Marvels Snapshots: Sub-Mariner #1 - "Reunion"

[laughing_tree]

I knew [Alan Brennert] likes Golden Age comics, and one of his novels was about Palisades Park, so I knew he’d done all the research he needed for that. So I pitched him the idea that it was a Betty Dean story about taking Namor to Palisades Park after the end of the war. And as it turned out, he was planning to move and had his stuff packed up so he wasn’t writing right then, and had some time. So he said yes.

He’s told me since then that he was in as soon as I said, “Betty Dean,” but the Palisades Park setting turned out to be useful, too.

I even had a backup idea: his other novels are mostly about Hawaii, so maybe we could do a story about Carol Danvers, shortly before she becomes Ms. Marvel, on a book tour — she’d written an expose about her time as security chief at NASA — in Hawaii, and, um, something happens that she witnesses. We didn’t ever have to figure out what, because Alan was all-in on Betty and Namor.

-- Kurt Busiek

Comments

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Wow, I really liked this, seeing some of these other sides of Namor. Walking around, eating fries, having a somewhat casual conversation...

I'd like more.

[gnarll]

Namor exploring his human half. I wonder how much they had him in mind when they though up Spock?

Anyway, did anyone ever come up with a lost child of Namor and Betty Dean? Seems like the sort of thing that a writer would come up with.

[icon_uk]

Namor exploring his human half. I wonder how much they had him in mind when they though up Spock?

Given different genres and a quarter century betwen the two, not a lot I wouldn't have thought

Aside from half-human and pointy ears they don't have that much in common, do they, as Spock never wanted to explore his human side. Namor may seek to control his emotions but Spock denies his.

[gnarll]

Well... Gene Roddenberry was born in 1921. Namor was first published in 1938 and then on and off til '49, and for a bit in the 50s. He reappeared in the Fantastic Four in 1962. Roddenberry was working on sci-fi concepts from at least 1961 until he pitched Star Trek in 1964.

If he had an interest in Sci-fi it is not at all impossible that he knew of the Fantastic Four, and he may even have been familiar with Namor from his youth.

Personally, I find Spock and Namor to have a visual similarity. I could see the early 60s Nimoy cast as Namor. They are both tall, thin, dark haired, pointy-eared, pointy-eyebrowed.

https://www.pinterest.es/pin/759912137098979415/

Both are half-human. Both have joined humans in some endeavor but their ultimate identity lies elsewhere. I've also heard that the make-up artists on early Star Trek used Namor as a model for Spock.

Personality-wise, Spock is sort of an inversion of Namor. Cold where he is hot, logical where Namor is emotional. I could see some influence there.

[icon_uk]

That's fair! :) I had forgotten that Rodenberry might have been the right age to be a fan back then too!

[cricharddavies]

Anyway, did anyone ever come up with a lost child of Namor and Betty Dean?

Surprisingly, no, and I'm rather glad of the fact.

[thanekos]

" Lost child of Namor and Betty Dean " sounds like an MC2 character concept that ended up in Tom DeFalco's trashcan.

[gnarll]

Well, such a child would be about 70-80 years old now, and if it did not inherit the mutant gene, only a quarter-Atlantean. Might have lived a quite life somewhere far from the sea.

[sabertoothlotus]

Wasn't it established at some point that Namor can't have children? I can't remember where I read that, but I swear I did at some point.

[mastermahan]

As I recall, back in the '90s, someone decided human/Atlantean hybrids should all be sterile, as genetic hybrids often (but not always) are. Then someone noticed Namorita was Namora's daughter and quickly retconned her into being a clone.

On the other hand, Namor's had a supposed son named Kamar introduced since then, so I think that may have fallen by the wayside.

[gnarll]

I think they reconnected it to Namor making up the story of his supposed sterility to protect his bastard children. No one would be looking for them.

[junipepper]

There’s probably a fanfic. Or there will be.

[doodleboy]

Ordway has the same artistic-tic that Gary Frank does where his characters occasionally look bug-eyed and slightly crazed. Makes me want to see a horror comic out of him.

[icon_uk]

I'm very impressed that he managed to keep the stripes on Namor's shirt consistent and actually curve like the stripes on a human wearing a t-shirt do. Which may sound a little like I'm being sarcastic, but I'm really not.

[donnblake]

Now that you mention the shirt- can anyone find that old Bolivar Trask drawing of the evil mutant? My google-fu is of no help here, but I remember them being pointy-eared, and Quentin Quire and gang adopted red and black striped shirts when they were consciously modeling themselves after that drawing.

Edit: Here it is- https://www.cbr.com/x-men-mutants-otto-binder-grant-morrison-whips-propaganda/

While the stripes are wrong, we do get an in universe comment that "Hey, that guy looks kind of like Namor."

[gnarll]

Namor being the first known mutant, very high profile and having a tendency to go crazy with rage and try to destroy New York could have influenced marvel humanity's attitude to mutants significantly.