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"This is a species of 200 declaring war on the United States of America. I admire Scott Summers. I would have his woman, of course. But that's a compliment, in its own way."
―Namor

History[]

Origins[]

In 1915, Ernest Shackleton, sent by Winston Churchill, sought out vibranium in the Antarctic. His ship, the Endurance, was lost. Later, Leonard McKenzie, with the telepath Paul Destine as a passenger, attempted to recover the vibranium. Princess Fen was sent to investigate explosions near the surface by her father, Emperor Thakorr. McKenzie met, fell in love with, and impregnated Princess Fen with the child who became Namor. However, Atlantean soldiers came to retrieve Fen and attacked McKenzie's crew. Leonard McKenzie was believed dead by Fen following the attack and she returned to Atlantis, pregnant.

The child was named "Namor" which means "Avenging Son". Namor spent his boyhood taunting his cousin Dorma, as well playing with his other cousins Namora and Byrrah as well as his friend Meranno.

Black Tide[]

During Namor's youth, he travelled as a part of the Atlantean diplomatic mission to the Orreki Reefs, the seasonal capital of the Chasm People. Here he encountered the prince of Chasm People, Attuma, for the first time, the two initially developed a rivalry. Still, they set aside their differences and began developing a friendship for the sake of peace between their peoples. To encourage diplomatic relations, Attuma, Namor, and Dorma were sent to accompany the Swift Tide, a multinational group of underwater heroes, on a mission to recover the Unforgotten Stone, an eldritch artifact created by the Great Old Ones. The mission ended in disaster when the Swift Tide were mutated into predatory monsters by the Unforgotten Stone's power.  Taking the name Black Tide they went on a rampage. First, they attacked the Orreki Reefs, killing everyone present, including Attuma's father, King Attukar.  Afterwards, they set their sights on Atlantis (Pacific). Ultimately they were stopped thanks to Dorma mastering the Unforgotten Stone and sealing the members of the Black Tide. Blaming Atlantis for the destruction, Attuma left, breaking all hopes for negotiations.

World War II[]

Namor was sent to New York after divers were found near Atlantis. However, it was revealed that the divers were Nazis, and Namor joined the Invaders, fighting in World War II alongside men such as Captain America and the android Human Torch (in addition to his solo missions), and later the All-Winners Squad to oppose the Axis. Namor would at times battle, then befriend, the democratic societies of the surface; the explanation for this was later discovered to be temporary insanity as a result of too much time spent away from the sea. For the most part, however, the Sub-Mariner set his sights on Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The Atlanteans became involved with the Axis-created Human Torch duplicates the Firebrand Squadron. One Atlantean, his friend Meranno, became an Axis agent known as the U-Man.

Exile and Return[]

After the end of World War II, Namor decided to return to Atlantis. He was stopped by Atlantean soldiers led by Krang and Byrrah, who during Namor's absence convinced Thakorr to banish him. During his first year after the exile, Namor worked with the reporter Betty Dean. He also spent time living with a man named Randall Peterson, an honorary Invader, and helped raise his daughter Nay. During this time he worked with All-Winners Squad, facing such enemies as Isbisa, and Card Killers. They also stopped an attempt at the life of John F. Kennedy, a mission which costed the second Captain America his life. Ultimately, in 1947, Namor was called back to Atlantis, to attend Emperor Thakorr's birthday celebration. However, when Namor reached Atlantis, he found not a party, but a scene of slaughter. However, Thakorr managed to escape with only a slight wound. Another survivor was Namora, who informed Namor about the surprise attack of a gang led by a man called Stoop. Together they pursued the perpetrators to the United States where they localised them with the help of local law enforcement. Ultimately they both remained in the surface world, working together as crimefighters until in 1949 Namor decided to permanently return to Atlantis.

