Sub Mariner is best when he’s teamed up with someone else, so in this story Marvel tries to get some of that Namor fame to rub off on their newest character, Captain Marvel. But before we get to the mix of cosmic and sea, let’s admire that cover, above.
Captain Mar-Vell is helping test a military rocket, which crashes into the ocean. Sub-Mariner is swimming along when the nearby submarine tells him that there’s pollution–but they’re really trying to protect the secret missle.
He decides the FF can solve that problem, and he seems poised to help–but then Captain Marvel gets pushy.
Seriously, Mar-Vell, give a Prince time to react.
Namor and Mar-Vell fight.
Captain Marvel appears to assume Namor is dead at the end of the battle.
It’s pretty dang glorious.
The Sub-Mariner issue is among the top 10 John Buscema comics of all time. I haven’t focused on it in this post because the fight between him and Mar-Vell is so much fun, but it involves Namor vs. Attuma–fighting for the fate of Atlantis.
Their 1:1 fight is just as good as the one vs. Captain Marvel. When Attuma can’t defeat Namor fairly, he tricks him into believing Lady Dorma is dead–which leads Subby to run off, heartbroken. That’s when he stumbles into the missle test. These two issues are posted together because the Sub-Mariner stories leads directly into the next one.