Vision And The Scarlet Witch (1985) #7: "Batteries Not Included"

 This is obviously inspired by the release of the Wanda Vision TV Show...

Namor appeared in the previous issue of this mini-series but contributed little more than comic relief. Based on the preview for this issue, it seemed like he played a larger role in this one, but unfortunately that's not the case.

He and Captain America are in the training room at Avengers Mansion when Vision phases through the ceiling and startles them. The distraction causes Namor to get tossed around by their robotic opponents.

That's right, Captain America gets corked by that machine behind him because he's preoccupied by Tony Stark's bottom line. Too bad he let himself be distracted! You can't do that when you're in combat! Jackass...

Vision is there to ask the two of them about the original Human Torch, whose body he inhabits. He is, once again, having an existential crisis of some sort. As a result, we are treated to some brief Invaders flashbacks. 

The information is of little use the Vision, as it turns out, so he takes his search to Project Pegasus. It's a solo thing though, so the former Invaders are not seen beyond these first couple of pages of the book.

I guess that's that. I'd hoped for a full-length guest-appearance but Namor's role was wrapped up by page 5. Bummer. 

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998) #4, "Heatwave"

I meant to follow a Canada Day post with one for the fourth of July but, as I did last year, I went off schedule. No big deal, we'll get to it now with the conclusion of a three-part story from Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty.

Click the tag for this book in the "Titles" list on the right side of the page for the previous two issues. 

We left the three core members of the Invaders (seen on the cover above, being Captain America, Namor and the original Human Torch) having just discovered a bunch of simulations of the Jim Hammond Human Torch as well as a number of POWs locked away in preparation to be turned into more of them. Nasty.

First things first. Captain America recovers the ship he and Namor used to reach Atlantis and applies it to a POW rescue mission.

That whole plan seemed to happen awful fast...Still, as they are taking care of those men, the torch duplicates are unleashed on the world.

Captain America comes up with a plan to defeat them. The three Invaders members allow themselves to be chased, and "trapped" onto on of the ships, abandoned for this purpose. 

Cap had to know that this explanation wouldn't go over very well. He further argues that the fake torches lack judgement and a conscience. They are, in effect, little more than any other war machine such as a torpedo. 

Hammond nearly kills himself attempting to appeal to some sort of moral compass among the "Firebrands" but ultimately, they are all destroyed according to the plan above. 

So what of Nazi-occupied Atlantis? Well, while the heroes were dealing with the fake torches, Atlantis looked after its own affairs. They didn't waste any time either. 

Namor's mum, Fen, is mighty pissed at having been duped by the Germans. She has the Nazis in front of a firing squad and prepared for execution but Namor intervenes.

I didn't realize the relationship between Namor and Fen was so strained. I'll need to get out of the team books and back into his own title. 

The issue book concludes by spotlighting that the adventure strengthened the bond among the three core members of the Invaders but particularly so between Namor and Hammond as they are both outcasts of a sort.  That's a nice touch, and for a book specifically about Captain America, it was very respectful of its guests. That's not always the case so it was appreciated. 

Marvel Universe (1998) #1: "The Spoils of War"

When quarantines and isolation began, I figured I'd have more time to take in some Avenging Son awesomeness but that has not turned out to be the case. I've been busy as hell but I finally get some quiet time to take in some Atlantean heroics.

Today, we're looking at a short-lived mini-series called, quite simply, Marvel Universe, in which the Invaders starred for the first few issues.

We begin with a recounting of the demise of a large German sea vessel called the Deutschland at the hands of the Invaders. 

We find out that the event is narrated, sort of, by Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, a Nazi and I believe the founder of Hydra, as he ponders the loss of the ship while in a meeting with German military leaders.  He is disgusted by his fellow Nazis' inability to see the future and the big picture so he leaves them to debate pointlessly. He has a brief meeting with the Red Skull in a secret lab geared towards, at least on paper, suspended animation and preservation.

We transition to a scene in a German submarine as its captain appears pleased to receive an encoded message. His glee is brief, however, because he is visited by undersea royalty. 

The men don't put up much of a fight so Namor has no difficulty getting his hands on the message that the captain received. 

But the captain ingest poison rather than talk. The poison was concealed in a ring with the Hydra logo so evidently we are seeing the formation of that organization.

This leads to a retelling of Namor's origin as told by Betty Dean to a couple of G-Men. The Human Torch and Captain America get the same treatment; a few pages of adventure followed by an origin story. The purpose in all cases is for the military to determine, based on these background checks, whether these three men can be trusted.

Once that has been established, these three core Invaders members are brought in by Allied Command and given their mission. Hydra is not only operational, but they are preparing to build an atomic bomb from their secret island base. They also acquired this sweet beast, the "dragon" referred to above.

