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.