The “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” trailer, released this weekend, introduced a classic comic book character to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe): Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Billed as a villain, he was actually Marvel’s first hero.
Namor was created by writer-artist Bill Everett in April 1939, in a comic called “Motion Picture Funnies Weekly”, published by the independent studio Funnies Inc. for free distribution in theaters. The experiment was a failure, but the folks at Funnies Inc continued to work for pulp publisher Martin Goodman, who decided to break into a new market and launch his first comic book release.
For the new adventure, Everett takes back his marine character, making him one of the highlights of the first issue of “Marvel Comics” magazine, launched in October 1939.
The first issue of “Marvel Comics” sold 80,000 copies. Goodman was delighted and had the edition reprinted. The second edition sold 800,000 copies. So the publisher decided to go back
all his comics business and writer Joe Simon with a mission to create an average of five new heroes per month. Some of them were collaborations with a young artist named Jack Kirby. But the duo only achieved success two years after Namor’s debut, when they released Captain America.
At first, Namor’s success was matched only by Carl Burgos’ creation, the Human Torch.
Legend has it that Burgos and Everett created fire and water characters in 1939 to argue over which element was the most powerful, on a night of alcoholism at New York’s Webster Bar. The two argued, in the bar that was on the corner of the studio they shared, who would win the battle, the Human Torch or the Sub-Mariner, and decided to test their theories in different stories in which the heroes fought More .
The two characters, in fact, starred in the first superhero fight in history, an event that has become a tradition in the Marvel comics. Furthermore, the confrontation began in
history of one and ended in the history of the other, which gave rise to the concept of a comic crossover.
The fights, of course, always ended in a draw: none of the artists wanted their character to lose. But the first problems the two faced were the best-selling comics of the summer of 1940.
As a big differential for the creations of the time, Namor’s plot detailed a complex mythology. It was not known whether the Prince of the Abyss was good or bad, as his actions were violent and motivated by revenge, in a war against the “white men”, which nearly extinguished his race. But one day he decided to stop fighting the Human Torch and become his ally, with the heroes joining forces to face a common enemy: the Nazis.
Namor was one of the few characters from this era rescued by the new publisher to take over the company in the 1960s. When Stan Lee renamed Goodman’s publishing house (originally called Timely and later Atlas) to the title of the company’s first published magazine, Marvel Comics, it didn’t take him long to reprimand the Sub-Mariner.
The hero returns to the surface in May 1962, in the fourth issue of “Fantastic Four” magazine, when the new Human Torch, Johnny Storm, discovers him as a homeless man with no memory in New York. After regaining his memory, he returns to his underwater realm – first identified as Atlantis – only to find it destroyed by nuclear tests.
This prompts him to become an anti-hero and want to take revenge on humanity – one of his whims was responsible for helping unlock Captain America, who made his comics return after decades of literal ice.
But when he discovers the Fantastic Four in their first few encounters, Namor is reluctant to accept the role of villain. In Stan Lee’s stories, the character becomes a misunderstood, powerful but frustrated noble, a homeless monarch, who takes his time but ultimately finds his goal with the help of writer-editor Roy Thomas: unite his people and rebuild the nation of him. .
The Sub-Mariner was also a member for several years of the Illuminati clandestine political group, featured in the recent film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, as well as being a member of the Invaders (the prototype of the Avengers in 1940 – although these stories are were only released after the 1960s) and The Defenders (originally formed by Doctor Strange, Valkyrie, Silver Surfer, Hulk and Namor in the 1970s).
By the way, the tensions between Wakanda and Atlantis started around the time Namor was a member of the Defenders, when Black Panther chased after the Atlanteans who stole technology from their country and a Hulk jump was mistaken for a missile, pushing the Wakandans to launch a retaliatory attack.
He was also considered Marvel’s first mutant and joined the X-Men in 2011, becoming one of the Phoenix energy guardians. It was during this time that Atlantis and Wakanda finally declared the war they were experiencing.
While the Avengers believed that the Phoenix Force was incredibly dangerous, the X-Men wanted to use cosmic power to improve the world and divide it among five mutants – Namor was one of them. But when the Avengers planned an attack, hiding in Wakanda, Namor unleashed a huge tidal wave on the country, which killed countless people. With that, Black Panther officially declared war on Atlantis.
Under the command of Princess Shuri, Wakanda decimated the kingdom of Namor. But the Sub-Mariner didn’t let him go, convincing Thanos that one of his gems was hidden in Wakanda. Thus, the villain devastated the African country.
When Namor finally revealed his role in the event to T’Challa, Black Panther vowed to kill him and almost succeeded. But instead of dying, Namor ended up in another universe, paving the way for the 2015 “Secret Wars” miniseries, which will be adapted into a Marvel movie announced this weekend at Comic-Con: “Avengers: Secret Wars”. in November 2025.
As you can see, he’s a classic hero, important and full of connections to the Marvel comic – and movie – universe.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