...But Hydra swiped it. That, and books about things which have yet to happen, appear to make Strucker quite confident. 

So we have a little time travel going on here then? Good tease. 

This was quite enjoyable. Going over the origins of each Invader seemed a little pointless but in a 36-page book, it didn't hurt the story at all. I only wish that other members of the Invaders, like Spitfire and Union Jack, were included (Toro and Bucky, not so much).
 

Secret Empire: Brave New World #2: "Sanctuary, Part 2"

To cap off the year, I'm going to knock off a couple of "partial" Namor appearances, meaning anthology books in which he's involved in only one story or so.

I'll start with the second issue of this Secret Empire mini-series. I didn't care for the first one so I do so with some trepidation and low expectations.

The guy above is the new Patriot. We skip his story and that of "Bob from Hydra" to get to Namor's

In issue one, the original Human Torch from the Invaders days and his former sidekick/fellow Invader Toro sought out Namor in Atlantis to seek sanctuary (hence the title of this story) from the terrorist organization known as Hydra. Namor jailed them, fearing that if he helped them hide, Hydra would come after him for it.

We know Namor is often on the wrong side of a conflict but this decision seemed frustratingly inconsistent with his willingness to fight Nazis in WW2. And yet...

 

Okay, maybe that's a bit better. He's offering sanctuary of a sort without appearing to be doing so to save himself the headache of dealing with Hydra. That's one way to look after your peeps. We'll go with that.

Shortly thereafter, Atlantis is attacked. Namor goes to the fray to see what's up. He captures one of the attackers.

Ah, but to what end?

This damage caused in the attack enabled Hammond (the Human Torch, that is) and Toro to escape their cell.  In their attempt to get out of Atlantis, they encounter their rescuer, of sorts.

Nice! I've been jumping about Namor's history for a couple of years now and this is the first time I come across Namora. I only know the basics of her background so am aware that she is in effect a female version of the Avenging Son but know little else about her. Seeing the two butt heads should be fun.

Way to turn this story around after a disappointing start, Marvel.

The Invaders (1975) #16: "The Short, Happy Life of Major Victory"

It's been almost a year since I had a look at one of the original Invaders books and being that they've become my favourite Marvel team, I shall check out another one now.

Captain America and Bucky are incognito in a movie theater in London England, watching highlights of their own adventures. Evidently Namor is not the only character on this team with an ego.

As the pair leaves the theater, there's a blackout in the city. In the time it takes for them to suit up, a scream for help caches their attention. It leads them to the scene below.

The heroes make short work of the Nazis but are taken by surprise by a sudden heel turn.

Ah, she was with Ze Germans all along! She, and the hooded Nazis in the preceding image, escapes her hostage. Captain America and Bucky let them go to ensure that the Germans do not harm the young soldier.
 
Instead, they head to their headquarters to meet with the rest of the team. When Cap tells everyone what just occurred, Bucky and Toro recognize the name of the private who was snatched (as they should, since his first name is Biljo"). They remember him as a comic book writer/artist so they check his material for a clue.

Fearing that Hitler may be attempting to use "Biljo" to duplicate the super soldier formula which created Captain America, the team heads off in Namor's Atlantean airship to Fortress Europe, apparently the fuhrer's hiding spot, to rescue the young man. As they near the castle, a projectile knocks out one of the wings on the ship.

The projectile was actually an old foe named Master Man. Namor's pissed that his ship was wrecked so he wants the get the first shot in.

Namor is stunned by Master Man's super bosom. MM wrecks the rest of the team single-handedly. They are restrained in the fortress and get a visit from the boss.

Meh. I love Nazi villains but I hate when Hitler shows up. Mind you, the next issue will introduce a character named Warrior Woman, so we get to look forward to that and hopefully a decent scrap between Namor and Master Man.

Captain America (2004) #46, "Old Friends and Enemies Part 1 of 3"

I reviewed an Alpha Flight issue for Canada Day and had intended to do the same for Captain America but didn't get the time to. We're going to do that now with issue #46 of the 2004 series.

Unfortunately, the rather exciting and dramatic cover does not reflect the contents of the book. Namor contributes fairly little to the story.

But first, a recap.

The story then opens with Chin in his lab speaking to a mysterious, unnamed ("old friend" is as much as we get) man in a hat and long coat. They appear to have the unconscious body of the Human Torch (the Invaders version) in a large tube. Interesting!

We then cut to this version of Captain America (Bucky Barnes) and Namor aboard the old Atlantean ship the Invaders used to ride around in. Barnes states point blank that he felt he had to do the job with Namor. During their conversation, the Avenging Son can't help but throw in a shot at the surface world's tendency to waste and pollute (he's not wrong), as well as a sort-of approval of Barnes in the Captain suit, until remembering his old frenemy.

