| Namor the Sub-Mariner | |
Prince Namor. Cover art for Sub-Mariner #1 (2007 limited series), by Michael Turner |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly (April 1939) |
| Created by | Bill Everett (writer & artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Namor McKenzie |
| Species | Homo mermanus/Homo sapiens superior Hybrid |
| Place of origin | Atlantis |
| Team affiliations | Invaders All-Winners Squad Avengers Defenders Order Deep Six Illuminati |
| Notable aliases | Namor the First, the Avenging Son, Imperius Rex, the Sub-Mariner |
| Abilities | Amphibious physiology Superhuman strength, flight speed, stamina, durability and longevity Telepathic and electrical powers |
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional, comic-book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies, Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied comics on demand to publishers looking to enter the new medium. Initially created for the unreleased comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, the Sub-Mariner first appeared publicly in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) — the first comic book from Timely Comics, the 1930s-1940s predecessor of the company Marvel Comics. During that period, known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Sub-Mariner was one of Timely's top three characters, along with Captain America and the original Human Torch. Everett said the character's name was inspired by Samuel Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".[1]
The son of a human sea captain and of a princess of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Namor possesses the super-strength and aquatic abilities of the "Homo mermanus" race. Through the years, he has been alternatively portrayed as a good-natured but short-fused superhero, or a hostile invader seeking vengeance for perceived wrongs that misguided surface-dwellers committed against his kingdom.
The first known comic book antihero, the Sub-Mariner has remained a historically important and relatively popular Marvel character.
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Namor the Sub-Mariner first appeared in April 1939 in the prototype for a planned giveaway comic titled Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, produced by the comic book packager Funnies, Inc. The only eight known samples among those created to send to theater owners were discovered in the estate of the deceased publisher in 1974. When the giveaway idea fell through, creator Everett used the character for Marvel Comics #1, the first comic book by Funnies, Inc. client Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel. The final panel of the earlier, unpublished eight-page Sub-Mariner story had included a "Continued Next Week" box that reappeared, sans lettering, in an expanded 12-page story. The series Marvel Comics was re-titled Marvel Mystery Comics with issue #2 (Dec. 1939).
Everett's unique, early anti-hero would, in time, battle Carl Burgos' android superhero, the Human Torch, yet eventually, as the U.S. entered the Second World War, ally himself with the Torch and the allies against Adolf Hitler and the Axis Powers. Other friends included Betty Dean, a New York policewoman introduced in Marvel Mystery Comics #3 (and later known as Betty Dean-Prentiss), who was a steady companion, and his cousins Namora and Dorma.
Namor starred in the Golden Age comic book Sub-Mariner Comics, published quarterly, then thrice-yearly, and finally bimonthly, from issues #1-32 (Fall 1941 - June 1949). A backup feature each issue starred the detective-superhero the Angel. Along with many other Timely characters, Namor disappeared not long after the end of WWII and the decline in popularity of superhero comics. He also briefly fought crime as a member of the post-war superhero team the All-Winners Squad, and, through a 1970s retcon, was given a history of having fought with the Allies during World War II in the superhero team the Invaders. Both these super-groups were built around the core of Namor, Captain America, and the original Human Torch. Some issues of the 1975-1979 series The Invaders reprinted Golden Age Sub-Mariner stories.
The Sub-Mariner experienced a brief revival in the mid-1950s, starting with Young Men #24 (which also briefly revived Captain America and the original Human Torch) and then in Sub-Mariner Comics #33-42 (April 1954 - Oct. 1955). During this time, Namora had her own spin-off series.
Namor returned in The Fantastic Four #4 (May 1962), where a member of the titular superhero team, Johnny Storm, the new Human Torch, discovers him living as an amnesiac homeless man in the Bowery section of Manhattan. The Human Torch shaves the "bum" with his flames, recognizes Namor, and dumps him into the river in the hopes of restoring his memory, which it does.[2] Namor immediately returns to his undersea kingdom (given a name in this issue for the first time in Namor's history, as Atlantis), but finds only an outpost destroyed by nuclear testing during his amnesiac years. He assumes that all his people are scattered and that he will never find them. Vowing vengeance on the surface world, he attacks it with an array of sea creatures. As the Fantastic Four battles him, he becomes enamored of team-member Sue Storm, a romantic crush he would carry for years.
