Namorita

Comics character
Namorita Prentiss
Namorita on the cover of The New Warriors #65
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceSub-Mariner #50 (June 1972)
Created byBill Everett (writer / artist)
In-story information
Alter egoNamorita "Nita" Prentiss
SpeciesAtlantean/Human mutant hybrid (clone)
Place of originAtlantis
Team affiliationsAtlantean Council of Three
Soldiers of Misfortune
Secret Defenders
Water Children
Fantastic Four
New Warriors
Defenders
SURF
PartnershipsNamora
Namor
Fin
Notable aliasesSub-Mariner
Kymaera
Hard
Abilities
  • Superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, senses, and reflexes
  • Flight via wings on her ankles
  • Aquatic adaptation
  • Longevity

Namorita Prentiss is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer and artist Bill Everett, the character first appeared in Sub-Mariner #50 (June 1972). Namorita belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities,[1] and to the species of humanoid aquatic beings named Atlanteans, who are born with supernatural powers.

Publication history

Namorita debuted in Sub-Mariner #50 (June 1972), created by writer and artist Bill Everett.[2] She appeared in the 2006 Civil War series.[3]

Fictional character biography

Birth/creation

Namorita's mother, Namora, was the first cousin of Namor, and, like Namor, was a hybrid with superhuman strength. but she lacked ankle wings on her feet, and so could not fly. Also unlike Namor, her mother was human and her father Atlantean.

Namora's sterility created tension with her husband Talan. Upon meeting Vyrra, an Atlantean scientist who had been exiled for practicing the forbidden science of cloning, she requested that he make a clone of her to which she could give birth. Vyrra was even able to overcome the birth defect that prevented Namora's ankle wings from developing, to prevent the clone from looking too much like Namora.[4]

After the clone, Namorita, was born, Talan was killed by an atomic explosion. Consequently, Namora raised the child in Lemuria.

Namora met her (presumed) death at the hands of Llyra, her rival for the affections of a Lemurian prince. Namora did not reveal to her daughter that she was a clone before her death.

Llyra and Byrrah, another cousin of Namor, decided to deploy Namorita in a plot against Namor, threatening that they would destroy Namora's seemingly dead (but actually only frozen) body if she did not lure Namor into a trap. In her first encounter with Namor since reaching adolescence, Namorita was captured by Byrrah, but rescued by Namor. Namor and Namorita would eventually unite to defeat Llyra and Byrrah. She revealed her past to Namor, and developed an infatuation with Namor. She convinced Namor to free Byrrah.

When Namorita first visited New York City, Namor introduced her to his long-time friend Betty Dean Prentiss, whom Namorita would eventually consider a guardian and second mother. Namorita used Prentiss for her surname while in the surface world.[5] Betty Prentiss would eventually be killed by Dr. Lemuel Dorcas, Namor's enemy.[6]

Namorita rescued a drowning Wundarr from his people, the Dakkamites. She left him with the Thing as a guardian, and became Wundarr's guardian for a time herself.[7] Namorita was later abducted by Llyra, who nearly succeeded in tricking Namor into killing her. However, Namorita was rescued by him instead.[8]

The New Warriors

Some time later, Namorita enrolled in college at Empire State University. During a trip, she was forced to battle long-time Fantastic Four foe, Terrax. She was joined by five other young superheroes, and after Nita and Nova subdued Terrax by severing his contact with the ground, the six formed the New Warriors.[9] When Namor decided to start a financial empire a short time later, Nita joined him as a member of the board of Oracle, Inc.[10] Around Namor, Namorita was always deferential, but around the Warriors she would act tough.

Namorita, as a New Warrior, aided Thor in battling Juggernaut.[11] She was engulfed and subsequently rescued from Sluj by Namor.[12] She and her fellow Warriors first battled Psionex,[13] then fought the third Star Thief and journeyed to the Blue Area of the Moon, where they encountered the Inhumans Royal Family and the Watcher.[14] Namorita was beaten by Neo-Nazis in Berlin. She escaped to England, where she was reunited with Jacqueline Crichton and Union Jack, and fought Warrior Woman.[15] She then discovered that she was a clone.[16] After being severely beaten by the scavenger known as Sea Urchin, she first swapped her usual green bathing suit for Atlantean armor, then soundly beat the Urchin in a rematch.[17]

