By Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, George Tuska, Marie Severin, Ross Andru & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9184-1 (HB/Digital edition)
In his most primal incarnation (other origins are available but may differ due to timeslips, circumstance and screen dimensions) Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner is the proud, noble and generally bellicose offspring of the union of a water-breathing Atlantean princess and an American polar explorer.
That doomed romance resulted in a hybrid being of immense strength and extreme resistance to physical harm, able to fly and thrive above and below the waves. Over the years, a wealth of creators have played with the fishy tale and today’s Namor is frequently hailed as Marvel’s First Mutant. What remains unchallenged is that he was created by young, talented Bill Everett, for non-starter cinema premium Motion Picture Weekly Funnies: #1 (October 1939) so – technically – Namor predates Marvel, Atlas and Timely Comics.
The Marine Miracleman first caught the public’s avid attention as part of an elementally appealing fire vs. water headlining team-up in the October 1939 Marvel Comics #1 (which renamed itself Marvel Mystery Comics from #2 onwards. The amphibian antihero shared honours and top billing with The Human Torch, having debuted (albeit in a truncated, monochrome version) in the aforementioned promotional booklet which had been designed to be handed out to moviegoers earlier in the year.
The late-starter antihero rapidly emerged as one of the industry’s biggest draws, and won his own title at the end of 1940 (cover-dated Spring 1941). His appeal was baffling but solid and he was one of the last super-characters to vanish at the end of the first heroic age.
In 1954, when Atlas (as the company then was) briefly revived its “Big Three” line-up – the Torch and Captain America being the other two – Everett returned for an extended run of superbly dark, mordantly moody and creepily contemporary fantasy fables. Even so, his input wasn’t sufficient to keep the title afloat and eventually Sub-Mariner sank again.
In 1961, as Stan Lee & Jack Kirby were reinventing superheroes with the Fantastic Four, they revived the awesome, all-but-forgotten aquanaut as a troubled, semi-amnesiac antihero. Decidedly more bombastic, regal and grandiose, this returnee despised humanity: embittered and broken by the loss of his sub-sea kingdom which had been (seemingly) destroyed by American atomic testing. His rightful revenge became infinitely complicated after he became utterly besotted with the FF’s Susan Storm.
Namor knocked around the budding Marvel universe for some years, squabbling with other star turns such as The Hulk, Avengers, X-Men and Daredevil before securing his own series as one half of Tales to Astonish. From there he graduated in 1968 to his own solo title.
This sixth subsea selection trawls The Sub-Mariner #39-49, and includes a crossover confrontation from Daredevil #77. The subsea sagas cumulatively span cover-dates July 1971 to May 1972 and are preceded by heartfelt appreciation and more creative secret-sharing from incoming scripter Gerry Conway in his Introduction ‘See the Sea’ before the (now) dry land dramas recommence…
Previously, Namor had endured months of escalating horror as old enemies like Prince Byrrah, Warlord Krang, Attuma and Dr. Dorcas continuously assaulted his sunken kingdom. They were soundly defeated, and, in the throes of triumph, the Prince announced his marriage to lifelong companion Lady Dorma. He was then betrayed by his most trusted ally whilst sinister shapeshifter Llyra murdered his bride and sought to replace her…
Heartsick, angry and despondent, Namor abdicated the throne: choosing to henceforth pursue the human half of his hybrid heritage as a surface dweller…
The tragedy instantly intensifies in Sub-Mariner #39 as seasoned scripter Roy Thomas bows out with ‘…And Here I’ll Stand!’ Illustrated by Ross Andru & Jim Mooney, it sees the former royal arrive in New York City and move onto abandoned, desolate Prison Island.
However, the intrusion is taken for invasion by the curmudgeonly human authorities who mobilise the military to drive him out. A tense stand-off soon escalates and a typically bombastic response all round reduces Sub-Mariner’s sanctuary to shards and rubble.
