, the expedition team sets off on their mission—but something lurks in the depths, something powerful and so terrifying that the crew can barely whisper his name: Namor.
Sub-Mariner: The Depths contains examples of:
- Adaptational Abomination: Namor is portrayed as a silent Humanoid Abomination who defends the Eldritch Ocean Abyss that is Atlantis. Deviations from his mainstream counterpart include pale white skin and Black Eyes of Evil and being Really 700 Years Old, being far older than his mainstream counterpart should during the 1950's (his thirties) with him being blamed for the disappearance of a Spanish ship that was sent to the New World in 1610, the beaching of the Meduse in 1810 and the sinking of Titanic in 1912. It's further heavily implied that his human-like form is just the closest mortals can come to comprehending his horrific true form.
- Admiring the Abomination: Dr. Stein does it once he fully spots Namor. Namor, understandably, isn't amused.
- Ambiguous Time Period: An unusual example; we know this version of Namor is living in The '50s, we just don't know when in the 50s. With the mention of Edmund Hillary's yeti footprint photograph in 1952, the extent of our knowledge is that it is post-1952 that this version of Namor is living in.
- Anti-Villain: While Namor is frightening and vicious, he is ultimately just defending his home from trespassers who refuse to heed his many attempts to make clear their presence is unwanted.
- Apocalyptic Log: The final damning proof of Atlantis and Namor being for real is a video reel containing footage a previous submarine crew caught of the city. Stein burns it to avoid having to admit that he was wrong.
- Apparently Human Merfolk: This series gives Namor a terrifying design overhaul, with inhumanly pale skin and piercing Black Eyes of Evil.
- Been There, Shaped History: The story suggests that Namor was responsible for sinking the Titanic.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Namor possesses these as part of his design overhaul.
- Cosmic Horror Story: Namor himself is the cosmic horror here, being depicted as a supernatural entity who meets people in dreams, kills in the real world stealthily, and leaves just as quickly to keep the secret of Atlantis safe.
- Cruel Mercy: A possible interpretation of the ending is that Namor lets Stein live as an act of justice, punishing him for murdering his crewmates by forcing him to live with the guilt of it for the rest of his life.
- Downer Ending: Namor kills most of the crews, and Stein kills the rest out of an insane desire to deny the truth. A traumatized and haunted Stein returns to the surface just to continue living his life in denial.
- The Dreaded: Namor is considered to be the most terrifying thing in the ocean, was blamed for the sinking of the Titanic, and apparently kills anyone searching for Atlantis. And he will track you, then murder your crew. He kills two submarine crews and the crew of an entire research station. But he ultimately spares Dr. Stein, so Stein can go on to debunk the myth of Atlantis for the public like he always does, allowing Namor and his people to live in peace. How Namor got this information is unknown.
- Eldritch Ocean Abyss: Atlantis is depicted as a dark, lost city in the deepest part of the ocean, instead of the bustling country it usual is in Marvel. Namor himself is a silent Humanoid Abomination who guards the city and ruthlessly kills anyone searching for it. One panel even implies that Namor's humanoid appearance is just A Form You Are Comfortable With, and his true form is something similar to a Deep One.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: Stein is a rather horrifying deconstruction, as he is so obsessed with clinging to a materialistic view of the world that he goes out of his way to destroy evidence of anything that contradicts such a view, even if it means committing murder.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: The depths of the ocean are black water and nothing else, and both Stein and the crew speculate the loneliness is part of what drives people to paranoia and madness in the deep.
- The Greatest Story Never Told: Stein attempts to destroy proof of Atlantis existing and later keeps the secret by pretending it doesn't exist, sparing anyone else from Namor's wrath.
- He Knows Too Much: Namor wants to keep Atlantis secret and secluded from the world... and he doesn't care how many foolish trespassing explorers he has to kill to do it.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Namor is savage and kills without remorse, but is ultimately just an inhuman entity trying to defend his home. Stein, by contrast, commits the exact same kind of acts for the infinitely more pathetic and petty reason of simply not wanting to face the fact that he was wrong.
- Hypocrite: For all that Stein blathers on about wanting to find the truth no matter what, once he gets a truth that doesn't agree with his opinions, he immediately tries to destroy any proof of it.
- Ocean Madness: The submarine crew slowly turns against their leader professor Randolph Stein because the crew insists searching for Atlantis will incur the wrath of Namor, which Professor Stein stubbornly refuses to believe, even as he starts to hallucinate and act irrationally.
- Pragmatic Villainy: It's implied that Namor spares Stein and even ensures his survival despite killing everyone else because he's picked up on Stein's obsession with debunking the supernatural will lead him to deny and cover up Atlantis' existence, doing some of Namor's work for him. Which he does.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Stein successfully covers up Atlantis' existence and kills all the witnesses, allowing to continue living in his materialistic lifestyle. It brings him none of the joy or peace he was clearly seeking, instead just adding unending guilt onto his trauma and misery.
- Revisiting the Roots: The series brings Namor back to his original Golden Age roots, where he was a murderous Villain Protagonist instead of the Jerkass Revolving Door Anti-Hero he's best known as today, and is a horror story and Psychological Thriller rather than a superhero tale, with Namor depicted in a manner similar to Godzilla or the shark from Jaws. Curiously, Namor saves Dr. Stein at the end and brings him back to the surface, rather than killing him. It's implied that Namor did this because Stein is famous for providing rational explanations for unsolved mysteries, such as the Yeti, and ultimately he does so with Atlantis, declaring that it doesn't exist even though it does, with footage of it being recorded.
- Villain Protagonist: What Stein becomes by the end, a ruthless murderer trying to cover up the truth.
- The Voiceless: Namor doesn't say a word and terrorizes the crew with his mere presence.
- You Cannot Grasp the True Form: For the most part, Namor looks like a creepier version of himself, as seen by the crew. But once Dr. Stein goes mad, he sees a creature that looks much more inhuman and implies Namor's human form is just the closest thing a human mind can come to comprehending what he looks like and kept their minds intact.
