The Sub-Mariner
Namor aka the Sub-Mariner is a Marvel comic book character, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring of 1939.
The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of
comic books that supplied comics on demand to publishers looking to enter the new medium. Initially created for the unreleased comic
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, the Sub-Mariner first appeared publicly in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) - the first comic book from
Timely Comics, the 1930s-1940s predecessor of the company Marvel Comics. During that period, known to historians and fans as the
Golden Age of Comic Books, the Sub-Mariner was one of Timely's top three characters, along with Captain America and the original
Human Torch. Everett said the character's name was inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
The mutant son of a human sea captain and of a princess of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Namor possesses the super-strength and aquatic abilities of the "Homo mermanus" race, as well as the mutant ability of flight, along with other superhuman powers. Through the years, he has been alternately portrayed as a good-natured but short-fused superhero, or a hostile invader seeking vengeance for perceived wrongs that misguided surface-dwellers committed against his kingdom.
The first known comic book antihero, the Sub-Mariner has remained a historically important and relatively popular Marvel character. He has served directly with the Avengers, Fantastic Four, the Invaders, and the X-Men as well as serving as a foil to all of them on occasion.