1950s[]

In the 1950s, Namor attempted to gain recognition for Atlantis, only for bigots to cause the death of a man named Truffaut. Namor disappeared in 1958 after Destiny, the same Paul Destine who had voyaged with his father, attacked Atlantis. Atlantis was relatively unharmed during the war but soon greatly damaged by powerful earthquakes. Princess Fen and King Thakorr were killed. Paul Destine, who had ordered the explorers on McKenzie's ship to find the 'Helmet of Power' (actually Set's Serpent Crown), caused the earthquakes. He used the crown to turn Namor into an amnesiac, living as a derelict in various flophouses. Coincidentally, his former teammate Bucky was also briefly sleeping in the same flophouse. As both men had amnesia, neither man recognized the other.

Despite his amnesia, Namor managed to make his way to Randall Peterson's hometown, where he aided the pregnant Nay Peterson by carrying her back home. He stayed in the Peterson home and his memories started to slowly return but the memories of the war caused PTSD. Eventually Charles Xavier arrived to see Namor and inform him of his mutant status. Namor then agreed to join Charles on his search for more of their kind. They traveled the country but failed to find any before coming across a mutant surrounded by police and Charles mentally restrained the officers. After learning that the mutant Genus could change the species of living things, Namor and Charles argued on how to proceed, weakening Charles' hold on the officers, one of which shot and killed the mutant. When Namor tried to kill the officers in retaliation, Charles restrained him and tried to force him to face his trauma, but Namor broke free of his control. A now further mentally damaged Namor flew off and his amnesia returned.

Modern Age[]

Namor remained a derelict until Johnny Storm, the third Human Torch, happened to find him in the flophouse and saw him use his super-strength. Johnny felt bad for the amnesiac and offered to help him get back on his feet. He shaved the "bum" with his flame, revealing Namor's true features. Johnny then dumped Namor into the river, successfully restoring Namor's memory. Unfortunately, Namor tried to return to Atlantis, but found an outpost that had been destroyed by nuclear testing during the years he was an amnesiac. He assumed that all his people were scattered where he would never find them.

Namor McKenzie % 28Earth-616% 29 from Fantastic Four Vol 2 2 0001

Namor immediately vowed vengeance on the surface world and attacked it, using the giant sea monster Giganto. The Fantastic Four were able to stop the Sub-Mariner. During the fight, he became instantly enamored of Sue Storm, and offered to make her his bride, and after that, his queen. Namor carried the romantic crush with him for years and she even reciprocated the feelings for awhile, which first became apparent when Namor teamed up with Doctor Doom to destroy the Fantastic Four.

Shortly thereafter, Magneto approached Namor and asked him to join his first Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Namor fought against the X-Men in a battle alongside Magneto, but refused to kowtow to the Master of Magnetism and ultimately rejected the offer.  Namor disliked the way that Magneto mistreated and threatened the Scarlet Witch, and destroyed some of Magneto's equipment in retaliation. Namor felt attracted to the Scarlet Witch, but her beauty reminded him of Susan Storm, and he feared that she would hurt him like Susan had done when she rejected him. Namor chose to run away from Wanda.

Hellfire Club[]

Once Sebastian Shaw was in search of a new person for the title of the White King of the Hellfire Club. He hosted a party to which he invited the most influential men in the world and tried to decide who would be the best fit for this position. Rejecting the candidacy of Tony Stark, he chose Namor, and invited him to join the Club. Namor contemptuously rejected the proposal, saying that if Sebastian once again dared to waste his time on such a minor thing, he would kill him. This drove Shaw into a frenzy, so he ordered Emma Frost to force Namor to join the Club, no matter what the cost. A few days later, she faked a suicide attempt by jumping overboard a yacht to attract Namor's attention. He rescued her and they spent two weeks together in Atlantis. Shaw, however, tired of waiting for news from Emma, and thinking that Namor killed or captured her, decided to send the Sentinels for her. The Sentinels attacked Namor and Emma and caused damage to Atlantis, and Namor took this as a declaration of war. Finding where the Sentinels came from, Namor, along with Emma, went there and clashed with Shaw, Donald Pierce, and Tessa. Tessa mind-wiped Emma to erase the memories of her betrayal and make her loyal to the Club again. Surrounded by two telepaths, Shaw explained to Namor that he would never get close enough to kill him. Namor left but vowed to take revenge one day.

