Story by Stuart Moore
Art by Carlos Rodruiguez & Sergio Arino
In the penultimate issue Namor: The First Mutant, Krang’s insurgency comes to a head after the murder of the royal logomancer, while a mysterious visitor triggers new horrible visions for Namor’s new lover Abira. Namor must deal with both problems resolutely or risk both his position as king and the well being of Atlantis as a whole.
It’s clear that Moore is driving toward an appropriate ending for the series. The Fire Down Below arc is suitably epic, but feels cramped in its small 3-issue space. Many developments are resolved unreasonably quickly, creating an awkward pace for the book. Due to the condensed timeline, Loa is sidelined in this issue as we focus on more central characters, and it’s a shame that we won’t get to see her develop more of her own part in Namor’s story.
While I don’t want to give away the “twist”, I have to say that it felt very derivative, a fact that Moore even calls out in the dialogue. Unfortunately, even Loa’s quip about the “futurepast” doesn’t do enough to deflect the overly familiar essence of the plotline, but Moore handles it reasonably well. With the writer making it clear he’s aware of the story’s secondhand nature, we can hope that he’ll wrap it all up in interesting fashion. Rodriguez and Arino’s artwork is nothing special, and pales in comparison to the series’s preceding artists, Ariel Olivetti and Phil Noto. Unfortunately this means that the “suitably epic” (to quote myself) final storyline doesn’t get artistic treatment to match, which brings the book to a close on another down note.
I wish I could say that this arc is leading to a fitting end for the short-lived title. Namor: The First Mutant never really found its footing, though, and this issue serves to illustrate the reason for its sub-par sales. It’s not bad, by any means, but it feels exactly like what it is: the rushed wrap-up to a cancelled TV show.
