First Look At Namor As He’ll Appear In Black Panther 2
He looks incredible.
Marvel Studios has been making a plethora of announcements and debuting tons of footage at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. One such piece of footage debuted was a trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In that trailer, fans were given a glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Namor and Murphy’s Multiverse reports that thanks to a piece of merchandise, fans can now get a deeper first look at Namor as he’ll appear in the much-anticipated sequel.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to close out the MCU’s Phase 4 toward the end of this year and serves as the sequel to the 2018 smash-hit Black Panther. The new trailer for Wakanda Forever shows King T’Challa’s family recovering from his death (mirroring the very tragic death of the heroic actor Chadwick Boseman) as well as dealing with the looming threat of Namor the Sub-Mariner and his kingdom of Atlanteans. The brief glimpses of Namor show that he is heavily inspired by Aztec and Mayan culture and the merchandise (depicted below) shows further evidence of that theme and also proves to fans that the character will look very similar to his comic-book counterpart.
Namor the Sub Mariner is one of the oldest characters in Marvel’s comic-book back catalogue. Son to a human father and Royal Atlantean mother (just like DC Comics’ Aquaman), Namor first appeared in comic book form as far back as 1939 (Marvel Comics #1). The character, being portrayed by actor Tenoch Huerta in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has often toed the line between anti-hero and hero, but it looks like his cinematic debut will lean toward the former. The action figure for the new MCU character details Namor’s green speedo, a key feature of his comic book design, complimented by segments of gold armour on his forearms and chest. The design of the cinematic Namor being close to its comic book forebearer is something that the MCU has sometimes strayed away from, preferring to mould characters in their own image. In this instance, it makes a refreshing change.
Namor isn’t the only character making their MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Actress Dominique Thorne will make her MCU debut as Riri Williams/Ironheart, a genius who develops her own Iron Man armour and will get her own Disney+ series (Ironheart) next fall. There is also a flash towards the end of the trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that shows a new hero in the Black Panther suit but who that is remains to be seen.
Namor’s MCU entry is a long time coming, given his long-standing comic book history and his fraternizing with many superhero teams in print form, such as The Avengers and The Fantastic Four. The Namor merchandise along with the character’s appearance in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer shows off an awesome design that all MCU fans will love. The looming conflict between Namor and the people of Wakanda, the introduction of Ironheart and a new Black Panther will likely mean that when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theatres on November 11, it will be one of the biggest films of the year.