When team founder Night Thrasher took a hiatus from the Warriors, Namorita led the team.[18] However, the stress of leading the Warriors, the revelation of her cloned nature, and ruling Atlantis during Namor's absence all proved to be too much for her. She became drunk at a nightclub and left with the leader of the Poison Memories gang, who wanted to gain vengeance against the Warriors. He stole information from Namorita's apartment which was used to kidnap many of the Warriors' family members.[19] After the surviving family members were rescued, Namorita's guilt over the incident forced her to leave the Warriors.[20]

Namorita returned to Atlantis, only to be denied entry as the Atlanteans discovered her clone nature.[21] This seemed to be the final catalyst for Nita. An over-saturation of oxygen, coupled with the DNA Vyrra spliced into her at the time of her creation, caused her to change into a closer version of the original Atlanteans. Because of this, Namorita gave herself the name Kymaera.[22] While fighting alongside the Warriors, she was captured and brainwashed by a terrorist organization,[23] only to be rescued by Night Thrasher (who received a tip from the Mad Thinker).[24]

On one occasion, Namorita became covered with pus-filled boils. Her lover Nova saw her in this state and did not speak in time to reassure the emotionally vulnerable Namorita that his feelings for her had not changed. His hesitation sent her over the edge, and she left.[25] A crestfallen Namorita went to take a shower and, to her surprise, her skin returned to its original pink tone. She also shed her pointed ears, webbed hands, and glassy black eyes.[26] Following this transformation, Namorita continued to mutate and developed new powers. She found that she could secrete burning acid or a paralytic toxin and could become transparent.[27] After her breakup with Nova, Namorita briefly dated Johnny Storm (the Human Torch),[28] and co-ruled Atlantis in a Council of Three with Warlord Seth and the warrior Andromeda.[29] Ultimately, Namorita and Nova came to terms over the break-up.

Civil War

Namorita was among the four New Warriors whose actions sparked the public backlash against masked superheroes which is at the core of Marvel's Civil War. The new Warriors are trying to film a reality show, and find four villains on the FBI Most Wanted List, who they attack. Slamming Nitro into a school bus, Namorita taunted him until he caused a massive explosion. Namorita was within a foot of Nitro when he exploded, killing 612 people.[30]

Subsequently, she was listed as "deceased" on the website revealing the secret identities of the surviving members of the New Warriors,[31] and Speedball is then confirmed as the only survivor of the blast.[32]

Three undercover Atlanteans track down Nitro under orders from Namor to avenge the murder of a member of the Atlantean Royal Family.[33] When the Invisible Woman asks for help from Prince Namor, he tells her that the only reason he would help is due to Namorita's death, and he has already avenged that.[34]

Namorita's remains, along with Dwayne's and Microbe's, are later recovered by the New Warriors and Justice's Counter Initiative team, and given a proper burial.[35] During Hercules' journey to the underworld, Namorita was seen in Erebus gambling for her resurrection.[36]

Realm of Kings

In Nova, a time displaced Namorita was rescued by a time displaced Nova within the Fault, having been summoned alongside time-displaced versions of Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt and Darkhawk by the Sphinx to battle his younger self.[37] Through some sort of paradox after Nova defeated the Sphinx once more, Namorita is brought into his present.[38]

Thanos Imperative

While having slow adjustment to her rebirth, Namorita was kidnapped by the Revengers, a facsimile of the Avengers originating from the Cancerverse, after determining that she was a quantum anomaly.[39] She was later rescued by Nova,[40] and mourned his death after he and Star-Lord stayed behind in the collapsing Cancerverse to contain Thanos. As part of the effort against the Cancerverse, she teamed up with an aged version of her old ally Vance Astrovik, otherwise known as Major Victory.[41]

Powers and abilities

Namorita is a genetically altered clone of her mother, Namora.[42] Her powers comes from being a hybrid of Atlantean homo mermanus and mutant homo superior physiologies.[43] She possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, senses, and reflexes. Her Atlantean heritage grants her an amphibious physiological adaptation. She is able to see, heal, breathe, and survive cold temperatures underwater. Namorita can fly via wings on her ankles.[44] She can also live longer than regular human beings and does not age at the same pace. Additionally, she has the ability to absorb electricity.

Reception

Deirdre Kaye of Scary Mommy called Namorita a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.[45]

Other versions

Marvel 1602

An alternate version of Namorita appears in the Marvel 1602. This version is known as Rita and is the sister of Numenor, this reality's version of Namor. She lives in Bensaylum, this reality's version of Atlantis.[46]

What If?

