Namor: "Who's scruffy-looking?"

I need to preface this by saying that under most conditions, I really love Alex Maleev's art. But this?



Alex, please please please cut that out.

That's not how Maleev draws him on the cover of the book, which makes me think that maybe this is some sort of joke? I've heard people saying that they think Namor looks like Robert De Niro in this thing. Others see Joe Pesci. Personally, I think it's Bendis himself.




Whoever it is, it's not Namor, the Sub-Mariner.



So, it's gotta be some kind of joke right? Some kind of inside joke? "Ha, ha! Won't Bendis get a laugh when he sees how I drew Namor!" I don't know. I'm totally guessing at the motivation, but something is seriously screwed up here.

The only reason I'm halfway interested in Dark Reign is because I'd like to see how Marvel handles their undersea king character and he apparently is going to play a big role in it. But this just about kills that little bit of curiosity. If the current vision of Namor is a dumpy, scruffy-looking, bald guy hitting on the White Queen and failing miserably at it, that vision needs to change.

I'm torn though, because I like the idea that Dr. Doom and Namor have formed an alliance to take over the world and split it up between the two of them.



I mean, that's cool, right? I really want to see how this turns out. I've got zero interest in Norman Osborne and his schemes. His "coming to power" at the end of Secret Invasion was totally lame and unbelievable. It was the worst sort of forcing a plot to go where you want it to without bothering with things like logic and plausibility. But Doom and Namor? That I can get excited about.

Just please please please don't draw Namor like that anymore. Doom though? Totally cool.

(Except that Doom should have a much better plan than "let's sit back and see what happens." Doom should be making things happen. Bendis has some really cool ideas, but he doesn't pull them off in a very exciting way. Boy howdy, am I ever torn.)

Edited to add: I just remembered the dark, shadowy figure that Osborne has supporting him from the doorway during the bad guys' meeting. Joe Quesada makes a big deal of this person and calls him the ace up Osborne's sleeve.

"Osborn opens up that door, and Dr. Doom is given pause. I mean, Dr. Freakin' Doom swallows hard, and Dr. Doom blinks. So Norman has a pal that can make Dr. Doom blink. Look at it this way— Dr. Doom does not get up from that table. He stays for the whole meeting. He's intimidated. Now on what planet does that happen?"

I thought it was curiosity that kept Doom there. That's the explanation that's offered early in the issue, and I don't really see where it changes. But I get now what they're trying to do. Dr. Doom is frightened of whomever's behind that door and that's why he's willing to passively wait for Osborne to "implode" instead of manipulating events directly. Or, at least, why he says that's what he's going to do. Maybe he's been thrown off guard and needs some time to plan his next move, so he just tells Namor they're going to sit tight.

Again, I'm really conflicted about how interested in this I want to be. I don't really trust Bendis to play it out very well.