Usurper Magneto[]

Later on, Namor, flying near the Savage Land, spotted Magneto lying unconscious near a volcanic eruption. He picked Magneto up and brought him to Atlantis to recuperate. Namor then left Atlantis to join the Fantastic Four on a mission and returned to find that Magneto had usurped his throne. The Fantastic Four and Namor made short work of Magneto, and Namor regained his kingdom.

Avengers & Defenders[]

Unfortunately, trouble brewed often for the Avenging Son of Atlantis, and he lost his kingdom a number of times. He also married Alpha Flight member Marrina, another sea-dweller, but lost her when she turned evil and was killed. During some of his exiles from Atlantis, he joined his former rivals, the Avengers, and helped to found the Defenders. He also was a member of the short-lived undersea team Deep Six. During his active membership as an Avenger, his hubris was an obstacle towards teamwork, and his rivalry with Hercules was particularly notable. His respect for his old comrade Captain America helped to keep this from becoming a major problem. The Defenders, with their looser organizational approach, allowed the Sub-Mariner the "space" he required. It was during his tenure with the Avengers that Namor helped recover the cocoon in which the Phoenix Force had placed Jean Grey, thought to be dead, years earlier. He also fought against Magneto when Magnus tried to rescue his students from Emma Frost and recovered his lost giant horn, which was found by the X-Terminators. Not long afterwards, rogue elements of Atlantean society led by Attuma declared war on the surface, and Namor was presumed killed in the battle, though the Atlantean barbarians were defeated.

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 superhero. After M-Day, Namor retained his powers.

Illuminati[]

Namor was a member of the clandestine policy group the Illuminati, with Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Professor X, and Black Bolt, although he appeared to be very hostile and arrogant in his opinions and decisions of the group. He violently opposed the group's decision to send the Hulk into outer-space exile, and eventually left the group.

Civil War[]

His cousin Namorita was killed with the rest of the New Warriors in the Stamford explosion caused by the super-villain Nitro, which led to the Superhuman Registration Act. The Illuminati asked Namor back in this light to consider the Act, but Namor refused this as well. For vengeance of his cousin's death, Namor activated sleeper agents of the Atlantean Royal Guard to search for Nitro, who was instead found and captured by the X-Man Wolverine. After his ambassadors were attacked on U.S. soil, Atlantis rebuffed diplomatic overtures. Namor brought an army of Atlanteans to aid Captain America's forces in the climactic battle between the pro- and anti-registration heroes, but they returned to the sea after Captain America surrendered.

Dark Reign[]

Namor then formed an alliance with the supervillain and European monarch Doctor Doom due to him being the only former ally who offered any assistance after Namor's crisis. This eventually led to an alliance consisting of Emma Frost, Doctor Doom, Norman Osborn, Loki, and the Hood, known as the Cabal.

As Emma and Namor met again, she finally regained her memories about their first meeting and Shaw's betrayal, so she offered Namor a deal: she would help him kill Shaw, and in return, he would protect and defend mutants as his own people. Namor agreed, so Emma telepathically called Shaw to the Club's mansion. When he arrived, she blinded and immobilized him in illusion, and at the same time showed Namor another illusion in which she killed Sebastian. After convincing Namor that Shaw was dead and enlisting his support for mutants, Emma took Sebastian to Graymalkin Industries and locked him in the Brig for crimes against mutantkind.

When an Atlantean sleeper cell launched a terrorist attack on California, Osborn ordered Namor to publicly denounce the rogues and execute them, leaving one alive to parade before the media. Namor vehemently refused, and walked out on the Cabal. Along with Emma, Cloak, and Dagger, Namor left the Dark X-Men after helping his lover, Frost, betray the Dark X-Men and Osborn.

