6th Namor the Sub-Mariner Advent Calendar
After failing miserably last year, I wasn't sure I wanted to attempt this again for 2021, but then I read Jason Aaron's Avengers #50, and the culmination of his butchery of Namor in this run. Tis the season, so I'll refrain from ranting here about that unrecognizable mess. Instead, as a fan of Namor for 50 years, I'm going to celebrate what I love about the character, and hopefully deliver a far fairer portrait of the beloved Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner.
[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]The True Sub-Mariner, aka Marvel's First and Best Superhero![/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]
If you have a related or particular heroic Namor panel / scene, please feel free to post it!
Here are two completed previous Advent calendars:
[URL="http://community.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?26029-Namor75-The-Advent-Calendar"]
Namor75-The-Advent-Calendar[/URL]
[URL="https://community.cbr.com/showthread.php?132344-4th-Namor-the-Sub-Mariner-Advent-Calendar"]4th Namor the Sub-Mariner Advent Calendar
[/URL]
And to hopefully keep me on track, and as a complement to this year's theme, and also inspired by another writer's mis-take on Namor, I'm also going to repost the third completed Advent calendar:
[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]The Heroism of Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, aka All the Times Namor Has Saved Those Ungrateful Air Breathers.[/SIZE][/B] ;)
[img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/ae273dd4421ed52586c2fc014ed44675/c07408c4b31202f5-d0/s500x750/bbe9b78c87a8bbed30dcef36ba1c68f6ed6e281c.png[/img][/CENTER]
24 Days to Christmas 2021
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]24 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]
2021 - REPRESENTATION[/B][/CENTER]
One of the first appearance of Namor I read, was his own 1968 title, The Sub-Mariner #3. It was the second half of a team up with Triton, where the pair had rescued London from a giant monster created by Plantman. Not the best opponent, but it was a great read, since it was a riff on The Defiant Ones, where Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are two convicts chained together and trying to escape. Yes. Triton and Namor spend most the issue chained together! Also, the art was by Big John Buscema, and it was sublime. Here is one of the last panels.
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As a biracial kid growing up in the late sixties, this was my first encounter with a biracial comicbook character -- and he was actually talking about being mixed race, and how that affected him! Mind blown! Of course, from that moment, Namor was the most interesting comic character ever for me. Especially since that was actually a core trait of the character, that played a role in his personality and choices and plots in his stories.
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Nowadays there are many dismissive readers who don't actually know the character or how things were back in the dark ages, when there was so little representation. But for older fans and certain groups, Namor was the only major character who represented people who were Othered, for whatever reason -- and he kicked a$$.
24 Days to Christmas Redux
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]24 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]
2015 - Anti-Weapons of Mass Destruction Namor[/B][/CENTER]
So, let's address the erroneous claim of Namor using tidal waves countless times to wipe out airbreathers. From his Silver Age introduction in FF #4 to the late 1990s, I believe the correct count was ZERO times. In Marvels is the first time we see a Golden Age 1940s story where Namor used a tidal wave against NYC, brought retroactively into continuity.
So, until Hickman decided he needed to make Namor a Black Panther villain for his New Avengers book, and had a Phoenix possessed Namor flood Wakanda, the total times Namor used a tidal wave against a country was ONE.
Even if Robinson was not aware of this information, he should be aware of what he's written. From All New Invaders #7 in a WWII flashback ...
Apparently using tidal waves against airbreathers is A-OK and morally acceptable if the USA wants it done against THEIR enemies.
[IMG]http://namorthesubmariner.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ANI-7_US-plans.jpg[/IMG]
The US wants this mega tidal wave tested on some uninhabited Pacific islands. Except the Invaders discover ...
[IMG]http://namorthesubmariner.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ANI-7-inhabited.jpg[/IMG]
So, Namor's bloodthirsty villainous response?
[IMG]http://namorthesubmariner.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ANI-7-Namor-scapgoat.jpg[/IMG]
Not only does Namor refuse to use a tidal wave against air breathers, but he once again serves as a scapegoat for his team.
23 Days to Christmas 2021
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]23 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]
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2021 - ROYALTY[/B][/CENTER]
Living under an absolute ruler probably wouldn't be all that great, but as a reader ... kings are very entertaining. The pomp! The pageantry! The ermine FUR cloaks underwater! I loved the larger than life DRAMA of Prince Namor.
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23 Days to Christmas 2021
Namor definitely understood he was a public figure whose people wanted to see and celebrate as their ruler, and he delivered with entertaining panche.
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And then there's the royal ATTITUDE, which Namor had plenty of. No other character was so confident AND happy to let others know it.
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It was that presence that stamped Namor as king, even without the trappings of royalty. Impressive.
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23 Days to Christmas Redux 2015
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]23 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]
2015 - Namor's Price for Power[/B][/CENTER]
From Sub-Mariner #6, where the newly created Tiger Shark rampages in the ocean depths after thinking he's killed Namor with a ton of rubble. He then decides he's going to claim everything associated with Namor starting with Lady Dorma. Tiger Shark threatens Dorma, the Atlanteans, and tries to kill Warlord Seth to claim the throne.
Anyone one of these actions would have prompted swift retribution if not execution from a villain, or a ruthless ruler, which is how some modern writers (and Tiger Shark) seem to see Namor.
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[B][SIZE=4]"For to Namor, no prize is worth the cost of a single human life."[/SIZE][/B][/center]
22 Days to Christmas 2021
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]22 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]
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[B]2021 - IMPERIUS REX![/B][/CENTER]
How can you not love a guy with such an awesome battle cry?
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We're not exactly sure what it means ... but everyone one feels the COOLNESS and wants it for themselves.
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22 Days to Christmas 2021
[CENTER]Of course, there have been a few theories about what it means.
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[B]AWESOME!!![/B]
And our own ImperiusWrecked has compiled an amazing collection of panels featuring Namor's battle cry here:
[url]https://namorthesubmariner.tumblr.com/tagged/imperius%20rex/page/2[/url][/CENTER]
22 Days to Christmas Redux 2015
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[I][FONT=Palatino Linotype]22 Days to Christmas[/FONT][/I][/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]
2015 - Namor Saves Foes and the World![/CENTER]
[IMG]http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah7/NamorTheSubMarinerDotNet/Z_Comics/Sub-Mariner%201968/SM%2035/Sub-Mariner%2035-03_crop1_zpsteet6cnh.jpg[/IMG]
The airbreathers don't believe Namor, but the strength of the Titans Three convinces them to leave the island and call for reinforcements ... The Avengers! Fortunately, before they arrive, the Atlanteans arrive, so Ikthon can test his theory. Unfortunately, the Avengers arrive before he can finish. Of course, a brawl ensues ... due to the Hulk.
Namor battles Goliath, but ...
[IMG]http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah7/NamorTheSubMarinerDotNet/Z_Comics/Sub-Mariner%201968/SM%2035/Sub-Mariner%2035-18_crop1_zpss928ain7.jpg[/IMG]
Everyone calms down, and Chief Scientist Ikthon demonstrates the problem with using a nuclear device to attempt to control the weather. Yes, a NUCLEAR device for EXPERIMENTING with the weather.
[IMG]http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah7/NamorTheSubMarinerDotNet/Z_Comics/Sub-Mariner%201968/SM%2035/Sub-Mariner%2035-19_crop_zps6dfacezm.jpg[/IMG]
And yes, I DID pick panels where Namor's naysayers admitted they judged him wrong. ; p
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[B][SIZE=4]"I cannot -- I will not suffer so valiant a foe to perish!"[/SIZE][/B][/center]