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Marvel Studios recently dropped the teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, perhaps the company’s most anticipated film. In it we saw a nation forced to move on after great loss–and invasion from Atlantis, led by Namor, The Sub-Mariner. Portrayed by Mexican actor, Tenoch Huerta, the question on non-avid comic book readers’ minds are who is Namor, and more importantly why is he invading Wakanda?
Who is Namor, The Sub-Mariner?
Namor is a Marvel Comics anti-hero and the ruler of the underwater city of Atlantis. He is the offspring of an Atlantean princess and a baseline (normal) human. However, unlike Atlanteans or humans he is also a mutant, like members of the superhero team, The X-Men. He is also dubbed “Marvel’s First Mutant,” as he was the first one to appear in Marvel Comics in 1939. He even fought alongside Captain America against the Nazis in World War II.
What are Namor’s powers?
Being of hybrid heritage, Namor has vast array of superhuman abilities. They include superhuman strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, echolocation, senses; telepathic control over marine life, electricity generation, longevity, accelerated healing while in contact with water, and hydrokinesis. His power of flight is his mutant power, stemming from small vestigial wings on his ankles.
Why is Namor attacking Wakanda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?”
In the comics, Namor and Black Panther went to war during a battle between the X-Men and Avengers. The latter were seeking safe haven in Wakanda when, Namor–empowered by a fragment of the cosmic entity known as The Phoenix Force–attacked and destroyed the nation under a giant tidal wave. In the teaser trailer it is not clear why he is attempting to invade Wakanda. However, if we had to guess he has become aware of the nation’s advanced technology thanks to its Vibranium reserves and seeks to use it to subjugate humanity.
As you may know with the return of the other half of Earth’s population following Thanos’s defeat, humanity may once again be poisoning and over fishing the oceans. This undoubtedly threatens Atlantis and its people, something no king can tolerate!
Despite how nefarious and unwavering he can be Namor at his core is a hero. He has been a member of a number of superhero teams including The X-Men, Avengers, Defenders, and The Illuminati. Unlike most superheroes, however, he will turn on other heroes if they are not in alignment with his goals for his people or himself first. Like Black Panther, he is a king first and a hero second.
