Namora () is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. Created by

Ken Bald Kenneth Bruce Bald (August 1, 1920 – March 17, 2019) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for the '' Dr. Kildare'' and ''Dark Shadows'' newspaper comic strips. Due to contractual obligations, he is credited as "K. Bruce" ...

and

Syd Shores Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books. Bi ...

, she first appeared in ''

Marvel Mystery Comics ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' (first issue titled simply ''Marvel Comics'') is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Mar ...

'' #82 (May 1947). She is from

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

and is the daughter of an Atlantean father and a human mother. Namora is the cousin of

Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc ...

Mabel Cadena Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

portrays Namora in her live-action debut in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

film '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022).

Publication history

Namora first appeared in the 12-page comic story "The Coming of Namora!" published in ''

'' #82 (May 1947), pencilled by

and inked by

. Namora also featured on the cover drawn by

Bob Powell Bob Powell (né Stanley Robert Pawlowski; While gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, and gives Stanislav Pavlowsky, Bails and Ware note: "family name corrected by his son, Seth R. Powell July 2006." October 2, 1916

. Her costume was designed by ''Sub-Mariner'' creator

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alle ...

. Initially, she and Namor had no apparent familial relationship, and romantic interest was sometimes implied between the two. She had her own comic book series, ''Namora'', which ran from August–December 1948. While this title lasted three issues, she regularly appeared with Namor in ''

'' and also in '' Sub-Mariner'' until that series ended in 1955. The character was not seen again for 16 years until she made a brief flashback appearance in the Silver Age ''Sub-Mariner'' series, in ''Sub-Mariner'' #33 (January 1971). Her death was established in ''Sub-Mariner'' #50 (June 1972), where her frozen body is shown to Namor, and her death is depicted in flashback in #51 (July 1972). Over the next 30 years, Namora appeared in a number of flashbacks and alternate reality stories, including ''What If?'' #9 (June 1978), ''The New Warriors Annual'' #1 (1991), ''What If?'' #47 (March 1993), ''The New Warriors'' #44 (February 1994), ''Avengers: Forever'' #4-5 (March–April 1999), and ''Marvel: The Lost Generation'' #3-2 (December 2000-January 2001). Namora eventually reappears, alive, in the ''Agents of Atlas'' series, in issues #1-6 (October 2006-March 2007). She also appears in ''Incredible Hulk'' #107-112 (August–December 2007), ''Giant-Size Marvel Adventures: Avengers'' #1 (September 2007), ''World War Hulk'' #2 (September 2007), ''Spider-Man Family'' #4 (October 2007), and ''Incredible Hercules'' #121-122 (November–December 2008). Namora received an entry in ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004''.

Fictional character biography

Namora is a character that originated in the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

. Her original name was Aquaria Nautica Neptunia, but she was nicknamed "Namora" in honor of her cousin

Namor Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc. ...

. Like Namor, she is a hybrid mutant with superhuman strength and the power of flight by using the wings on her ankles. When her father was killed by treasure-hunting surface-dwellers, she fully changed her name to Namora, the Atlantean term for "Avenging Daughter", as Namor means "Avenging Son". She was Namor's cousin (though not by blood), and became his companion for a period of several years. Namora was ultimately shown to have been fatally poisoned by the Lemurian terrorist

Llyra Llyra is a supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Llyra first appeared in '' Sub-Mariner'' #32 (December, 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema. Fictional character biog ...

. She was survived by her clone,

Namorita Namorita Prentiss is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors. She was killed in the explosion in Stamford that started the Superhero C ...

, whom she had passed off as her birth daughter because of Atlantian taboos against cloning. '' Marvel: The Lost Generation'' revealed that she had been a member of The Monster Hunters in 1956.

Agents of Atlas

Some time later, the

Agents of Atlas The Agents of Atlas are a fictional character, fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first lineup was composed of characters originally appearing in unrelated stories published in the 1950s by M ...

find a damaged coffin, which appears to contain the mummified corpse of Namora. Upon closer inspection,

Marvel Boy M-11 Originally known as the Human Robot, the character was given the name "M-11" in the 2006 to 2007 ''Agents of Atlas'' miniseries as an allusion to its first appearance in '' Menace'' #11 from Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. ...

disables a holographic display creating the corpse image, revealing a well-preserved, alive Namora inside the coffin. When awakened, Namora joins in a fight against underwater sea creatures and displays just how powerful she is, shown to be equal in power to her cousin

Jimmy Woo James "Jimmy" Woo (Woo Yen Jet) is a fictional secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by EC Comics writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Maneely, the Chinese-American character first appeared in '' Yel ...

offers her a spot, and Namora joins the

, where she leads

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

to recover all memories of her past life as a

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

, almost driving her mad in the process. It is then revealed by the enhanced bliss inducing powers of the naiad that Namora's innermost desire is to sleep with her cousin Namor. Eventually the team manages to reach the Yellow Claw, revealed as the mastermind behind the Atlas Foundation, and willing to give his leading role to Jimmy Woo. Woo accepts, and Namora, as the other Agents, are employed to travel the world in Marvel Boy's spaceship to shut down any rebellious cell still pursuing criminal objectives.''Agents of Atlas'' #6 At some point in her career as an Agent of Atlas she takes an extended leave, or leaves the role altogether, to join

Amadeus Cho Amadeus Cho, also known as Brawn, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by American writer Greg Pak and Canadian artist Takeshi Miyazawa, the character first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' vol. 2 ...

's group during the ''

World War Hulk "World War Hulk" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled limited series and various titles published by Marvel Comics in 2007, featuring the Hulk. The series consists of five main issues titled ''World War Hulk'', wi ...

