Biography of Namor, 1939-1940

The following is a biography of Namor the Sub-Mariner from 1939 to 1940,

Biography

Exposure to humanity

A young Namor's first known contact with the human race came at the expense of a group of sailors on a salvage ship. He spotted a group of salvage divers, donning heavy diving suits, and believed them to be dangerous machines. Namor crushed their helmets, killing them, and steered their ship into a reef. Returning the divers to Atlantis, Namor removed their helmets and learned that they were in fact humans. He was initially regretful for what he had done, but his mother Fen applauded him. She explained the humans' past transgressions against their race—specifically, a mistaken "attack" on the Atlanteans' South Pole city—and encouraged to continue the Atlanteans' vengeance against the humans. To that end, Namor and his cousin Dorma took to the surface and destroyed the light in a human lighthouse. Namor then traveled alone to New York City, where he caused general chaos and havoc with the local police force. He became infatuated with a human woman and attempted to kidnap her, nearly drowning her in the process, but she was rescued by the police.

Introduction to World War II

Namor's attraction to human women did not go unnoticed by the police. The chief of police John Wilson tasked Officer Betty Dean with acting as bait for Namor, a job she reluctantly accepted. After a week of scouting the seaside, Dean spotted Namor and fell into the ocean, seemingly unconscious. When Namor went to retrieve her, she pulled a gun on him, but her feint failed. He grabbed her and dragged her far out into the Atlantic Ocean, but left her on a buoy when he noticed a naval battle happening nearby. The battle was between American and German Nazi forces, many months before America's official involvement in World War II. A German plane had bombed a British freighter, and a German U-boat was under the surface nearby. Namor resourcefully destroyed both German vessels and beached the freighter, saving a significant number of the men aboard. He returned to Dean, who tried to convince him that Americans were worth fighting for. She asked him to take care of a German flotilla nearby, and he did so, delivering an U-boat to a nearby Allied armada. Swayed by Betty Dean, Namor returned home to rally his people into joining the war. Within a week, Namor convinced the Emperor of Atlantis to rally behind the cause, and the Emperor granted Namor command of the Atlantean Army and Navy. While the Atlanteans did not directly fight for either side in the war, Namor's focus on defending the innocent saw them frequently at odds with Axis forces.

Attempts at assimilation

Namor quickly developed a distaste for war, and redirected his efforts toward protecting the U.S. in a more philanthropic sense, realizing his paternal connection to the country. After getting the blessing of the Atlantean emperor, Namor traveled once again to New York harbor, where he was immediately accosted by the police, unable to express his newfound American attachment. The city's authorities were alerted, and Namor was eventually overpowered and taken into custody. Betty Dean learned of Namor's capture and met with him, hearing out his plea for a second chance. Learning of a nearby flood and subway car wreck, Namor offered to prove himself by saving the people aboard. Dean and another officer consented to letting Namor "escape," and he made his way to the subway tunnel. After saving the passengers, Namor found the source of the flood, a conspicuous hole in the tunnel wall. He found a group of criminals drilling into the treasury building next door, easily incapacitating them and bringing them into custody.

The police were impressed with Namor, but their commissioner determined that it was only right that he nonetheless stand trial for his previous crimes. Though Namor maintained his intention to defend human justice in America, the jury determined that the risk of him turning against them once more was too great, and he was found guilty and sentenced to death. During the trial, the jail doctor had been slipping a drug into Namor's food that sapped his strength, temporarily numbing his superpowers and leaving him vulnerable to incarceration on death row. He was soon put to the electric chair, but the 2,000-volt charge interacted with the drugs in his system in an unexpected way, neutralizing them and restoring his power. He escaped the prison and returned to Betty Dean, believing her responsible for his drugging. She denied culpability, and saved Namor when the police again attempted to restrain him. Namor then escaped to the ocean, his vengefulness toward humanity renewed.

Battle with the Human Torch

After spending some time in Atlantis, Namor returned to New York to enact further revenge against the humans. He caused large-scale damage and chaos across the city, even personally terrorizing the mayor. Betty Dean attempted to dissuade him, though she understood that this was unlikely to work. She warned him of the Human Torch, a new member of the New York police force and the humans' greatest defense. Namor had heard of the Torch, and was unconcerned with his presence. Namor continued his onslaught on the city, although at one point he rescued a baby from the stampede of an elephant that he himself had loosed, demonstrating his extant empathy in spite of what he was doing. As he attempted to destroy a bridge, he was finally confronted by Human Torch. After a brief battle, Namor temporarily retreated to the water, seemingly surprised at Torch's power. Their battle continued across land, air, and sea, reaching a deadlock when Namor trapped the Torch inside an airtight cylinder: Torch couldn't escape, but Sub-Mariner couldn't release him without triggering his flame. Betty Dean and other officers arrived on the scene and convinced Namor to leave, with Dean vowing that Torch wouldn't bother him if he left peacefully. Namor complied, returning to the sea.

Return to Atlantis

Namor's ankle wings were burned off in the fight with Torch, but they soon grew back. He returned to the emperor of Atlantis, who was ashamed of Namor's failure on the surface. Several days later, Namor and Dorma were swimming near the surface when they were attacked by a ship's crew led by a man named Luther Robinson. Namor warned the emperor, and soon Atlantis's fleet of flying submarines was in an all-out battle with Robinson's large, well-armed yacht. Namor climbed aboard the ship and kidnapped Lynne Harris, Luther's girlfriend, and took her into an Atlantean submarine underwater. Robinson took a standard human submarine from the yacht and attacked Namor's craft, blasting it open and allowing him to rescue Lynne. Namor was recovered by Atlantean soldiers and similarly resuscitated.

Robinson's forces landed on the iceberg protecting the emperor's assembly, prompting a land battle with the Atlanteans. All of the invaders were killed save Robinson and another man, and they were taken to the emperor. Namor was called to the chamber, but he attacked Robinson immediately and was escorted out again. A frustrated Namor visited Dorma and asked for advice. She suggested blowing up Robinson's ship and kidnapping Lynne and bringing her back to the emperor. They executed their plan with little difficulty, Namor destroying the ship and Dorma bringing Lynne back to Atlantean ground. Namor also took a seaplane from the yacht and parked it nearby. Namor returned to Luther's cell and informed him of what had transpired. Namor in fact by this point had come to pity the Americans, and left them with an opening for escape, ensuring that Lynne's room was unguarded and unlocked. Luther and his companion escaped by cutting through the ice floor, fled with Lynne, and escaped by the seaplane.