What Does The Future Hold For Namor In The MCU After ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’?

Tenoch Huerta’s Namor was finally introduced in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” He is fierce, arrogant, and immensely powerful. He is one of the oldest Marvel characters, having made his first appearance in 1939. So his history goes way back, and thus his arrival at the MCU is the beginning of a seemingly long journey. The character was created by artist Bill Everett and introduced in Marvel Comics #1.

While in the comics, Namor hails from Atlantis, the MCU has opted to improvise. In the film, he belongs to the underwater city of Talokan, a Mayan kingdom—another kingdom like Wakanda that has its own vibranium resources. However, just like in the comics, here, too, he is a mutant, as he himself reveals to Shuri after taking her with him to Talokan. His name in the comics meant “Avenging Son” (Atlantean). But in the film, the meaning and significance change based on his past. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” he is cursed by a Spanish man of faith, who addresses him as “El niño sin amor,” the child without love. From that phrase, he took up the name “Namor,” i.e., a combination of “sin” and “amor,” one who doesn’t have a love for the surface world, a world that is bent upon destruction and cost him his mother. Keeping in mind just how secretive and protective Talokan is of its resources (vibranium), it was only a matter of time before the surface world faced retaliation from the Talokans and their king Namor.

Namor intends to kill Riri Williams, the teenage girl who created the device that could detect vibranium and was used by the CIA to do so at the beginning of the film. Later on, after Riri and Shuri are brought to the city of Talokan, Namor tells Shuri why there is a need to kill Riri. Shuri states that there has to be a peaceful way to resolve the situation. But before they can discuss this further, Nakia breaches the gates of Talokan and escapes with Riri and Shuri, killing two Talokan women on the way out. Namor thus declares war on Wakanda.

At the end of the film, however, Namor yields to Shuri, the new Black Panther. The words “Imperius Rex” that he utters before being engulfed in flames are basically a battle cry from the comics. It is Latin for “Emperor King.” But the surrender is not a defeat for Talokan, as he tells one of his assistants. When the countries come to Wakanda for its resources, the Wakandans will turn to them for help. And that is when they will take the war to the surface world.

In the comics, most of Namor’s encounters have been with the Fantastic Four. In fact, after being introduced to the world by Timely Comics in 1939, he was re-introduced after Timely Comics became Marvel Comics in “Fantastic Four” #4 (1961). He even shared a spark with Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman. He has been a part of the X-Men, the Illuminati, and the Avengers. With the mutants and the Fantastic Four about to arrive in the MCU, and hopefully the Illuminati, too (we saw a non-MCU version of them in MoM), Namor will show up a lot more in the future. Finally, there is the upcoming “Avengers: Secret Wars,” slated for release in 2026. In the “Secret Wars” comic written by Jonathan Hickman in 2015, both Namor and Black Panther played significant roles. So we can expect Namor to be in “Avengers: Secret Wars” as well as “Avengers: Kang Dynasty” because he has been face-to-face with Kang too. But it all depends on how the MCU intends to implement the plots of comic storylines.


See more: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Ending, Explained: What Happens To T’Challa’s Legacy?


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Shubhabrata Dutta
Shubhabrata Dutta
Shubhabrata’s greatest regret is the fact that he won’t be able to watch every movie and show ever made. And when he isn’t watching a movie or a show, he is busy thinking about them and how they are made; all while taking care of his hobbies. These include the usual suspects i.e. songs, long walks, books and PC games.

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