Not long after the X-Men relocated to Utopia, the island base began to slowly sink. To permanently fix the problem, Magneto approached Namor with a plan to build a support pillar to serve the double purpose of preventing the sinking of Utopia and housing the scattered Atlanteans. Namor agreed and New Atlantis was constructed just beneath Utopia. Soon hundreds of Atlanteans came to their new home. Namor later fought alongside the X-Men during Bastion's massive assault on Utopia.

NamorCurseOfTheMutants

Curse of the Mutants[]

When Xarus led his united vampire nation to San Francisco to convert the X-Men, Namor was sent to reclaim the head of Dracula from the Aqueos. This provoked the long forgotten horrors into attacking New Atlantis. During the fighting, Loa almost drowned but was saved by an Atlantean amulet which gave her the ability to breathe underwater. After the Aqueos were defeated, Namor was praised as a hero by his people.

Hell and Back[]

After studying Loa, Dr. Nemesis concluded that the Atlantean amulet had permanently changed Alani's physiology due to the way it reacted with her X-Gene; even without it, she could breathe underwater. However, the transformation had not ceased when the amulet was removed. Within four to five hours, she would be unable to breathe air. Namor himself broke the news to Alani, who took it badly. Inexplicably, spectres emerged from the amulet and dragged Namor back inside to Hell. Wolverine's recent escape from Hell had softened the borders between realms, allowing the spirits to use the amulet as a channel to kidnap Namor.

In Hell, Namor found himself in a desert, taunted by skeleton-headed creatures. Any water he found retreated from him. He then came across the disembodied heads of dead Atlanteans, including General Kadar. Namor finally found his way to an ocean. Upon diving in, he was assailed by a giant skull-headed octopus and was surprised that the water hadn't restored his strength. The ocean was revealed to be an illusion, and the skeleton-headed creatures revealed their identities to Namor; they were the dead Kings of ancient Atlantis.

Back in New Atlantis, the options to rescue Namor proved to be few and difficult. However, an unexpected guest arrived to offer assistance: Doctor Doom. Doom eventually abandoned Namor in Hell and departed alone, leaving Namor and his remaining allies to fend for themselves. They eventually returned, only to find a rebellion led by Krang and his ally, Selach. Krang eventually defected and Selach was defeated, but to do so Abira, Namor's latest love, had to become the new Logomancer to replace the old one, losing her emotions in the process.

Fear Itself[]

After Skadi released the malevolent Serpent, he summoned the seven hammers of the Worthy to Earth. One of those hammers transformed Attuma into Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans. He devastated Namor's kingdom, forcing him to turn to Stephen Strange for assistance. The Defenders were reformed, consisting of Namor, Strange, Loa, and Lyra, daughter of the Hulk and herself a She-Hulk. They later were attacked by the Undying Ones, demons who broke through Earth's dimension as a result of the global panic weakening the barriers between the dimensions, and who made a deal with Nerkkod to help them take over Earth.

Regenesis[]

Namor became a member of Cyclops' Extinction Team, helping fight Mister Sinister and his clones, and investigating Tabula Rasa, and dealing with Unit.

Avengers vs X-Men[]

Namor stood with his fellow X-Men against the Avengers. He fought both Luke Cage and the Thing. After a short battle, the X-Men feigned a surrender and teleported out of Utopia to give them a head start in searching for Hope Summers. The X-Men eventually located Hope on the moon and Namor, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, and Magik teleported to the Moon in order to find her. They were confronted by the Avengers, who were also there to find Hope. Before a fight could break out, Thor fell from the skies, followed closely by the Phoenix.

A fight then broke out between the X-Men and the Avengers while Iron Man built a weapon to fight the Phoenix. Iron Man attacked the Phoenix, but instead of destroying it, the Phoenix fragments turned all five of the X-Men into avatars. Namor and the rest of the avatars took Hope back to Earth in order to prepare her.

