| “ | In the name of Father Neptune, now does Namor the First, Prince of Atlantis, Emperor of the Deep, Lord of the Seven Seas and Supreme Commander of the undersea legions, duly proclaim for all to witness... the victory is truly mine! Let no man deny that Namor is, and ever shall be, Prince of the Blood! | „ |
| ~ Namor |
| “ | This holy war has just begun. And we will not misstep as we have in the past. No more armies hitting the beach. No more invasions. Let the air-breathers have their mounds of dirt and blackened skies. We fight for the seas, and those who called them home. The surface world has their Avengers. Now we have the Defenders of the Deep. | „ |
| ~ Namor on creating the Defenders of the Deep. |
Namor the Sub-Mariner (born Namor McKenzie) is an anti-hero in the Marvel Universe, and is the son of an Atlantean princess and a human, making him a mutant-Atlantean hybrid. Despite often being a villain himself, he has redeemable qualities, and is willing to not only protect the sea, but the world. He was the very first Marvel character who's history spans over seventy years of publication.
He was created by the late Bill Everett, and first appeared in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly in April 1939.
Overview[]
Background[]
The half human half Atlantean ruler of Atlantis, Namor was the result of the romance between Captain Leonard McKenzie and Princess Fen of Atlantis, Namor was raised by his mother's people to be their weapon against the surface world, who they viewed as enemies. At the age of twenty, Namor was sent to attack New York after he misinterpreted two divers as invaders, and would continue to plague the surface until a policewoman (and his first true love) Betty Dean convinced him that someone like him should use their powers as an ALLY of humanity instead of an enemy, since the U.S. had just entered World War II.
Inspired by her words, Namor began to aid his former enemies, even becoming a founding member of the WWII predecessors to the Avengers, the Invaders and the All Winners Squad. In the mid fifties, Namor had his memories erased by a rogue psychic named Destin, and became a vagabond, until an encounter with the Human Torch restored his memories, and he has since flip flopped between either ally or enemy of the surface world, but continues to bring aid to either domains whenever he's needed.
Biography[]
Origin[]
In 1915, explorer Ernest Shackleton was sent on a voyage by Winston Churchill to bring back a sample of Vibranium from the Antarctic. Leonard McKenzie and telepath Paul Destine had to pilot the Oracle into the area in 1920 due to the ship the Endurance being lost. Their voyage put them directly above the kingdom of Atlantis, and they caused destruction and death when using charges to blast through the ice.
Emperor Thakorr demanded an expedition to learn what caused the destruction, but his daughter Princess Fen wanted to prove her bravery, and went up alone with an Atlantean potion that allowed her to breath five hours at a time. She was taken aboard the Oracle and believed to be a stowaway, and learned what she could about the surface dwellers and their language. Fen fell in love with Leonard and married him, but her prolonged absence from Atlantis prompted Thakoor to send a search party for her. Fen was found and dragged back to Atlantis, and believed Leonard to be dead.
Account of what happened change, as Leonard survived and left with the Oracle and lived on, or he went searching for Fen until she brought him to her kingdom. Despite protest of a surface dweller, Fen managed to let Leonard stay until she fell in love with him. When Thakorr returned, he demanded that Leonard be executed, however Fen managed to convince her father to stay his hand. When another ship passed through the region, it set off explosions that once destroyed Atlantis, and Fen assisted Leonard in escaping aboard the vessel before her could kill him. In another account (this one by Namor), he states that Leonard raped his mother, but the validity of this is suspect and Namor's recalling was tempered over that led to a then recent superhero Civil War.
Birth[]
No matter the truth of their interaction, Fen discovered she was pregnant with Leonard's son after his departure. In once account, Thakorr had Fen sequestered until she gave birth to their child, and he was named Namor (which meant "The Avenging Son" in Atlantean). In some accounts, Thakorr's reaction to the birth varied between pride and disgust, and in the latter account, Fen was able to convince Thakorr to spare his grandson as he was heir to the Atlantean throne. Despite being convinced, Thakorr ordered Fen to enter a ten year exile until Namor was old enough to be groomed into his heritage.
