#warlord seth

[comicavalcade]

Submariner Summer 35

Do Not Go Gentle Into That #SubmarinerSummer part 35, Namor Nation. We are at a key moment, just like last time, just like next time. Momentous things are afoot. This time, we hail the LAST ISSUE of volume 1 of Tales to Astonish, #101! End of the line is a wonderful Hulk in Asgard cover

Yes, Tales to Astonish ends here; Tales of Suspense ended as well. But more on that next time. Here at the End, we BEGIN a key story in Namor lore, that of the Man Called Destiny. It starts in the Title splash with Namor, sleeping, haunted by a nightmare...or is he?

We have Archie Goodwin back on scripts, and Gene Colan back on art; nice. Adkins on inks and Simek on letters rounds out the creatives. Also, look at our lil' man sleep. Do you guys think his wings twitch when he's dreaming? I bet they do.

ANYway, the nightmare figure haunts him, taunts him, and apparently has been doing so since his trip to the ruins of Antarctic Atlantis. Thinking it might be a sign of the memories lost in his past amnesia, he sets off for Antartica again to explore if there might be more there

But it isn't a Namor story unless he gets attacked. So, a pilot scared that Namor looks at him funny fires missiles at our Prince in flight; doesn't end well for the pilot or his plane, but Namor spares his life and goes on his way.

Bad.

Ass.

Meanwhile, the people of Atlantis mourn their city destroyed by a US submarine. They must now wander in search of a place safer from the surface. But, in their own words, as long as the blue skinned race survives, so does Atlantis; strong indigenous coding here for the Atlanteans

And hell, they may have lost their city but not their fashion sense; Colan beautifully illustrates their sorrow and resolve and Lady Dorma absolutely SERVING here. Can't blame Warlord Seth for catching feelings for her as a new Atlantean tear-filled trail begins 👀

For his part, the believed-dead Namor reaches Antarctica, and is compelled by he knows not what to follow a route to a hidden cave. And there he finds an ancient civilization and the ruins of their time-lost, frozen city!

However, he also finds its icy guardian; or more specifically, it finds him. Namor makes short work of it, though, and it crashes through a wall leading to a fateful chamber...the chamber of A Man Called Destiny!

And that's the beginning of Namor's fateful clash with Destiny, here at the end of Tales to Astonish. The plot isn't the most sophisticated ever, but hinting at getting answers to Namor's amnesia is compelling, it was great to touch base with Atlantis, and Colan delivers Art™

So NEXT, we will have to see what Destiny holds for Namor, but it will no longer be in Tales to Astonish. She was a good ship, but she sails into the past. Also? It won't be tomorrow, I'm afraid, I shall be otherwise engaged. Lo siento 🙏

So probably Wednesday we shall cover: "Call Him Destiny...Or Call Him Death!"

[marvelousmrm]

Sub-Mariner #21 (Thomas/Severin, Jan 1970). Aaaand we’re back! Welcome to 1970. Namor still can’t breathe underwater after a run-in with alien invaders. When the Atlanteans come to the surface for an ill-advised rescue, the jealous Warlord Seth nearly starts a war.

[comicavalcade]

Submariner Summer 38

Ok, friends, lets do some #SubmarinerSummer read through. Its part 38, and we're doing Sub-Mariner #2: Cry Triton! Only the second issue and already a crossover fight, as dramatically illustrated on another great cover.

Our title splash has Namor venting his rage on the machines of the ancient city. Destiny used them to power himself up, so they've got to go. Thomas/Buscema continuing as the creative team this issue, along with Giacoia on inks, but Simek is back on letters.

Once he's done with that, he turns to his next move. And for the first time since he got a solo feature, that move is the Fantastic Four, who he figures might be able to help him with his Destiny problem. But on the way there, he has an unexpected encounter with Plant Man

But he's not alone, the Inhumans are also in the area and concerned about Plant Man's sub. So they send the aquatic Inhuman Triton to go check it out. Seeing Namor coming from one side and Triton from the other gives Plant Man an idea...the classic Let's You And Him Fight

SO, he sets Namor up, making it look like he's his minion (as if). Triton only knows of Namor as an FF enemy, and since he's an FF ally, he buys the trick hook line and sinker, attacking Namor. I feel like Triton here is like way too much of online comic fandom

Seeing that Triton is pretty rad in the water, Namor changes the venue to the sky. As they brawl, they crash into Plant Man's sub, and Triton lets it slip that he's an FF friend. So Namor asks him to take him to them, but Triton of course refuses, misunderstanding the intention

So the brawl resumes, and as it does Namor rips off the tubes Triton needs to breath in air since he can normally only breath water. Triton starts to suffocate pretty quickly, but Namor has no intention of letting that happen and throws him into the water.

Checking in with Lady Dorma, the Atlanteans still assume Namor is dead and prepare to leave their destroyed city. Dorma wonders if that's true though, and is thinking of running off to look. Lord Vashti, though, puts the kibosh on that as she's needed to play her role as noblewoman

Meanwhile, Triton recovers quickly from nearly suffocating, and reengages. However, Plant Man finally makes his move and animates some sea-weed to trap Triton and Namor; this causes Namor to finally realize they've been tricked by someone, but too late to avoid becoming prisoner

By this point the other Inhumans assume something has gone wrong with Triton, so with Black Bolt in the lead they rush out to the sub; this freaks out Plant Man, who bugs out.

Where? Uh, apparently London, innit bruv. And there we reach our cliffhanger!

A nice Marvel Misunderstanding story, with two heroic characters manipulated by the evil villain into a bout. And Triton is a good choice, certainly an underutilized one. And the action is beautifully depicted. There's no doubting either Thomas or Buscema's mastery of the form

Also, do you SEE how slay Lady Dorma in mourning is? Absolute Icon. This look or variants of it will become a go-to for her, and its not hard to see why. A huge W in Buscema's column.

But NEXT, we have to care about what happens to London, somehow, as the Plant Man plants it on those shores as we cover Sub-Mariner #3: On A Clear Day You Can See...The Leviathan!

[marvelousmrm]

Tales to Astonish #101 (Goodwin/Colan, Mar 1968). Pestered by a vision of forgotten memories, Namor returns to the Sub-Arctic for answers. It’s neat for Colan return to this book, and to see how much his style has developed since he was using the Adam Austin pseudonym.

[marvelousmrm]

Sub-Mariner #9 (Thomas/Severin, Jan 1969). You shouldn’t name a place “The Abyss of Doom” and then complain that it’s not very nice.