Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, writer
Gene Colan, penciller
Vince Colletta, inker
Sam Rosen, letterer
12 pages
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Supreme is the head that wears the crown! The decision must be Namor’s alone to make! Imperius Rex!
A secret has been revealed! Not to us, because I spoiled it when he first showed up. But this is the first time Gene Colan’s name has shown up in the credits. Yet it’s clearly the same artist as last issue, drawn by “Adam Austin”. So Adam Austin must be Gene Colan!
Just like superheroes have secret identities, artists do too. In this case, it was likely to disguise the fact that he was moonlighting for both DC and Marvel. Some comic artists used pen names so that their lesser comic work wouldn’t get conflated with the great novels or works or art they were one day to create. For many, it may have been to make their names sound less Jewish.
Since Namor got his own series back in issue 70, he’d been on a continuous quest to retake his kingdom from Krang. Last issue was almost a clean ending to that quest, save for the final pages. Namor was now the ruler again, with Lord Vashti his Grand Vizier. But then an earthquake strikes, and Namor suspects atomic tests of the surface world are responsible. He resolves to go to the surface world to sort this.
If Namor is the ruler of Atlantis, why is he Prince Namor? Why not King Namor? The Atlanteans must do it differently.
Vashti sits on Namor’s council and offers the wisdom that the choice of action is Namor’s, as the absolute monarch. Then why even be on the council, Vashti? Namor knows it’s his decision. Advise him!
This next story arc is going to get quite convoluted. The last one was relatively clean. Krang had taken the throne. Namor needed to recover some ancient artifact to reclaim it and followed a series of clues. This story begins with an earthquake and Namor’s plan to go to the surface world to get them to stop the tests. Let’s see where it goes from there.
The first twist in the story is that the earthquakes may awaken the Behemoth.
Who is the Behemoth? A creature Atlantean scientists had created as a failsafe the last time this happened.
Namor refers to a tragic era when this happened, but notes he was the ruler then. That must have been pretty recent, as we know in the 1940s, Namor was not the ruler of Atlantis yet.
The next twist comes when Namor finds the giant drill that is the source of the problems, a scientific probe. Who is on the drill station? None other than Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne! The stars of this title until 8 issues ago when they retired from being superheroes.
The narrator refers to Janet Van Dyne as Hank’s fiancée. Is that news? He’d almost proposed to her a couple times, but we hadn’t actually seen him do it yet.
Back in Tales to Astonish #44, Wasp’s father had sought Dr. Pym’s scientific help, but Pym had given the sensible response that he’s not an expert in all sciences. He just knows things about shrinking people, adding wings to people, and ants. He’s not like Don Blake, a surgeon who builds robots in his spare time. Now he’s running a drill to seek the origins of life on Earth. This seems like a new area of research.
Of course Hank and Jan recognize Namor, though he doesn’t recognize him. They both maintained the worst kept secret identities. When Wasp fought Namor, her costume didn’t include a face covering of any type. So he could recognize her. But doesn’t seem to.
This makes it clear that nobody is really gone. Hank and Jan spent 8 months in comic book limbo, but they were still lurking in the background of the Marvel Universe, ready to return at any moment. Just like Hulk was when he lost his title.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 50/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Characters:
- Namor the First, Lord of Atlantis
- Lord Vashti
- Lady Dorma
- Dr. Henry Pym
- Janet Van Dyne
- Dr. Barnes
- Behemoth
Story notes:
- Council warns Namor about danger of return to Surface.
- Namor goes alone to prevent the outbreak of war.
- Tremors rock Atlantis.
- Humans conduct underwater tests without realizing they affect Atlantis.
- Earthquakes may cause Behemoth to arise. Dorma must stay behind to help in this case.
- Behemoth created after last holocaust, tragic era when Atlantis was almost destroyed, and Namor almost lost his kingdom.
- Namor finds gigantic drill, the source of problems, a scientific probe.
- Jan is Hank’s fiancee.
- Pym seeks clue to origin of life.
- Washington has sent armed task force to protect Pym’s work.
- US Frogmen attack Namor.
- The Behemoth rises.
| Previous | #486 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Tales to Astonish #76, Story B | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #77, Story B |
| Tales to Astonish #76, Story B | Tales to Astonish | Tales to Astonish #77, Story B |
