SUB-MARINER #47 (1972)
by Gerry Conway & Gene Colan
It’s been a while since we last saw Namor the Sub-Mariner in the Doom retrospective.
Namor has recently lost his memory and he’s currently sleeping in a cargo train in Chicago, where two bums start a fight with him.
Unfortunately for them, he hasn’t lost his strength or his cheerful personality.
When a cop tries to stop the fight, Namor THROWS A TRAIN WAGON AT HIM, but someone disintegrates it before it can kill the cop.
Someone is stalking Namor, and it would be a mystery if you didn’t see the cover.
Namor, still suffering from an injury on his arm from the previous issue, then meets and befriends a girl called Cindy Jones.
She’s pretty blatantly being introduced to be a potential love interest for Namor, who at this point was still recovering from the death of his wife Dorma.
Unfortunately for both, Namor is then doomblocked by a strange visitor.
Never thought we’d see Doctor Doom politely knock on the door of a Chicago apartment, but yes it’s really him.
Amazingly, Doom showing up unannounced while shoving a bright light in Namor’s face leads to a fight.
To say that this is a weird place for both fighters would be an understatement!
Doom almost sets the apartment on fire, but he extinguishes it because he doesn’t want to tarnish his reputation. How considerate!
The absolute gem of this story is Doctor Doom saying “I despise melodrama”. That literally made me laugh out loud.
Doom gets the upper hand in the fight, and Namor has to be rescued by Cindy.
And then, after beating each other up for half the issue, Doom just invites Namor to the Latverian embassy.
I suppose this is the first time we see the Chicago embassy, but it’s important enough to have its own collection of priceless paintings.
After reminding the amnesiac Namor that they were allies, Doom recruits him in his plan, which involves attacking the criminal organization AIM.
Cool design on Doom’s jet.
Interestingly, Doom has some very kind words towards MODOK, the monstrous AIM leader who was killed in a Capitan America issue. He goes so far as to say that maybe he wouldn’t consider attacking AIM if MODOK was still alive.
Also Doom brought Cindy on this mission for… reasons, I guess.
Except MODOK isn’t really dead, and he’s prepared to face Doom.
It turns out that Doom is after the Cosmic Cube, AIM’s reality warping device.
To be continued!
Historical significance: 0/10
I’m not super informed about Namor’s history, but this has little impact. Even Cindy, who has a rather interesting few issues, will disappear rather quickly.
Doom significance: 0/10
The next issues seem to imply a potential Doom / MODOK feud, but nothing will come from it.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Yes the idea of Namor and Doom fighting in an apartment building is kind of silly, but there’s nothing particularly Silver Age about it.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
A perfectly serviceable setup for a nice storyline. Nothing groundbreaking, and Namor having amnesia means he doesn’t provide much commentary, but this is fine.
Fantastic artwork, as is to be expected by Gene Colan.
It was a Doombot all along
No indication one way or the other.
Take over the world & Destroy the FF!
I won’t spoil why Doom wants the Cosmic Cube, but it’s none of those reasons.
Crazy tech
The jet has a cool design, but Doom is noticeably lacking in crazy inventions this time around.