Before there were The Fantastic Four, before there was Doctor Doom, there was "Namor: The Sub-Mariner".
1939, on the wake of World War II an American tanker ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean. Unbeknownst to the ship's captain, one of the ship's crewmen spitefully drinks himself drunk and pours oil drum after oil drum into the water. We follow the oil as it poisons sea-life and the creatures infected are caught by blue-skinned people and brought to the undersea city of Atlantis. In the capital building, Emperor Thakorr and his daughter Princess Fen are told by The Representative of Health that the poisoned food is slowly killing Atlanteans. Listening from outside the room is Prince Namor-the pink-skinned son of Fen. Namor becomes angry by this news and hurries towards the surface only to be stopped by Dorma, the only friend he's ever had. Through their conversation we learn Namor has continuously threatened to attack the surface, but has always been stopped as The Emperor doesn't want mankind to discover Atlantis.
Meanwhile, archeologist Paul Destine and scientist Phineas Horton search the mountains of Antarctica until they discover a temple frozen in ice. Inside the temple they find The Serpent Crown, a mystical artifact Paul spent years searching for. They take it from it's spot as the temple sinks into the ocean, the men barely escape. Once they're inside the camp Horton set up, Paul places the Crown on his head and tells Horton everything the crown is showing him. Upon learning of the existence of Atlantis, Paul is seemingly possessed by the Crown and uses it's power to fly out of the tent. The royal dinner is interrupted when Paul appears in the dining hall and uses the crown to blast beams throughout the castle, destroying Atlantean structures and killing Atlanteans. Namor joins the royal guard in fighting Paul, but as they pull of crown off the human they find one of the victims of the attack was Princess Fen.
Paul Destine in locked in a cell as Namor urges Emperor Thakorr to let him kill Paul and avenge Fen. Thakorr must see to the repair of the city and refuses to kill Paul until they understand why he was looking for The Serpent Crown. Dorma explains to Namor on their way out of the kingdom that The Serpent Crown was a tool created by the offspring of the Egyptian God Set and ancient Atlanteans. The tool was created so that the wisdom of Set would live on within whoever whore the crown and be used to lead Atlantis, but the power of the crown was too great and caused a war within the city. Due to the destruction and betrayal, the Atlantean race was split in two: one culture remaining true to Atlantean history and a new culture-The Lemurians-would distance themselves from Atlantean culture and build a new city elsewhere. The crown itself was hidden in an ice temple to prevent a similar situation.
In the following days Paul Destine is questioned and The Serpent Crown is locked away, but in Jacksonville, Florida Phineas Horton has returned to his lab and is furious the U.S. military has ignored his claims of what happened to Paul. The military representatives accused Horton of being senile and Paul probably dying of frost bite. Horton looks over the body of a robot he created, he speaks to the robot-but really to himself-that the military ignored his project of creating a robot soldier too. A robot that looked human, operated like a machine, and could project extreme heat like a torch. After Paul Destine is interrogated by an Atlantean guard, Namor sneaks into the cell and asks some questions of his own. When Namor reveals to Paul that Fen was his mother, Paul is legitimately sorry and agrees to tell Namor whatever he wants to know. Namor learns of the current war and of the transport of oil and Namor comes to the conclusion that mankind must not only learn of Atlantis, but fear it's spite. When the Atlantean guard returns he find Paul had been killed and Dorma warns Tharokk that Namor has gone missing.
After a long swim, Namor arrives on the beach of Jacksonville and begins causing havoc in search of mankind's leader. Police officers try to stop him, but Namor's powers of super strength and durability make it impossible. One officer-Betty Dean-tries to convince the chief to negotiate, but she is ignored. The U.S. military hear about Namor's attack on the city and realize they don't have a lot of soldiers still in the U.S. so they call Phineas Horton and give him a chance to show off that supposed "Human Torch" he built. Namor is destroying property, but only killing the men who attack him. Namor hesitates to kill Betty and he is tackled by Horton's robot. While the aptly-named "Human Torch" does not speak or reveal he is a robot, Horton's voice is broadcasted out of the robot and warns police to stand back. Namor relishes a greater challenge, but when the Human Torch becomes engulfed in flames Namor's fight becomes harder as the heat from the robot slows Namor down. The Human Torch manages to defeat Namor, but many building are caught on fire in the process. While the police target the Human Torch and fires are being put out, Betty Dean picks up the dizzy Namor and gets him to her car.
