Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner (1968) #23: "The Coming of...Orka!"

Ah! Orka! Not a character I'm terribly familiar with but he does appear to be a challenging foe for our favourite prince. Bring it on, whale man!

Namor is on his way home when he happens across a horde of killer whales. He fears that they might pose a threat to Atlantis and especially so when he notices a giant dude riding one of them.

That escalated quickly.

Namor understimates his new foe's strength and speed. Orka pounds on him a couple of times and Namor finds himself trapped on the side of a collapsed mountain.

He frees himself from the rubble and tracks Orka to "some awesome undersea fortress". He sneaks his way in and comes across Orka again but this time is better prepared for him.

Orka is sent flying during the battle and when Namor chases after him, he comes upon another old foe.

Nooo! Come on, man! How often am I going to stumble into this loser??

Dorcas, in an attempt to avoid a severe beating, shows Namor that there are several Atlanteans trapped in a bubble outside and surrounded by hunger-crazed sharks.

Dorcas, of course, has the ways and means to dissolve said bubble if Namor doesn't cool his gills. And also of course, there is one prisoner in the bubble that is of particular interest to the prince.

Again, Dorma is in the shit. At some point Namor has to ask himself if she's worth the trouble, honestly.

Orka's cobwebs are starting to clear and he prepares to start round three with the sub-mariner but he is stopped in his tracks by the real boss.

Sure, since we're all here.

It's origin time! Krang was exiled but Orka, while a simpleton, was a one of his most loyal subjects. As he sought to generate wealth to plan to retake Atlantis, Krang stumbled into Dorcas' underwater lab. There, he and Dorcas subjected Orka to an experiment similar to what Tiger Shark went through and voila! Instant whale dude!

He's far less intimidating in his underwear though.

When Namor tires of the stories and makes a move towards Krang, Orka has his excuse to drop the gloves again.

This time, he's boosted though. Dorcas designed the belt around Orka's waist so that it saps the strength of the whales nearby and directs it to increase Orka's. So Namor is at a distinct disadvantage.

The prisoners manage to escape, dumbass Dorma included, but Namor is captured and shackled as the book ends.

Orka is established as a credible threat immediately in this one, on par with Tiger Shark, Attuma and the like. I'm only disappointed that his origin so closely resembles that of Tiger Shark but I look forward to witnessing his other throw downs with Namor soon.