In The Avengers #4 (March 1964), Namor discovers an Arctic tribe worshipping a frozen figure preserved in a block of ice. Enraged at the idolatry, he throws the block into the ocean, where, after Namor's departure, it subsequently melts to reveal Captain America's body frozen in suspended animation; the superhero team the Avengers would shortly revive him. The previous issue, Namor joins the Hulk in an attack on the Avengers, but is repulsed when the temperamental Hulk leaves the fight.
This Namor, beginning in the 1960s during a period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, is more authoritative, arrogant and solemn than the impetuous youthful character of the 1940s and mid-1950s, speaking in neo-Shakespearean dialogue rather than the more colloquial speech of his youth.
Again an antihero during this period, Namor variously finds himself allied with the supervillains Doctor Doom and Magneto, but his royal nobility and stubborn independent streak make these alliances-of-convenience short-lived. After various early guest-appearances, — including in Daredevil #7 (April 1965), a rare superhero story drawn by comics legend Wally Wood — Namor receives his own starring feature in the split-title comic Tales to Astonish (beginning issue #70, Aug. 1965). He was then spun-off into his own title, the 1968-74 series The Sub-Mariner. Some of the later issues of this series are notable for having been written and drawn by the character's creator, Bill Everett, shortly before his death; as well, they re-introduced a now-older Namora, and introduced her daughter, Namorita Prentiss.
Following a four-issue miniseries a decade later, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Sept.-Dec. 1984), by co-writers Bob Budiansky and J. M. DeMatteis and art by penciler Budiansky and inker Dan Bulanadi), Namor again received an ongoing series in 1990. Namor, the Sub-Mariner, which ran 62 issues (April 1990 - May 1995), was initially written and penciled by John Byrne (who took over the inking as well from issues #4-21). From #26-38, the series' penciler and eventual penciler-inker was then-newcomer Jae Lee, with Bob Harras scripting from #33-40. Thereafter came a variety of artists and writers. This series followed Namor as CEO of Oracle, Inc., a corporation devoted to reducing pollution, particularly in the oceans, and provided the stage for the return of the 1970s martial artist superhero Iron Fist, who had been presumed dead.
The 12-issue miniseries Namor (June 2003 - May 2004), credited to co-writers Bill Jemas (then Marvel's president) and Andi Watson, and penciled initially by Salvador Larroca and later by Patrick Olliffe and others, explored Namor's youth, charting his teenage romance with a young American girl in the early 20th century. A six-issue miniseries, Sub-Mariner vol. 2 (Aug. 2007 - Jan. 2008), by co-writers Matt Cherniss and Peter Johnson and, primarily, artist Phil Briones, introduced Namor's heretofore undisclosed son, Kamar.
Never fundamentally either a hero or a villain, Namor has protected his kingdom and sought vengeance on the surface world only when he feels his realm is threatened. Although he has served alongside, or even as a member of, superhero teams — most notably the Defenders, a "non-team" in which through mystical means he was forced to ally with Dr. Strange, the Hulk and the Silver Surfer, the Avengers, and both the World War II and modern-day versions of the Invaders — Namor remains an outsider.
Namor was born in the capital city of the Atlantean empire, then located off the Antarctic coast; he was born of the pairing of Atlantean Emperor Thakorr's daughter, Fen, and an American sea captain, Leonard McKenzie, of the icebreaker Oracle. When Fen did not return from investigating the ship's presence in their Antarctic waters, Thakorr sent soldiers to attack the Oracle, thinking her captured. In truth, McKenzie had taken her as his bride. In the ensuing attack, McKenzie was believed killed, and Fen returned to her kingdom. Nine months later, a pink-skinned child was born among the blue-skinned Atlanteans. He was raised in Atlantis, and when he matured would alternate between living there and adventuring in the oceans and on the surface. He became the Prince of Atlantis, and a warrior for his people.