Namor wakes up in a bathtub as Betty is rubbing alcohol on his burns. Namor and Betty have an interesting conversation, one where Namor explains the struggle of his people and how their leader won't take action. Betty tells Namor in human culture, women are treated as less than men. Betty worried her family when she became a cop, but because so many men are going to war she felt it was her responsibility to pick up the slack. Learning she is a law enforcer-a guardian to her kind-Namor questions why Betty helped him. After all, Namor clearly took the lives of humans and Betty is supposed to punish those who threaten humans. Betty can't say for sure, but she knows Namor didn't plan of killing anyone unless he was provoked. Betty decides it's her turn to ask something: why didn't Namor kill her. As Namor puts it, Betty's eyes reminded him of his mother Fen. Namor tells Betty-and the viewers-of how his birth came to be.
As seen in a flashback, thirty years ago a ship called "The Oracle" was sailing over the Atlantic Ocean transporting a platoon of American soldiers from Cuba as the Spanish-American War had come to an end. Emperor Tharokk was still curious about mankind back then and sent Princess Fen to spy among the ship. Fen used a magic pendent to appear human and pretended to be a castaway the crewmen of The Oracle picked up. As she suspected many men wanted to sleep with her, but the ship's captain showed her respect and threatened anyone who laid a hand on her. Fen and Captain Leonard McKenzie fell in love, but Tharokk grew impatient with Fen's mission and sent a group of Atlantean soldiers to board The Oracle and get Fen back. In his retaliation, Leonard was killed as were almost everyone on the ship. The only remaining man on the ship was Leonard's first mate Caleb Alexander. Nine months later, Fen gave birth to the first human/Atlantean child and named him Namor. Because of the nature of his birth Namor was often ignored by the Atlantean people and only tolerated because he was the prince. Even Tharokk never referred to Namor as Fen's son or as his grandson, he simple cut off all communication with mankind as a result of Fen's mission. Taking this into account and how Betty intentionally helped him, Namor starts to wonder if his hatred of humans is justified. Namor wants to go back to Atlantis and find some way of making himself stronger so the next time The Human Torch fights him he'll be better, but Betty "distracts" Namor.
Phineas is arrested for the damage caused by the Human Torch and the controls to the robot are passed to a team of military scientists. When Namor wakes up in Betty's bed a group of police are surrounding the house, as is The Human Torch. Betty admits she helped Namor and kept him in her house to get a read on how dangerous he was and to keep him from hurting anyone else. While Betty feels sorry for misleading him and does understand his issues, Betty used herself to keep people safe. "Sometimes you have to be a problem to solve a problem". Namor goes to strike Betty, but he stops and simply leaps out of the house. Namor runs towards the ocean with The Human Torch following. Namor escapes into the ocean and The Human Torch is forced to stand at the water's edge.
Namor is captured by a search party of Atlanteans and brought before Tharokk, he is scolded for his actions. Namor stands up to Tharokk and claims mankind must know who they are harming, that for every life taken under the sea the humans must pay their own. Namor tells Tharokk of all that has happened and begs his grandfather to let him go. To let him inspire change. Tharokk looks upon Fen's empty throne and decides to give Namor a chance. After learning of The Human Torch, Dorma uses Atlantean magic to create symbols of wings on Namor's feet. These magic symbols give Namor the ability to fly. Tharokk outfits him with armor and a trident and offers a squad of soldiers, but Namor chooses to go alone. Namor plans on defeating The Human Torch and using his victory to demand reparation from mankind. Before he leaves Namor shares a kiss with Dorma, but his advances are refuses when Dorma senses the foreign scent of a human on him.
