The Avengers (1963) #267: "Time...And Time Again!"

The previous issue of this series was reviewed recently and in terms of Namor content, it was basically a throwaway. This one is as well so we'll get through it and move on to something else for a while.

Kang likes to screw around with time and in doing so has created a number of alternate timelines. As a result, he has also created copies of himself in those timelines. He is now attempting to destroy those copies and be the one and only.

What does that have to do with Namor? Precious little, I'm afraid. But the issue starts to hint at things to come for the Atlantean monarch.

Back in issue 263, a couple of cops showed surprise at seeing Namor with the Avengers. You try to destroy the surface world a few times and some people just can't seem to let it go.

Writer Roger Stern provides us with a reminder of this attitude by the general public towards Namor as The Wasp arrives at Avengers manor to be greeted by protestors.

Namor doesn't give a carp's ass though because he's out with Captain America and the Captain Marvel of the time, Monica Rambeau. They're testing out the team's new sub so of course he'd prefer to hang with them.

Cap suggests that being an Avenger will help bring out Namor's good side as opposed to his ego and arrogance. Gad, let's hope not! He also recognizes that Rambeau doesn't quite trust the avenging son. That might be a little nugget to file away.

The other team members have been abducted by Kang and thrown into his scheme so presumably this bunch will head off for the big rescue in the next issue, but for now that's it for Namor. Hopefully he starts throwing some fists in the next one, I can only read about the Wasp and the Black Knight so much!

The Avengers (1963) #264, "Sting and Sorrows"

Since we've fallen off our usual pace of late, I'll quickly add another (very) brief appearance by Namor in an Avengers book.

The Marvel Universe was in the midst of its massively shitty Secret Wars 2 story which affected most of its titles. The book feels like a filler issue to bridge us over to the inevitable crossover. Most of it is pointless.

Namor's appearance amount to little more than a page in which his self-doubt is reiterated.

This leads to a cameo by Susan Richards for the Fantastic Four. Namor, as usual, crushes on her, but Franklin shows up to spoil the mood.

Oh, you will!

Namor's confidence issues in this book are actually kind of a refreshing contrast to his bluster in other books. He's been on other teams before so in a way it's out of place but he was often the most powerful and/or a founding member. As a newcomer on a team with Hercules perhaps it's not so strange after all.

Avengers (1963-1996) #263: "What Lurks Below?"

A glance at the labels to the right side of the page made me notice that very few of the books I've read were from the 80s so...Here's one that is! January 1986, to be precise.

One of the few 80s books reviewed to this point was Avengers #262 in which Namor became a team member officially for the first time. In this book, we see how he fits in and how his presence affects the team's image.

The issue's opening pages are dedicated to a plane that crashes into Jamaica Bay. When we first see the team, Namor is the topic of discussion.

Cap and Wasp reassure their liason and in doing so, we find out that Whitman (the Black Knight) might be starting to crush on the Wasp a bit. Whatever.

When Namor finally does appear, Hercules and Captain Marvel (the Monica Rambeau edition) are showing him around the Avengers mansion. Namor comes across a bedroom that he favours but it happens to belong to the Olympian demi-God in attendance.

After bailing, a blast of light emerging from Jamaica Bay draws Rambeau to the location of the downed plane where she is brought up to speed on the day's events.

As the dude in the hard hat finishes his sentence, the divers are thrown out of the water. One of them explains that he heard a voice under water then was tossed away. Rambeau tries to investigate in her light form and she does find a cocoon near the crash site, but she is similarly ejected from the water, so she calls in her buds.

I like that. The reaction makes sense in light of how often the sub-mariner has attacked the surface world.

The team plans some strategy to approach the cocoon but the prince of the blood has no time for that jibber-jabber. He makes his own attempt at investigating, but it doesn't go so well...

...and the team is not shy about pointing it out to him.

Piss off, Whitman. Friggin' D-list loser....

Sadly, it is not the end of Namor's journey through humiliation because when they reach the cocoon and attempt to resist its repelling effect, Hercules is better able to withstand it and actually makes progress whereas Namor...

That's rough.

Anyway, of course they manage to recover the cocoon and take it back to the mansion. It will eventually lead to the first of what feels like dozens of resurrections of Jean Grey of the original X-Men and to the creation of the X-Factor team but this is the extent of the Avengers' involvement in their own book.

While I find Namor's "humbling" an interesting approach, I'm not sure about how much sense it makes. He had been on teams before this one (Invaders and Defenders) so it doesn't seem like fitting in should be such a difficult task but it creates an interesting dynamic early on. I don't recall what ultimately leads to his departure from this version of the team but now I'm curious as to whether his personality was a significant factor. I guess I'll find out down the road.

Avengers (1963) #3

The fourth issue of the original Avengers title is famous for bringing back Captain America. Its popularity should, of course, pale in comparison to the previous issue which guest-starred The Avenging Son but inexplicably, that is not the case.

Seriously, Namor was absent for several years prior to returning in Fantastic Four #4 so Captain America's return in Avengers #4 is quite appropriate.

The book is kind of fun but it took forever for Namor to show up. I was starting to think his appearance would be limited to just a couple of pages. I should have paid closer attention to the splash page as they state point blank, right in the middle, where he shows up in the story.

The first 14 pages are devoted to the Avengers attempt at finding the Hulk in the first place by calling on Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four in cameo appearances. Then when they do find him, with the help of Rick Jones, Hulk completely outsmarts them several times (think about that) to escape and finds a deserted island to chill on.

But not so fast, green genes!

Bow before royalty!

Naturally, when heroes meet, they fight. But after the obligatory dick swinging, a deal is more or less struck.

 

Notice the proper use of pronouns by The Hulk? None of that "Hulk smash!" stuff here. He didn't refer to himself in the third person at the time. Presumably he became dumber in later issues. The Avengers should still be ashamed of themselves for getting played by him, but maybe it isn't as bad as it first appeared.

The powerful duo challenges the Avengers to a fight and the team accepts, of course. Namor does most of the heavy lifting here.

Hulk dicks around trying to take Thor's hammer away until he begins to turn back into Banner. It seems odd for that to happen in mid-fight, but there you have it. So Namor is now badly outnumbered.

And he uses that new strength to...fly off in retreat. In a nice display of respect though, when directed by The Wasp to knock Namor out of the sky, Thor refuses on the basis that Namor has earned his escape through valor. Solid, symbolic fist-bump between two heavyweights there.

Namor appears in the more celebrated fourth issue as well and we will give that a look another day but this issue was your standard Stan lee/Jack Kirby silly fun.