When World War II broke out Namor put aside his differences with the surface world and fought alongside the team of Allied heroes that called themselves the Invaders. Namor was injured after the war and lived for a time in the Bowery district of New York as an amnesiac derelict who went by the name "Macin". During this time, the original site of Atlantis was destroyed by nuclear testing, forcing the inhabitants to move to a new location. After being awakened from his amnesia by Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four, Namor discovered the ruins of Atlantis. Believing his people destroyed along with his city, Namor vowed revenge on humanity. After several attacks thwarted by heroes including the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, Namor finally discovered the new home of the Atlantean people. After being repelled one more time in attempt to seize New York with his empire behind him, he called off his now baseless vendetta.
Namor eventually returned to Atlantis to marry his cousin Lady Dorma, with whom he had fallen in love. However, Llyra, an evil princess of Lemuria, another submarine culture, kidnapped and replaced Dorma at the wedding hoping to usurp Namor's kingdom in that way. Legally, though, Dorma was the one Namor had married, but he still had to find his wife. Unfortunately, Llyra had taken Dorma to the surface world in a tank as bait, and when Namor arrived, she smashed the tank to distract him. Namor was unable to save Dorma, and nearly went insane from grief. Not long after, Namor would reunite with his father, long thought dead; however, the reunion was brief and bittersweet, as Leonard McKenzie gave his life in battle against the villain Tiger Shark.
After being deposed from his throne and driven from Atlantis, Namor joined the Avengers. He was briefly married to Marrina, an aquatic-alien member of the Plodex as well as a member of Alpha Flight. Marrina had been abducted by Attuma at the time, and was holding her prisoner until Namor freed her with help from both the Avengers and Alpha Flight. Both he and Marrina established a small society of Atlanteans who were opposed to Attuma's tyranny in Namor's underwater grotto called Deluvia. Later, Marrina's genetic disposition to evil emerged and she was thought to have been killed battling the Avengers, but was she later revealed to be alive, but in a coma. Namor is still unaware of this fact.
Afterward, during the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline of 1989 Marvel annuals, rogue Atlantean elements declared war on the surface. Namor was presumed killed in the opening battle at the Panama Canal, but had actually survived, and after turning the tide of battle kept permitting the public to believe he was dead. During this time he rediscovered his cousin Namorita.
Months later in the South Pacific, father-daughter oceanographers Caleb and Carrie Alexander found a nearly mad Namor and nursed him to health. Caleb had long theorized that Namor's "rage" was due to his half-human half-Atlantean blood chemistry, and he equipped Namor with a monitor to warn when Namor had to seek either air or water. This allowed Namor to control his metabolism for the first time. Determined to continue to preserve the oceans and his people, but without revealing himself, Namor collected sunken treasures to finance his purchase of a corporation he renamed Oracle, Inc., using the Alexanders as proxy buyers. Under the guise of an international businessman and CEO of Oracle, he supported environmental causes. However, Namor was forced to reveal his survival when a terrorist bomb detonated on an Oracle submarine supertanker, threatening New York City. Later, Namor lost his ankle-wings when he released a mutagenic scrambler within the animated garbage-monster Sluj.
While continuing his business endeavors, Namor traveled to the dimension of K'un-L'un, where he found the hero Iron Fist, who had been presumed dead for many months. Returning to Earth and investigating the apparent invasion of Earth by the K'un L'un sentient plant race the H'ylthri, Namor was forced to fight their captive, the X-Men member Wolverine. The battle was interrupted by the sorcerer Master Khan, who wiped Namor's memory and dumped him in the American Midwest. Namor was "missing" for almost a year, and was known as "Rex," until Namorita tracked him down using a psychic link to him she had recently discovered. Namor did not regain his memory until sometime afterward, when he and the apparently resurrected Princess Fen were captured by Doctor Doom. The ship Doom had used to do so was then magically imprisoned in a bottle by Master Khan, who then assumed Namor's form and sold off much of Oracle's holdings. Namor soon broke the bottle and the spell, and killed Khan.