Avengers vs

Phoenix Force Namor

The Phoenix Five built a grand new Utopia, a floating fortress, for mutantkind. They began working to provide power, food, and water for all the Earth. Not content with just that, they outlawed war altogether. The Avengers, however, mistrusted the Five. Wishing to prepare for the day when the Five would lose control and become destructive, they tried to retrieve Hope from Utopia. Cyclops and Emma alone defeated the Avengers, but they were saved by the timely intervention of the Scarlet Witch, who teleported the Avengers and Hope to safety.

Scott realized they needed to hunt down the Avengers, imprisoning some of their members, while the rest were outlaws. Namor, against Cyclops' will, sought to finish the Avengers. He headed to Wakanda and raised a massive wall of water from a nearby lake to drown them, destroying almost the entire kingdom and killing an untold number of innocents in the process. Following this was his defeat by the combined forces of all the Avengers present in Wakanda. After Namor fell, his portion of the Phoenix Force was bequeathed to the remaining Phoenix Five.

Namor returned to Atlantis after his de-powering and remained there for the rest of the battles. He was then approached by Hope, who came seeking files belonging to Cable. Hope asked him if he was okay after his possession and Namor initially defended his actions as a Phoenix, but then remarked on how being possessed made him feel like a single krill lost in endless oceans and departed.

ResurreXion[]

A newly resurrected Jean Grey came to Namor looking for nations to recognize her mutant nation at a U.N. assembly. An abandoned ruin near the Atlantean capital subsequently became the base of operations for Jean's team as they worked to overcome Cassandra Nova's Sentinites. Under Nova's direct influence, Poland passed a law to detain all mutants. Under Jean's direction, Namor arrived upon one of Poland's beaches to rescue dozens of mutants and their families, with an ultimatum to a Polish general that air and sea travel over the Baltic Sea would become unsafe for Poles otherwise.

Harboring the X-Men led Atlantis to be attacked by a mind-controlled Teen Abomination. Namor worked to save his people, only to be restrained from doing so by Abomination. The X-Men arrived to rescue the Atlanteans and cure Abomination. After the X-Men destroyed all the Sentinites, Namor lent himself and his warriors, equipped with both respirators and replicas of Magneto's helmet, to battle against Cassandra's mind-controlled military on the beaches of the ruined Genosha.

Dawn of X[]

Namor had become privy to the rise of the new mutant homeland Krakoa and of its considerable influence on the world stage. However, he refused Charles Xavier's invitation to the sovereign nation, since he didn't believe the mutants' segregation from humankind came from a place of Xavier embracing their superiority to men. This would not prevent Namor from having the habitual contact with his fellow mutants. When Magneto embarked on a jaunt to lease an island owned by Namor on behalf of Emma Frost, Namor asked in exchange to enlist Magnus's aid in searching for a team of scientists in his nation's employ whom disappeared around the Molloy Deep. Finding contention with a kraken controlled by ancient sirens whom lure unsuspecting victims to their doom living within the creature's gullet, Namor and Magneto were forced to solve a riddle. Namor's impulsiveness earned him the wrong answer, but Magneto saved his life and allowed both to escape the Kraken after defeating the sirens' mind game. With the bargain fulfilled, Namor fairly parted with the island.

He later attended the Hellfire Gala where Xavier and Magneto offered him a seat in the Quiet Council of Krakoa but he rejected it and went over to talk to the former members of The Illuminati.

Enter the Phoenix[]

When the Phoenix returned to Earth, Namor led the Defenders of the Deep to fight against the Avengers in order for him to take control of the Phoenix. However, he was taken to the White Hot Room, fighting in the Phoenix's tournament to find a new host. During the tournament, he fought against Echo, nearly killing her during their fight. He then fought the Hulk, which ended with him being defeated by a revived Echo, who had been chosen by the Phoenix as its new host.

