Biography of Namor, 1962-1965

The following is a biography of Namor the Sub-Mariner from 1962 to 1965, in which the Atlantean legend returned to prominence, finding his home of Atlantis destroyed and blaming humanity. This hostility grew into strained peace after Namor's attacks on the surface were deflected by heroes like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Eventually, Namor reassembled the disparate populace of Atlantis and reclaimed his throne as prince, though challenges to his authority are persistent, partially owing to his half-human heritage. He also developed an infatuation with the Fantastic Four's Invisible Girl, who found herself conflicted with feelings toward Namor. This affair ended when Namor attempted to take her as his princess, and she decisively chose Mr. Fantastic as her true love.

Biography

Foe of the Fantastic Four

What happened to Namor in between his glory days and his villainous revival is unknown. He seemingly disappeared from the limelight, eventually winding up in The Bowery in New York City, disheveled and unrecognizable. Human Torch found him and delivered him back to the ocean in an attempt to restore his heroic ways. But Namor returned to Atlantis and found it destroyed by human nuclear tests, motivating him to vow vengeance against the human race. He proceeded to awake the sea monster Giganto and attack New York, but the Fantastic Four killed Giganto and defeated Namor in battle. Namor nonetheless vowed to return, and his first attempt at vengeance came at the goading of Doctor Doom, who convinced him to form an alliance to defeat the Fantastic Four. Doom betrayed Namor however, attempting to magnetically hurl the Four's headquarters containing them and the Sub-Mariner into the sun. Namor was able to thwart Doom's plans, saving himself and the Fantastic Four and sending Doom hurtling into space.

Some time later, Namor learned of some severe financial woes on the part of the Fantastic Four. He devised a plan to become a Hollywood film producer and offer the four of them roles in a film for the payment of one million dollars. He arranged for each of the male members of the team to be attacked while filming scenes separately: Mr. Fantastic by a cyclops on Hidden Isle, Human Torch by a tribe of fire-resistant Africans, and the Thing by Namor himself. The former two escaped their ambushes unscathed, while Thing was hit by a freak lightning strike and turned into Ben Grimm, allowing Namor to defeat him easily. Namor returned to Invisible Girl in his office and proposed marriage to her, believing himself to have proven his superiority over her teammates. She refused, fighting with Namor for a short time before the rest of the Four arrived and quickly overpowered him. Invisible Girl stopped them from ganging up on him, and Namor agreed to hold up his end of the film contract before returning to the sea peacefully. Namor was later confronted by Human Torch on his own in essentially a fight for its own sake, as Torch was looking for glory by defeating one of the Fantastic Four's fiercest foes. Namor carried the theoretical advantage, as Torch fought him in the sea, but Torch was able to use such extreme heat that he evaporated the water around him and created an air pocket as he swam. Torch caused an underwater cave to collapse with Namor inside and flew away, satisfied with his victory. Namor escaped the cave, albeit with a newfound respect for the teenage hero.

Invasion of the surface

Namor was at last able to relocate his city of Atlantis, a flourishing civilization under the sea. He was greeted as a returning hero, reclaiming his crown as "Namor the First, Prince of Atlantis, Emperor of the Deep, Lord of the Seven Seas, and Supreme Commander of the Undersea Legions." Namor was also reunited with Dorma, who instantly took his side as his queen of sorts. In doing so she abandoned Krang, an Atlantean warlord who had been eyeing the throne with Dorma at his side. Namor quickly began his plan to rule the seas, sending out various sea monsters to surface across the world. This display was part of a larger plan that played out just as Namor attended: the Fantastic Four investigated reports of the monsters and fell into a trap, getting brought down to Atlantis in airtight safety for an audience with the prince. Namor told the Four to tell the United Nations that he was declaring dominion over the seas and the skies above them, sending them away once more in a water-pressurized rocket.

Namor himself went to the United Nations in New York as well, disguising himself as a scientist named G.W. Falton. He explained to the UN delegates the history of the Atlantean race, as Mr. Fantastic—Reed Richards—insisted that they must fight back against the threat. Namor doffed his disguise and officially declared war against humanity. Fleeing to the sea, Namor signaled his army, and in moments a colossal force emerged and invaded New York. In a matter of hours, the Atlanteans had taken over the city, and Namor declared martial law. Atlantean forces similarly invaded major cities across the world. Namor quickly and correctly surmised the catalyst of this event to be Mr. Fantastic. He arrived at the Baxter Building, pulled the injured hero out of his bed, and attacked him. The rest of the Four soon arrived, but Namor grabbed Invisible Girl and fled before they could do anything more.

