This article contains spoilers forBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s adaptation of Namor the Sub-Mariner, played by Tenoch Huerta, has proven to be the breakout star ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. And unlike most antagonists before him, he’s survived past his debut movie, all but ensuring that he’ll be showing up again to make waves throughout the MCU.
Fascinatingly, the film ends with Namor surrendering to Shuri and agreeing to an alliance between Wakanda and his undersea kingdom of Talokan — however, his final scene makes it clear that he’s still scheming to use this arrangement to his advantage. And since the Namor of the comics has always walked the line between hero and villain, it’ll be exciting to see how Namor interactswith the wider MCUgoing forward, both as an ally and as an enemy. Here are just a few characters who would likely have a lot to talk about (or fight about) with Namor.
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Thor
Namor is far from the only superpowered royal in the Marvel Universe. In fact, Thor used to share quite a few similarities with Namor — after all, he began his story as a proud, belligerent prince who would rather make war than peace with his rivals. But since then, Thor has learned humility, mellowing out into a wise, responsible hero who’d surely have words with Namor over his brutal, underhanded methods.
But at the same time, both Thor and Namor are sincerely dedicated to protecting their respective peoples, even if they have different ideas over the best way to do so. Additionally, besideshis similarities with Thor,Namor also has a good bit in common with another cunning, manipulative prince: namely, Loki. It’s not hard to imagine Thor seeing his brother in Namor and trying to bring him around to a more heroic way of thinking — something that would likely draw Namor’s ire even more. We can only hope that these two royals cross paths in a futureAvengersmovie.
Doctor Strange
Dr. Stephen Strange is another familiar face who has a lot more history with Namor in the comics. For starters, they were both founding members of the original Defenders alongside the Hulk, all the way back in 1971. But in more recent years, they both served as members of the Illuminati — a name that should sound familiar toanyone who’s seenDoctor Strangein the Multiverse of Madness. The same film also set up the idea of multiversal Incursions, which the comic Illuminati faced in Jonathan Hickman’s 2013-2015 run onNew Avengers. In that series, Namor was a fervent advocate for destroying encroaching Earths in order to protect Earth-616. Naturally, the more heroic members take issue with these tactics, Strange included.
Hickman’sNew Avengersseries served as a prelude to his 2015Secret Warsstoryline, which will likely serve as a major influence on the upcoming 2026Avengersmovie of the same name. And with the Incursions already set up as a coming threat inMultiverse of Madness,it’s not a stretch to imagine thatsome of the comics’ Illuminatimembers will come together to combat them. So if that is indeed the case, it’s very possible that we’ll see Strange and Namor butting heads over the issue — especially since Namor’s pride reflects Strange’s own ego problem that he’s now trying to grow out of.
The Fantastic Four
Outside of his recent clashes with Wakanda, Namor’s historically been best known in the comics for his role as a sometimes-friend, sometimes-foe to the Fantastic Four. He’s often clashed with Mr. Fantastic and the Thing, while harboring affection for the Invisible Woman. And of course, Namor has also been a fierce rival toJohnny Storm, aka the Human Torch.After all, one is king of the seas, while the other wields the power of fire — it’s only natural that they wouldn’t mix. Once the MCU’s long-awaited FF movie arrives in 2025, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Namor play a role in some capacity.
The X-Men
Meanwhile, Namor has also been an occasional ally to the X-Men, being a mutant himself. And sinceWakanda Foreverhas already established this aspect of the character, even having Namor explicitly refer to himself as a mutant, it would make sense to have Namor cross paths with the X-Men at some point, be it as a friend or as a foe. Of course, Namor’s aggressive methods of protecting his people make his idealsmore reminiscent of Magnetothan Professor X, so there’s sure to be tension no matter what. It’d be a blast to see Namor debate ideology with Cyclops or Storm, or square off against Wolverine or Colossus. It’ll likely be a while before the X-Men appear in the MCU, but when they do, there’ll be another mutant powerhouse waiting for them.
Doctor Doom
Of course, Namor isn’t the only longtime rival of the Fantastic Four whose MCU debut has been highly anticipated. Despite persistent rumors that Doctor Doom would be making an appearance inWakanda Forever, there’s still yet to be any sign of his arrival. But when Doom does inevitably enter the MCU, it’d be a shame not tosee him encounter Namor.After all, they’ve had a long history with one another in the comics, as both respected allies and fierce foes. Doom and Namor are very much alike indeed — they’re both ruthless, vengeful kings and clever planners, who hide sympathetic motives beneath their menacing exteriors. But alas, it’s precisely because they’re so much alike that their alliances always end in disaster. Once Doctor Doom eventually appears in the MCU, it’d be a sorely missed opportunity for him to never share the screen with Namor.
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