Space-Born Super Hero Part 26: Sub-Mariner #30

Welcome back to 'Space-Born Super Hero' as I look back on the appearances of Captain Marvel prior to being written by Jim Starlin. At this point, we're entering an era where the Captain Marvel series had been cancelled. However, the character didn't go into comics limbo as Roy Thomas found other places for him to appear. Today we're looking at the first of those: Sub-Mariner #30 (1970) and the story "Calling Captain Marvel!" by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema (inks by Joe Gaudioso).

We open in Miami, Florida as Rick Jones is in town for a gig. Walking by the shore, Rick sees the Sub-Mariner rise out of the water. Alarmed, Captain Marvel tells Rick to switch places with him. Mar-Vell confronts Namor and is surprised with the Sub-Mariner launches into an attack against him, crying out: "You!! You have seen the Sub-Mariner--and so--you must die!" Mar-Vell tries to fend him off, but the Sub-Mariner doesn't recognize him from their first encounter (way back in Captain Marvel#4). Suddenly, Namor collapses. Puzzled, Mar-Vell carries Namor back to the beach house where Rick is staying.

When Namor comes to, he's greeted by Rick, but instead of becoming violent, he jumps out the window, running to the shore - only to collapse on his knees in terror, seemingly unable to return to the ocean. By now, it's obvious to Rick that Namor is having some kind of mental troubles. Namor returns to Rick's beach house and Rick shows him a newspaper headline, identifying Namor as having recently sunk a yacht. Namor doesn't remember doing that. A television news report then goes over Namor's history, recalling everything from his heroism during World War II to his battles with the Fantastic Four and confrontations at the United Nations. Rick observes that "music hath charms" and suggests Namor attend his set in the hopes of calming his mind. Namor consents.

At the club - the Electric Seaweed - one man points out Namor as the Sub-Mariner - but he's actually a fan wearing a pair of false ears! According to the people in the club, the Sub-Mariner is "the first folk-hero of the ecology scene"! "Personally," one woman opines, "I still think ol' princey stole the whole bit from Mr. Spock!" Considering how popular Spock was among young people of the 60s, I could see Namor having a big following. As Rick gets up and sings a cheerful song about how all humanity is doomed because of the atomic bomb (way to go, Rick), Namor's mind snaps and he storms out of the club. "Either that's--the real Sub-Mariner--or else we just found out whatever happened to Charles Atlas!" one patron remarks. Rick switches places with Captain Marvel and Mar-Vell intercepts Namor mid-air, knocking him back to the ground near a hotel.

As Namor gets up from the fall, he discovers his memories have returned. Namor had found two men named Hugo and Markham who had designed a molecular polluter to "make a death-house out of the oceans". When Namor burst in on the men they fired a concussion grenade at him; the grenade stunned him, causing his addled state. Captain Marvel agrees to help Namor find Markham and stop the Molecular Polluter. Mar-Vell confronts Markham, who says there are two molecular polluters and he can't resist activating it, even though he knows it will make the sea radioactive. Before Mar-Vell can stop him, Markham activates the device. The Sub-Mariner confronts the device itself underwater and fends off Markham's men, then grabs the machine and flies back to the surface, heading for the skies. Captain Marvel joins him and together they fly the machine into space, where it detonates. As they return to the Earth, Mar-Vell's power is spent and he switches places with Rick. Namor carries Rick back to the ground but when he asks how Rick is linked to Captain Marvel, Rick refuses. Calling Rick "ungrateful one" Namor heads back to the ocean; Rick instantly regrets his words.

Thoughts: This is an odd issue - it takes its time with the addled-Namor and doesn't introduce the issue's villains until the last 6 pages, but it's not bad - basically a fill-in issue of Sub-Mariner, which makes it a decent place for Captain Marvel to pop into.

The best parts are the scenes in the club where everyone's into Namor; Roy pulls off some funny dialogue and it's altogether some of the better 'youth culture' material from the era.

Next: Captain Marvel's still got no series of his own. What's next? Why, the Kree-Skrull War! Avengers #89!

Space-Born Super Hero Part 7: Captain Marvel #4

So far Captain Marvel's adventures have been rooted in mythology from the pages of the Fantastic Four: the Kree, Sentry#459, Ronan the Accuser, the Super-Skrull. Who else from the FF's mythos can be brought in? Enter: the Sub-Mariner!

