NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER (Namor McKenzie)
Created By: Bill Everett
First Appearance: Motion Picture Funnies Weekly (April 1939)
Role: The Jerkass, The Badass, Noble Prince Dickhead
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad, The Illuminati, Deep Six, The Dark X-Men,
Avengers Grade: C-Level (never really a long-term member)
PL 13 (199), PL 14 (199) When Soaked
STRENGTH 14/15
STAMINA 13/14
AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 12
DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Deception 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Ruler of Atlantis) 4 (+7)
Expertise (History) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Business) 6 (+9)
Intimidation 9 (+12)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Atlantean Weapons) 4 (+10)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Attractive, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Favoured Environment (Underwater), Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Last Stand (Ignore Damage for 1 Round With an HP), Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Combat 4, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Winged Feet"
Flight 9 (1,000 mph) (18) -- [19]
[listAE: Swimming 11 (1,000 mph) (11)[/list]
"Atlantean/Human Hybrid"
Immunity 4 (Aging, Drowning, Cold, Pressure) [4]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
"Improved Underwater Stats" (All with Flaws: Limited to Underwater/When Soaked)
Enhanced Strength 1 [1]
Power-Lifting 2 (3,200 tons) [1]
Enhanced Stamina 1 [1]
Impervious Toughness 6 [3]
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Soaked +12/+13 (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Initiative +8
Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +13 (+14 Soaked, +3 Impervious), Fortitude +13 (+14 Soaked), Will +11
Complications:
Enemy (Every Atlantean Advisor Or General Ever)- Namor repeatedly has Atlantis stolen from him by some douchebag or another. Atlantis is either full of evil schemers or soon-to-be-dead girlfriends.
Relationship (Lots of Soon-To-Be-Dead Chicks)- Every time Namor takes a woman to bed, the poor thing is doomed to die. He has worse luck than even Daredevil or Aunt May for sex partners dying. Even the green-skinned Marrina couldn't avoid the Damocles' Sword of Namor's schlong.
Responsibility (Atlantis)- Namor is the ruler of Atlantis, which makes him the target of a never-ending line of usurpers, as well as anyone who hates Atlantis (like Lemurians or Wakandans).
Responsibility (Human/Atlantean Hybrid)- Namor's racial make-up often becomes an issue with his people.
Reputation (Tool)- Namor is charismatic, but extremely impolite and impetuous, often threatening his closest friends for minor slights. He's straight-up MURDERED strangers for the same.
Reputation (Crazy)- Namor has a chemical imbalance that often leaves him unstable, which is why he has been absolutely villainous as hell in the past. He went from a fairly kind-hearted guy in his won book to a Black Adam-alike in recent years.
Power Loss (Wings)- Namor can lose his Flight if the tiny wings on his feet are damaged or disabled.
Weakness (Lack of Water)- If left without water, Namor will grow progressively weaker. After a long period of time, he will becoming Fatigued, Impaired, Disabled, Stunned, etc. (in addition to dropping Strength & Stamina consistently).
Enemy (Attuma, Orka, Llyra)- Namor has a Rogues Gallery of Jobbers ready to lose to him at a moment's notice. Most of them try to take over Atlantis.
Secret (The Illuminati)- Namor allies with Mr. Fantastic, Professor Xavier, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange & Iron Man in an attempt to ensure the safety of his people and the world.
Enemy (The Black Panther, Wakanda)- The two nations were at war- Under the Phoenix's power, Namor committed near-genocide against Wakanda, and even when he recovered, he wasn't particularly sorry.
Total: Abilities: 108 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 25 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 16 (199)
Namor- The First Anti-Hero:
-I've always liked Namor. I'm not quite sure why- his series are almost always sure failures (the comics-buying public just DOES NOT CARE about Atlantean Politics, whether it's DC's or Marvel's) and I never buy them, he's been cancelled 100 times, and his writing is often haphazard and random (handwaved away by saying "he's bipolar"). But the fact that he's a Flying Brick beyond most common Marvel powerhouses, capable of slugging it out with the Hulk or Thor, and perennially pissed-off about something, mixes together to make a fairly interesting character whenever he appears in someone else's book. He uses broad strokes rather than tiny dabbles. Frequently he rages against the surface world that so vexes his people (in the '60s, it was nuclear testing that scattered them), yet he also contains a large degree of nobility, often defending the weak from others, and respecting great opponents. Eventually, DC would kind of hit on the same things with Black Adam (who looks a lot like Namor) in the
JSA series, at which point NAMOR started reflecting ADAM in one of those weird comic book things, to the point where I'd say a lot of Namor's current characterization is more based on Adam's example.
