Namor: Marvel's watertight efforts to make him different from Aquaman - CNN

Editor’s Note: The pursuing contains insignificant spoilers astir “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

CNN  — 

In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the aquatic adversary known arsenic Namor wastes nary clip establishing himself arsenic 1 of those beguiling but unusual characters that tin polarize an audience: the ocean-dwelling deity uses conch shells similar smartphones and has feathered wings connected his ankles.

But arsenic portrayed by Mexican histrion Tenoch Huerta Mejía successful this brooding travel up to 2018’s “Black Panther,” Namor besides commands sizeable gravitas arsenic the amphibious person of an underwater tribe, and deserves much than conscionable the inevitable comparisons helium volition person to his DC counterpart, Aquaman. (CNN, DC Films and Warner Bros, which produced “Aquaman,” are portion of the aforesaid genitor company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)

Historically, DC predates Marvel with astir each of its bequest characters successful the pages of the comic books that made them famous: Superman (1938) came good earlier Iron Man (1963), Batman (1939) earlier Moon Knight (1975), Wonder Woman (1941) earlier Captain Marvel (1968), and truthful on. It’s the eventual of ironies that Namor is lone appearing successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe now, since helium is 1 of the fewer Marvel Comics characters to person travel first.

Also known arsenic the Sub-Mariner, Namor archetypal appeared successful comics successful 1939, portion DC’s Aquaman debuted successful 1941. Of course, connected the large screen, the other is true: DC managed to bushed Marvel to the punch successful the realm of underwater superheroes, releasing “Aquaman” successful 2018 and introducing the quality played by Jason Momoa successful “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” 2 years earlier that. What’s more, “Aquaman” remains 1 of DC’s biggest hits: the movie has made implicit $1 cardinal globally implicit its lifetime, according to Box Office Mojo, with a sequel connected the mode adjacent year.

Marvel and “Wakanda Forever” manager Ryan Coogler therefore had their enactment chopped retired for them to guarantee Namor and his satellite created a wow factor, portion besides diverging capable from what had been done before, namely successful “Aquaman.” And to the caller film’s credit, it appears arsenic though overmuch if not each of the sequences showing the underwater kingdom of Talokan — with citizens playing waterlogged ballgames and hanging astir connected benches — utilizes existent underwater photography and divers, arsenic opposed to CGI.

In Mejía — who is billed arsenic being “introduced” successful “Wakanda Forever,” contempt implicit 70 credits successful Mexican cinema spanning 15 years arsenic good arsenic past year’s “The Forever Purge” — Marvel thankfully has recovered its ain dynamic anchor to this caller underwater world. The character’s menacing beingness and intimidation is tempered lone by the vulnerability, adjacent torture, successful his expression, adding yet different constituent that differs from the quirky and tongue-in-cheek quality of Momoa’s aquatic superhero.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” besides had the daunting task of presenting Namor’s origins successful a mode that swam wide of those seen successful “Aquaman,” and of doing it successful a movie not meant to run solely arsenic an root story.

Both Namor and Aquaman assertion the mythic Atlantis arsenic their points of root successful their respective comic publication root worldly — and DC already utilized Atlantis arsenic their mounting for “Aquaman” 4 years agone — so there was a ripe accidental to alteration things up erstwhile it came to Namor’s backstory successful “Wakanda Forever.” The alteration comes by mode of Talokan, Namor’s location kingdom, which is inspired by Mesoamerican, Indigenous Central and South American mythology. The power to this Mayan and Aztec-based mounting allows the movie to research histories of colonization that are overmuch much rooted successful reality, akin to however the archetypal “Black Panther” touched connected Africa’s humanities conflict with colonizers, arsenic well.

Arguably, the astir notable deviation from Namor’s comics origin comes successful a uncover made successful the film: the aquatic superbeing seems to beryllium the effect of a tribal ritual utilizing a mystical herb, overmuch similar however the Black Panther is manifested. (Aquaman, meanwhile, draws his superpowers from 1 genitor of royal Atlantean heritage.) But then, the movie goes adjacent further — connected the eve of Phase V of the MCU’s grandmaster plan, Namor utters successful nary uncertain presumption that helium is “a mutant,” a wide siren telephone of things to come, with the mutant X-Men — antecedently inhabiting a abstracted 20th Century Fox franchise — soon to beryllium incorporated into the MCU fold.

But earlier that happens, and acknowledgment to Mejía’s nuanced show successful “Wakanda Forever,” Namor should beryllium capable to debar galore much comparisons to different oceanic demigods, and thrust his ain question into the future.