Ever since Marvel’s Namor and DC’s Aquaman first appeared in 1939 and 1941 respectively, the two have been constantly compared by comic fans due to their similar abilities and ties to the mythical city of Atlantis.
The team over at Death Battle! (formerly ScrewAttack) used the latest episode of their YouTube series to compare the two, eventually pairing them up in an animated battle to the death.
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The video started by analyzing Aquaman, going through Arthur Curry’s origins and rise to power as the King of Atlantis. His most impressive feat, which the team used to determine his maximum strength, was his ability to block a blast from the Dead King’s Scepter during the “Throne of Atlantis” comic storyline. Given that the Dead King had used the same attack to previously sink Atlantis, the strength of the blast was calculated to be approximately 155 trillion tons of TNT. Other impressive feats that were mentioned were his ability to keep up with Wonder Woman in both speed and combat ability.
Meanwhile Namor’s most impressive feats were his ability to outrace The Human Torch and outmatch The Incredible Hulk in terms of strength.
The animated fight sequence started off in comedic fashion as Aquaman splashed a relaxing Namor by jumping into a swimming pool, then calling him Spock because of his pointy ears. The two then began fighting by wielding their respective tridents.
Namor got the advantage early on by using his Mutant ability of flight from the small wings on his feet, then summoned a pair of rock monsters to attack an injured Curry. Aquaman was able to destroy both beasts by summoning lightning with his trident, and both wound up back down in the ocean.
The final sequence of the fight saw the two try to compare their psychic ability over aquatic life, but Aquaman got the upper hand because, as the commentators pointed out during their analysis, he can use his on other Atlantians and humans as well. Since Namor is both he was frozen in his tracks, allowing a school of Anglerfish to attack him. Aquaman dealt the killing blow by throwing his trident and beheading the Prince of Atlantis.
The commentators wrapped up the video by explaining that while their abilities were virtually identical, Aquaman’s feat of strength had Namor’s beat 109 billion times over, and that imbalance in power made the outcome obvious.
In more than 100 episodes, the Death Battle! series has analyzed such fights as Goku vs. Superman, Batman vs. Spider-Man and Thanos vs. Darkseid.