During the Acts of Vengeance, Namor was possessed by the super-villain Controller and sent after Captain America. Cap defeated Namor and released him from the Controller's mind-control.
Namor was then recalled to Atlantis to deal with border attacks by the "Faceless Ones". After Fen attempted to usurp the throne, it was revealed she was actually the witch-queen Artys Gran, who had stolen Fen's body. Namor was killed battling Gran's sorcerer-king husband Suma-Ket, but revived by Father Neptune, the deity worshiped by Atlanteans. In the process, Namor had his wings restored and was given the sacred golden armor of his ancestor, with which he defeated Suma-ket's forces. The real Fen, trapped in Gran's body, died defending her son from a final attack from Socus, the villains' servant. Namor eventually returned to both ruling Atlantis and running Oracle, Inc., but has remained generally out of the surface world. Oracle began funding the charitable super-group Heroes for Hire, with the team using an Oracle facility as its headquarters.
Namor is a member of the clandestine policy group the Illuminati, with Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Professor X, and Black Bolt,[3] although he is hostile in his opinions. When his cousin Namorita is killed in the explosion and mass deaths that lead to the Superhero Registration Act, which Namor also opposes, he activates sleeper agents of the Atlantean royal guard to search for Nitro, the supervillain responsible. With the aid of Wolverine, he captures Nitro. In the climactic battle between the pro- and anti-registration heroes, Namor brings an army of Atlanteans to aid Captain America's forces. Later, Namor attends the private, Antarctic funeral of Captain America, promising the few others present that no one shall disturb the site.[4]
Namor was the sole member of Illuminati opposed to the plan to exile the Hulk off-world, and because of this, was spared the Hulk's wrath upon his return to Earth. Upon the Hulk's return, Namor's cousin Namora allied with Archangel and Hercules in an attempt to support the Hulk's plans.
Namor discovered he had a long lost son, Kamar, who attempted to usurp the throne of Atlantis by forcing war with the United States. Due to these events, Namor was forced to evacuate the entire civilization of Atlantis; ordering his people to emigrate to the surface world to live within sleeper cells, leaving an overcharged Nitro to explode within the empty city-state, assassinating the then captured Kamar. After this, Namor formed an alliance with the supervillain and European monarch Doctor Doom, leading a contingent of Atlantean soldiers to be based in Doom's nation of Latveria.[5]
Namor was at the meeting of the Illuminati where it was revealed that the Elektra the New Avengers fought was really a Skrull. When it turned out that Black Bolt was really a Skrull all along, the Illuminati fought it with the battle ending with Namor killing it.
Because of his unusual genetic heritage, Namor is unique among both ordinary humans and Atlanteans; he is sometimes referred to as "Marvel's first mutant," because, while the majority of his observed superhuman powers come from the fact that he's a hybrid of Human and Atlantean DNA, his ability to fly can't be explained by either side. (Atlanteans are an off-shoot of "baseline" humanity.) Namor possesses a fully amphibious physiology suited for extreme undersea pressures, superhuman strength, speed, stamina, endurance and durability, flight, telepathic control over marine life, a radar sense, electrical powers, and slowed aging. Namor has the ability to survive underwater for indefinite periods, and specially developed vision which gives him the ability to see clearly in the murky depths of the ocean.
Bill Everett, in his first Sub-Mariner story, described the character as "an ultra-man of the deep [who] lives on land and in the sea, flies in the air, [and] has the strength of a thousand [surface] men". No other powers were mentioned. When the series was revived in 1954, Namor lost his ankle wings and with them the power of flight; they, and his full strength, were restored in Sub-Mariner #38 (Feb. 1955), in which Everett additionally wrote a flashback story, "Wings on His Feet", detailing their appearance on Namor at age 14. This story was twice reprinted during the Silver Age of Comic Books, in Marvel Super-Heroes #17 (Nov. 1968), and in the book Comix by Les Daniels.