Namor returns to Jacksonville and openly challenges The Human Torch. Their fight takes place along the beach and away from civilians, but government officials watch on. On government scientist informs the general their submarine traced Namor's swim pattern and has found the location of Atlantis. Namor's new powers and weapons make the fight even, but the android is able to keep up. The general orders the submarine to fire torpedoes at Atlantis and Phineas Horton-who is held captive by the military-overhears this. Namor defeats The Human Torch by holding him underwater and removing his head. As he presents the destroyed body of The Human Torch to the people of the city-demanding to see America's leader as he does this-Phineas manages to get on The Human Torch's intercom and tell Namor of the sub's attack on Atlantis. Namor ditches the robot and swims as fast as he can, but is too late as torpedoes are fired and hit Atlantis. With the help of Dorma and Atlantean soldiers, Namor is able to evacuate some Atlanteans, but only a minority of them. Namor tries to rescue Tharokk, but the Emperor insists on dying his kingdom next to his daughter's throne. With Atlantis destroyed, Namor turns his rage on the submarine as he breaks in and murders every soldier inside. When the violence is done, Namor surrenders himself to the Atlantean survivors.
Dorma buries The Serpent Crown and Namor-who allows imprisonment-in an ancient temple to be hidden forever. In his monologue Namor does not regret his actions, his rage was dignified, his motives were good, his only regret was not spending more time being a son instead of a prince. When Dorma asks Namor if he is sure about his imprisonment and Namor sees the fall of Atlantis as a necessary change in the world. "Sometimes to solve a problem, you have to be a problem". Namor is frozen in ice alongside the Serpent Crown and his temple sinks to the bottom of an abyss. Dorma leads the Atlanteans towards Lemuria.
After the credits, we see the Latvarian servant Boris walk into the shop of gypsy woman. See reveals to have The Serpent's Crown in his possession, but cannot activate it's powers. The gypsy clarifies the artifact's powers lay dormant and can only be unlocked by the one who was imprisoned with it. Boris walks out of the shop, relaying what he's learned over the phone. On the other end of the line is Doctor Doom sitting on his throne and hacking into Shield's databanks. He finds all information on Namor and learns his body is in Shield's possession. Doctor Doom turns towards his assistant, the cyborg Lucia Von Bardos and informs her she's taking an early vacation to the states.
Thank you for reading.
It's a three way battle for the Fantastic Four, next up is "Fantastic Four: A War of Kings".
Meanwhile, archeologist Paul Destine and scientist Phineas Horton search the mountains of Antarctica until they discover a temple frozen in ice. Inside the temple they find The Serpent Crown, a mystical artifact Paul spent years searching for. They take it from it's spot as the temple sinks into the ocean, the men barely escape. Once they're inside the camp Horton set up, Paul places the Crown on his head and tells Horton everything the crown is showing him. Upon learning of the existence of Atlantis, Paul is seemingly possessed by the Crown and uses it's power to fly out of the tent. The royal dinner is interrupted when Paul appears in the dining hall and uses the crown to blast beams throughout the castle, destroying Atlantean structures and killing Atlanteans. Namor joins the royal guard in fighting Paul, but as they pull of crown off the human they find one of the victims of the attack was Princess Fen.
Paul Destine in locked in a cell as Namor urges Emperor Thakorr to let him kill Paul and avenge Fen. Thakorr must see to the repair of the city and refuses to kill Paul until they understand why he was looking for The Serpent Crown. Dorma explains to Namor on their way out of the kingdom that The Serpent Crown was a tool created by the offspring of the Egyptian God Set and ancient Atlanteans. The tool was created so that the wisdom of Set would live on within whoever whore the crown and be used to lead Atlantis, but the power of the crown was too great and caused a war within the city. Due to the destruction and betrayal, the Atlantean race was split in two: one culture remaining true to Atlantean history and a new culture-The Lemurians-would distance themselves from Atlantean culture and build a new city elsewhere. The crown itself was hidden in an ice temple to prevent a similar situation.
