The Incredible Hulk (1962) #118; "A Clash Of Titans"

With Namor coming to the Hulk's defense in the New Avengers: Illuminati issue reviewed last week, let's segue to the Avenging Son's appearance in the Jade Giant's own book, from 1969.

Oh, look, there's Dorma in danger again...

We get handy catch-up text to kick off the proceedings.

That strange cruiser is piloted by Dorma. Although she recognizes the floater as a surface dweller, she chooses to rescue him. If he's of any importance, that act could help cement peace with the land lubbers. All right, good thinking, blue lady.

But upon her arrival in Atlantis, we learn that not everyone is a fan.

Fara figures she can suggest to Namor that Dorma is having an affair with some skinny, pale, surface dude and get the prince all good and worked up. Use his temper to her advantage, so to speak.

Namor is already in the process of ranting about the surface world with Vashti when she interrupts, which works in her favour.

Namor has to see this for himself to he storms off to Dorma's quarters. Banner wakes up while the two Atlanteans argue. Waking up in a strange room to a bunch of yelling is hard on his nerves. He gets all worked up and we know that means. Hulk smash!

Our clash of Titans begins. Dorma gets knocked out in the action so Fara sees an opportunity.

Dorma helpless??  No way!!

A throw down between Hulk and Namor can't help but create significant collateral damage and Fara also gets caught in the spray. Namor gets knocked into a wall, and...

Oh. Well, so much for Fara. We didn't have time to get attached. Too bad. She could have been a good wildcard trouble maker.

Namor digs Dorma out but the Hulk isn't done yet. He launches himself at Namor.

Hulk gets literally blown out of the water so Namor goes to look for him.

"...And have found...a man!"

So he leaves. He doesn't check if Banner's okay or any such. he doesn't question what happened there. He's determined that Hulk is no longer a threat so it's back home because he's got renovations to finish. Okay!

I enjoyed that Namor didn't feel like a guest star in this book. He didn't just show up to have his ass kicked and make the Hulk look invincible. He arguably got more attention than the Hulk did in the Hulk's own book. That's rare so it made for a fun read, even if the finish was a little clunky.

Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #6: "...And to the Vanquished...Death!"

It's been over two years since I reviewed the issue prior to this one so it's about time I got around to the second part of the story.

At the end of #5, Tiger Shark had laid out Namor. Thinking he had killed its prince, Shark turned his attention to the throne of Atlantis, as so many seem to, but Dorma lures him away.

This is a rare occasion of seeing Dorma make herself useful. Every little bit helps!

Tiger Shark's sister, Diane, brings Namor back to consciousness and he sets off against his enemy and his true love but he fails to catch up to before the pair reaches Atlantis.

Once there, Shark decides he's going to run the place, but a brave warrior named Seth steps up to challenge him. Seth appeared briefly in the previous issue as well.

The fight is brief, as Seth's weapons are useless against Tiger Shark's powers.

The council of elders ask Shark to spare the young soldier if the villain wants them to acknowledge his victory. Seeing an easy path, Shark agrees. 

When Namor reaches Atlantis, his people are glad to see despite having exiled him earlier. They're a hell of a lot nicer when they need something. Namor and Tiger Shark come to blows, naturally...

Ah, but Namor refuses to murder Tiger Shark despite the opportunity to do so. His victory, as well as his show of mercy, convince the council of elders to restore him to the throne of Atlantis. And so in no time, Tiger Shark is incarcerated and Namor, well...

Nice! I...don't recall much about this "Destiny" Namor refers to but obviously it won't be long until he comes up again. He was in this issue earlier but because his presence was not relevant to this story, I glossed over it. We'll get to him later.

Strange Tales #125: "The Sub-Mariner Must Be Stopped!"

I've come across another book in which Namor is only involved in one of the stories so keeping to an earlier theme, I'll knock that one off now too.

While Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl are out, The Thing and the Human Torch are screwing around in the Baxter building. They are visited by a pair or reporters but are insulted to find out that the reporters are there to interview the other two members of the team. Hilarity ensues as The Thing and Torch kick the two newsmen to the curb.

All this seems pointless but it actually matters later.

That done, Namor appears on a nearby emergency monitor. His past attempt at invading the surface world is recapped as thet wo members of the Fantastic Four head out to greet him. They assume he's leading an Atlantean army even though there is not the slightest cause to conclude this.

They find him easily enough.

And yet you have used artificial vehicles in your own books! We've seen you ride turtle-skis before, too!

Based on the speed at which Torch and Thing are approaching him, Namor believes he's being attacked, which is actually fairly rational. He sinks the the FF members' vehicle so immediately gets the upper hand in the battle.

As for the Torch...

