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Namor the Sub-Mariner</tr></td><tr style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"><td> Image:CIVILWAR-06cov t.jpg Prince Namor. Promotional art for Civil War #6. Art by Michael Turner
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, April 1939 Created by Bill Everett
<tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Alter ego</td><td>Namor McKenzie</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Species</td><td>MutantHuman-Atlantean hybrid</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Affiliations</td><td>The Avengers The Defenders The Invaders All-Winners Squad Doctor Doom The Order Illuminati</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Abilities</td><td>Fully amphibious physiology suited for extreme pressures, superhuman strength, speed and durability, Flight, Telepathic control over marine life, electrical powers, ages slowly</td></tr> Characteristics

Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional character featured in the Marvel Comics Universe, and one of the oldest superhero characters. He was created by writer-artist Bill Everett in Spring 1939 for Funnies, Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that would supply comics on demand to publishers looking to enter the new medium. Initially created for an unpublished promotional comic, the Sub-Mariner first appeared publically in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first comic book from Timely Comics, the 1930s-1940s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 Timely's top three characters, along with Captain America and the original Human Torch.

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 anti-hero, the Sub-Mariner has remained a historically important and relatively popular Marvel character.

Contents 1 Publication history 1.1 Golden Age 1.2 Silver Age to present day 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 House of M 2.2 Civil War 3 "The First Mutant" 4 Powers 5 Personality 6 Enemies 7 Other versions 7.1 Ultimate Namor 7.2 1602 8 Trivia 9 Appearances in other media 9.1 Film 9.2 Animated series 9.3 Video games 10 Bibliography 10.1 Solo series and features 10.2 As team member 11 Footnotes 12 References

[edit] Publication history

[edit] Golden Age

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.

Everett's unique, early anti-hero would, in time, go up against 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 human race 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 first quarterly, then thrice-yearly, and finally bimonthly, from issue #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.

[edit] Silver Age to present day

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. Storm shaves the "bum" with his flames, recognizes Namor, and dumps him into the river in the hopes of restoring his memory, which it does. 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, and assumes that all his people are scattered where 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, igniting a crush he would carry with him 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 following 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 known as 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-Shakespearian dialogue rather than the more colloquial speech of his youth.

Again an anti-hero 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 Vol. 1, #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 1968-72 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.

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 the Hulk and the Silver Surfer, and both the World War II and modern-day versions of the Invaders — Namor remains an outsider.

A mid-2000s miniseries explored his youth, charting his teenage romance with a young American girl in the early 20th century.

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.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Namor 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.

Namor eventually returned 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.

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 Alpha Flight, until her genetic disposition to evil emerged and she was killed.

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, 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'lythri, 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 Dr. 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.

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 worshipped by Atlanteans. In the process, Namor had his wings restored and was given the sacred golden armor of his ancestor, with which he Namor 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.

[edit] House of M

Main article: House of M

When the Scarlet Witch altered reality in the event known as the House of M, Namor was idolized by the general public as the first super hero. He was also classified as a super human mutant (homo superior, see below for more details). However in M-Day, the event when 90% of the world's mutants were de-mutated or decimated, Namor retained his powers but was not included in the 198 Files. His supposed mutation has been mentioned little since.

[edit] Civil War

Main article: Civil War (comics)

New Avengers: Illuminati Special revealed Namor as part of this clandestine policy group, although hostile in his opinions. He was violently opposed to the group's decision to send the Hulk into outer-space exile and in fact left the group over the issue. He was later asked back to consider the Superhero Registration Act, which he also opposed. His cousin Namorita was killed in the explosion by the supervillain Nitro, which led to the Act. For vengeance for his cousin's death, Namor activated sleeper agents of the Atlantean royal guard to search for Nitro, who was found and captured thanks to the X-men member Wolverine. In Civil War: frontline, Atlantean ambassadors sent by Namor are attacked by Norman Osborn at a press conference, one of whom is shot in the shoulder.

Though not an official Civil War tie-in, in the Agents of Atlas series, Namorita's cousin, Namora, is revealed to be alive and joins the group. How this will affect Namor, Atlantis, or if she becomes involved with the Civil War is unknown at his time.