-His desire to bone Mr. Fantastic's wife (and saying it right in front of him) is always entertaining, too (I love it when she knocks him to the floor and yells at him, and he just responds with "Gods, you are magnificent" while she rolls her eyes in disgust). He's actually spent a surprisingly short amount of time on the Avengers, having only served briefly in the '80s (during the "Masters of Evil destroy the mansion" arc, where he was absent, doing Stupid Atlantean Stuff; he also fought The Olympian Gods), after having been a villain of theirs for most of the '60s. Generally, he was another Sub-Thor fighter, tearing into combat with aplomb, but generally being caught up in the ONLY FREAKING STORY NAMOR EVER GETS INTO, which is "Atlantis Gets Taken Over/Warred With, Requiring Namor's Assistance". I am fairly certain that this has happened 20,000 times now.
Namor in the 1940s:
-Namor is the first real super-character of Marvel Comics, being created in 1939 for a giveaway called
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, which was never released. When it fell through, creator Bill Everett used the character for
Marvel Comics #1, which also debuted the Human Torch. Unlike Superman, Batman, and such, Namor was actually a VILLAIN- more like a Movie Monster than a defender of the weak. Atlantean Princess Fen had married human sea captain Leonard McKenzie, and was then dragged away while McKenzie was killed by Atlantean soldiers- pink-skinned Namor was born among his blue-skinned people, and decided to lead raids against "Surface-Dwellers". As comics historian Les Daniels put it, "Namor was a freak in the service of chaos. Although the Sub-Mariner acted like a villain, his cause had some justice, and readers reveled in his assaults on civilization. His enthusiastic fans weren't offended by the carnage he created as he wrecked everything from ships to skyscrapers". A raw, angry antihero, he would fight Carl Burgos' Human Torch in the first Crossover in comic book history- sinking the island of Manhattan beneath the waves in a 1940 comic.
-Namor was popular enough that a rip-off was created at DC- Aquaman, one of the few times that DC was the follower and Marvel the leader. And he got even MORE popular in 1941 when America entered the Second World War- Namor immediately shifted gears from warring on America and realized a WORSE enemy was out there. Suddenly we saw Namor at the side of the Torch & Captain America, pummelling the helpless Nazis & Japanese soldiers on every comic book cover Timely produced. And this is the heart of a GREAT babyface turn- give the heel someone even WORSE to turn on, and the fans will be ecstatic to finally be able to cheer for them. The WWF would learn this repeatedly, like when the Macho Man finally attacked the Honky Tonk Man, and the Undertaker turned on Jake "The Snake" Roberts- nothing is cooler than a heel turning to fight worse bad guys.
-Namor's '40s comics involved human female Betty Dean as a companion, as well as his cousins Dorma & Namora. And he lasted all the way until 1949 (joining the post-war All-Winners Squad), when Timely killed their superhero output. An attempted revival in the 1950s for rechristened "Atlas Comics" went nowhere, though Namora got her own spinoff comic.
Namor Returns- The Villainous 1960s & Tortured 1970s:
-Namor wouldn't have to wait long for a revival- seven years after his last appearance, he came back once Marvel was back in the superhero biz for real, showing up as an amnesiac homeless person living in New York City. Recovering quickly, he goes back to his homeland (now FINALLY named as Atlantis- apparently he went all this time with no name), finding it destroyed by nuclear testing (then a great bogeyman, and source of a lot of Monster Stories). Enraged, he assaults the surface world once more, setting the stage for Namor to be a villain again. But again, it was a kind of justified fury, and part of what made him so cool. His catastrophic rage would often go hand-in-hand with more responsible emotions... oh, and he'd frequently go after Mister Fantastic's girl. He teams up with Doctor Doom & Magneto a few times, but his rebellious streak makes his partnerships short-lived.
-1968 would see Namor get his own book once more- a publication restriction (owing to Marvel's deal with DC to act as distributors) had prevented him getting a book until then. Stan Lee's work would give some new edge to the charater- rather than being an impetuous, vicious youth like in the Everett stories, Namor is now "authoritative, arrogant and solemn", as Wikipedia puts it, adding Shakespearean dialogue and a catchphrase- "Imperious Rex!". Completing the "Marvel Hero" thing is a boatload of personal tragedy and torment- a King without a country (it's finally explained that his mother and grandfather were killed by a supervillain, who was also why he was comatose), not WANTING to be a superhero but nonetheless finding innocents in danger and being compelled to help.
Namor The Sub-Mariner would last for six years, with Roy Thomas introducing his official biggest Recurring Villain- Tiger Shark, and Namor's closest human friend- Stingray. Namora would return, with a younger charater named Namorita. Bill Everett would actually write a few of these stories shortly before his death.