An alternate version of Namorita appears in the What If? story "What If the X-Men Died on their First Mission?." Namorita joins the Beast's hastily assembled mutant hero team - consisting of herself, Theresa Cassidy, who named herself Banshee in honor of her late father, Rahne Sinclair, James Proudstar, the Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver - to combat Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men, and in the end joins the new X-Men team.[47]

In other media

Television

  • Namorita Prentiss appears in the Spider-Man episode "Wrath of the Sub-Mariner," voiced by B.J. Ward.[citation needed]

Video games

  • Namorita Prentiss appears as a non-playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by April Stewart.[citation needed]
  • Namorita Prentiss appears as a non-playable character in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced again by April Stewart.[citation needed]

Merchandise

  • Various items have been marketed featuring Namorita. In June 2007 Wizkids marketed through their Avengers line a Namorita HeroClix figurine with card. Namorita was featured in Marvel Universe Trading Cards — Series 1 (1990, card #85), Series 2 (1991, card #156), Series 3 (1992, cards #49 and 174), Series 4 (1993, card #22), and Series 5 (1994, card #167). Namorita was also included in several T-shirts, posters, and art prints featuring the New Warriors.[48]
  • In 2023, Hasbro released a Namorita Prentiss action figure as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.[49][50]

References

  1. ^ Chrysostomou, George (January 22, 2023). "15 Aquatic Marvel Characters That Could Be Featured If Talokan Returns To The MCU". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  2. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 254. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. ^ Cronin, Brian (April 20, 2017). "Namorita Is Alive! Oh Wait, But Maybe Not..." Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  4. ^ Namor, the Sub-Mariner #20
  5. ^ Sub-Mariner #50-52
  6. ^ Super Villain Team-Up #2
  7. ^ Marvel Two-in-One #2, 4
  8. ^ Fantastic Four Annual #22
  9. ^ The New Warriors #1
  10. ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner #2
  11. ^ Thor #411-412
  12. ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner #6-7
  13. ^ The New Warriors #4
  14. ^ The New Warriors #5-6
  15. ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner #12
  16. ^ Namor the Sub-Mariner #19-20
  17. ^ The New Warriors #14
  18. ^ The New Warriors #22
  19. ^ The New Warriors #35-36
  20. ^ The New Warriors #39
  21. ^ The New Warriors #41
  22. ^ The New Warriors #44
  23. ^ The New Warriors #55
  24. ^ The New Warriors #74
  25. ^ Nova vol. 3 #1
  26. ^ Nova vol. 3 #2
  27. ^ The New Warriors vol. 2 #1
  28. ^ The New Warriors vol. 2 #4
  29. ^ The Defenders vol. 2 #11
  30. ^ Civil War #1
  31. ^ She-Hulk #8
  32. ^ Civil War: Front Line #1
  33. ^ Wolverine vol. 3 #44
  34. ^ Civil War #6
  35. ^ New Warriors vol. 4 #15
  36. ^ The Incredible Hercules #129
  37. ^ Nova vol. 4 #32
  38. ^ Nova vol. 4 #35
  39. ^ The Thanos Imperative #1
  40. ^ The Thanos Imperative #4
  41. ^ The Thanos Imperative" #1-6 (2010)
  42. ^ Etemesi, Philip (November 17, 2022). "Marvel's 10 Most Powerful Aquatic Characters, Ranked". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  43. ^ Prom, Bradley (December 7, 2022). "10 Non-X-Men Mutants Who Should Join The MCU Next". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  44. ^ Allan, Scoot (June 4, 2019). "The 10 Most Powerful Members of The New Warriors, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  45. ^ Kaye, Deirdre (November 16, 2020). "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic". Scary Mommy. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  46. ^ Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four #4. Marvel Comics.
  47. ^ What If vol. 2 #9 (1990). Marvel Comics.
  48. ^ "Merchandise / Licensed Products". New Warriors. October 31, 2007.
  49. ^ Fallon, Sean (October 3, 2023). "Marvel Legends The Void BAF Action Figure Wave Is Up For Pre-Order". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  50. ^ Roberts, Tyler (October 3, 2023). "Build Your Marvel Legends New Warriors Collection with Namorita". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2023-10-05.

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