Fear Itself: The Deep (2011) #2

This spin-off mini-series brought together yet another version of the Defenders in its first issue, reviewed here.

After New Atlantis was taken over by several of Namor's enemies, led by Attuma, Namor asked for help from Dr. Strange who, in turn, sent out additional calls for assistance. As a result, Loa from the X-Men, Lyra as a Hulk replacement and the Silver Surfer also provided an assist as the seaside meeting point for Namor and Strange was attacked by a number of aquatic creatures.

Issue 2 opens with the gathering of villains watching the battle from afar.

Namor is gripped with fear and therefore largely useless. Dr. Strange eventually casts a spell to be rid of the sea beasts.

The team regroups to exchange notes. The Surfer tells us what he knows...

Strange then explains that these hammers are creating panic across the globe. The emotions are so strong that they've weakened the veil between dimensions (Yeah, that makes sense...).

From all that, he assumes that Atlantis' attackers and the Undying Ones have formed an alliance.

I don't know. There seems to be a lot of guesswork here. But before we can take too long to ponder it all, they are attacked again.

They defeat those creatures as well with Namor again contributing...nothing. It's not so much that he's paralyzed with fear because he does fly around and gets people out of harm's way and such but he is not involved in the fighting.

Then as they discuss taking the battle straight to New Atlantis' invaders, Lyra gets yanked underwater by yet another sea creature. To be continued!

The previous issue, when the basic premise was set and the team was gathered, was a fun read. This one felt like filler which is pretty bad for 4-issue series. And this deal about emotions breaking down the veil between dimensions? What the hell is that?

Namor was useless and hopefully redeems himself in the back half of the series.

Fear Itself: The Deep (2011) #1:

We're carrying on with our look at Namor appearances in various Marvel events and this time, it's a fairly recent one. The Deep was a four-issue spin-off to the Fear Itself mini-series in 2011. 

Marvel provides a handy recap in the inside of the front cover.

Ah.

That's kind of a lot to take in. No time to mess around though because after a page of being shown various examples of devastation of marine life around the planet, we're tossed into battle.

Turns out he will. Namor is overcome by fear. Attuma (going by the brutal name Nerkkod, evidently as a result of the hammer's influence) defeats him and lays some devastating blows against New Atlantis.

Namor, thankfully, is rescued by a young lady named Loa. This is my first exposure to her. Apparently she was (is?) an X-Man. She seems okay.

Two days, later, Doctor Strange responds to being summoned to a pub called Oliveri's. He and the avenging son meet again.

Telling someone he's your final option is not the most tactful way to ask for a favour but it gets the job done. Strange casts a summoning spell of his own in an attempt to gather the Defenders. Nice!

While the spell does its job, we check in on the villains, in the form of Attuma's generals.

Hey, Tiger Shark! Always good to see him up to no good!

The blue dude is Tyrak (tie rack?) and the goth chick is named Aradnea. I was not familiar with her either and in looking her up, found out that this was her first appearance.

She is aware that Namor yet lives and sends aquatic goons to put an end to that. Why she waited two days I have no idea.

Aradnea's creatures attack the pub but as they arrive, Team Namor gets some extra help as a result of Strange's summoning spell from earlier.

Another new face for me. She says she's the Hulk's daughter, "sort of". Okay then.

The battle is on and this version of the Defenders get their licks in but when Namor takes a shot, his confidence crumbles again.

Lyra saves him but more sea creatures appear and things start to look bleak. Fortunately, our team gets a dramatic last-minute save.

That IS cool.

I was not expecting a Defenders reunion. It may have been part of the promotional material for all I know but you couldn't tell from the cover. Marvel may have missed a bit of an opportunity there but not knowing made for a pleasant surprise.

For that matter, again based on the cover, I wasn't even sure how much Namor we'd get. I gambled slightly on the "Deep" part of the title, assuming that it would involve Atlantis. I thought it might essentially be a Namor/Strange team-up so ending up with a team book was a good surprise.