The Sub-Mariner

The Sub-Mariner, Marvel's first super hero, remains one of the most remarkable. Created by Bill Everett more than fifty years ago, at a time when most comic book heroes were noble benefactors with no real personalities, Prince Namor was a troubled rebel with a short temper and a bad attitude. He was almost a villain, but fought to protect his people and his home from an aggressive civilization that respected neither other cultures nor the balance of nature. This monster from the ocean floor symbolized the battle against racism, exploitation and pollution; as a result he was a particularly modern sort of antihero.

While many super heroes spring from scientific experiments. The Sub-Mariner is a throwback to ancient myths about mysterious species who share the earth with humans. The Sub-Mariner's elfin appearance suggest that he is an elemental spirit who possesses magical talents for bedeviling mere mortals; in fact he is half human, and thus no closer kin to his undersea subjects than to the surface dwellers he professes to despise. Underneath it all, Namor is always at war with himself; his fierce desire to be a leader may mask a fear that he doesn't really belong anywhere.

The mellowed, almost middle-aged Sub-Mariner of today is a less startling figure than the half-crazed kid who rose out of the sea in 1939 to take on the entire world. Namor has even become comparatively resigned to the presence of the human race. Although the Sub-Mariner has grown up, his original incarnation of half a century ago established a landmark in Marvel's development. Here, for the first time, was a hero who exhibited convincing weaknesses; he might be brave, loyal and righteous, but he was also arrogant, obtuse and antisocial.

Protagonists with flaws in their makeup didn't really become common until the 1960's, but the unpredictable Sub-Mariner was a significant precursor. His status as Marvel's first great character is more than a matter of mere chronology.