If I was ever tasked with writing Namor's adventures, I would make a list all the powers that he's used less than a handful of times in his early days and make damn sure to work them into my stories.

This clash of titans draws some media attention so when Reed and Sue Richards arrive home, they immediately find out about it.

I KNOW, woman! Now do as you're told!

They head out to join the battle.

Shut UP, Sue! A man can't think with your useless prattling! Just sit there, be pretty, and plan out my next sandwich!
 
The various times that Susan Storm has considered leaving Reed Richards are becoming more understandable as I read more of this team's early adventures.

When Namor sees the two remaining members of FF arrive, he swims off, stating that he has been lied to. Reed Richards explains Namor's behaviour to his dull-witted teammates.

But instead, you were being a couple of tools.

This little tale is hardly a classic but it was good for a giggle and it reinforced the lack of trust between Namor and the Fantastic Four at the time, a bit. Not bad for 13 pages.

Tales To Astonish #73: "By Force of Arms!"

In the mid-60s, the throne of Atlantis was taken from Namor in the Tales To Astonish series. Today, we're moving forward in his quest to reclaim it.

In order to prove his worth, Namor needed to secure Neptune's trident through a series of seemingly impossible tasks (think Hercules' 12 labours, but underwater). At the point we're at, he's being overcome by the Diamonds of Doom! Then some dude with a weirdly-bending arm pops up.

Namor gets rid of said dude by summoning electric eels to attack him and once they've subdued him, they lay out the next step in the quest.

The eels also remind him that Dorma is a prisoner of the Faceless Ones after being banished in the previous issue. Oh yeah! It seems like an odd thing to forget but then, Dorma's always getting into some kind of jam so come a point, it's about as routine as a morning coffee.

So rescue her...Chase the trident...What's a prince of the blood to do?

He chooses to take a stab at saving his lady love.

The attempt to save Dorma (again) takes place in the next issue. Again, Namor shared these books so the installments are only about a dozen pages long.

While all this was going on, the people of Atlantis rebelled against Krang's rule. They stormed the castle, overcame his guards and as they were on the verge of reaching him, Krang was about to turn a dial on a large computer. We'll find out the results of turning that dial next issue!

Tales to Astonish (1965) #72, "A Prince There Was"

I've had about enough of Namor as a team member for a while, or stories in which he barely appears, so it's back to solo books for the next couple of reads.

When we last checked in on Namor's quest to recover Neptune's trident in order to prove he was the true ruler of Atlantis, he was being crushed by the gigantic Seaweed Man. How would he ever survive such a predicament??

Fairly easily, actually. He used a little leverage to get out from under the monster's crushing hand (describing the technique as something similar to judo) then formed a twister around it.

Precisely what I would have done.

Namor forces that trap door open and what does he find? Exactly what you'd expect: A talking fish with a diamond in its mouth.

Namor now knows that he must find...The Diamonds of Doom!!!

Meanwhile, his lady love Dorma is in a pickle as well. Krang has grown tired of not even reaching friend-zone with her so he has her banished to the cave of the Faceless Ones.

That's creepy Zantor off on the right. I'm not sure how he spends his days but he does the banishing honours here.

As a result, Namor senses a disturbance in the force...

So he DOES talk to fish? Or do they just talk to him?

Anyway, Namor has 99 problems but Dorma ain't one. He's a prince and he has to go on with his quest. It is what it is.

When he finds the diamonds though, it doesn't really strike him right away that there just might be a good reason why they're called "diamonds of doom".

And...that's it??

As you can see from the cover, Namor shared this book with the Hulk so the story is only 12 pages long. We're left with a cliffhanger but if Namor was able to defeat the dreaded Seaweed Man, surely he'll find a clever way of overcoming the devastating effect of the diamonds of doom!!

Avengers (1963) #4: "This Monster Unmasked!"

Marvel is having a massive Avengers sale for the next few weeks so we're going to take advantage of that. I plan on checking out books in which Namor appeared with core members of that team over the next few posts.

But first, let's check out a very early meeting between Namor and Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

After battling the Avengers to a draw in the previous issue, Namor's in a bad mood. He takes to the ocean but can't find the peace he craves, we are told.

He comes across an "isolated tribe of eskimos" worshiping an ice cube. This irritates him all the more so he chucks their chunk of ice into the drink with a deft over-under move.

And wouldn't you know it, the Avengers happen to drift by in a submarine. They recover the floating form only to find out it is Captain America and head back to New York with him.

As they arrive in the Big Apple, the Avengers are greeted by paparazzi and suddenly turn to stone. Only the captain avoids that fate as he was hanging back and the media wasn't aware of his presence. Long story short, he investigates and tracks down this dude.