Namor kept Invisible Girl in a submersible alongside Dorma and Krang. He soon detected the arrival of the Human Torch, and surfaced to fight him. Mr. Fantastic and Thing arrived soon after and the four did battle, as Krang observed from below. Invisible Girl showed concern when Namor was in danger, piquing Krang's curiosity. He deduced that she was no ordinary prisoner, and that she and Namor had a special connection. Seeing her as a threat to her love for Namor, Dorma sought to eliminate her. She smashed the window of the submersible, sending water flooding into the craft. The hole was quickly repaired, but not before Invisible Girl escaped into the sea. Namor and the Thing fought under the surface, both soon noticing an unconscious Invisible Girl tangled in the undergrowth. The two immediately broke off their fight, freeing her and bringing her to the surface. Namor and the male members of the Four discussed how best to save her, and Namor decided to use one of his own seacraft to quickly take her to a hospital in New York. In doing so, he confronted Krang and Dorma, who both objected to his infatuation with a human woman. Namor successfully brought Invisible Girl to a hospital in New York, forbidding the heroes from coming with him as their weight would slow down his craft. The rest of the Four arrived later in their repaired boat to find that Sue had survived her ordeal, apparently by a matter of minutes. Namor returned to Atlantis, only to find it empty and barren: his people had abandoned him.

Enemy of the Avengers

Namor bided his time waiting for another opportunity to lash out at humanity, fueled by his latest defeat. He set his sights on the Hulk as a potential ally. The Hulk had recently left the Avengers and grown to resent the human race for their treatment of him. Hulk was on the run from the remaining Avengers—Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and Wasp—and soon made his way to an island in the Atlantic Ocean, where Namor met him face-to-face. The rageful Hulk lashed out at him, but Namor subdued him with his superior powers in the water. Namor proposed an alliance, to turn their collective hatred for humanity against them. Hulk agreed, though the two each privately planned to betray the other when their plan was through. The two took one of Namor's watercraft to the Rock of Gibraltar in the west Atlantic, and sent out a message to the Avengers challenging them to face them. The heroes soon arrived as expected, and the two sides did battle in tunnels that had been used by British forces during World War II, employing various military equipment against each other in the process. Eventually, the stress of the battle caused Hulk to transform back to Bruce Banner, and he fled before anyone else could see him. The Avengers continued to fight Namor, but he also soon escaped upon realizing that he was alone. The team had the opportunity to pursue him, but let him go out of "respect for his valor," though Iron Man commented that they would probably regret it.

Distraught, Namor wandered through the sea and across the ice of the Arctic, eventually happening upon a group of people worshiping a figure frozen in ice. The frustrated Namor lashed out at them, unwittingly knocking the frozen figure into a stream and eventually out to sea. He soon met an alien who had become stranded on Earth after his spaceship got lodged in the sea floor. Namor promised to help him if he participated in a scheme to defeat the Avengers: the alien was equipped with a gun that could turn its target to stone, and Namor told him to use it on the heroes. The alien did as promised as the Avengers returned to New York, but the plan hit a snag: the frozen man that Namor had kicked downstream had been recovered and unfrozen by the Avengers, and turned out to be none other than Captain America. Cap teamed with Rick Jones—Avengers associate and friend of Bruce Banner—to find the culprit, which led to them freeing the team and leading the alien to his ship just off a remote island. Namor witnessed these events and made his way to the island to confront the Avengers. On his way, he found a group of his former elite guard who remained loyal to him, and they accompanied him to the island. The team were outmatched by the combined might of the Avengers and Captain America, but remained a formidable threat nonetheless. They retreated at the sound of an apparent earthquake—in fact, it was the sound of the alien ship's thrusters kicking in. Captain America officially joined the Avengers shortly afterward.

Seeking glory

Namor returned to his abandoned kingdom, and concluded that getting a bride to sit by his throne would allow him to reclaim his place as prince of Atlantis. His feelings for Invisible Girl proved too strong to resist, and he decided to go up to the surface and claim her as his princess. He went to the Baxter Building and asked Sue Storm to come with him. She refused on account of her true love Reed Richards, so he gassed her and abducted her, but vowed to return her safely if she did not agree to marry him within 24 hours. Namor kept Sue in a large, firm glass case, desperate to make her love him. Before long, he was joined by an enraged Mr. Fantastic, who angrily took the fight to Namor. Namor's loyal battalion of guards turned the tide in his favor, but Torch and Thing soon arrived as backup courtesy of a Doctor Strange teleportation spell. Torch and Thing evened the odds, fighting off Namor's guard and freeing Invisible Girl as Mr. Fantastic continued to fight the Sub-Mariner one-on-one. Invisible Girl put a stop to the conflict, explaining to Namor that though she did harbor a degree of affection for him, Reed was her one true love. Observing from his home in New York, Doctor Strange witnessed Namor's resulting look of rage, and quickly teleported the Fantastic Four away to Mr. Fantastic's submarine, and they returned home.