After he was revived yet again in the 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Namor demonstrated powers that had not been shown in earlier stories. In The Fantastic Four #9 (Dec. 1962), he states, "I have the powers of all the creatures who live beneath the sea! I can charge the very air with electricity — using the power of the electric eel!" In the same issue, "the radar sense of the cave fish from the lowest depths of the sea" enables him to sense the presence of Sue Storm when she is invisible. He uses "the power to surround himself with electricity in the manner of an electric eel" again in Strange Tales #107 (April 1963), and #125 (Oct. 1964); in the former he as well manifests the power to inflate his body like a puffer fish. These extra powers were ignored, however, when Marvel gave Namor his own feature beginning in Tales To Astonish #70 (Aug. 1965).
An editorial note in Marvel Tales #9 (July 1967), which reprinted the story from Strange Tales #107, stated explicitly that "nautical Namor has since lost his power to imitate the characteristics of fish...." His electrical abilities were, however, seen in 1991's Spider-Man: The Video Game.
In all his incarnations, Namor possesses superhuman strength and, with the possible exceptions of Orka and Tyrak at their full sizes, is the strongest Atlantean ever known. The exact level of his strength is dependent upon his physical contact with water, in which he needn't be submerged. It has been shown as sufficient to effortlessly toss a water-filled ocean-liner, despite the underwater viscosity.[6] His strength diminishes slowly the longer he is out of contact with water, though an extended period on land does not result in his death, as it would for a typical Atlantean, and his power is retained in full as long as he keeps himself wet. Namor also possesses superhuman stamina and resistance to injury due to his hybrid nature. Namor's strength level is such that he has held his own in hand to hand combat with beings as powerful as the Hulk in the past.
Some stories have mentioned that Namor has gills for breathing underwater,[7] and artists such as Salvador LaRocca have drawn him with gill slits on either side of his neck.[8] In The Sub-Mariner #18-22 (1969-70), beings from outer space surgically closed Namor's gills for a time, leaving him with the ability to breathe air but unable to breathe underwater. Other sources have stated that his lungs contain oxygen diffusing membranes that allow him to breathe underwater.
Namor also possesses wings on his ankles to which he attributes his power of flight. On occasions when they have been lost or badly damaged, he has experienced a loss of flying ability. He could not fly as a child, and the power only manifested when the wings developed in adolescence.
Another ability unknown in the Golden Age and rarely displayed is his telepathic rapport with many forms of marine life. He also had a limited empathic rapport with Namorita.
Namor has greater longevity than a normal human being. He is well over 80 years old as he was born in 1920 in Marvel timeline, but has the appearance of a male in his prime. His identity as a pre-WWII super-hero is well-established, making him less subject to the sliding timescale of the Marvel universe.
Due to a unique aspect of his hybrid nature (not shared by Namorita), Namor is vulnerable to oxygen imbalance in his blood that trigger manic-depressive mood swings; he can prevent imbalances by regular immersion in water.
Namor was educated by the royal tutors of the Atlantean court, and speaks English, Atlantean, and Lemurian. He is a highly skilled business executive.
Marvel has repeatedly identified Namor as "Marvel's first mutant", which is true with regard to the order in which the character appeared in print. However, he is not the first mutant in the fictional Marvel-universe timeline. A number of mutants predate him, including Apocalypse (born in the 30th century BC), Selene (active since at least 10,000 BC), Exodus (born in the 12th century AD), Wolverine (late 19th century AD), Mystique and Destiny (dates of birth unknown, but known to have been active at the "Dawn of the 20th century"), the demonic mutant Azazel and a group of mutants known as the Externals.
In X-Men #6 (July 1964), X-Men leader Professor Xavier and antagonist Magneto each suspect Namor is a mutant. Later writers in the 1960s and 1970s described him as a hybrid, not a mutant, in order to distinguish him from the mutant X-Men.[9] When the series was revived in 1990, the series title logo carried the subtitle "Marvel's first and mightiest mutant!"