In the aftermath, human friends Diane Arliss and Walt Newell (who operates parttime as undersea Avenger Stingray) bring the twice-exiled Prince staggering news…
Meanwhile in Manhattan – and depicted in Daredevil #77 – Conway, Gene Colan & Tom Palmer embroil Namor in a 3-way clash after a strange vehicle materialises in Central Park. Irresistibly summoned by telepathic force, Namor arrives just in time for the Sightless Swashbuckler to jump to a wrong conclusion and attack… Then a late-arriving third hero butts in…
Guest stars abound in ‘…And So Enters the Amazing Spider-Man!’ and when the uncanny alien artefact explodes, a mysterious woman ominously invites DD, the webspinner and Namor to participate in a fantastic battle in a far-flung, dimensionally-adrift lost world. Exhausted by the traditional misunderstanding and subsequent fight, Daredevil begs off and goes home, leaving the wallcrawler to join now-nomadic Namor on a fantastic voyage and bizarre adventure that concludes in the Atlantean’s own comic…
Sub-Mariner #40 sees Conway, Colan & Sam Grainger detail how Spider-Man and Namor are compelled ‘…Under the Name of Ritual…’ to save The People of the Black Sea from murderous usurper Turalla. The telepathic subspecies has undisclosed links to Atlantis and a claim on Namor’s honour: demanding he fight on their behalf since their true king has been missing for decades…
In distant Boston, angry and reclusive elder Stephan Tuval is somehow aware of what’s transpiring and – just when arachnid and amphibian are about to fall in the brutal duel – strikes with all the terrifying power of his mind…
Returned to Manhattan, the weary heroes part, and Sub-Mariner #41 finds Namor following up the revelations shared by Diane and Walt. Illustrated by George Tuska & Grainger, ‘Whom the Sky Would Destroy!’ sees the sea lord struck down over rural New York by mutants artificially created by deranged scientist Aunt Serr.
Her son Rock is terrifying, but the real threat is meek, gentle, deceptive Lucile and before long Namor has fallen to the demonic clan. Seen as raw material, the former prince barely escapes destruction in #42’s ‘…And a House Whose Name…is Death!’ as Conway, Tuska & Mooney briskly build to larger epic featuring Tuval…
If you’re a completist, this issue also offers a brief Mr. Kline interlude, as Conway continued an early experiment in close-linked crossover continuity. Issue #42 contributes to a convoluted storyline involving the mystery mastermind from the future, twisting human lives and events. For the full story you should also track down contemporaneous Daredevil and Iron Man issues: you won’t be any the wiser, but at least you’ll have a complete set…
For one month, Marvel experimented with double-sized comic books (whereas DC’s switch to 52-page issues lasted almost a year: August 1971 to June 1972 cover-dates). November’s Sub-Mariner #43 held an immense, 3-chapter blockbuster beginning with ‘Mindquake!’ as Namor reaches Boston. He has come in search of his father Leonard McKenzie, whom he believed had been killed by Atlanteans in the 1920s. Instead he finds Tuval, driven mad by his re-emerging psychic abilities and now a danger to all.
Crafted throughout by Conway, Colan & Mike Esposito, the tale of the aged tele-potent reveals how he has built a cult around himself ‘…And the Power of the Mind!’, before his increasingly belligerent acts trigger ‘The Changeling War!’ and cause his own downfall…
Cruelly unaware how close he is to his father, Sub-Mariner is then distracted by the return of Llyra and new consort Tiger Shark in #44’s ‘Namor Betrayed!’ With art by the magnificent Marie Severin & Mooney, the story reviews the antihero’s love-hate relationship with Human Torch Johnny Storm, just in time for the shapeshifter to orchestrate a heated clash with the teen hero.
The blistering battle concludes in #45 with McKenzie’s abduction, and ‘…And Fire Stalks the Skies!’ sees Namor surrender himself to save his sire…
Conway, Colan & Esposito then pile on the trauma in #46 as ‘And Always Men Will Cry: Even the Noble Die!’ sees the son’s quest end in death and disaster, despite the best – if badly mismanaged – interventions of the Torch and Stingray.
Doubly orphaned and traumatised, Namor loses his memory again, and is easily gulled by ultimate manipulator Victor Von Doom in #47’s ‘Doomsmasque!’: duly deployed as cannon fodder in the Demon Doctor’s duel with M.O.D.O.K. and AIM to control a reality-warping Cosmic Cube.
The war is dirty and many-sided, with a frontal assault in #48’s ‘Twilight of the Hunted!’ leaving Namor to a pyrrhic triumph in concluding chapter ‘The Dream Stone!’ (inked by Frank Giacoia) before retrenching in confusion to ponder his obscured future…
To Be Continued…
Sunken treasures salvaged here include Everett’s cover to all-reprint Sub-Mariner Annual #2 (January 1972, reprising the underwater portions of Tales to Astonish #74-76); a covers gallery by Sal Buscema, Everett ,Tuska, Gil Kane & Giacoia; original art from Andru & Mooney, Sal B, Severin, Kane, Giacoia & Esposito plus a copious Biographies section.
Many early Marvel Comics are more exuberant than qualitative, but this volume, especially from an art-lover’s point of view, is a wonderful exception: historical treasures with narrative bite that fans will delight in forever. Moreover, as the Prince of Atlantis is now a bona fide big screen sensation, now might be the time to get wise and impress your friends with a sunken treasure…
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