Namor was soon informed by one of his underlings that the mutant Magneto had offered an alliance. Namor was pleased with the possibility that he himself was a mutant, as this would separate him further from humanity, and traveled to the hidden island base of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. There he became enamored with the Brotherhood's Scarlet Witch, and was angered by Magneto's poor treatment of her. Magneto's nemeses the X-Men arrived soon after, and after some fighting Namor lost interest in the conflict and was renewed in his hatred of all surface folk, humans and mutants alike. Namor was later contacted by Reed Richards, who requested they meet at the Baxter Building to discuss a plan for peace between humans and Atlanteans. Richards was earnest in his request, but didn't inform Thing and Human Torch, who independently attacked Namor upon seeing him nearing the harbor. Namor interpreted this as a trap and retreated, again seemingly confirming his bias against humans.

Prince once more

Eventually, Namor was able to reclaim his throne in Atlantis, but within a week his rule was challenged by the powerful and barbarous Attuma from the murky depths. Dorma pleaded with Namor to show caution, but the confrontational prince brushed her aside. Scorned by her only love, Dorma acted rashly and betrayed Namor, allowing Attuma and his brutal hordes to penetrate the city of Atlantis. Namor and his forces fought valiantly, but were outmatched by Attuma's powerful and heavily armed legion. A regretful Dorma secretly traveled to the surface and enlisted the aid of the Fantastic Four, who agreed to help knowing that Attuma would present a grave threat to the surface. They arrived at the city and, without Namor's knowledge, dealt several major blows to Attuma's army as Namor fought Attuma hand-to-hand. Invisible Girl got up close and turned Namor invisible without him noticing, throwing Attuma off-guard and giving the Sub-Mariner the upper hand. Namor defeated Attuma in combat, forcing him to surrender, and banished him and his followers from Atlantis. Dorma returned to Namor's side, and he forgave her for her actions.

The legal approach

Namor soon became conflicted between his desire to control the surface world and his preference to avoid all-out war. Warlord Krang encouraged him to launch an assault, but Namor opted for a more diplomatic solution. He came to New York and walked calmly through the street, causing panic with his mere presence. He wished to make a legal, civilized claim to the surface, but required a human lawyer's assistance. He came to the first one he found, that of Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock, along with their secretary Karen Page. Namor told them of his wish to sue the human race for possession of the surface, which he called his race's birthright. The attorneys told him that there simply was no precedent for such a case, and that it would be impossible. Frustrated, Namor instead declared that he would "force" humanity to take his case, and stormed out. Over the rest of the day, Namor ran roughshod across the city, causing wanton damage in an attempt to get humanity to take him to court. Eventually, he was accosted by the hero Daredevil (secretly Matt Murdock in disguise) and the two fought on a waterfront pier. They fell into the bay, and with the underwater advantage, Namor knocked Daredevil unconscious. Respecting Daredevil's valor, Namor returned him to the surface. By now, Namor had drawn a great deal of military attention, and he submitted to capture.

The next morning, Namor called Nelson & Murdock asking them to represent him in court, and they accepted. The hearing proved to be a complicated matter, made all the moreso by the arrival of Dorma. She told him that Warlord Krang was trying to usurp the throne of Atlantis in his absence. Murdock talked Namor out of forcing his way back, insisting that he mustn't throw away his opportunity to be heard by humanity. Namor agreed to wait for a day, but when the trial was postponed until the following week, Namor effortlessly broke free from his cell. He was soon once again set upon by Daredevil. The two fought once more, but Namor still proved to be the superior combatant, even on land. Yet, though thoroughly defeated and beaten down, Daredevil never stopped coming. Namor was taken aback by Daredevil's singular courage, and he was so impressed that he called off his attempt at the surface for the time being, returning to Atlantis to quell Krang's rebellion.