In the following days Paul Destine is questioned and The Serpent Crown is locked away, but in Jacksonville, Florida Phineas Horton has returned to his lab and is furious the U.S. military has ignored his claims of what happened to Paul. The military representatives accused Horton of being senile and Paul probably dying of frost bite. Horton looks over the body of a robot he created, he speaks to the robot-but really to himself-that the military ignored his project of creating a robot soldier too. A robot that looked human, operated like a machine, and could project extreme heat like a torch. After Paul Destine is interrogated by an Atlantean guard, Namor sneaks into the cell and asks some questions of his own. When Namor reveals to Paul that Fen was his mother, Paul is legitimately sorry and agrees to tell Namor whatever he wants to know. Namor learns of the current war and of the transport of oil and Namor comes to the conclusion that mankind must not only learn of Atlantis, but fear it's spite. When the Atlantean guard returns he find Paul had been killed and Dorma warns Tharokk that Namor has gone missing.
After a long swim, Namor arrives on the beach of Jacksonville and begins causing havoc in search of mankind's leader. Police officers try to stop him, but Namor's powers of super strength and durability make it impossible. One officer-Betty Dean-tries to convince the chief to negotiate, but she is ignored. The U.S. military hear about Namor's attack on the city and realize they don't have a lot of soldiers still in the U.S. so they call Phineas Horton and give him a chance to show off that supposed "Human Torch" he built. Namor is destroying property, but only killing the men who attack him. Namor hesitates to kill Betty and he is tackled by Horton's robot. While the aptly-named "Human Torch" does not speak or reveal he is a robot, Horton's voice is broadcasted out of the robot and warns police to stand back. Namor relishes a greater challenge, but when the Human Torch becomes engulfed in flames Namor's fight becomes harder as the heat from the robot slows Namor down. The Human Torch manages to defeat Namor, but many building are caught on fire in the process. While the police target the Human Torch and fires are being put out, Betty Dean picks up the dizzy Namor and gets him to her car.
Namor wakes up in a bathtub as Betty is rubbing alcohol on his burns. Namor and Betty have an interesting conversation, one where Namor explains the struggle of his people and how their leader won't take action. Betty tells Namor in human culture, women are treated as less than men. Betty worried her family when she became a cop, but because so many men are going to war she felt it was her responsibility to pick up the slack. Learning she is a law enforcer-a guardian to her kind-Namor questions why Betty helped him. After all, Namor clearly took the lives of humans and Betty is supposed to punish those who threaten humans. Betty can't say for sure, but she knows Namor didn't plan of killing anyone unless he was provoked. Betty decides it's her turn to ask something: why didn't Namor kill her. As Namor puts it, Betty's eyes reminded him of his mother Fen. Namor tells Betty-and the viewers-of how his birth came to be.
As seen in a flashback, thirty years ago a ship called "The Oracle" was sailing over the Atlantic Ocean transporting a platoon of American soldiers from Cuba as the Spanish-American War had come to an end. Emperor Tharokk was still curious about mankind back then and sent Princess Fen to spy among the ship. Fen used a magic pendent to appear human and pretended to be a castaway the crewmen of The Oracle picked up. As she suspected many men wanted to sleep with her, but the ship's captain showed her respect and threatened anyone who laid a hand on her. Fen and Captain Leonard McKenzie fell in love, but Tharokk grew impatient with Fen's mission and sent a group of Atlantean soldiers to board The Oracle and get Fen back. In his retaliation, Leonard was killed as were almost everyone on the ship. The only remaining man on the ship was Leonard's first mate Caleb Alexander. Nine months later, Fen gave birth to the first human/Atlantean child and named him Namor. Because of the nature of his birth Namor was often ignored by the Atlantean people and only tolerated because he was the prince. Even Tharokk never referred to Namor as Fen's son or as his grandson, he simple cut off all communication with mankind as a result of Fen's mission. Taking this into account and how Betty intentionally helped him, Namor starts to wonder if his hatred of humans is justified. Namor wants to go back to Atlantis and find some way of making himself stronger so the next time The Human Torch fights him he'll be better, but Betty "distracts" Namor.
