Namor the Sub-Mariner Appreciation 2019

[Thor-El]

This has to be a mistake but Namor is listed in the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe.’ Master Edition with a height of 5'6"????!!!!!!!!! The Sub-Marsupial maybe!!!

[ImperiusWrecked]

This has to be a mistake but Namor is listed in the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe.’ Master Edition with a height of 5'6"????!!!!!!!!! The Sub-Marsupial maybe!!!

Ok that has to be a misprint or something because Namor towers above other normal humans. He is a solid 6'2'' from everywhere else I've seen list his height.

[ImperiusWrecked]

Ok I don't know if this theory has been put out there but as we all know, Hickman loves to play the long game when it comes to his writing and I for one think he will be bringing in Namor, the first mutant, at some point in the comics. Another thing I noticed is how similar the Krakoan alphabet is to the Atlantean Tattoos that began appearing on the Atlanteans designs back in the 2000's. Now it could be a coincidence but its just really similar imo.

(Also small side rant here but: WHY DO MUTANTS HAVE THEIR OWN LANGUAGE/ALPHABET BUT WE NEVER GET ANYTHING FOR ATLANTEANS! who unlike the mutants have had their own language for decades in the comics but it's never explained other than a few random words here and there.)

[ImperiusWrecked]

A few panels of Sub-Marsupial here but i really loved this little grumpy one at the end of the comic.

[Thor-El]

Ok that has to be a misprint or something because Namor towers above other normal humans. He is a solid 6'2'' from everywhere else I've seen list his height.

That's what I thought.

[Reviresco]

This has to be a mistake but Namor is listed in the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe.’ Master Edition with a height of 5'6"????!!!!!!!!! The Sub-Marsupial maybe!!!

I'm guessing the numbers are reversed and they meant 6' 5".

Ok I don't know if this theory has been put out there but as we all know, Hickman loves to play the long game when it comes to his writing and I for one think he will be bringing in Namor, the first mutant, at some point in the comics. Another thing I noticed is how similar the Krakoan alphabet is to the Atlantean Tattoos that began appearing on the Atlanteans designs back in the 2000's. Now it could be a coincidence but its just really similar imo.

(Also small side rant here but: WHY DO MUTANTS HAVE THEIR OWN LANGUAGE/ALPHABET BUT WE NEVER GET ANYTHING FOR ATLANTEANS! who unlike the mutants have had their own language for decades in the comics but it's never explained other than a few random words here and there.)

Huhn. Didn't notice that before, but I'm going with coincidence. Though, I do agree with you, I think Hickman will be bringing Namor back into his story at some far off point.

The only reason there is a mutant language is because of Hickman. If Hickman were writing a Namor book, we'd probably get an Atlantean alphabet or some other great world building stuff done in graphics.

[Reviresco]

OMG indeed. I am in tears from laughing so hard, it's a miracle I didn't choke on my breakfast oatmeal. Thanks Reviresco, for making my morning, I needed that!

At least the pointed ears there are opossum accurate, and of course resemble Namor's.

Glad to have brightened your day. It certainly had me laughing throughout the day.

[Dermie]

This has to be a mistake but Namor is listed in the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe.’ Master Edition with a height of 5'6"????!!!!!!!!! The Sub-Marsupial maybe!!!

The height listing isn't the only thing weird going on in that handbook entry! Look at the side view picture--specifically the speed-covered areas. Look at the where the waistband is...and then compare to where his butt seems to be. Is Namor pulling a Steve Urkel with hiked up waistband, or did someone deflate his ass?

Then there's the way the front side of him seems to curve inward there. I realize most comics artists (particularly during the era where the Comics Code was still in effect) would not actively be drawing a bulge on the male characters in their tights. But even with that it mind, this still looks weird.

[Reviresco]

The height listing isn't the only thing weird going on in that handbook entry! Look at the side view picture--specifically the speed-covered areas. Look at the where the waistband is...and then compare to where his butt seems to be. Is Namor pulling a Steve Urkel with hiked up waistband, or did someone deflate his ass?