This story, "The Alien and the Amphibian!", is our farewell to the creative team of Roy Thomas and Gene Colan (Colan again inked by Vince Colletta). As I covered here, Stan Lee didn't even write a complete origin for Mar-Vell, so this has really been a Thomas/Colan joint - and now that's coming to an end with this story.

We open in Mar-Vell's hotel room as he reads a newspaper account of his battle with the Super-Skrull. He muses humans have accepted him as a hero, but have no idea "That it may one day be my hand which signals the fatal attack upon an unsuspecting sphere... that mine may be the voice which decrees its total destruction!" Mar-Vell knows that as a soldier he shouldn't be bothered by such thoughts, but admits it's weighing on his conscience. When he gets angry and smashes a desk, it attracts someone's attention and he has to quickly cover up his battle-suit. He notes he altered the hotel's register to change his name from 'C. Marvel' to 'Walter Lawson', correcting a mistake he should never have been so careless to make.

Mar-vell is greeted by Hal, nephew of Jeremy Logan, who is now running the clerk's desk while Jeremy is in a coma. Hal tells 'Lawson' there was a call for him from the Cape telling him to hurry over. 'Lawson' takes a taxi to the Cape, the same one he started to take two issues previously. The cab driver, Chester Fenton, remembers him. Man, Mar-Vell is cursed to keep encountering background characters who want to be part of this book's supporting cast! General Bridges is preparing to launch a new missile, the Argos III, while Carol Danvers remains as ever curious about 'Lawson' and his secrets.

The scene shifts to the North Atlantic and one of Roy Thomas' all-time favourite characters Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Namor is, at the moment, engrossed in a plot from Thomas' Sub-Mariner series and on his way to warn Mister Fantastic about the villain Destiny. Meanwhile, we learn the Argos II contains deadly bacterias which are going to be launched into orbit to examine the effects of cosmic rays upon them. However, the Argos III changes course on its way back from launch and dives into the North Atlantic. This is the fault of Colonel Yon-Rogg aboard the Helion who cannot, it seems, allow one issue to go by without inserting himself into the drama. Yon-Rogg used the starship's atomic oscillotron to change the missile's course as part of a "secret plan" which his superiors authorized (at least for once he's following orders, I guess).

When General Bridges learns Argos III landed near New York Harbor he quickly has himself, 'Lawson' and Carol flown out there, hoping to quickly retrieve the missile before the bacteria can be released into the atmosphere. A US Navy vessel is dispatched to begin the retrieval operation but when the Sub-Mariner swims by the ship warns him of the missile. Mar-Vell slips aways and contacts Yon-Rogg, who tells him they've been given clearance to unleash the bacteria as a scientific experiment on the humans. Mar-Vell is wounded by this, as his conscience tells him to prevent the bacteria from being released. And this, right here, is the kind of angst this series should have been playing with from the first.

The Sub-Mariner goes to help deal with the missile, forcing Mar-Vell to head underwater and fight him. Mar-Vell is bright enough to realize how strange this is: "That I--whom the primitives of Earth call a hero--should do battle with a long-sworn foe of the humans--who seems to wish only to save them from their own folly!" This is one of those comics where a bit of science is permitted and so Mar-Vell is unable to speak underwater, forcing him to communicate entirely with his fists. Of course, Namor is much more adept at underwater combat, plus draws strength from the ocean. Mar-Vell finally realizes the answer to his dilemma is to address Namor as though he were a villain; grabbing Namor, he flies him to the surface and tells him to unleash the germs against the humans he hates so much. Of course, Namor intends to do the opposite of that and Mar-Vell gives him enough information to safely dismantle the missile while making it look as though he's still trying to stop Namor. Ultimately, Mar-Vell causes the missile to explode, destroying all of the bacteria; Namor is hurled away by the blast and Mar-Vell flies away.

Thoughts: This was pretty good! There is a tradition of playing Namor as a villain and Thomas was sharp to note how Mar-Vell is essentially a reluctant villain posing as a hero. It's an interesting bind for the character to be in and one which I wish Thomas had explored more during his tenure. Of course, Thomas returns to the series eventually (not Gene Colan though, he's done for good), but the series will be quite different by the time of his second run.

So far the series hasn't added much to the Marvel mythos beyond Mar-Vell, Yon-Rogg, Una and Carol Danvers, but starting next issue we'll get the first-ever all-new super villains for Mar-Vell to fight! ...And, uh, they're not exactly memorable.

Next: Arnold Drake and Don Heck take over for Captain Marvel #5!