One of the oldest characters in the Marvel stable makes his big-screen debut in Wakanda Forever.
Many Marvel characters have obvious DC equivalents. With his gadget-heavy suit and billionaire lifestyle, for example, Iron Man is the spiritual heir of Batman, while Hawkeye and Ant-Man have similar abilities to Green Arrow and the Atom, respectively. Few share quite so many similarities as Namor: the Sub-Mariner and Aquaman, however, a pair of amphibious super heroes with an almost identical set of skills.
Although both are heirs to the thrones of underwater kingdoms, there is one key difference between them – while Aquaman is a fully signed up member of the heroic Justice League, Namor has flirted with being a hero, a villain and an anti-hero over his eight-decade history on comic-book pages.
Now, one of the biggest names in the Marvel Comics canon yet to make his big-screen debut has been lined up to play antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (in theaters from November 11). Here’s everything you need to know about a comic-book icon who’s equally home on land and water as he makes his appearance ready for future Marvel movies.
The child of a human father and an Atlantean mother, Namor McKenzie is the ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis and its homo mermanus people. Like his DC opposite number Arthur Curry/Aquaman, the Marvel Comics version of Namor is equally comfortable on land and water, can communicate with numerous sea creatures, and occasionally carries an ancient weapon known as the Trident of Neptune.
Namor’s full skillset (which has varied over the course of his long history) stretches beyond Aquaman’s, however, most notably in the wings attached to his ankles that give him the ability to fly. He also has a tendency to shout “Imperius rex!” when heading into battle.
While fellow Wakanda Forever debutant Ironheart is a newbie to Marvel Comics, Namor is a bona fide veteran of the four-color panel. Debuting within 12 months of both Superman and Batman – as well as predating Aquaman by a couple of years – Namor ranks among the first comic-book superheroes. In fact, he’s such an old-timer that he started out as a character in the Timely Comics stable, decades before the company rebranded itself as Marvel.
Created by Bill Everett, Namor’s first appearance came in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly in April 1939. In those early Golden Age years, he started life as a villain with a penchant for trashing human civilization, though during World War II, he joined forces with Captain America to fight Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
As the public lost interest in superheroes in the post-war years, Namor disappeared from view for much of the 1950s, but made a spectacular comeback when – with the legendary team of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby at the helm – he appeared in 1962’s Fantastic Four #4.