The Quest for Neptune's Trident

By the time Namor returned, Krang had already seized his throne as Prince of Atlantis. As he arrived at the city walls, he was approached by Lady Dorma, who told him that the people stood behind him in spite of Krang's usurpation. She offered her love to him yet again, but the proud Namor scorned her, and she jealously called the guards upon him. Dorma desperately sought Namor's love, and she believed that keeping him away from the throne would allow him to be with her. The guards took Namor to Krang, and the two shared insults before Krang sent Namor to the dungeons. Dorma visited him, and told him that his capture had lost his favor with the people of Atlantis. Namor told her his intent to seek out Neptune's trident and thereby reclaim the throne. "Legendary law" also held that once the quest had begun, no Atlantean was allowed to stop it. The mercurial Dorma freed her unrequited lover, and Namor set out to reach the first point on his quest: the Cave of Shadows. While many other adventurers had sought the trident, none had advanced further than that first goal. Upon his arrival there, Namor was confronted by an enormous squid. Namor outwitted the beast and punched it in the eye, allowing him to retrieve a shell marked with Neptune's distinctive insignia. But as soon as he retrieved it, the entrance to the cave sealed shut, and Namor correctly deduced that this was Krang's doing: Krang had broken Neptune's law in an attempt to convince his people that Namor was not fit to be prince.

As the squid resumed its attack, a trapped Namor hurled Neptune's shell with such force that it cut off one of the creature's tentacles. The squid retreated, and a spirit image of Neptune appeared to tell Namor to go to the Hidden Deeps. With the squid handled, Namor was free to dynamically drill his way through the surrounding rocks to freedom. Above the cave, Namor found a large vehicle operated by Krang's guards, which was responsible for sealing the cave entrance. Namor briefly fought the guards and went on his way. On his way to his next task, Namor met an aging Atlantean, Vashti, who commended him for his bravery and implored him to reclaim the throne from Krang. Arriving at the Deeps, Namor encountered his next challenge, a large, sentient, humanoid pile of dense seaweed that he referred to simply as Seaweed Man. The monster angrily warned Namor to turn back, but the Sub-Mariner boldly engaged the dangerous creature.

Namor could only get the next clue by defeating the Seaweed Man, and he cleverly used his speed and power to create a large whirlpool that temporarily moved and disabled it. Upon doing so, Namor noted an iron door in the sea floor below where Seaweed Man had stood that bore Neptune's mark. Inside the door swam a small fish with a diamond in its mouth, from which came Neptune's voice encouraging Namor onward. Namor recognized the diamond as coming from the Diamonds of Doom, a region in a far corner of the Atlantean kingdom. Namor made his way to that area and learned mentally from some passing fish that Dorma had been banished to the realm of the Faceless Ones, but knew that to try to save her would be to abandon his quest. He proceeded toward the Diamonds of Doom, and soon found them: a large, glowing pile of gems. As he approached them, he grew weaker, as the diamonds sucked the power from his body.

As Namor's strength was sapped from him, an Atlantean calling himself the "demon of the diamonds," appeared and attacked him. The challenger wore a special helmet to protect himself from the deleterious effect of the diamonds. Namor sought the aid of nearby giant electric eels, who attacked the demon and won the battle for Namor. Neptune's voice came from the eels and congratulated Namor on his valor, but told him that he was to find the final test himself: "it will come to thee if thou search hard and long enough," he said. With no clear recourse left to him, Namor decided to rescue Dorma from the Faceless Ones, outside of Atlantean waters.

Namor made his way to the Faceless Ones' realm and found them surrounding Dorma: she was protected by a plasti-cage, but it would not hold up against their assault much longer. Namor was quickly overwhelmed by the seemingly endless creatures, who managed to penetrate Dorma's plasti-cage. As they did so, it burst, quelling their attack momentarily but also knocking Dorma unconscious. As the horde tightened around Namor and Dorma, Neptune's image appeared and commanded them to cease. He told Namor that, by sacrificing his quest for power to save another, he had proven himself worthy of the trident. The artifact appeared in the sand before Namor, and Vashti suddenly emerged from the shadows nearby. He offered Namor assistance in returning to Atlantis, and Namor allowed him to hold the trident while he carried Dorma's unconscious body. He knew that Dorma's only hope was a revitalizer ray stored in the palace, and that every moment was crucial. He swam quickly far ahead of the man and reached Atlantis, where he was set upon by Krang's guards. In Namor's absence, Krang had violently stopped an armed revolt, and his unconscious victims lay about the streets of the city. Namor fought his way through Krang's forces and successfully brought Dorma to the palace and the revitalizer ray. Krang silently entered the room and attempted to short-circuit the ray, but Vashti arrived and tossed him the trident in time for him to stop Krang's plan.

Namor easily and proudly pummeled Krang into submission, punishing him for his merciless treachery. With Krang defeated, Namor powered up the revitalizer ray and successfully awoke Dorma. At Namor's coronation, Dorma stood by the new prince's side, while Namor appointed the brave and loyal Vashti to be the Grand Vizier of Atlantis. He further exiled Krang from Atlantis, leaving him to wander among the uncivilized sea. The next day, Atlantis was hit by an intense earthquake. Namor suspected that humans of the surface were the cause, as they had been in Atlantis's destruction during his absence years ago.