“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” introduces a new antagonist to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): Namor. Here’s everything you need to know about the King of Atlantis.
The character is well known to the public, but Namor is much less available. Marvel’s equivalent of Aquaman, Namor the Prince of the Seas, appeared for the very first time in 1939. Created by cartoonist and scriptwriter Bill Everett, he is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel stable. Indeed, Namor the Sub-Mariner (in the original version) appeared in the Motion Picture Funnies Weekly comics six months before the creation of the Marvel Comics company.
Marvel Comics has only recently recovered the rights to exploit Namor. He was then featured alongside the first Human Torch created by Carl Burgos. The two characters mainly opposed Nazi Germany before being joined by a particular Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes. They formed a freedom-fighting team called The Invaders.
The character of Namor is arguably one of the first anti-heroes in comic book history. He has been portrayed as an enemy of humans, particularly in his fight to protect the oceans, but he has also supported heroes. He also joined super-villain groups such as the Brotherhood of the Evil Mutants (but refused to bow down to Magneto). And, much later, they worked with Norman Osborn during the Dark Avengers arc. Changes in sides make Namor a definitively free character who does not impose any responsibility on this or that group.
The character of Namor is the king of Atlantis, the son of a human and an Atlantean. But his empire was submerged during the Great Cataclysm. Later, the authors also gave him a mutant origin. Namor thus became, with time, an Atlantean/mutant hybrid. This gave him the legitimacy to join the X-Men for a short time.
However, unlike other Atlanteans who have blue skin, Namor has a pinkish skin pigmentation very close to that of Caucasian humans. While his people cannot breathe outside of water, the Prince of the Seas can live both in and out of water.
The character of Namor, however, has hormonal imbalances that disrupt his character. He has an unstable and irascible temperament that often fails him. Despite this, his body can withstand the pressures of the deep sea, giving him semi-invulnerability and tremendous strength. He also has incredible longevity. Finally, his mutation has given him tiny wings on his ankles that allow him to fly through the air.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally introduces Namor into the MCU. In it, Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Wakanda are pitted against the powerful Namor, played for the occasion by Tenoch Huerta. After more than 10 years of playing roles in Mexican cinema, Tenoch Huerta began to be spotted by Hollywood in 2018 when he played Rafael Cara Quinbtero in season 1 of Narcos: Mexico. After appearing in Dark Force on Netflix, Madres on Amazon Prime Video and American Nightmare 5, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is his first real significant Hollywood role.
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