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Namor

Marvel Legends
by yo go re

It's a shame that Namor isn't more popular than he is today. One of the very first Marvel superheroes, he's also the oldest mutant the company has.

Namor Namor the Sub-Mariner - monarch of the mighty, sunken empire Atlantis - strives to balance his fiery temper with his responsibilities of state. Ruling from his undersea throne, Namor's foremost concern is the welfare of his subjects. But on occasion, he rises from the depths to defend all humanity! Namor is an amphibian, and so breates water and air with equal facility. He can lift about 85 tons at peak capacity, although his strength degrades the longer he remains on land. Namor is able to fly for several hours at speeds of up to 60 mph before tiring, and he possesses limited invulnerability.

Part of the "Fantastic Four" themed Series 2, Namor has often been a foe - and even sometimes and ally - of Marvel's first family. He was an environmental activist before there were even words to describe such a thing, proving just how in-touch (or plain lucky) Stan Lee was back in those days.

There haven't been a lot of Namor figures over the years, so this Marvel Legends version was a welcome offering. Wearing a dark blue vest and pants, he doesn't look like your standard Sub-Mariner. The vest is removable, though, which leaves him with a fairly un-detailed body - great custom fodder. Now that he's finally reaching clearance prices, Namor's a worthy purchase.

Spock Standing 6 1/2" tall, Namor moves at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles and toes. He's even got those silly little wings on his ankles. His muscles are fairly well sculpted, with a great paint job to make them stand out more. He's got an imperious look on his face, perfect for the monarch of the seven seas.

Namor, two years older than the pretender to the crown who swims under DC's seas, set the standard by which all aquatic warriors are judged: improved strength, vision and durability, all forged by the pressure of tons of seawater. More regal, more versatile and more driven than Aquaman, Namor is the mer-MAN!

money shot

Like the rest of the Marvel Legends, Namor comes with a detailed base. Similar to the Human Torch's fire base, Namor also has a suspending tower. His represents a column of water, swirling upward to carry him toward his foe. Though there is a wall-mounting bracket on the bottom of the base, it just looks bad when hung on the wall. The base is also being reworked for ML5's Nick Fury, which means that he won't be able to hang on the wall, either. Namor has one other accessory, the world's most ostentatious spear.

Namor comes with a reproduction of Savage Sub-Mariner #67, which introduces and explains the costume worn by this figure, which makes it a good choice. Sadly, it's still Namor, so that's not helping its coolness.

There was some confusion about why Namor was wearing not his classic costume, but rather something that hadn't been seen in the comics for decades. Actually, the answer's very simple: the country is directed by Christians.

No, not the nice, level-headed Christians you see at church every week; we're talking about the Fundamentalist, Bible-thumping "American Taliban" whackjobs who make a bad name for everyone else: Jerry Falwell decrying a character for toddlers as gay; the Catholic League pulling off a successful boycott of a film they've never seen because they don't like the idea of it; a President who ignores his duty to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution because he can't understand the concept of "separation" of church and state. Those Christians. The scumbags.

Wanna see us make out?

In this reactionary, neo-Puritanical age, do you really think people like that would long let a figure remain on shelves that was mostly naked? I'm sure it would be viewed as an affront to decent society. Or at least their idea of it.

Of course, it could just be like Jesse Falcon said, that the costume was more interesting. Whichever.


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