Forget Deadpool, Fans Are Sleeping on Marvel’s REAL Antihero MVP

Superheroes have changed a lot over the years, and one of the biggest changes was the rise of the anti-hero. Characters like Wolverine and the Punisher made the anti-hero more popular than ever, and both Marvel and DC Comics started to create more of these characters. However, Marvel has always been the main home of the anti-hero. The most popular anti-heroes are mostly Marvel, and when people think about who Marvel’s best current anti-hero is, they usually think about Deadpool. However, as great as Deadpool can be, there’s one Marvel anti-hero that everyone is sleeping on, and he’s also one of the first heroes — Namor.

Namor has a long history in the Marvel Universe, and it’s one of the most bipolar you can imagine. Back in the old days of the Golden Age, a more violent hero like Namor was the rule and not the exception; Namor was presented as a hero who protected his realm at the cost of others, at least until a greater threat came along in the Axis powers. When he reappeared in the Silver Age, he began his long history of being one of the most unpredictable heroes in the Marvel Universe. Namor’s actions make him the perfect anti-hero, and it’s about time he got more credit for how amazing an anti-hero he really is.

Namor’s History Shows He Fits the Anti-Hero Label to a Tee

Marvel has some awesome anti-heroes, Namor is one of the best of them. When we think of anti-heroes, we think of heroes who do the right thing with the “wrong” methods, usually being more violent than other heroes. Namor has basically always been this kind of character. Namor is a monarch of the largest kingdom on the planet, and will do anything to keep his kingdom free and powerful. Namor is known for his relationships with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, but his greatest ally has always been Doctor Doom.

He teams with Doom because both of them know that their people’s interests come first, and Doom actually plays things pretty straight with Namor, unlike the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Namor has no problem doing the worst things imaginable to keep Atlantis safe, and this is compounded by the fact that his half-human, half-Atlantean heritage makes him rather wild. Namor is extremely unpredictable and has shown that by going after the Avengers and then joining the team. He was the only member of the Illuminati to actually destroy Earth and all of its people in the Incursions, because as a king, Namor is always ready to do whatever it takes to serve the greater good of his kingdom.

An important thing that gets forgotten about anti-heroes is that they are supposed to be, at least, antagonistic against more traditional heroes. Honestly, characters like Wolverine and Deadpool broke this concept; while they fit the more violent methods of anti-heroes, both of them are known for their friendships or (in Deadpool’s case) desire for those friendships. Namor isn’t like this at all, and never has been. Take, for instance, the hero that Namor worked with the most — Captain America. He respects Cap, but he’s also fought Cap multiple times when they’ve disagreed, and that’s the point. Namor will work with the other heroes, but he never makes it easy on them, and he will do what he wants to anyone.

It’s impossible to know how Namor is going to react to any given situation, and that’s what makes him such a great anti-hero. There have been times when Namor made a sacrifice for the people he’s worked with. There are times when Namor has betrayed them or gone his own way. Namor is just as likely to buck leadership as he is to follow it, and this is classic anti-hero behavior. Anti-heroes aren’t just violent heroes; they do things in ways that other heroes don’t. Namor is a classic anti-hero in every way. While other anti-heroes have gotten softer because of their popularity, Namor never has. The great thing is that Namor has been like this for years. I would go so far as to say that Namor is the ultimate anti-hero: his actions define everything that anti-heroes would be and everything they should go back to.

Namor Is the King of the Anti-Heroes

I think the worst thing to happen to any anti-hero was how popular they got as a group. This overexposed many of them, and as they grew as characters, they were changed to be more like traditional heroes. However, Namor never really went this way. Sure, he has changed over the years, but there are still some things that you can expect from the character. Namor is always going to be imperious, he’s always going to make things difficult for those around him, and he’s always going to go further than his fellow heroes. That’s everything an anti-hero should be.

Every time Namor shows up in a book, you know you’re going to get a few things: he’s going to sass everyone, he’s going to jump into the fight headfirst and punch everything, and he’s going to help save the day in his own special way. Namor has no problem killing, and if he thinks that the surface world needs to be hit with a giant wave because they’re hurting his kingdom, he’s going to do it. I think this is also why Namor’s ongoing series don’t really work; it’s hard to do a series with a character like Namor because you can’t make him too sympathetic, and if you look at the world through Namor’s eyes, you’re going to sympathize with him. Namor is the king of anti-heroes, and it’s about time he got more credit for it.

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