Mr. Meaningless rats out Namor, claiming that the submariner approached him with an offer of help getting his ship out of the ocean if Meaningless turned the Avengers into rock. Cap counteroffers; turn the Avengers back to normal and we'll get your ship out for you.

Namor somehow knows all this and flip his lid. In yet another crazy coincidence, he happens across a troop of his former elite guard who are still loyal to him. The combined forces attack the Avengers together just as that team has succeeded in freeing Meaningless' ship.

They go on like this for a while until an earthquake hits. Namor assumes it will destroy the Avengers so, once again, he bails.

In actual fact, it was caused by Meaningless' ship taking off now that its been freed from the bottom of the ocean. In a great show of gratitude by the alien, he nearly killed everyone nearby.

Speaking of gratitude, as a result of this encounter, Captain America was offered Avengers membership. In creating the threat that caused the Captain to save the team, you could argue that Namor was instrumental in making that happen. Beyond inadvertently freeing the Captain from the ice, that is.

As a kid, I knew that Namor had chucked a frozen Captain America into the water and freed him from suspended animation but I always believed he had done so with full knowledge of who was trapped in the ice. Namor didn't find out until 1985 when Captain America returned the favour and made him an Avenger.

The thawing out is replayed in Captain America #100 (and no doubt many other places).

It is the only page on which Namor appears in this book. But it's a significant one! And his throwing motion is much improved.

Tales To Astonish (1959) #71, "Escape...To Nowhere!"

Let's put the multiple book crossover theme to rest and check back in with a quest first discussed here last October.

In Tales To Astonish #70, Namor embarked on a search for Neptune's trident. Krang had stolen the throne of Atlantis from Namor by dastardly means but recovering the trident would prove to the people of Atlantis that Namor is truly the only amphibian for the job.

At the book's conclusion, Namor had found the first clue in a seashell but was trapped in a cave with an angry giant squid! #71 picks up right from there.

Namor uses the shell to defeat the squid...

This releases an apparition from the shell. It is of Neptune and the old king gives Namor his next set of instructions in order to locate the trident. The Submariner must face his next peril in the "Forbidden Deeps".

But first he has to make his way out of the cave and to do so, he uses his power of...burrowing.

Yeah, I don't know about that one...

What he finds are a couple of Krang's soldiers, those who blocked the cave and were unaware of Namor's incredible drilling prowess. He deals with them easily and continues his quest. And when he reaches the (not-very-well) hidden (and forbidden) deeps...

That...Doesn't seem so bad. But it actually is.

Why don't you just drill through it?

I kid but this whole quest thing is pretty fun. As you read you find yourself wondering what madness Stan Lee will come up with next. When we get around to #72, we'll see how he tops Seaweed Man!

Captain Marvel (1968) #4, "The Alien and The Amphibian"

When the Black Panther movie out came out last year, I reviewed a few of the books in which Namor fought alongside (or against) that character.

I don't have the slightest interest in the Captain Marvel movie and Namor has shared very little page time with Carol Danvers. He has, however, guest-starred in an issue of the original Captain Marvel's book from 1968, and it is this one that we will check out today.

We join Mar-Vell is in his hotel room, agonizing over his mission. He is, it would seem, a Kree soldier tasked with spying on humanity but he has become somewhat attached to we earthlings and his conscience is getting the better of him. Well, that's nice.

His soul-searching is interrupted by a message to get his (or technically his alter-ego's, Walt Lawson, missile expert) ass to The Cape. And once there, he's brought up to date with the day's plans.

See the lady in the background? That's the current Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers in one of her first appearances. She knew from day one that there was something off about this Walt Lawson guy. 

The missile is launched as planned, but...it turns around sharply and crashes into the ocean (see where they're going with this?). How could that happen?? Well...

The rocket is still set to release its bacteria. This Yon-Rogg dude wants Mar-Vell to ensure that happens but Mar-Vell wants no part of it.

And of course, as the navy arrives and everyone converges on this rocket, Namor happens to swim through on his way to visiting the Fantastic Four. He is spotted by the navy.

And so they fight!

Quite a few punches are thrown but Captain Marvel orchestrates things so that in striking Namor, the sub-mariner falls backwards and trips a self-destruct mechanism in the rocket. The rocket explodes and apparently that resolves the bacteria issue.

So Captain Marvel looks like the hero to the general public for preventing the bacterial spread yet avoids being perceived as a traitor by his superior, Yon-Rogg.

Namor looks like a would-be mass murderer, but that was already kind-of-sort-of out there after declaring war on the surface world and all that.

As an added bonus, the following issue's splash page features a replay of the scrap. So while Namor does not guest-star as such, he helps launch the story.