-Other recurring foes included the manipulative Llyra, who always wanted to bed Namor- her machinations led to the death of Lady Dorma after she'd married Namor. Leonard McKenzie even makes a surprise return, alive after all these years, but he's swiftly killed saving Namor from Tiger Shark.
-The cancellation of his book would lead to a brief role in
Super-Villain Team-Up, again partnered with Doctor Doom, but low sales resulted in him being dropped thirteen issues in. He would be a recurring character in
The Defenders (initially four non-team characters: himself, Dr. Strange, Hulk and the Silver Surfer), but the book's iconic cast would not include him. He was in ANOTHER '70s book as well, as Golden Age fanboy Roy Thomas would write
The Invaders, a book that tells Retcon stories about Cap, Torch & Namor back in the War Years. By the 1970s, a "type" had emerged for Namor- he was an arrogant, overly-proud douchebag, prone to bragging, talking down to others, and tremendous acts of outrage if provoked. A fun guy to throw into any team.
Iron Age Namor- A Heroic Turn:
-Namor would become more classically heroic following a series of Limited Series and attempts at a revival in the 1980s. He'd marry Marrina of Alpha Flight in the '80s, but later be forced to slay her when she turned into a monster (this is the SECOND wife of his to die).
Namor the Sub-Mariner would debut in 1990 and run for 62 issues, lasting the duration of the Comic Book Boom and then dying a while after the Bust- it was initially written and drawn by John Byrne, who avoided a lot of "Byrne Things" (typically, Byrne likes to reduce characters to their original characterization, acting as if Character Development is bad) and instead tried to come up with a concentrated WORLD around the character. Here, Namor is a wealthy businessman and CEO of Oracle, Inc., a rare HEROIC Comic Book Businessman. Byrne would write in some explanations for Namor's more... mercurial attitude. It would be explained that Namor's metabolism is all messed up due to being a half-breed, and so he needs to find other ways to regulate his moods.
-Some of Jae Lee's first comic book work was in a ridiculously-beautiful seven-issue run halfway through the book's existence. The book took an anti-pollution stance, and Byrne used it to bring back Iron Fist (who'd been dead for a while), and increase Namor's supporting cast, finding him better in a team book. The book isn't very well-remembered, and had ZERO impact on other books (in fact, it held Namorita back a bit in
The New Warriors, as Fabian Nicieza found her "belonging" to another writer, and so was a bit hamstrung in how to use her- Byrne was apparently NOT impressed that one of his characters was being written elsewhere).
-Alas, Namor would have much poorer luck in the 2000s- infamously, Salvador Larocca was dragged kicking and screaming off of
X-Treme X-Men and basically forced to draw a 2003
Namor ongoing so that he could work on Marvel President Bill Jemas' pet project, as
Namor was central to a new Publishing Wing at Marvel. The book wouldn't even last a year, and that whole line of books died in flames. A couple years later, another quickly-cancelled book came out- Namor just does NOT have luck with those things.
Modern Namor:
-Now generally always without a book, Namor would be thrown into Marvel's
Illuminati book and concept, acting as a power behind the scenes of the Marvel Universe, allying with a lot of very smart, very manipulative characters (Dr. Strange, Professor X, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Tony Stark)- in fact he's actually the LEAST bright of the group, and never really "fit" for all this secrecy. He's there because he's a ruler and an important person, but the book seems to think that he was ALWAYS the ruler of Atlantis, even though most of his comic book runs feature Atlantis broken apart in some way. By this point, the pointy-eared Black Adam was wildly popular in Geoff Johns'
JSA, and so Namor started acting more and more imperious and proud in response to this.
-Namor gets slotted into the
X-Men book in 2011, for lack of a better thing for him to do (here, he replicates his lusting over Susan Richards with Emma Frost). Roped into the silly
A (vs) X story, he gains the powers of the Phoenix Force, and while fighting the Avengers, he DEVASTATES WAKANDA, destroying much of the nation in a flood. Annoyed by the Illuminati's lack of balls (they build devices to destroy parallel Earths to save their Earth, but can't go through with it at the last second), he forms "The Cabal" out of VILLAINS who can do the same thing, but finds himself horrified by their lack of morality. Disgusted by the slaughter, he tries to break free from them, but the whole "Wakanda" thing leads to a huge war with the Black Panther, who, despite their alliance in the Illuminati, betrays him and abandons him on a parallel Earth.
