Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally has a new trailer and it’s full of familiar faces and new heroes. But the images, released during Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, only teased the film’s apparent villain: Namor the Submarine, played by Tenoch Huerta (Sin Nombre, The Forever Purge).
Although Namor is one of Marvel’s oldest characters, this is his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, the Black Panther 2 trailer doesn’t give us too many details about the underwater rule. So, to tide you over until Black Panther hits theaters on November 11, here’s everything you need to know about Namor.
What are Namor’s powers?
Namor, also known as the Submariner, is the king of Atlantis and ruler of the oceans. Namor was born with his powers, thanks to his single parents. His father was an explorer, sent by Woodrow Wilson to Antarctica to investigate the disappearance of Sir Ernest Shackleton (who was sent in search of Vibranium by Winston Churchill), and his mother was an Atlantean princess named Fen.
As you’d expect from a marine hero, Namor can talk to and control ocean dwellers, breathe underwater and swim with ease. He can also heal himself when in water and even control water telekinetically in some iterations. Namor is also quite capable on the ground, using his strength and speed to make him a great fighter. He can also fly, for some reason. That’s why he has little wings on his ankles.
If you’re thinking this all sounds a lot like Aquaman, you’re not entirely wrong. However, you might be surprised to know that Namor originated about three years before Aquaman, in 1939.
Is Namor a villain?
Definitely not, and also… yes? Above all else, Namor is complicated, and as you’d expect from a character created in 1939, well before most of the heroes who now dominate the MCU, Namor has had the opportunity to be many different things, including both a hero and a bandit.
For the purposes of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he certainly seems to be positioning himself as the film’s villain. In one of his more villainous moments in the comics, Namor threatened revenge on the surface world for destroying part of Atlantis with a nuclear test. Interestingly for the future of the MCU, this attempt was foiled by the Fantastic Four… and then Namor teamed up with Magneto to fight the X-Men for a while.
More relatedly, Namor and T’Challa have a particularly fierce enmity in Marvel Comics, because Namor was the first to conquer the historically (famously) unconquered nation of Wakanda (using the powers of the Phoenix Force to summon a tsunami that raise their lands). on the ground). In fact, that line from Black Panther where he says to Ulysses Klaue, “Every breath you take is pity for me?” This is straight out of a Marvel comic. Except the first time, T’Challa was telling Namor.
So is Namor a mutant?
he is In fact, he is sometimes called Marvel’s first mutant, thanks to the fact that he derives his powers from his genetic mix of human and Atlantean DNA. As we’ve already discussed, Namor’s comic history is quite long and complicated, and his mutant status often plays a large role in both X-Men storylines and the wider Marvel Universe.
With the recent revelation of Ms. Marvel’s status as a mutant as well, this certainly seems to set up some interesting potential plots for the future of the MCU. But since all we have for now is a brief teaser of Namor’s role in Black Panther 2, we’ll just have to wait and see what bigger role he might play.