World War She-Hulk[]

Due to Namor's failure to take control of the Phoenix, along with other failures during his rule of Atlantis, many of the Atlanteans rebelled against Namor, including the Defenders of the Deep, asking for someone new to be King. However, they were interrupted by the Winter Hulk, a brainwashed She-Hulk, who attacked Namor under orders from the Red Widow. After a brief fight, She-Hulk revealed her true allegiance to the Avengers. While the Avengers fought against the invading forces and subdued the rogue Atlantean forces, Namor helped evacuate the civilians. In the end, She-Hulk saved Atlantis from the gamma bomb. Afterwards, Namor stood in an abandoned Atlantis, after letting the Atlanteans leave. He asked She-Hulk to come to Atlantis so he can thank her for saving Atlantis, in spite of all he had done, as well as offer his aid however he could. She-Hulk then urged him to seek the Avengers, with him bringing one of the Deathloks who he had encountered between his meeting with She-Hulk. He was present in Avengers Mountain when it was later attacked by the Masters of Evil, where he fought against a young version of Thanos. After the Masters of Evil left, Namor joined the Avengers to stop the Masters of Evil and the Council of Red.

Attributes[]

Powers[]

Mutant/Atlantean Physiology: Namor's powers come from his being a unique hybrid of Atlantean Homo mermanus and mutant Homo superior physiologies. 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 (as Atlanteans are an offshoot of "baseline" humanity).

He has been stated to be an Alpha-level mutant.

  • Amphibious Physiological Adaptation: Namor's body is specially developed for underwater conditions, granting him specialized blood circulation to withstand freezing temperatures and highly developed vision to see clearly even in murky ocean depths. This hybrid physiology means he can survive indefinitely underwater or on land, though he would still need occasional contact with water to survive.
  • Superhuman Strength: Like all Atlanteans, Namor is superhumanly strong, but his physical strength is greater than that of any member of his superhuman race. The exact level of his strength is dependent upon his physical contact with water and his strength diminishes slowly the longer he is out of contact with it. Out of the water, Namor was able to defeat Luke Cage with ease and use his body as a club to knock out the She-Hulk by striking her by surprise from behind. He was shown as an even match for the Thing in the same issue. Underwater, he battered the Red Hulk and stopped him from getting to the surface until he threw him out. Namor has on occasion even knocked out the Savage Hulk, and has also had good performance against other notably powerful opponents, such as Hercules and the Mighty Thor. Namor once briefly faced the Silver Surfer, withstanding a point blank blast and knocking him down by counter attacking. He was also able to hold his own against the Sentry for a little while, but Emma Frost mentally convinced the Sentry to stop, since Namor couldn't win. He has been seen several times lifting thousands of tons without effort. Namor once swam against a temporal storm for a brief period, even pressing on despite getting dehydrated by that act. Furthermore, Namor's physical prowess is so great that he has been referred to as one of the most powerful beings on the planet. Namor's strength was later increased and far exceeds his normal levels.
  • Superhuman Speed: Namor can run and move at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete. His speed is greatest, however, while swimming. Whereas most Atlanteans can swim at speeds greater than 60 miles per hour, Namor has shown that he can reach a speed of over 300 knots or 345 mph.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Namor's advanced musculature produces considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of normal human beings, and most other Atlanteans for that matter. At his peak, Namor can physically exert himself for at least more than 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. Namor's stamina, much like his strength, steadily declines the longer he is out of contact with water and will diminish to the point where he only has slightly greater stamina than the finest human athlete.
  • Superhuman Agility: Namor's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete. He can perform acrobatic feats in the air sufficient to enable him to easily evade/dodge most military aircraft.
  • Superhuman Reflexes: Namor's reflexes are similarly heightened and are superior to those of the finest human athlete since he can react at impressive levels of super speed-as demonstrated through his catching missiles and throwing them back at their point of origin.
  • Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Namor's body are much harder and more resistant to physical injury than those of normal human beings and most other Atlanteans. Namor can withstand tremendous impact forces, high caliber bullets, falls from orbital heights, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, blows from powerful superhumans, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury.
  • Aquatic Healing: If he was somehow injured, Namor's body can heal damaged tissue faster and much more extensively than a human or most Atlanteans. Namor's accelerated healing is at its peak while he is immersed in water, but does diminish the longer he is out of contact with water or if he is completely dry.
  • Radiation Absorption: Namor can absorb certain levels of radiation. His potential is unknown, but the full power of the Radioactive Man is enough to rapidly drain him of his strength.
  • Extended Longevity: Atlanteans age much slower and live much longer than human beings with the average Atlantean lifespan being about 120 years. Namor, at this time, is considered to be in his physical prime.
  • Underwater Breathing: Like all Atlanteans, Namor can breathe indefinitely underwater due to having gills located behind his ears. Unlike most Atlanteans, however, Namor can also breathe on land indefinitely as well, without the aid of breathing devices, whereas most Atlanteans can only survive being out of the water for a matter of minutes.
  • Aquatic Telepathy: Namor possesses a telepathic rapport with all forms of marine life. He is able to mentally communicate with most forms of marine life and can mentally persuade them to do his bidding. Namor can also mentally communicate with other Atlanteans (giving mental/telepathic orders to all his men) and possibly humans as well, should he develop his power to its fullest.
  • Electrolocation: Like some fish, Namor has a limited ability to navigate by sensing faint electrical currents within the water.
  • Enhanced Senses:
    • Augmented Vision: Namor's enhanced vision enables him to penetrate the ocean's depths and see through murky water.
    • Super Hearing: Namor once boasted that he could hear a school of fish change direction half an ocean away, that when the ocean currents alter by a single degree he'd know it.
  • Flight: Namor also possesses vestigial "wings" on both of his ankles, by which he seems to fly at the speed of escape velocity when exerting himself fully. His flight speed at "normal" levels is enough to enable Namor to fly faster than military aircraft. Since the "wings" by themselves could never carry Namor, it has been speculated that he uses the wings for steering and flies in some other manner, perhaps by telekinesis. Namor's ability to lift weights when flying is sufficient to enable him carry a 50-ton anchor with one hand without a discernible loss of speed/momentum.
  • Atmokinesis: Without the aid of his Trident, Namor is capable of manipulating weather phenomena in a similar vein to Storm of the X-Men. Having once caused heavy rain showers to douse Johnny Storm's flame form in a brief fight.
    • Hydrokinesis: Siphoning off the aqua based abilities of Hydro-Man gave Namor hydrokinetic powers. Able to wield enough power to part a large section of water with ease as well as flood a prison cell several thousand miles away from water.

