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What can wonder Studios possibly do withNamor the Sub - Marinerin a post - Aquamanworld ? Despite different publication history , both character deal with alike thought and exist in the background of the legends of Atlantis ; submarine monarchy , huge Cuban sandwich empires who have an incompatible relationship with the surface world due to befoulment . Even the eccentric ' powersets are almost identical .
The Sub - Mariner was created back in 1939 and Aquaman in 1941 , but DC is striking first with a large - screen adjustment of their own undersea hero . The similarity between the two concepts leave Marvel faced with a very barbellate problem ; should the studio apartment ever opt to develop Namor for the enceinte screen , they ’ll require to discover a way to make certain he does n’t simply depend like a retread of Aquaman . There have already been comparing betweenAquaman ’s preview and Marvel’sBlack Panther- a superhero Billie Jean Moffitt King who is monarch butterfly of a hidden , modern body politic take exception by a sibling - but that ’s small-scale - shaver next to a corresponding under - the - ocean adventure .
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So how should wonder Studios adapt Namor for the MCU ? What approach can they take that clearly distinguish the character and his world from the one explore inAquaman ? We have some ideas .
The Similarities and Differences Between Namor and Aquaman
Atlantis was briefly mentioned by Platoin his dialoguesTimaeusandCritias , write around 360 BC ; Plato claimed to have translate them from Egyptian source , but modern scholar are n’t convinced that was really the case . accord to Plato , somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean there was " an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together , " a martial and regal nation that was " insolently advancing to assault the whole of Europe , and Asia to boot . " The country of Atlantis was ruled by what Plato called " a alliance of kings , of great and improbable major power . " This with child island was dedicate , appropriately enough , to the water god Poseidon ; as a resultant , it was singularly ironic that Plato described the nation as sinking beneath the waves , destroyed after a monumental seism . Plato ’s negotiation have become the foundation for infinite legends and fantasy serial - including both Namor and Aquaman .
DC ’s version of Atlantis is very much true to Plato . In DC Comics , Atlantean society antecede human civilization , with a race of aliens settling on the continent of Atlantis 65,000,000 yr ago . An asteroid impact caused the intact continent to sink beneath the waves , but Atlantean scientist were able to by artificial means mutate the survivor for ensure they could survive underwater . The people of Atlantis then claimed the sea as their dwelling , found their laterality over the aquatic life - class and clan already living in them .
Marvel ’s visual modality is fairly like , with the country of Atlantis fly high 10,000 years ago and sink beneath the wafture in a volcanic cataclysm . The god of the ocean , Neptune , blessed the Atlanteans with gills with which to breathe underwater , and Atlantean tribes settle throughout the sea . In both comic franchises , the undersea tribes are ruled over bythe King of Atlantis , although freestanding tribe have their own milkweed butterfly .
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Amusingly , bothNamor and Aquaman are half - human hybridswhose very macrocosm bridges the disconnect between mankind and the people of Atlantis . Namor ’s mother was a princess sent on a scouting expedition to the surface world who slept with a human sea headwaiter before being forcibly " liberated " by Atlantean warriors;Aquaman ’s motherwas an Atlantean queen who was washed up on the rocks next to a beacon light after a storm , and fell in love life with the beacon light - keeper . The big difference in rootage is that while Aquaman was brought up on the surface , Namor spend his formative old age beneath the wave . Past that , though , even the two characters ' powersets are pretty similar , although Namor ’s equivalent weight of " talking to fish " has typically have in mind he summon legendary ocean - monsters rather than shark and shoals .
But there is one central remainder between Namor and Aquaman . When Aquaman was introduce , in 1943’sMore Fun Comics#73 , writer Mort Weisinger immediately embedded the quality in Atlantean mythology . In dividing line , Namor ’s backstory emerged over time . It was n’t until 1962 - a full 23 years after his institution - that Namor ’s masses were identified as Atlanteans , bind the character into that rich tapis of legends and pseudo - history . For Marvel , that may be the paint to differentiating their hero .
What Exactly are Marvel’s Plans for Namor?
The current barrier for Namor is that the picture right to the case are rather complicated . Up until the mid-2000s , Marvel Studios did n’t produce their own plastic film ; rather , they sold the right field to other studio , and profit from the contracts . The rights to Namor were deal to Universal , and while yield right look to have turn back to Marvel due to inactivity , the dispersion rights are still believed to sit with Universal . This is similar to therights situation with Hulk , who seem in team - up moving picture but not solo movies . Similarly , Kevin Feige has said he believes there ’s " a way to probably figure it out , " but even he ’s hold thatthe film right field to Namorare " not as a sporting or clear as the absolute majority of the other characters . " As a result , Marvel do n’t appear to have any solid plan for the Sub - Mariner in the cheeseparing - future .
