Geeks logo

Namor, The Sub-Mariner: Marvel’s Preeminent Antihero

Leave His Seas, Or Die

By Zack KrafsigPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
Like

Spoilers for Avengers (2018) #8 - 9

An antihero, by definition, is a protagonist in a fictional narrative who lacks traits traditionally thought of as “heroic”. Rarely does an antihero do the right thing for altruistic purposes, almost exclusively motivated by selfishness. While Marvel has no shortage of antiheroes (such as Domino, Venom, Magneto, The Hulk, The Punisher, and Deadpool), one stands higher than others as Marvel’s truest antihero: Namor, The Sub-Mariner.

Namor is Marvel’s first character ever created, first appearing in the unpublished Motion Picture Funnies Weekly in April 1939, predating Captain America by two years. Often written-off as “Marvel’s Aquaman”, he is the King of Atlantis, being the son of an Atlantean princess and a human fisherman. Where the similarities to Aquaman end, though, is when Atlantean soldiers murder his father and bring his mother to Atlantis, where Namor is born and raised as a prince. He eventually joins the fight against the Axis to keep Atlantis safe from the Nazi U-Boats. He fought alongside Captain America, Bucky, and the android Human Torch, forming the superhero team, The Invaders. During the war, Namor suffers a head injury that causes him to forget who he is, only to be reminded of his noble lineage by the second Human Torch, Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four, in 1962, where he finds out the US tested atomic bombs in Atlantis, destroying it and scattering its citizens. Namor finds his people and declares the first of many wars on the surface for destroying his home.

Namor is Marvel’s truest antihero in that he is often at odds with heroes like the Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and Daredevil, thought he doesn’t fight them for evil purposes, per say. His kingdom, Atlantis, is constantly being destroyed or manipulated by the surface world, his people murdered and enslaved by greedy corporations and opportunistic governments. And when he seeks retribution for the crimes committed against his people, his superpowered peers repeatedly oppose him, acting almost as if Atlantean problems aren’t as serious as human problems. Namor is the only one fighting for the sanctity of the Atlantean people.

This is illustrated very poignantly in Jason Aaron and David Marquez’s Avengers #8 and #9. The tragic story begins when a group of Atlantean soldiers infiltrate a Roxxon Corporations whaling ship to sabotage it. They’re caught, killed, and hung from the hull of the ship as trophies, treated like nothing more than rabid animals. Namor attacks the ship in retaliation, kidnaps the Roxxon mercenaries, and announces his intent to publicly execute them. The Avengers respond by invading Atlantis and fighting Namor. Namor allows Captain America, one of his oldest friends and the only human he respects, to convince him to drop this crusade. Cap promises that the mercenaries will face legal justice on the surface world. Unconvinced, Namor only backs down when Black Panther and the other Avengers threaten to take him down. It’s then revealed that Atlantis was destroyed (yet again) when a Celestial killed by the Final Host fell from the sky and into the sea and crushed it, once again leaving the Atlantean people without a home. Black Panther offers Wakandan aid (despite Namor and Atlantis being one of his and Wakanda’s most hated rivals), but Namor rejects it, telling Captain America, Black Panther, and rest of the Avengers never to return to Atlantis. The Roxxon mercenaries are then taken to a holding facility in New Mexico, where Namor drowns them in toilet water, finally getting justice for his murdered brethren.

Many days later, however, a group of starving Atlantean children search for aid on the West Coast of the US, only to suffocate on the polluted air and die on the beach, while the human beachgoers only watched and laughed. In his anger, Namor kills his longtime human friend Dr. Walter Newell, AKA Stingray, and recruits his longtime enemy Tiger Shark to join his answer to the Avengers: The Defenders of the Deep. Treating Roxxon’s actions as an act of war, Namor issuing a warning to the surface world: “Stay the hell out of my oceans, or you’ll wish to your gods that you did”.

Namor is not a hero, but neither is he a villain. He’s an Atlantean, first and foremost. He only does what’s best for his people and their interests. If that means fighting Hitler’s armies alongside Captain America, then he’ll do it. If that means destroying entire worlds alongside Thanos, he’ll do that too. He will do whatever he has to do, he will kill whoever he has to kill, and he will fight against the world with everything he has to keep Atlantis and her oceans safe. Namor is the definition of an antihero.

superheroes
Like

About the Creator

Zack Krafsig

My mind is a tar pit of useless knowledge and trivia pertaining to comic books, movies, television, literature, gaming, Kevin Smith, memes, cooking, history, science-fiction, fantasy, and big-and-tall men's clothing.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.