Phineas is arrested for the damage caused by the Human Torch and the controls to the robot are passed to a team of military scientists. When Namor wakes up in Betty's bed a group of police are surrounding the house, as is The Human Torch. Betty admits she helped Namor and kept him in her house to get a read on how dangerous he was and to keep him from hurting anyone else. While Betty feels sorry for misleading him and does understand his issues, Betty used herself to keep people safe. "Sometimes you have to be a problem to solve a problem". Namor goes to strike Betty, but he stops and simply leaps out of the house. Namor runs towards the ocean with The Human Torch following. Namor escapes into the ocean and The Human Torch is forced to stand at the water's edge.
Namor is captured by a search party of Atlanteans and brought before Tharokk, he is scolded for his actions. Namor stands up to Tharokk and claims mankind must know who they are harming, that for every life taken under the sea the humans must pay their own. Namor tells Tharokk of all that has happened and begs his grandfather to let him go. To let him inspire change. Tharokk looks upon Fen's empty throne and decides to give Namor a chance. After learning of The Human Torch, Dorma uses Atlantean magic to create symbols of wings on Namor's feet. These magic symbols give Namor the ability to fly. Tharokk outfits him with armor and a trident and offers a squad of soldiers, but Namor chooses to go alone. Namor plans on defeating The Human Torch and using his victory to demand reparation from mankind. Before he leaves Namor shares a kiss with Dorma, but his advances are refuses when Dorma senses the foreign scent of a human on him.
Namor returns to Jacksonville and openly challenges The Human Torch. Their fight takes place along the beach and away from civilians, but government officials watch on. On government scientist informs the general their submarine traced Namor's swim pattern and has found the location of Atlantis. Namor's new powers and weapons make the fight even, but the android is able to keep up. The general orders the submarine to fire torpedoes at Atlantis and Phineas Horton-who is held captive by the military-overhears this. Namor defeats The Human Torch by holding him underwater and removing his head. As he presents the destroyed body of The Human Torch to the people of the city-demanding to see America's leader as he does this-Phineas manages to get on The Human Torch's intercom and tell Namor of the sub's attack on Atlantis. Namor ditches the robot and swims as fast as he can, but is too late as torpedoes are fired and hit Atlantis. With the help of Dorma and Atlantean soldiers, Namor is able to evacuate some Atlanteans, but only a minority of them. Namor tries to rescue Tharokk, but the Emperor insists on dying his kingdom next to his daughter's throne. With Atlantis destroyed, Namor turns his rage on the submarine as he breaks in and murders every soldier inside. When the violence is done, Namor surrenders himself to the Atlantean survivors.
Dorma buries The Serpent Crown and Namor-who allows imprisonment-in an ancient temple to be hidden forever. In his monologue Namor does not regret his actions, his rage was dignified, his motives were good, his only regret was not spending more time being a son instead of a prince. When Dorma asks Namor if he is sure about his imprisonment and Namor sees the fall of Atlantis as a necessary change in the world. "Sometimes to solve a problem, you have to be a problem". Namor is frozen in ice alongside the Serpent Crown and his temple sinks to the bottom of an abyss. Dorma leads the Atlanteans towards Lemuria.
After the credits, we see the Latvarian servant Boris walk into the shop of gypsy woman. See reveals to have The Serpent's Crown in his possession, but cannot activate it's powers. The gypsy clarifies the artifact's powers lay dormant and can only be unlocked by the one who was imprisoned with it. Boris walks out of the shop, relaying what he's learned over the phone. On the other end of the line is Doctor Doom sitting on his throne and hacking into Shield's databanks. He finds all information on Namor and learns his body is in Shield's possession. Doctor Doom turns towards his assistant, the cyborg Lucia Von Bardos and informs her she's taking an early vacation to the states.
Thank you for reading.
It's a three way battle for the Fantastic Four, next up is "Fantastic Four: A War of Kings".
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