Eternals may have just teased the event that ultimately brings Namor the Sub-Mariner and his corner of the Marvel Universe into the MCU in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While his role hasn’t been outright confirmed by Marvel, the Avenging Son is expected to be the main villain of the Black Panther sequel. After years of persisting rumors about the character’s inclusion, it was reported that an actor had been found for the iconic anti-hero in Tenoch Huerta.
As someone who is arguably the most important character in Marvel’s library who has never been adapted in live-action, Namor is one of the most highly-anticipated additions to the MCU in Phase 4. Namor, whose history in the comics extends all the way back to 1939, is sure to offer a ton of storytelling potential when he and his undersea kingdom make their MCU debuts. After all, Namor and Atlantis have been integral to a number of major storylines and crossovers in Marvel Comics involving the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, making him a good candidate to be a big player in any large-scale stories Marvel has planned for its future. Also, his range as a superhero, an anti-hero, and a villain lends Marvel a number of ways that he can be used.
With a character as significant as Namor on the horizon, it would make sense for Marvel to start laying the groundwork for him early, which it seemed to be doing when it dropped a cryptic line about underwater earthquakes in Avengers: Endgame. A second, much more direct link may be coming in Eternals. The final trailer for the Phase 4 movie, which provided the biggest info drop on the film since the cast reveal, indicates that Eternals might show the origin of Atlantis.
The Eternals trailer showcased some geological disasters, such as a volcanic eruption and a devastating earthquake near an ocean. What it resembles is the merging of the land and the sea. This could have something to do with the “end of the world” scenario mentioned by Lia McHugh’s Sprite in the modern-day portion of the film, or it could have something to do with Eternals’ deep dive into the ancient history of the MCU. Eternals is confirmed to go back 7,000 years, which means it is possible for the movie to show how the continent sank into the Atlantic Ocean. Plus, it would make sense for the narrative of the MCU, especially when taking into consideration that Namor’s arrival has close proximity to Eternals and the fact that Atlantis’ fall in Marvel Comics has ties to characters and concepts featured in the film.
In the comics, Atlantis is an advanced, underwater civilization populated by blue-skinned, water-breathing humanoids and ruled by the half-human, half-Atlantean mutant, Namor. However, it was once an entirely different place, one that existed above – and not underneath – the surface of the ocean. Ruled by King Kamuu, the city of Atlantis went to war with a nation called Lemuria 20,000 years ago. At the time, Lemuria was the home of the Deviants, a race of grotesque monsters created as a genetic offshoot of humanity by the Celestials. Back then, Lemuria was launching conquests on civilizations everywhere, with Atlantis being among their many threats. Fearful for the survival of his people, King Kamuu resorted to desperate measures by unleashing Atlantis’ greatest weapon, the Serpents’ Heads. The Serpents’ Head released a tremendous amount of magma from the Earth. The problem with King Kamuu’s plan is that it worked too well.
His attack on the Deviants destabilized Atlantis by resulting in several geological incidents. The situation went from bad to worse when the Celestials inserted themselves into the mix with an assault on Lemuria. The wide-reaching after-effects of their offensive efforts against the Deviants sank Lemuria, while also putting the nail in the coffin for Atlantis at the same time. Several millennia later, an evolutionary process started by experiments conducted by Deviant scientists led to the birth of the water-breathing Atlanteans and the rise of their massive kingdom.
Marvel hasn’t released any details about what the MCU’s take on Atlantis will be, but all signs point toward it being a rival kingdom to Atlantis, which would mean that Marvel’s idea is to adapt the Wakanda-Atlantis conflict from the comics. Endgame’s apparent reference to it hinted at Wakanda already being aware of Atlantis. In the comic books, these two civilizations have been at odds with each other ever since The Defenders #84 in 1980. Leading their respective sides in every war are Namor and Black Panther, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will unfortunately have to move in a different direction since it will be lacking Chadwick Boseman. Instead of T’Challa fighting Namor for the future of Wakanda, it will be up to other Black Panther characters to fight back against Namor, whose colossal strength puts him near to the level of Thor, Hercules, and the Hulk.
Similar to how the plot of Eternals is now confirmed to be a consequence of Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s villain can be motivated by previous MCU events. The trailer has revealed that the Emergence (a term seemingly used to describe the modern-day rise of the Deviants) is happening because of the energy that was released by the second snap. The Atlanteans could be enraged by such an occurrence, particularly if Atlantis’ history is intertwined with the Deviants in the same way that it is in the comics. The ancient battles between the Deviants, the Eternals, and their own ancestors could have triggered the sinking of their entire continent.
The Atlanteans could share a deep-seated hatred for their entire species. If that’s the case, it’s easy to understand why they’d be upset by the Emergence in Eternals. Since the humans were the ones who inadvertently started it with the second snap, the Atlanteans may decide to lay blame on the humans. Another factor that might contribute to their frustrations is the original battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin). They may not know the details about what happened or why, but they could know that the event that erased half of everyone in the universe transpired within Wakanda’s borders. A combination of this knowledge, their war-like tendencies, and hatred for surface-dwellers may be enough to inspire Namor into conquering Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
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