Powers and Abilities[]
Atlantean-Human-Physiology: His mixed bloodlines making him a mutant, Namor possesses the following powers:
- Amphibious Physiological Adaptation: Due to his Atlantean heritage, Namor can survive underwater and freezing temperatures.
- Super Atlantean Strength: He has superhuman strength, capable of defeating Luke Cage and Savage Hulk and combat, and pulling a destroyer with ease.
- Super Atlantean Agility: Having enhanced agility, Namor is greatly acrobatic and utilizes this power in combat.
- Super Atlantean Reflexes: He has superior reflexes, as he was able to catch a missile within seconds.
- Super Atlantean Stamina: Due to being a hybrid, Namor has enhanced stamina, showing little fatigue at all and can exert himself without being exhausted.
- Super Atlantean Durability: Namor has dense tissue, allowing his skin to be nearly impenetrable to blunt force and bullets.
- Flight: With tiny wings on his ankles, Namor can fly.
- Longevity: Atlanteans age slower than humans, and Namor is in his prime despite being near or passed a hundred.
- Aquatic Healing: Namor can heal from any injuries he has sustained, with the acceleration of his healing being increased when submerged in water.
- Underwater Breathing: Namor can breath underwater due to his gills.
- Augmented Vision: Due to his enhanced senses, Namor can see through dirty water.
- Electrolocation: He can sense electrical currents within water.
- Atmokinesis: Namor can manipulate the weather via his trident.
- Hydrokinesis: He can manipulate water after siphoning their powers from Hydro-Man.
- Aquatic Telepathy: He can communicate with marine animals with his mind, and can ask for their assistance.
- Super Hearing: According to the Sub-Mariner, he could hear a fish change their direction miles away.
Retconned Powers[]
- Water Emission: He could originally spray water on himself if set ablaze.
- Aquatic Animal Mimicry: He could originally mimic marine animals' characteristics.
- Sonar: He possessed a natural form of sonar.
- Hybrid Senses: He could follow radio beams.
- Bioelectricity: He could discharge bio-electricity similar to an electric eel.
- Lateral Lines: Namor could detect subtle movement or vibrations around him.
Former Powers[]
- Phoenix Force: Namor was one of the favor avatars of the Phoenix Force, though he only used the ability of interstellar travel, he presumably had the other abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis, and cosmic pyrokinesis.
Abilities[]
- Intelligence: Namor is highly intelligent, showing himself to be a master leader and tactician. He's also a skilled diplomat, earning himself diplomatic immunity when speaking with the United States.
- Expert Sculptor: He is a skilled sculptor.
- Expert Combatant: Having fought in numerous conflicts over his lifespan, Namor is experienced in hand-to-hand combat, as he was capable of holding his own against other super-powered beings like the Thing, Red Hulk, and mythology heroes Hercules and Thor.
- Weapon Proficiency: He's also skilled with weapons, showing mastery with swords and spears.
- Multilingualism: He can speak all languages on Earth.
Portrayals[]
Films[]
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Namor appears as the main antagonist. He is portrayed by Tenoch Huerta. Unlike the comics he is the ruler of the ocean world called Talokan instead of Atlantis.
Television[]
- In The Marvel Super Heroes, he was voiced by the late John Vernon.
- In the 1967 Fantastic Four animated series, he was voiced by the late Mike Road.
- In the 1981 Spider-Man animated series, he was voiced by the late Vic Perrin.
- In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, he was voiced by the late William Woodson.
- In The Avengers: United They Stand, he was voiced by Raoul Trujillo.
Video Games[]
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, he was voiced by the late Peter Renaday.
- He also makes a small, voiceless cameo in Spider-Man (2000) in the game's What If...? mode.
Gallery[]
.jpg "The Marvel Super Heroes (1966).jpg (60 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Namor is stated to be an Alpha Level Mutant.
External Links[]
- Namor McKenzie on the Villains Wiki
- Namor McKenzie on the Marvel Wiki
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