[edit] "The First Mutant"

Namor has been repeatedly identified as Marvel's first mutant, which is true in regard to the order in which the character appeared in print. However, his status as the first mutant in the fictional timeline is dubious. There are a number of mutants that predate him in the Marvel timeline, including Apocalypse (born in the 30th Century BC), Selene (active since at least 10,000 BC), 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.

Namor's principal mutations that neither Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) nor Humans (Homo sapiens) possess are: 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.

Purely cosmetic aspects include pointed ears and an overlarge, somewhat triangular head. However, Namor is not always portrayed with these features. The usual tendency is for artists to render him more human-like for solo stories, and more visually distinctive while in supporting roles. His hairline and eyebrows are similarly variable.

[edit] Powers

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.)

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 flatly that "nautical Namor has since lost his power to imitate the characteristics of fish...."

In all his incarnations, Namor possesses superhuman strength and 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. 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. Namor also possesses superhuman stamina and resistance to injury due to his hybrid nature.

Some stories have mentioned that Namor has gills for breathing underwater<ref>e.g., Namor issues 4 and 5 (1990); in the latter, Namor thinks "this New York river water burns my gills and scalds my lungs".</ref>, and artists such as Salvador LaRocca have drawn him with gill slits on either side of his neck.<ref>Namor Vol. 2 (2002-2004)</ref> An alternate explanation for his ability to breathe underwater is that, unlike other Atlanteans, who have gills, Namor breathes with his lungs, which contain special alveoli that extract oxygen from water, allowing him to breathe underwater. His body requires regular carefully timed oxygen treatments in either air or water, or his blood and brain chemistry will undergo a shift causing violent rage and destructive behavior.

Namor also possesses wings on his ankles (often wrongly described as "vestigial wings"). They are depicted as giving him the aerodynamic ability to fly, as implausible as this may appear, and his flight is directly related to the presence of the wings, as evidenced by his loss of flying ability on occasions when they have been lost or badly damaged. He could not fly as a child, and the power only manifested itself when the wings developed in adolescence. Rarely, these ankle-wings have been referred to as fins but they are always illustrated as wings.

Another ability unknown in the Golden Age and rarely displayed is his telepathic rapport with many forms of marine life.

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.

[edit] Personality

Namor's appearances prior to his first appearance in the Silver Age of comic books, in Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #4, are depicted in Marvel-universe continuity as having occurred during Namor's youth. In 1940s and 1950s comics, Namor's speech, like many superheroes of the time, was laced with hip slang and topical idioms. He also used references to fish as expletives, in phrases such as "Suffering Shad!" and "Great Pickled Penguins!" Roy Thomas, in his Saga of the Sub-Mariner, later explained that his use of slang was due to Namor's then-unfamiliarity with English. He cracked jokes and exhibited a more carefree personality prior to his Silver Age reintroduction, after which he was depicted as a refined and dignified royal noble, albeit a short-tempered one.

[edit] Enemies

Namor the Sub-Mariner had fought numerous aquatic enemies outside of the surface dwellers who pollute the ocean. Among the featured are:

• Attuma
• Byrrah
• Captain Barracuda
• Dr. Dorcas
• Llyra
• Master Man
• Naga
• Nagala
• Orka
• Pirahna
• Sea Urchin
• Tiger Shark
• Warlord Krang
• Warrior Woman

[edit] Other versions

[edit] Ultimate Namor

In Ultimate Fantastic Four #24, The Four were surveying the ruins of Atlantis and found a tomb estimated to be about 9,000 years old containing the hibernating Namor. Ultimate Namor was revealed as an imprisoned Atlantean criminal considered the worst villain of his time. Reed Richards' translation of the Atlantean language revealed Namor's claims of kingship to be false.

Namor demonstrated the ability to withstand full strength flares from Johnny Storm, went toe to toe with Ben Grimm, smashed through force fields created by Sue Storm, and attempted to stretch Reed Richards past the point of breaking. He used hydrokinesis to create a gigantic tidal wave in the shape of Poseidon and threatened to use it to destroy Manhattan rather than lose to the Four. His extreme intelligence allowed him to become fluent in English in a matter of minutes merely by listening to the FF and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents talking. Undefeated, he was appeased with a kiss from Sue Storm while an infuriated Reed Richards looked on, held back by the Thing. He retreated back to the sea and has only been mentioned in passing thus far in the Ultimate universe.

