Upon further review – Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #11
Recently I talked about how little I care little for the Marvel Universe’s premier aquatic champion. He’s never floated my boat, if you pardon the ever so cringe-inducing expression. I’m not alone in this, but a reader left a comment lamenting that no one shared his love for Namor. And I thought to myself, You know what? Maybe I should give this guy another try. With an open mind. Leave my baggage at the front door.
So here I am. Back for Round 2.
I though that, to better focus on Namor, it would be wise to get one of his solo adventures. It’s very possible that he suffers in comparison with the Hulk, one of my childhood favorites and his Tales to Astonish cohort for a good chunk of the Silver Age Marvel era. So this week I resolved to buy one of his own books (books I’ve in the past avoided like the plague) and, after I hemmed and hawed for a bit, I picked this one:
I’ll tell you whatit was about this cover that got me. I can imagine serving on a sub can be a pretty claustrophobic experience — how could it not be? It has to put people on edge, even in the calmest, most normal conditions. So imagine one day you up periscope and see this pissed off guy stroking his way at you?
I have to think that that would be a “$#!+ your pants” moment.
So I like the cover. Put that on the positive side of the ledger.
The story, from writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, opens with Namor as he saves a naval station from a torpedo attack by the pirate Barracuda. In the process he’s mistaken for an attacker. This misunderstanding leads to Namor battling the U.S. Navy, and gives him plenty of chances to hurl imprecations at the surface dwellers. It also provides him with an opportunity to utter his catchphrase, his version of “Dyno-MITE!”, in a cool full-page image:
At one point during the fight he even scoffs at those who think that he’s weaker than the Hulk — who think him a lesser man, if you will:
I guess that’s directed at me — sorry, Namor.
So the Sub-Mariner tears the ship apart and throws its crew all around, all the while wishing they would just stop fighting him so he could talk to their captain and resolve this confusion. I suppose he could just let their bullets bounce off him as he talks and explains things, but I’m not going to argue strategy with the guy. Eventually he gets tuckered out and has to return to the water to power up, and when he does a sub fires on him. But neither Namor nor the Navy are aware that Barracuda used the distraction of their fight to sneak on the base and steal some gizmo called the Sonic Magno-Directoid. The thing accidentally draws the sub’s torpedo to Barracuda and his ship as he tries to escape and he gets blown all to pieces. Oops.
Namor swims off, the Navy realizes that Namor might not have been their true enemy, and our story ends.
My thoughts? Has Namor won me over? Not quite, but I have to say that I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. Namor’s dialogue, with its “yons” and the like (reminiscent of Thor, in a way), was entertaining, and the action on the whole crackled nicely. I was less than taken with Colan’s art — usually I really like his stuff, but for some reason I found his panel construction here too scattershot and distracting. Oh well. But taking it all together, this thing was a positive experience for me.
So maybe I’m softening on Namor. I wouldn’t call myself a fan yet, but things are always in flux. As it is, I’m half expecting a pig to fly by my window at any moment.
And I’ll try not to compare him to the Hulk too much from now on. I promise.
Jared
blog into mystery 
The cover is a swipe from Superman #23 (1943), one of the most famous WWII covers. I too have never gotten into the Subby series despite some obvious positives like Colan’s artwork.
I didn’t even pick up on that – kind of a “duh” moment on my part. Thanks for the assist.
I always felt the same way about Namor. What really won me over was when his creator Bill Everett returned in the mid-seventies for some of the best Marvel comics of that period! Also check out Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler’s SAGA OF THE SUB-MARINER from either the late eighties or early nineties. It’s a 12 issue series that does a pretty good job of reconciling all the different aspects of Namor’s appearances throughout Marvel history.
Thanks for the recommendations. Like Aquaman, Namor has been relaunched a bazillion times, but I’ll keep a look out for those efforts. It’s good to have some feedback on what might be good.
It’s not in terms of superstrength where I compare him to the Hulk, but in childish temper tantrums. Both are totally unpredictable as to whether it will be today will be “destroy all humans” or “save the world”. The thing is, during this period, the Hulk did have the brain power of a big kid, so childish tantrums fit very nicely. Namor is supposed to be a regal monarch of Atlantis and noble king of the oceans and blahblah. If so, then he follows in the footsteps of the infamous petty kings of history, granting titles and favours one minute and then beheading folk out of spite the next. If they had made Namor to be a…Conan figure, a lone, wandering freebooter beneath the waves, that would be much more acceptable. (In fact, as I absorb that idea, that would be perfect)
Comparing him to Thor makes me cringe. When Thor lost his temper, it’s against the villain. When Ulik or Crusher Creel or Mangog finally go too far. All very exciting. Thor never lost his temper and decided to wash away New York because one punk too many called him “Goldilocks”. Which Namor would do at the drop of a perceived insult.
My apologies for the cringe-inducement, but I stand by my comparison, though I don’t think there’s that much of a chasm between us — I was only referring to the dialogue, not their degrees of altruism. And, just to play devil’s advocate, I think it’s useful to remember that Namor was so often an effective villain because of the very capricious qualities that you cite. That made him sort of a “tweener” (as they’re called in pro wrestling), a character you can boo one minute and cheer the next.
But mainly boo, I admit.
It’s sad, but true, that some characters will never be ready for prime time. Namor is one, and there are many from DC, including Aquaman. And there is nowt wrong with that. They make excellent supporting characters (or team members), and both Marvel and DC should re-focus these 2nd and 3rd string characters accordingly.
Not to say I haven’t enjoyed many of these not-ready-for-prime time men and women in their solo series, at some time or another, though.
I couldn’t agree more — I’ve always felt that certain characters work very well in their own niche but fall horribly flat whenever they’re pulled out and forced into the spotlight on a consistent basis. The role player works in sports and it can work in comics.
No, no to apologize. I wasn’t sitting here with my feathers all up and ruffled. I’ve just heard the comparison between Thor and Namor before, both being royalty of fantasy kingdoms and various degrees of arrogant and so forth. I just think the comparison goes very deep before it abruptly bottoms out.
I guess that was my blurry point. The Hulk, or Conan, work for me in the “tweener” character class, but not Namor. He is presented on one page as a noble ruler with great leadership responsibilities, then on the second page, he’s lashing out with a fit that would embarass a three year old.
I only thought of making Namor a “Conan of the Seven Seas” today and I’m liking it. Unlike the perpetual cliche that an underwater hero must have his heart in Atlantis (and probably rule it), have the weird pink-skinned Namor an outcast from the priggish Atlantis but too noble to hang with the real barbarians like Attuma. He does what he likes, gets into mischief, fights monsters and city guard…in short, lose the chains of responsibility and Namor might really fly.
All of your points are well taken. Namor as nomad at the very least has the virtue of never having been tried before.
Man, John Byrne’s Namor in the 90’s was a classic. Made the character so likeable in a subtle and nuanced way. Highly recommended.