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Namorita

Marvel Legends
by yo go re

When your Warriors get a little too New.

An Atlantean with clone genetics, Namorita fights crime as an original member of the New Warriors.

Yeah she does, so why isn't this figure that version of her? Just Hasbro's typical "let's sell an inferior product first then squeeze consumers for the good one later" strategy? Gotta love it. Namorita (which is pronounced "Na-MOR-it-a," not "name-o-RITA") is a clone of Namor's cousin, Namora. Because of her half-human, half-Atlantean origins, Namora and her husband were unable to have a baby, so they opted for the most roundabout process imaginable. Does Atlantis not have adoptions? Or even basic undersea IVF? Why do you leap straight to "clone me and I will carry myself to term," Namora? It seems like an extreme choice, especially since cloning is illegal in Atlantis.

When she first appeared, Namorita was just as pink-skinned as her cousin, and she stayed that way for years: 1994's New Warriors #44 revealed that the cloner who made Namorita had tweaked her genetics slightly, to help her avoid an oxygen-induced psychosis that had plagued both Namor and Namora. Unfortunately, the treatment didn't prevent her from experiencing it, it just made her Atlantean genes hyperactive when she did, turning her blue in the process.

The condition has come and gone a few times over the years (depending on how she looked when whatever book she'd been in got cancelled, and whether the writers and artists remembered that the next time she appeared), with this particular look - white hair instead of blonde, an orange swimsuit instead of what could best be described as "90s mermaid armor" - coming from New Warriors Vol. 3; you know, the short-lived "reality show" book that ended up leading into Civil War. So presumably that means it was designed by Skottie Young, though since this toy is lacking that cartoony style (she uses a standard body with new shins [for her ankle-wings] and a new head), we're going to say the sculpt is ultimately based on the art of Steve McNiven. If Nitro gets a Marvel Legend, they can blow up together.

The paint is applied well. The comic explained them as her wanting to get back to Atlanteans' "tribal roots," which makes as much sense as anything. The dark orange of her suit is a great contrast against the light blue skin, though there should be a diamond-shaped patch of white on each side of her waist, not just the stripe on the front. Her eyes get painted pupils, but they didn't necessarily need to: they were drawn that way sometimes, sure, but they've also been shown solid white and solid black, so any of those paint apps would have been fine.

The cuffs of Namorita's gloves are separate pieces, so mae sure you don't lose them when you're swapping between her open hands and her fists. The new shins don't have any swivel joints, but these legs never do, so it's not a regression like it is on most molds. It is a bit sad that her hair means you can't tip her head back for proper swimming/flying poses. What's really annoying is that her open hands don't have any hinges, in any direction: they're just swivels and nothing else. Stop cheating us, Hasbro! You're not nearly as clever as you think you are. The fists, which were existing molds, still have the hinges, because they were made when the company wasn't trying to steal your money so blatantly. But don't worry, they still found a way to do a halfassed job: the fingers on the fists aren't painted.

The figure includes the torso of the Series 11 Void Build-A-Figure.

When she first appeared, Namorita wore a silly 1960s-style bikini, but she eventually picked up a suit that was basically the same cut at this one, just done in green scales like Namor's standard costume. That's the version you need to go with the rest of the New Warriors, not this one. This is a fine figure, but now we start counting the days until we get the one anyone actually wanted.

-- 09/23/24


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