The Ultimate Namor is a mutant Atlantean with amphibious physiology suited for high water pressure. He has super strength, durability, high speed swimming ability, flight, teleportation and hydrokinesis. If he is a human-hybrid this has not been revealed.

[edit] 1602

In The Fantastick Four 1602 he is seen on the cover of issue 4. It is suggested that the city at the End of the World is Atlantis, and he is its king. There is an allusion to other realities in which Susan Storm and Namor conceive one or more children together, suggestion that this might be the case in the 1602 universe.

[edit] Trivia

• Everett said the character's name was inspired by Samuel Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".^{[citation needed]}
• In the science fiction novel Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin, a pelagic planet (waterworld) afflicted by sea monsters is called Namor.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Film

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.<ref>Superherohype News (Sept. 13, 2006): "Jonathan Mostow to Helm Sub-Mariner", quoting Variety</ref> <ref>ComingSoon.net (Sept. 14, 2006): "Jonathan Mostow to Helm Sub-Mariner", quoting Variety</ref>

[edit] Animated series

• "The Sub-Mariner" was a segment of the 1960s animated series The Marvel Superheroes Show.

• He had guest-starring roles in an episodes of the 1994 Fantastic Four animated series, voiced by James Warwick.

• He appeared in the "7 Little Superheroes" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, alongside Captain America, Shanna, and Dr. Strange. Another episode featured someone dressed as the Sub-Mariner.

• He appeared in an episode of The Avengers: United They Stand, voiced by Raoul Trujillo.

[edit] Video games

• In the Spider-Man video game for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, Namor has a cameo in the game's "What If?" mode during the underwater Carnage battle. Spider-Man humorously comments on Namor's simply standing there and not helping him.

• He is a playable character in the 1991 Sega Spider-Man arcade game.

• He has a cameo role in the Captain America and the Avengers arcade game.

• Namor appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance <ref>Marvel Ultimate Alliance official site</ref>

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Solo series and features

• Motion Picture Funnies Weekly unreleased promotional comic (1939)
• Marvel Comics (Marvel Mystery Comics #2 onward) #1-91 (October, 1939 – April, 1949)
• Sub-Mariner Comics #1-42 (Spring, 1941 – October, 1955)
• Tales to Astonish (1959 series) #70-101 (August, 1965 – March, 1968)
• Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner oneshot (April, 1968)
• Sub-Mariner #1-72 (May, 1968 – September, 1974)
• Sub-Mariner Annual #1-2 (1971 – 1972)
• Tales to Astonish #1-14 (December, 1979 – January, 1981; reprints Sub-Mariner #1-14)
• Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1-4 (September, 1984 – December, 1984)
• The Saga of the Sub-Mariner #1-12 (November, 1988 – October, 1989)
• Namor the Sub-Mariner #1-65 (April, 1990 – May, 1995)
• Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1-4 (1991 – 1994)
• Tales of the Marvels: Inner Demons oneshot (1996)
• Incredible Hulk/Sub-Mariner Annual (1998)
• Namor #1-12 (June, 2003 – May, 2004)
• Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner (2004; reprints Marvel Comics #1, Daredevil Vol. 1, #7, Tales to Astonish #70-87)

[edit] As team member

• Marvel Feature #1-3 (Dec. 1971 – June 1972; as part of the Defenders)
• The Defenders #1-16 (Aug. 1972 – Oct. 1974)
• Invaders #1-41 (August, 1975 – Sept. 1979)
• Invaders Annual #1 (1977)
• Avengers (1964 series) #262-293 (Dec. 1985 – July 1988)
• Invaders #1-4 (May–Aug. 1993)
• Invaders (New Invaders #2 onward) #0-9 (Aug. 2004 – June 2005)

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Official Marvel Directory: Namor
• Marvel.com: Namor
• Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Sub-Mariner
• The Grand Comics Database
• JC's Comic Collection Page: The Sub-Mariner
• Comics 2 Film: Namor (Sub-Mariner)
• Villains of Marvel Comics: The Grey Zone: Namor- character profile
• Jim Hill Media: "A Tribute to Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner's Father", by Monique Pryor
• Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers: "Heritage to Auction Legendary 'Pay Copy' of Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1!" (press release, Sept. 16, 2005)fr:Sub-Mariner

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