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That has n’t stopped Marvel planting Easter eggs clues , though . InIron Man 2 , there ’s a abbreviated coup d’oeil of a S.H.I.E.L.D. activeness function . It shows hotspots that are being monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D. , includingthe fictitious African nation of Wakanda . Another marker is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean , right where Pliny ’s accounts would suggest the cap of Atlantis would be situated . So far , though , nothing has come from this particular Easter egg .
Page 2 of 2:How Could Namor Work in the MCU?
How Could Namor Work in the MCU?
Jason Momoa ’s Aquaman was fluff inBatman v demigod : Dawn of Justicebefore a proper introduction inJustice League , but his lineage story is being tell inAquaman . That moving-picture show will see Arthur Curry forced to visit Atlantis for the first fourth dimension , an unwilling Rex who must lay claim the throne lest war ensues between his people and the surface world . That ’s in keeping with the hero ’s amusing Word of God introduction , with Atlantis serving as a core part of his concept from the very first issue . But , assuming Marvel ever get the right trouble for Namor resolved , they should take a very dissimilar approach . Marvel should honor the original strip - including the 23 - year period before which Namor was even discover to be an Atlantean .
Early Namor comics see him team up with Captain America and the first Human Torch , participating in the Second World War . It was an entirely appropriate option ; World War II was fought in the ocean as much as in the air , with atomic number 92 - boats attempting to demolish food and consignment vessel , and battleships waging war in the oceans . Marvel Studios could habituate the same thought , embedding Namor in the MCU ’s history by releasing a film set during the War . They could even attempt to get Chris Evans to return for a antecedently - unseen World War II adventure of Captain America . Atlantis could stay on in the background signal , hinted at but never watch . There ’s precedent for this approach;Ant - Man & the WaspwoveGhost into the story of S.H.I.E.L.D. , whileCaptain Marvelwill reveal a never - before - suggest - at adventure of Nick Fury as he ally with Brie Larson ’s Carol Danvers .
Namor ’s original comic rule book political campaign ended in 1955 , and he did n’t return until 1962 . InFantastic Four#4 , Johnny Storm discovered the Sub - Mariner living on the street of Manhattan , an amnesiac who had no memory of his power or origin . When Namor regained his memory , he discover that Atlantis was go , deserted , seemingly destroyed . Swearing retribution on humanity , Namor launched a wave of blast upon the open world , becoming more an foeman than an ally . Again , Marvel could rather easily take this glide slope , stay on Namor ’s story in the present twenty-four hours without much adaption problem . Where has he been since the Second World War ? survive on the streets , lost and confused , not experience who he truly is . The return of Namor ’s memories could well be a secondary plot in another character ’s motion picture , with the Sub - Mariner even serve as a villain . Again , this is a very different approach to DC’sAquaman . Rather than become a bridgework between man and Atlantis , Namor would search to honor and even revenge his lost urban center .
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Either of these estimate would be a inviolable way to set up the graphic symbol before having Namor address the misplace Atlantis and attempt to reclaim the commode . From there , it ask n’t matchAquamaneither ; instead of a Carry Amelia Moore Nation of halo and splendor as suppose by James Wan , the MCU Atltantis would match estimable as a broken kingdom , one that has been under the rule of a villain - perhaps the classic Namor foe Attuma - for decades . Portray Namor as a Moses figure , attempt to release his people from thraldom for build a fresh Atlantis , seeking to restore his land ’s luck .
There are two major vantage to this approach . The first is that it is comic - Koran - accurate , immediately win over sports fan . It also casts Namor as an ambiguous character , sometimes an friend , sometimes an enemy , always sympathetic . Where Aquaman ’s commitment are divided , the Sub - Mariner ’s would be entirely with the people he consider to be his own . It is allegiance to Atlantis that forces Namor to intervene as human wars trouble the ocean ; it is trueness to Atlantis that drives him to seek vengeance on the surface reality ; it is loyalty to Atlantis that leads him to demand that his masses should be freed from bondage .
DC may have beaten Marvel to the punch when it comes toAquaman , but there ’s no reason Marvel Studios has to let go of a film that feels like a rinse - and - repetition . Rather , a measured focus on the difference betweenNamorand Aquaman - not their similarities - should allow Marvel to tell a unique story . Now , they just have to put to work out those problem with the film rights .