Then there's the way the front side of him seems to curve inward there. I realize most comics artists (particularly during the era where the Comics Code was still in effect) would not actively be drawing a bulge on the male characters in their tights. But even with that it mind, this still looks weird.

Oh, there's alot wrong with that listing. But we've had the Power Grid / Specs conversation before. Plus, this was written during Byrne's run, so it's stripped Namor of a lot of stuff, IMO.

LOL! First it was Namor in his 'grandma panties' and not it's the Urkel Pulled Up Trunks. Poor Namor. Absolutely NO respect for his glorious speedo. However, I bet if we saw the pictures for the other heroes in this book, they'd have similar clothing and body proportion problems. It was the 90s.

[Reviresco]

A few panels of Sub-Marsupial here but i really loved this little grumpy one at the end of the comic.

Thank you for gathering and posting these. They are so much fun. He's so grumpy! LOL! I'm actually contemplating using one for an avatar.

[Reviresco]

Reposting these images because McNiven's IMPERIUS REX! never gets old. But also ....

I may have asked this before, but what do folks think about these tattoos for Atlanteans? I'm not entirely sure I like them, especially as uniform as they are. Plus WHO actually wears them? We never see any of the nobles of Atlantis wearing them, with one exception. Plus it is something relatively new, as we hadn't seen them for like 60 years previous. It brings up a lot of questions of WHY and WHO and NOW?

Boy, do I miss Comicbook Database. Anyway, I'm thinking that they first appeared in the 2002 Tsunami Namor, but they were black tattoos. Has anyone seen them before this? This New Warriors from 2005, is the first time we've seen the white tattoos, with their more "Krakoan" style.

[Thor-El]

Reposting these images because McNiven's IMPERIUS REX! never gets old. But also ....

I may have asked this before, but what do folks think about these tattoos for Atlanteans? I'm not entirely sure I like them, especially as uniform as they are. Plus WHO actually wears them? We never see any of the nobles of Atlantis wearing them, with one exception. Plus it is something relatively new, as we hadn't seen them for like 60 years previous. It brings up a lot of questions of WHY and WHO and NOW?

Boy, do I miss Comicbook Database. Anyway, I'm thinking that they first appeared in the 2002 Tsunami Namor, but they were black tattoos. Has anyone seen them before this? This New Warriors from 2005, is the first time we've seen the white tattoos, with their more "Krakoan" style.

I think the tattoos are a terrible idea. First I would have expected Namor to be wearing them too if this was well executed as he is part of this culture. But how terrible, look how Namor looks like a white man that is leading a tribe of aborigines, and like a modern Tarzan they are all following after him.

To me the best Atlanteans are the silver age look where they all wear capes, chi tons, tunics and greco-roman uniforms and helmets adorned with ocean motifs where all Atlanteans look more clothed and civilized than Namor who would only wear his speedo, cape and a crown like a young savage barbarian king ready to spring into action - the avenging son, the savage sub-mariner.

[Ravin' Ray]

Didn't the tattoos start with Namorita in her blue-skinned Kymaera persona? Because that's the earliest I can recall of any Atlantean having tattoos. Since the Abraxas story in the Fantastic Four in 2001 showed a blue Nita, that means she already had them in the past.

[ImperiusWrecked]

Reposting these images because McNiven's IMPERIUS REX! never gets old. But also ....

I may have asked this before, but what do folks think about these tattoos for Atlanteans? I'm not entirely sure I like them, especially as uniform as they are. Plus WHO actually wears them? We never see any of the nobles of Atlantis wearing them, with one exception. Plus it is something relatively new, as we hadn't seen them for like 60 years previous. It brings up a lot of questions of WHY and WHO and NOW?

Boy, do I miss Comicbook Database. Anyway, I'm thinking that they first appeared in the 2002 Tsunami Namor, but they were black tattoos. Has anyone seen them before this? This New Warriors from 2005, is the first time we've seen the white tattoos, with their more "Krakoan" style.