Writer Ed Brubaker has his personality pretty well, in my humble estimation.

We spend the next few pages in flashback/backfill. The first is an Invaders scene in which Chin's wonder at the Torch's power first took place, the second is the Winter Soldier's botched attempt at killing Chin in 1968. During said attempt, Barnes instead killed Chin's fiance. Yikes.

In the meantime, The Black Widow has supplied Barnes with a general location for Chin, in Taipei City. Captain America gets the jump on the lab's armed guards but when more appear and open fire on him, Namor makes the timely save.

And that's where they part ways, as Barnes prepares to break into the facility. So for all that Barnes said he did not want to complete this mission without Namor, he basically used him to bum a ride and clear his conscience.

The Invaders flashbacks and continuity were cool and based on the solicitation for the next issue, Namor will continue to appear at least in the second part of the story. Here's to old friends and enemies.

Captain America: Sentinel Of Liberty (1998) #3, "Descent Into Madness, Chapter Two: Sins Of The Mother"

We've seen a lot of Captain America lately but carrying on with the theme of Namor team-ups with core Avengers members, we're going to continue a story begun here.

We are in 1942. Following the events of the second issue, Cap has been jailed in Atlantis for three days but, when he could, he used the edge of his shield to chip away at his chains. Atlanteans have no respect for we land lubbers so they arrogantly left Cap's shield within arms reach. Dumbasses.

So Cap escapes, takes out a few Nazis and makes his way to the "air-filled hyberbaric" lab in which the Nazi scientists who reprogrammed the (Jim Hammond) Human Torch do their work. He also finds a "death chamber" full of human guinea pigs that those same scientists were planning to experiment on. Oy.

Cap sets off to find Namor who is having a chat with his mum, Fen, current leader of Atlantis under Nazi influence. It's not going particularly well.

Cap shows up and does his best Dr. Phil. He tells Namor that he (Namor) was brought up to hate surface dwellers because Fen hates herself for breaking the rules and doing the deed with Namor's dad years prior.

Hm. Not sure how well that meshes with past material but let's ride the wave for a while and see where this goes.

One of Fen's guards tries to harpoon Cap from behind for having a big friggin' mouth but Namor will have none of it.

Damn right.

The Nazis get kicked around so they unleash the brainwashed Human Torch on our heroes in an effort to turn the tide, as it were.

The strategy backfires when Fen begins to realize that the Torch is not the threat the Nazis made him out to be. Also, Cap snaps the Torch our of his brainwashing by showing him the death chamber horrors being perpetrated by Torch's "side".

The jolt brings Hammond back to his usual naive, gentle self. With his head back on straight, Torch recalls that he was studied, poked, prodded...and evidently duplicated. In a desperation move, one of the scientists yanks a door open and lets loose...

And that is it for part two! This team-up ultimately turned into an Invaders reunion so we'll probably conclude this thing the next time that team gets the spotlight.
 

Secret Empire: Brave New World (2017) #1: "Sanctuary"

While I have not read a Marvel book on a regular basis in several years, I still heard/read much of the criticism surrounding Secret Empire specifically and the various accusations of "character assassination" of stalwart characters like Iron Man, Cyclops, Mr. Fantastic and (in this case, Captain America) in recent years.

This book makes me think that Namor needs to be added to the list, especially since he appears to be a full-blown villain in current books. He has not been represented particularly well in recent years, it would seem and I believe now that it started here.

We begin with Namor fighting off fellow Atlanteans. The very first line of dialogue from him is "Do you KNOW who I am?". Remember that for a moment.

He makes short work of his aggressors.

Some military-looking types happen by and Namor turns the attackers over to those soldiers. Just prior to doing so, he appeared to be about to execute them. That was a bit of a red flag as to his state of mind.

It is pointed out to Namor by one of the soldiers that this is the second assassination attempt on him this month. So to answer Namor's question from earlier, yes, if they were assassins targeting you, they very much know who you are. What a peculiar question to ask.

Namor is in the process of instructing a soldier to enhance security when he is interrupted with news that he has guests. The soldier he had been talking to actually asks if the guests are assassins as well.

Yeah, dumbass, they're at the front door asking for permission to enter to murder Namor. JFC.

These two are at the gates.

That's the Human Torch (Tom Hammond, SHIELD agent) and Toro from the Invaders. They seek sanctuary.

The former is an android. He explains that Hydra's brainwashing techniques on SHIELD agents during their takeover didn't quite work for him.

Toro, meanwhile, is an Inhuman (he is?) and therefore an automatic enemy of Hydra. News to me.

Namor states his position to his former colleagues.

