The second installment in The Black Panther sub-franchise of The Avengers gives us the memorable antagonist Namor.

Killmonger in the original film is a tough act to follow as far as ruthless but sympathetic villains go, but Namor gives us many reasons to see where he’s coming from.  The submariner is the first half-human half-Atlantean species known in the comics.  He is a mutant, and even calls himself as such, having superpowers both above and underwater.

Namor presents as white, however, in the comics, not Mesoamerican or Mexican as presented in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This article examines why such a move is a win for both the Marvel franchise and its fans.  And contains heavy spoilers for the top-charting 2022 blockbuster currently blowing its competition out of the water.  So, it’s best to enjoy Wakanda Forever before reading ahead.

Building a Backstory

Namor and the Talokan being Mesoamerican is evident in their Mayan culture and languages.  Namor is played by Mexican actor Tenoch Heurta, and many of the Talokan characters are played by actors of Central American descent.

Why does this move make sense from a story perspective? It makes a standout backstory, to say the least.

Namor and the Talokan being Mesoamerican made for a striking contrast with the Talokan having certain palpable historical experiences the Wakandas would have had if they didn’t have the protection of The Black Panther.  This includes the cultural and existential destructive effects of European colonization.

Wakanda after all is the depiction of an African kingdom untouched by the rest of civilization.

Namor was introduced at a crucial time to the MCU when Wakanda was feeling the absence of their protector The Black Panther and former king, T’Challa, the MCU choosing respectfully not to replace the late Chadwick Boseman. 

The film shows Wakanda experiencing increased friction with other nations of the world seeking Vibranium, their unique resource – or that’s what they thought when they realized that they’re not the only ones with it.  The Talokans are a deep underwater and secluded kingdom that has and uses submarine deposits of the ore.  They became at risk of being discovered when Wakanda revealed Vibranium to the world.  And their protector and ruler is Namor.

The Talokan protector, even as a child, is seen to be ruthlessly defensive of his people, to the point of earning a Spanish nickname from his enemies, Namor, a shortened version of “El Niño Sin Amor” or “The Boy Without Love”.

Due to the extreme measures his Mesoamerican community took to protect themselves against Spanish colonizers and escape in the first place, Namor was born as a mutant and took the form of Kukulcan, the feathered-serpent god revered in Yucatec Mayan religions – Yucatec Mayan also being the language the Talokan speak.

However, Namor was not Kukulcan in the comics, but a cross-species child of a human sea captain and an Atlantean princess.  Though both versions of the character have winged feet, the comics explain their Namor having his superpowers due to a mutant variant gene, instead of being a realization of a Mayan god.

Regardless of if the MCU will write Atlantis aka the Atlantean Empire into their franchise, Namor’s heritage already far distinguishes him from DC’s Aquaman, another aquatic superhero who happens to be the undersea ruler of… you guessed it, Atlantis.

Inclusivity

Marvel’s predominantly white cast of characters is seeing more persons of colour join its ranks.  Villains in film and media over the decades usually have more diversity in colour and background than the heroes.  And that can inadvertently send an unfit message to generations of audiences at large.

While Namor is presented as the villain of the film, launching an attack with Talokan warriors against Wakanda’s capital, he is arguably the anti-hero, first vying for united forces between the two kingdom-nations and being rejected due to his cutthroat methods.

The film still manages to make him a sympathetic character by exploring his past traumas and by showing his empathetic leadership of his people and the measures he would take to protect them at all costs.

Namor, Queen Ramonda and Princess Shuri are very different rulers, and understandably they did not agree.  What this shows is that despite their lack of involvement with other civilizations for centuries, the kingdom-nations share the same anxieties about how they could be exploited by the rest of the world but go about protecting themselves differently.

The conflicts Wakanda and the Talokan face show that nations, despite their similarities, are diverse and nuanced and can disagree and have conflicts, even while their peoples are painted in broad strokes by the rest of the world as persons of colour.

Wakanda and the Talokan share a common enemy of multiple nations seeking to steal their Vibranium.  That this automatically didn’t make them allies shows how layered political conflicts and affiliations can be, even while nations endure similar challenges.

Therefore, Namor being Mesoamerican deepens the cultural diversity of the MCU universe, by further diversifying their persons of colour.

Why is this notable alongside Shang-Chi who is the first person of colour (Asian) superhero to be a main character in the MCU? Wakanda Forever is not the first film that explored different nations that are made up of persons of colour after all.  But it is the first film to connect such nations as those in Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, who had different experiences with real-world historical events in the 19^th century, making these events seem not so long ago by showing the effects carried over by them as the nations thrived afterward.

Such a move ushers these diverse nations and peoples unto the playing field in mammoth franchises, into the big screen, and down in cinematic history.

Notes

This article contains no text pictures to ensure that every word can be read aloud by a text-to-speech application.  And was tested using Google Chrome’s “Read Aloud” add-on.

Bio

Tiffany Persaud is a freelance writer who has written for clients and organizations in Canada and the USA, on topics ranging from books, films and media, to health and employment skills.

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