The marketing for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hasn’t exactly painted Namor the Sub-Mariner as a hugely sympathetic character, with the trailers depicting him very much as a ruthless villain intent on invading the titular African nation. And yet now fans are finding him to be the most relatable character in the whole MCU after the unexpected origins of the underwater monarch’s name have been spelled out to us.
Although Namor’s forename doesn’t require any explanation in the comics, one clip from Black Panther 2 features Tenoch Huerta’s anti-hero declaring that he goes by many names, including Namor. Marvel Studios producer Victoria Alonso has now clarified that this alias comes from the epithet ““El niño sin amor,” which translates as “the boy without love.”
In the wake of this surprising revelation, the love-lorn population of Marvel Twitter is on the brink of an existential crisis as they realize they were Namor all along.
What is Namor if not love not persevering?
Did we just become best friends?
Meanwhile, some are volunteering themselves as tribute to make the guy’s nickname obsolete.
The new explanation behind Namor’s name is just one of the many alterations the MCU is making to the character, one of Marvel’s oldest creations dating back to 1939. Instead of ruling over Atlantis as he does in the comics, Namor comes from the kingdom of Talocan, pulled from Aztec mythology. That said, he still has his pointy ears and ankle-wings, not to mention the fact he remains a mutant.
Namor the loveless boy Sub-Mariner makes his mark on the Marvel universe when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on Nov. 11.