-Things only get worse for him, as he survives
Secret Wars, but ends up slain by the new Squadron Supreme, who hail from worlds that Namor had destroyed while with the Cabal. However, they learn the error of their ways, and resurrect him just in time for that relatively-pointless series to be cancelled. He helps out during
Secret Empire, but makes ANOTHER big shift in personality in the newest
Avengers book, where he decides that the surface world sucks after all, and that he needs to form an alliance of aquatic bad-asses called "The Defenders of the Deep". He wounds Stingray with sharks off-panel (hilariously, it's likely that Stingray was DEAD, being, you know, DEVOURED BY SHARKS, but a single line of dialogue in a later issue reveals that he survived), but becomes a recurring menace to the surface world once more- a new "Status Quo" for a guy who never really maintains a status quo.
Namor as a Whole:
-Namor's had a very tricky run, befouled by multiple versions of characterization. Like I said, in the 1940s he was basically Godzilla or King Kong- a destructive force of nature that attacked swaths of unnamed humanity. However, like both of those characters, he became BELOVED for this same monstrous rage, and of course turned against even bigger douchebags. The '60s saw him as villainous again, but out of vengeance for his people's destruction- the '70s & '80s saw him settle into his "arrogant douchebag" persona, which was good for him. The '90s saw a much calmer (and thus more boring) Namor, so by the 2000s, he was back to being an ass, but now a more smirking one. But the usual mess of Post-2000s Marvel saw a lot of random incidents (including attempting genocide and the death of thousands of Wakandans) that left the character nearly broken- though unlike Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange and others, he kind of has the inborn excuse of "Namor's always mercurial" to fall back on. A newer, villainous Namor has potential as a bad guy (especially since Marvel loves their nuanced, complex villains- he's enraged by the surface world causing Atlantean death again), but he's always one more book away from rejoining the heroes.
-If I was running Marvel, I'd probably insist he join at least one team. He seems a good fit- being strong as hell, but not an uber-Brick like Wonder Man or Thor, but alot more skilled and so full of rage that he'd just go flying right into battle at the drop of a hat. And since nobody buys his solo books, he's actually much better off in a team book that people would buy anyways (plus, he needs other characters to bounce his personality off of him that aren't subservient to him, like in his own book). Though it's funny that people would likely consider him an Aquaman Wannabe were he to show up in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, since Aquaman (a RIP-OFF of Namor) has ended up becoming more famous.
-The biggest problem the character has, unfortunately, is a pretty weak Rogues Gallery. Tiger Shark and Orka are perfectly serviceable, memorable Jobbers To The Stars, but are completely flat charaters who aren't even as powerful as the hero they were made to fight! And Attuma, Namor's biggest foe, basically has one story and one story only- "I Want To Conquer Atlantis". These one-note idiots are somewhat memorable, but are pathetically one-note, which makes any attempt at a Namor-centric story very dull.
Namor's Powers:
-Namor has a tricky power level to explain, as he's never really been shown as being that far beyond the "Class 100" guys physically, yet is always treated as a much more dangerous threat. He is an extremely powerful character, making PL 13 in melee, and PL 12.5 on defense, which is enough to give him a small edge over Iron Man, and run him a bit below Thor. He's a tad stronger than The Thing outside of the water, and MUCH stronger within it, yet packs the accuracy of The Punisher, Kraven, Black Cat and others who are generally considered to be excellent melee fighters without being truly elite. That accuracy plus that might is a nasty combo, and as such he's a powerhouse. Add to that the fact that he can go into the water and instantly be in the Thor class of Power Levels, and you've got yourself a merciless bad-ass (never mind the fact that every other major hero is WORSE OFF in the water!). Even his Will Save is nuts- a big part of
Emperor Doom was that Namor is one of the few people on Earth with a Will strong enough to resist the power of The Purple Man.
-Even his old Weakness of being out of water isn't really a major deal anymore- Namor's one of those guys who started off dramatically-powerful, seemingly grew weaker once he got his own comic book series, but is now one of the full-fledged baddest dudes on the block.
-Namor's had a few weird "Random Powers" sprout up over the years, but has maintained the same power-set otherwise. In the first fight against the Human Torch, he could shoot water out from his body (but, like, SOAKING water, not a dangerous jet of it). Stan Lee & Jack Kirby seemed to think that Namor could mimic the powers of undersea creatures, and so the '60s saw him use an electric eel's shock, and even bulge up like a pufferfish once! These were dismissed as silly, and basically ignored after 1965. Wikipedia says he can do the Aquaman "Aquatic Telepathy" thing, but I don't think I've ever seen that. If you REALLY want to showcase the eel power, then Electrical Aura 4 is probably all you need.
