PRELUDE: Marvel Comics #1, Story C

The Sub-Mariner
Credits: Bill Everett
12 pages

I read this comic in Marvel Masterpieces Golden Age Marvel Comics vol. 1. My copy of the book is filled with printing errors: pages missing or repeated; and, the copy seems off. The colors and inks seem pretty blurred, compared to scans I’m finding online. The coloring wasn’t great in those days to begin with, so it’s hard to tell without seeing the comic what it actually looks like, as reproductions vary widely. It’s particularly tricky as Everett wanted to make the undersea scenes murky.

This story is the beginning of a serial and doesn’t reach a satisfying conclusion in and of itself. It concerns Namor of the race of Sub-Mariners, recently come of age. He learns from his mother Fen of the ravages done to their people by the experiments of the surface dwellers, (who the comic refers to as the “white men”) and leads a crusade against the surface. His first step is to destroy a lighthouse. We’ll have to tune in next issue to see more.

It begins in a familiar fashion, from the viewpoints of ordinary sailors, leaving the Sub-Mariner as a mystery in the background. Namor will become the point-of-view character soon, but first we learn who he is in snatches, as the humans do. An undersea diver notices oddities, like evidence that somebody had recently been there, even though they are the only ship in the area. It’s a mystery to investigate, a deadly one as it will turn out. It’s a technique we’ve seen frequently in superhero films (plus many a movie before them). Famously, when Batman first dons the suit in Batman Begins, the movie shifts its point-of-view to that of criminals. They only know something strange is happening, that they see out of the corner of their eye and hear above them– and that their numbers are thinning. This comic gives us a similar scene with divers.

I was surprised at how callously Namor murdered the divers and then destroyed their entire ship, presumably killing all hands. This is a character who will one day join the Avengers. The comic does note he had some confusion, not realizing they were human because of their diving suits.

• 

• 

There seems to be a variety of forms amongst the sub-mariners. His mother and cousin look relatively human; their king much less so.

It’s a compelling beginning to a story. An undersea being, born of a human father and Sub-Mariner mother, leading a crusade against his father’s people to avenge the genocide of his mother’s. It’s much darker than one might imagine.

We have previously discussed the Human Torch story in this issue, and may visit some of the other stories later.

Rating: ★★★★☆, 73/100

Art hard to judge, as coloring and inking varies wildly amongst reproductions. A sketchiness to it, but cleaner than Burgos’ Human Torch story. One of the best stories of its era I have come across. Surprisingly dark.

Characters:

• Namor
• Fen
• Leonard McKenzie
• Dorma
• King of Sub-Mariners

Minor characters:

• Rod Nelson (diver)
• Carley (diver)
• Anderson (diver)
• Peters (sailor)
• Karal (undersea servant)

Story notes:

• Namor lives on land and sea; flies; has strength of a thousand men
• Coloring and inking in Masterworks off compared to online versions
• Sub-Mariner murders callously people and ship; doesn’t realize they are human
• Namor shouts “Domma!” Not sure what is meant. It may be the name of the King
• Namor refers to the king as “Holy One”
• Humans invaded ancient Sub-Mariner home in waters of South Pole, nearly destroyed race
• Sub-Mariner’s parents met in 1920
• Father Leonard McKenzie; mother Fen
• Captain McKenzie was captain of the Oracle
• Fen refers to all of them as Sub-Mariners
• Sub-Mariners cannot be out of water for more than 5 hours at a time
• Dorma is Namor’s cousin
• Fen is behind Namor’s crusade against the surface.
• The comic doesn’t reach a satisfactory ending.

Next: Fantastic Four #4
Previous: Tales to Astonish #30