I think you are right about when these appeared Rev, I certainly most remember them first coming out around this era but if I have enough time I will try to look back further. I'm fine with the Tattoos since it's not on every character that we see, for instance Andromeda doesn't have them, and if we had someone on a Namor book perhaps they could explain them as being something that is culturally important to the Atlanteans/followers of Neptune.

I also miss comicbookdatabase, however before it went down I managed to save Namor, Namora, and Namorita's 616 comic appearance lists. I certainly hope that CBD will be back someday but until then I made the choice to try and keep updating the main 3 submariners character appearances as I buy/read their comics. I have plans to do a major overhaul to the Namor tumblr blog in the new year including making it more desktop computer friendly with separate pages for information, better and updating tags and links, maybe a portrait gallery, FAQ's etc.

As well as a link to the google docs where I have the ComicBook Database appearances saved after I make them a bit better for reading since the small text always annoyed me, also as time goes on I will be going back into back issues to comment on whether Namor has a major role or just a small cameo to make it easier for newer fans looking to buy his comics however new comics are taking the priority. This will be an ongoing project for now but I will drop an comment here when I'm done with the updates. I really did look into making a whole website for Namor like some others I've seen but I simply don't have the resources or time to dedicate to it but I hope someday to have something like that, besides I have more traction and interactions with the twitter and tumblr stuff from fans.

I think the tattoos are a terrible idea. First I would have expected Namor to be wearing them too if this was well executed as he is part of this culture. But how terrible, look how Namor looks like a white man that is leading a tribe of aborigines, and like a modern Tarzan they are all following after him.

To me the best Atlanteans are the silver age look where they all wear capes, chi tons, tunics and greco-roman uniforms and helmets adorned with ocean motifs where all Atlanteans look more clothed and civilized than Namor who would only wear his speedo, cape and a crown like a young savage barbarian king ready to spring into action - the avenging son, the savage sub-mariner.

Except Namor is biracial and is only half white and if he did suddenly start wearing tattoos then he is most certainly not a Tarzan where he is a lone outsider white man in my opinion, he is half atlantean and is tied to his Atlantean side far more closely than he is to the surface humans/his white father's people.

An example of tattoos suddenly being used by a white character when they never have before and its was actually tied to an indigenous POC culture is Dc's Aquaman suddenly being modeled after Momoa. Aquaman is white on both sides as shown in the comics where the Atlanteans there have never been coded as anything close to POC as Namor's Sub-Mariners have in the past. So this new look and also the glowing tattoos that I saw on a few scans is being used by DC. Of course Aquamomoa was basically DC trying to make Aquaman more like Namor imo.



Also I do recall Namor had a set of tattoos in the Order (2007) #7, so he definitely embraced his Atlantean culture with them but perhaps they are in fact some kind of paint for ceremonies or something since he didn't stick with them.



However I will point out that this is the comic where Namor lies and claims that Fen was r*ped by Leonard, so unless Thakorr was telling Namor lies since this never appears in any other comic, I tend not to take that particular claim as canon, but I would not put it past Thakorr who hated surfacers to have tried to spread those kind of tales. Namor always knew that his mother loved his father very much. Yet the tattoos have not appeared on Namor since iirc.

[Thor-El]

Except Namor is biracial and is only half white and if he did suddenly start wearing tattoos then he is most certainly not a Tarzan where he is a lone outsider white man in my opinion, he is half atlantean and is tied to his Atlantean side far more closely than he is to the surface humans/his white father's people.

When I say:

"But how terrible, look how Namor looks like a white man that is leading a tribe of aborigines, and like a modern Tarzan they are all following after him."

I'm referring to the picture below as an example of why Namor with no tattoos and white skin next to a bunch of blue Atlanteans in skimpy clothes and wearing tattoos looks like a white man surrounded by aborigines hence the Tarzan comparison.