Abilities[]

Expert Combatant: Namor's extended lifespan and his involvement in numerous conflicts both under the sea and in human wars have granted him a great deal of experience in hand-to-hand combat. Growing up, he demonstrated natural skill in both armed and unarmed combat and likely received extensive training in both later on. He is a master swordsman, marksman, and is capable of wielding other weapons such as spears but rarely does so due to his preference of hand-to-hand combat.

Bold Diplomat: Namor is also a highly skilled leader and capable ruler.

Diplomatic Immunity: As the leader of a sovereign nation, he often visits the United States or the United Nations for political reasons. He employs diplomatic immunity during these trips.

Expert Tactician: He is a highly accomplished tactician.

Multilingual: Namor speaks virtually every language on Earth.

Skilled Engineer: He is adept at designing and improving Atlantean technology.

Talented Business Executive: Ever since he was a teenager, he proved to be very adept in the field of business, as it came easy to him.

Weaknesses[]

Due to his mingled bloodline of Atlantean and human breeding, a number of natural dependence and unique vulnerabilities has occurred.

Water Deficiency: When not exposed to water, many of Namor's physical attributes gradually decline and can reach a point where he possesses only a small fraction of his powers. Namor's strength, stamina, and durability are affected most and, at their minimum known level, are much closer to the levels possessed by the vast majority of other Atlanteans. Renewed exposure to water will immediately restore his abilities. He does not need to be submerged; even a spray is sufficient.

Oxygen Imbalance: Namor has demonstrated a vulnerability to oxygen imbalance when remaining too long in either water or air, resulting in manic-depressive mood swings.