Namor is actually a hybrid of Atlantean and Human physiology, although he has principal characteristics that neither Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) nor Humans (Homo sapiens) possess. These include his ability to fly, his strength (which is several times that of an Atlantean), and his seldom seen (since the early 1960s) abilities of electricity generation, radar sense, ability to inflate his body to two or three times its size, and telepathic rapport with marine life.
In the first issue of the five part Illuminati mini series, after being experimented on by the Skrulls, it was confirmed that Namor is not only an Atlantean/human hybrid but also a mutant.
Namor is still active in the future timeline, and still uniting occasionally for battle alongside the Hulk and Doctor Strange as "Defenders". His appearance, while slightly older looking, is unchanged save for growing a goatee. In Fantastic Five (Vol 2) #1 it was revealed that he had held Doctor Doom captive for over ten years, after the mad monarch destroyed Atlantis. Doom subsequently escaped, and in #4, Namor is seen being tortured by him. He is freed after Reed Richards sacrifices himself to send both his and Doom's consciousnesses to the Crossroads of Infinty.
In Ultimate Fantastic Four #24, the team is surveying the ruins of Atlantis and finds an estimated 9,000-year-old tomb containing the hibernating Namor — an imprisoned Atlantean criminal, considered the worst villain of his time. Reed Richards' translation of the Atlantean language reveals Namor's claims of kingship to be false.
His extreme intelligence allows him to become fluent in English in a matter of minutes merely by listening to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the Fantastic Four talking. Confronting the human, Namor withstands full-strength flares from the Human Torch and is strong enough to fight the Thing, withstand Sue Storm's force fields, and stretch Richards (Mr. Fantastic) to near-breaking. He destroys machinery designed to contain the Hulk. Though beaten by the Fantastic Four, he creates a tidal wave in the shape of Poseidon, threatening to destroy Manhattan with it. He is appeased when he demands, and receives, a meaningful kiss from Sue Storm. He then returns to the sea.
Namor reappears at the end of issue 55, rescuing an unconscious Sue after she was attacked by the Ultimate version of the Salem Seven.
Ultimate Namor is a mutant Atlantean with amphibious physiology suited for high water pressure. He has vast super strength, durability, high speed swimming ability, flight, and water manipulation.
In the Marvel 1602 limited series 1602: Fantastick Four, Namor is reinvented as Numenor, Emperor of Bensaylum, a city beyond the edge of the world. When the characters arrive in his realm he is arguing with his cousin Rita (Namorita) about her reluctance to marry. She suggests that this is because he refuses to find a consort himself. Upon meeting the Four from the Fantastick, however, he is attracted to Susan Storm, and attempts to woo her, unsuccessfully. He later plots with Otto von Doom to win her, while "disposing" of Sir Richard Reed. However, Doom turns against him, and Numenor is stabbed with his own trident and dies.
Because Bensaylum is not underwater, its inhabitants are portrayed as basically human (although they retain the pointed ears).
Namor can be seen as a zombie who is attacking Black Bolt. He is later killed in battle when the Marvel Zombies try to attack and devour the Silver Surfer who manages to kill the zombified Namor in the ensuing crossfire.
To follow up on Scarlet Witch's alteration of reality, Namor was considered the "first mutant" in the reality that she created under Quicksilver's approval. He represented Atlantis when he was meeting with Magneto.
In Exiles issues 14 & 15, Namor appears as a king who has taken over Latveria.
On September 13, 2006, Universal Pictures announced that director Jonathan Mostow was attached to rewrite and direct Marvel Studios' Sub-Mariner. Kevin Misher is producing through his Misher Films, along with Marvel Studios. The screenplay had initially been written by David Self.[10][11]
In the 1950s, a television series was planned starring Richard Egan, but it never went into production.[12] Similarly, a Sub-Mariner TV pilot was announced during the seventies but never filmed due to the similarity to the cancelled Man From Atlantis.