Invader Fights Invader!

 

cover art by Jack Kirby

Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, doesn't think much of us surface people. How deep-seated this hatred is pretty much depends on the writer of any particular comic book, but in general he just doesn't like us.

But during World War II, after the Nazis attacked Altantis, he quick understandably and quite appropriately decided that he really, really hated the Nazis and he would be willing to work with the Allied nations to defeat Hitler.

All the same, Namor still has a quick temper and will occasionally strike out on his own. 

That's the premise of The Invaders #3 (November 1975), written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Frank Robbins. The team is returning to the U.S. after a mission in Europe when they spot a ship being torpedoed by a U-boat. The U-boat crew soon discovers that it's a bad idea to attack Allied shipping when a team of superheroes is nearby.

The U-boat commander is captured alive and the good guys discover he's carrying a coded message. So it's off to Washington to get it de-coded.

This doesn't take long and the Invaders learn that a super-powered being called U-Man, who is apparently an Atlantian with enchanced size and strength, has been assigned to kill Winston Churchill. The Prime Minister has been in the U.S. meeting with Roosevelt. The Nazis plan to tag him during his trip home. And he's already left.

The idea that one of his people might have turned traitor ticks off Namor and he immediately decides that he needs to deal with the U-Man on his own. Sadly, Namor isn't good at reasonably explaining his intentions, so the situation soon deteriorates into a brawl over the streets of Washington. At least it's not New York this time. Even as early as 1942, New Yorkers must have been getting tired of super-hero battles taking so frequently over their city.

Roy Thomas tosses in an interesting twist here. Captain America's sidekick Bucky sympathizes with Namor and takes his side in the ensuing fight, spraying Toro with a fire extinguisher before punching out his fellow sidekick. This nearly results in Captain America and a stunned Human Torch falling to their deaths, but Bucky sticks to his guns regardless. He's able to join Namor on the Atlantian plane/sub the Invaders have been using for transport. The two fly off alone to battle the Nazi supervillain.

The remaining Invaders get ready to follow, ready to battle both Nazis and Namor.

It's a strong story, coming up with a situation that, combined with Namor's temper, believably pits the heroes against one another. (Though the situation did devolve into a brawl too quickly--probably because Thomas only had so many pages in which to tell the story.) The other Invaders are shown as being sympathetic to Namor, but (except for Bucky) they realize they can't let personal feelings put their mission at risk. And for Bucky--well, the first page of this issue shows him bonding with Namor as the Atlantian instructs him how to fly the plane, providing a proper motivation for his decision to side with Namor. 

All this leads into the next issue, which we'll look at next week.