'' event.''The Incredible Hulk'' vol. 3 #107

World War Hulk

Angry over the death and subsequent vilification of her daughter at the onset of the superhero

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

over government registration, Namora joins

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

to aid the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

. During the crisis, Hercules ends up holding the entire locality of Manhattan on his shoulders.

Amazon-Atlantean War

In the course of her membership in Cho's group, she shares a genuinely romantic kiss with Hercules. Some time later, following the

Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...

, Hercules and Amadeus Cho vacation near an Atlantean city, and she and Hercules have a romantic fling. This is interrupted by an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

attack. Namora aids Hercules in repelling the Amazons and rescuing Cho from their amorous and ultimately fatal attentions.

Dark Reign

The Agents of Atlas decide to oppose Osborn's agenda by taking on the role of "supervillains", in order to form close ties to Osborn. After some time, the group becomes aware of Norman's

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. Th ...

to find out that a member of the group is none other than Namora's cousin,

. Upon finding this out, the Agents confront Namor for his involvement in the group. Initially at odds with each other for their recent decisions, Namora and Namor end up kissing and beginning a relationship. Namora contemplates staying with Namor until it is revealed that it was Atlantean elders that plotted for them to start a relationship and mate a long time ago as human/Atlantean hybrids are so powerful. Namor and Namora decide to part ways as they were unsure how much of their feelings for each other were genuine and how much was due to the secret plotting of the elders.

Infinity

During ''

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

'', Namora's Atlantean School is chosen as one of the institutions set to do battle in the new Contest of Champions. However, Atlantis is attacked and decimated by the forces of

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...

before the competition can begin. Namora sends a desperate plea for help to

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in ''Tales to ...

, but the kingdom is destroyed before action can be taken.

Powers and abilities

Namora possesses

superhuman The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like beings with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. Th ...

strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, and reflexes. She is nearly invulnerable as bullets and other missiles cannot penetrate her extremely tough skin. She can swim at superhuman speeds, breathe underwater, and is immune to the cold and pressures of the depths. She can also see better underwater than a normal human.

Reception

Accolades

* In 2011, ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'' ranked Namora 76th in their "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. * In 2020, ''

Scary Mommy Scary Mommy is a website that produces content targeting mothers, which generally focuses on parenting, motherhood, current events and pop culture. The site is owned by Bustle Digital Group and is based in New York City. History Scary Mommy ...

'' included Namora in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list. * In 2022, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

'' ranked Namora 2nd in their "Marvel's 10 Most Powerful Aquatic Characters" list and included her in their "10 Best Hercules Love Interests In Marvel Comics" list.

Other versions

Exiles

The second Namora first appeared in '' Exiles'' #46, and was created by

Tony Bedard Antony J. L. Bedard is an American writer and editor who has worked in the comic book industry from the early 1990s through the present. He is best known for his work at CrossGen Comics, where he was under exclusive contract, and for his run writi ...

and Mizuki Sakakibara, and was associated with the multiversal travelers called the Exiles. She is an alternate-Earth counterpart of

, rather than of Aquaria Nautica Neptunia, the Earth-616 Namora. She is a mutant with superhuman strength and the power of flight by using the ankle wings on her feet. Unlike the Marvel Universe Namor and Namora, she has the blue skin of most Atlanteans. In Namora's universe, she became an early ally of

Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...

who convinced her to not attack the surface world. She would later do so, after anti-mutant hysteria led to the imprisonment of most mutants. Namora killed all of her Earth's superheroes, having the most difficulty with the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

, and she conquered the world and ruled it for decades, before becoming 'unhinged' in time and forced to join the Exiles, much to her chagrin. Having a haughty attitude, she acted like she was superior to the other members. Still, she has shown that she did care for them, as evidenced when she thought that Hyperion had killed

Morph Morph may refer to: Biology * Morph (zoology), a visual or behavioral difference between organisms of distinct populations in a species * Muller's morphs, a classification scheme for genetic mutations * "-morph", a suffix commonly used in tax ...

. She lashed out at Hyperion, breaking his neck. However, it was for naught. Hyperion recovered quickly and blasted Namora with his "flash vision", killing her. The Exiles later sent her body back to her home reality ( Earth-2189) for burial.

Marvel Mangaverse

Namora appeared in the

Marvel Mangaverse The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in 2006. The series depicts an alternate (or possibly two alternates, see below) Marvel universe, where its ch ...

series. In the story, "Eternity Twilight", Namora rescued Bruce Banner, who suffered temporary amnesia and have fallen for him not before Banner regained his memory involving the

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

-like beast accidentally summoned by Banner). Afterwards, Banner and Namora went back to the surface and helps Earth's heroes battle not only the Hulk, but also the demon-god

Dormammu Dormammu () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (Nov. 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comi ...

Marvel Her-oes

A teenaged version of Namora appears as one of the main protagonists in the all-ages ''Marvel Her-oes'' series, which was written by Grace Randolph. She attends the same high school as Jennifer Walters and Janet van Dyne, and hides her Atlantean heritage by claiming to be an exchange student from Greece under the name of "Namora Aquarius".

Ultimate Marvel

During the ''

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

'' storyline, Thing, Invisible Woman, and Dr. Arthur Molekevic fight Doctor Dorcas alongside Namora and a Tiger Shark in Atlantis and defeat him.

In other media

Film

* Namora appears in '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022), portrayed by

. This version is a warrior from Talokan.

References

External links

Namora
at Marvel.com

{{GoldenAge Comics characters introduced in 1947 Fictional activists Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional princesses Fictional queens Golden Age superheroes Marvel Comics Atlanteans (Homo mermanus) Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics orphans Timely Comics characters