A Major Marvel Hero Is Going To Debut As A Villain In The MCU
A long time hero in the Marvel comics is finally coming to the screen. Now, he'll be the bad guy.
This article is more than 2 years old
Fans of Marvel comics have a unique viewpoint on what happens within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They get to see which of the many characters in the comics ever show up in the movies. It’s hard to believe that anyone working in the studio is responsible for knowing them all, there are simply too many. There’s a lot of room for speculation on why some show up and others don’t. In the case of Namor, it seems like a terrible oversight. The character first appeared in the comics all the way back in 1939. Over the decades, he has stories that include working with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and others. How has Namor yet to show up on screen?
According to sources for We Got This Covered, Namor the Sub-Mariner will soon be showing up as an antihero/villain sometime soon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They aren’t yet sure which property he may appear in, but they say he’ll be a major player. Finally.
In years past, fans were expecting a solo film for Namor to appear, but rights issues made Namor’s future complicated. In 2014, Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, shared that they had the rights back to Namor from Universal. However, things were still complicated. While they own the character, there are older contracts that lay claims on him as well. At this point, the MCU can use Namor in movies as a supporting character, but they can’t have him be the star of his own solo movie. This may have heavily influenced their decision to have Namor be more of a villain.
Namor is what you could call complicated. He’s the first anithero for Marvel comics. Sometimes, he’s been the all around hero, good guy character. Other times, he’s played the role of the villain to the heros of other Marvel stories. In other stories, he’s joined up with teams like the Avengers and could be considered a regular hero. Namor the Sub-Mariner is a complex character. He is generally what others would consider good, as he tends to have good intentions, but like many classic anitheros, he sometimes comes out on a vengeance mission. He also tends to have a quick temper. This can easily turn him into the villain for a story, or at least a complicated antihero who may be doing “bad” things for reasons audiences can find sympathetic or relatable.
If they want Namor to be a major player for Marvel, but can’t offer him his own solo movie, it may make more sense to lean into his villain/antihero side. He’ll be able to take up a lot of screen time as an antagonist causing problems for the heroes of the movies. If he were simply another hero, but as a supporting character, he’d have less to do in the movies, especially with his potential for screen time more limited. We wouldn’t have a chance to get to know him as well and he’d likely fall into the background of the plots, making him less valuable. As an antihero/villain, we’ll get to see more of him.
His mother was a princess in Atlantis and his father was a human sea captain. He has superhuman powers and can live happily under the water or pop up above the surface as well, though the sea is his home. There has been speculation for a while that much of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be taking place underwater. That Marvel movie is set to begin filming soon, so we may be learning more about it any day. If that proves true, Namor could be showing up as soon as the Black Panther sequel.
The timing of this rumor with the filming will lead many to be hopeful that this is where he’ll appear, especially since there’s been online speculation that Namor could appear in that movie for years. For now, we’ll be watching for Marvel to make a casting announcement that could give more clues to where Namor will first appear on screen.
