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!!

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!

Tales To Astonish (1959) #70, "The Start Of The Quest"

Looking back at Defenders reunions has been fun but most of them have been fairly recent. Let's go back in back in time a bit and to stories more specific to the avenging star of this show.

His own series!!!  Which he...shares with the incredible Hulk!

Well, it was still a promotion of sorts. Namor had returned to some prominence in 1962 after being off the radar for about seven years. He showed up in the various team books at the time; Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men...He appeared in Daredevil in April 1965 (cover date, natch) and even though it was published four months later (August 1965, obviously), Tales To Astonish #70 takes place immediately after that guest-spot. 

In that Daredevil issue, Lady Dorma tracked down Namor to let him know that one of his warlords, Krang, had planned a coup to take over Atlantis. When Namor reaches Atlantis, Dorma confirms that Krang was successful but because he rejects her advances, she rats him out.

Yet he is ultimately captured and tossed in the dungeons by Krang. When Dorma comes by to visit because "her heart would not permit her to stay away", the imprisoned prince reminds her that there is one way to reclaim the throne even if his people have accepted Krang as their leader.

Wow, Neptune really saw this coming!

Dorma helps Namor escape so that he can begin his search for the trident.

Off he goes to the Cave of Shadows, the location of the first clue in his quest.

But Krang ain't no sucker! He totally anticipated Dorma's actions and let them come to pass thinking that Namor is just going to get himself killed anyway.

At the Cave Of Shadows, Namor promptly finds the clue in a red sea shell. But it is guarded by giant-ass squid!

He finds that the exit from the cave is blocked, blames Krang (irrationally, really, but apparently accurate) and we end on that note.

The story was by Stan Lee and the art was by Adam Austin. The story of the quest would run through issue #76.