  • Bipolar Tendencies: Namor is believed to be in the midst of an imbalance during the times in which he becomes angry very easily, which he is well known for, and is unable to think clearly and logically. He can prevent this imbalance, however, by dividing his time between the two atmospheres. He has occasionally used scientific or magical means to regulate his oxygen levels. With the imbalance properly controlled, Namor has shown himself to be a much more capable leader and generally much easier to be in contact with.
  • Head Problems: Though the complete circumstances are unknown, if hit just right, Namor has at times succumbed to physical head injuries very easily, such as being knocked out by a lead pipe wielded by a normal human man. This may come from oxygen imbalance or after the permanent head damage he suffered by the psychic Destiny. Still, there are times he has withstood constant high force attacks, such as the Hulk's fist.

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder): Part of the real reason why Namor suffers from a deeper mental and emotional imbalance is due to the psychological scaring he'd incurred at the atrocities committed by both sides of the conflict during World War II. He is chronically stuck reliving the harsh memories of all the horrors seen back in the day and as a result was left severely damaged as a person, causing him to fly off in fits of rage whenever such memories are triggered.

Dehydration: Very powerful heat-based attacks are somewhat of a concern, as they cause dehydration, causing his body to dry faster, and weaken at an accelerated rate.

Pollution: If Namor is immersed in or exposed to polluted water, it can have a negative effect both on his physiology and the efficiency of his physical attributes.

Wings: Despite being incapable of providing lift, Namor's wings seem to be essential to his flying abilities, and their loss renders him grounded. These appendages seem to be slow to heal when damaged, given that after losing them, he required an extended period of time to regrow them.

Paraphernalia[]

Equipment[]

  • Horn of Proteus.

Weapons[]

  • Neptune's Trident.

Notes[]

  • Namor was the very first Marvel character who has a history that spans over 70 years of publication, appearing in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1.
  • Namor's first modern appearance was in Fantastic Four #4.
  • Namor has been repeatedly identified as Marvel's first mutant. However, his status as the first mutant is subject to some question. He was the first mutant to be introduced in Marvel Comics (in 1939) and has been described in-comic as the first official mutant, but there are actually a number of mutants that predate 1939 in the Marvel timeline, including Apocalypse (born in the 30th Century BC), Wolverine (late 19th Century CE), Mystique, and Destiny (dates of birth unknown, but known to have been active at the "Dawn of the 20th Century"), and the group of mutants known as the Externals, among others. While Namor could have been old by the time he was first seen in 1939, there is no indication he was already centuries old. Furthermore, Namor is not only a human, but rather a human-merman hybrid. His unusual features not present in both Humans and Atlanteans can be result of hybridism than mutation. In comparison to non-human creatures, a human-merman hybrid is equivalent to hybrid animals like mules (horse and donkey hybrid) and ligers (lion and tiger hybrid) meanwhile a mutant human is equivalent to animals that developed a mutation not present in their parents (these parents being of the same species), like white lions (albine lions) or black panthers (melanistic jaguar or leopard).
  • Magneto secretly observed one of Namor's temper tantrums. He noted that "Namor's inhuman rage" exceeded the anger of anyone he had previously met.

Trivia[]

  • The Sub-Mariner was one of the characters featured in Series A of the Marvel Value Stamps issued in the 1970s.
  • Namor was the second Marvel character who was revealed to have the power of flight after the original Human Torch, whose story in Marvel Comics #1 came first.
  • Years before Namor became a part of the Defenders with the Hulk, Stan Lee considered merging their solo features in Tales to Astonish by making them form a team called "the Invaders." The idea was dropped, and years later, the name of the Invaders was used by Roy Thomas when he pitched the idea of a team of superheroes set during WWII.
  • Namor feels ugly about being a mutant.
  • Namor is a sculptor, a fact he doesn't like to share with 'surface dwellers'. Some of his works include busts of Sue Storm.
  • In Tarot #3 the two halves of Namor merged with the halves of Thor and Scarlet Witch to create Sturm Meister and Imperius Hex.
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