Upon learning that Namor has an alliance of sorts with Hydra, the Torch and Toro come to realize that they made a mistake in going to Atlantis to hide out. They attempt to leave but are prevented by the Atlanteans, including Namor.

The two former Invaders are then jailed with the other "dissidents".

So Namor who, when faced with the Nazi threat in the 40s, joined these two and others to battle that threat now decides he needs to imprison them out of fear of Hydra finding out that they're sleeping in his basement? Bitch, please...

Had he explained that Atlantis has been devastated far too many times to risk even the slightest damage, I might have bought it. Instead, this feels like Namor taking a knee in front of Hydra and there's little in the character's history that would suggest he'd ever do such a thing. Quite the opposite.

This is one story out of three in this anthology book and thankfully Namor is not included in the other two because they are complete time-wasters. They add nothing to this story or to, I suspect, Secret Empire as a whole.

Unfortunately, the Invaders story (if you could even call it that, since it really only features two member against one) continues in the remaining four issues of Brave New World so evidently I'll have to stomach those at some point. It won't be any time soon.

The following image is a variant cover to this book by Chris Samnee.

Avengers / Invaders (2008) #1, "Old Soldiers, New Wars"

In the two previous posts, we've seen meetings of Marvel super-teams. In one, Namor was a member of the X-Men and in the other, the Avengers.

Today we'll see him either team-up with, or battle (that part is to be determined at this point), the Avengers as a member of the Invaders.

The story begins in 1943 during one of the Invaders' many battles with German soldiers. Pages from Bucky's war journal provide the narration as Bucky introduces us to his teammates. He doesn't say much about Namor specifically, just that if he (Bucky) had powers, he'd want to have the avenging son's strength, flight, etc. Okay.

During the battle, they are surrounded by some sort of green mist. Remember that, it's important later.

We cut to present-day New York, where Spider-Man is battling the Thunderbolts. The 'bolts are there to apprehend the web-slinger as part of the government's crack down on superheroes at the time. So we actually get three teams in this book! Neat!

And in the midst of this battle, the Invaders suddenly emerge.

Still in "battle mode", and in light of Bucky detecting a German accent on Citizen V, the Thunberbolt leader, the Invaders simply...jump right into the fight!

Namor does some pretty solid damage here. With an assist from Bucky, he floors the Radioactive Man...

Then shortly thereafter devastates Penance.

Oh, you really don't want to know...

The Invaders defeat the 'bolts, then Captain America decides that he and his team should go into hiding until they figure out what's going on.

None of this, of course ,escapes the attention of SHIELD and, by association, Tony "Iron Man" Stark. How will he react? We'll need to find out in issue #2.

Good set up even if, in reality, we only got one member of the Avengers in on the action in Spider-Man.

It is also a bit of a drag that the Avengers roster at the time was not exactly a classic one. I doubt if you asked folks to identify the core Avengers team, they would include Wolverine, Luke Cage and Spider-Woman. But whatever. I still look forward to seeing where this goes.

The Invaders (1975) #11 - "Night Of The Blue Bullet"

As stated in the previous post about the 1993 Invaders mini-series, today we're going to look at issue #11 from the original Invaders book from 1975.

Lord James Falsworth (the first Union Jack) and his daughter Jacqueline were recently injured in a battle against Baron Blood. The Invaders rush them to a hospital for treatment as this issue begins.

While Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch, is giving a Jacqueline a blood transfusion, the lights in the hospital suddenly go out. The Invaders aren't just good at punching Nazis upside the head, they are also awesome at generator repair, so off they go!

The transfusion goes off without any additional issues but the doctor is all kinds of pissed and storms off to find the person who caused the generator to break down.

Gold is the that was referred to 18 years later in Invaders #2.

Captain America and Bucky depart after a quick confrontation with Gold's assistant but shortly thereafter a voice at the other end of a mysterious phone call gives orders to the effect that the heroes be destroyed. And so the Blue Bullet lives!

This is where Namor finally shines...eventually. His first attempt at stopping the rampaging mechanical terror is rather unsuccessful.

Captain America and Bucky also fail to stop the Blue Bullet but when it threatens to kill the helpless Jim Hammond and Jacqueline Falsworth, Namor steps up again.

And that is it for the Blue Bullet so good display of power by Namor there. BB is revealed to be Doctor Gold and not his asshole assistant. I suppose the confrontation from earlier was supposed to suggest that the assistant was some evil prick.

This book is also notable for Jacqueline Falsworth gaining superpowers as a result of having received both vampire blood from Baron Blood and that of an android in Jim "Human Torch" Hammond. The latter left the team at the end of this issue but young lady Falsworth joined up as the sassy Spitfire. Comic book science rocks!