Casual superhero fans can be forgiven for believing that the DC superhero era began with Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938 while the so-called "Marvel Age" of comics began with Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. Those who delve a bit deeper into Marvel history, however, including those who encountered the Sub-Mariner in his first Silver Age appearance in FF #4, know that this view of super-history is not entirely accurate. While the Marvel Universe that we know and love did arrive decades after the Golden Age of superheroes began, Marvel's Golden Age publishing predecessor - Timely - had in fact followed quickly on the red heels of their DC competitor by introducing their own first heroes in the fall of 1939. Marvel Comics #1, now widely accepted as one of the single most valuable comics in the world, saw the premiere of Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, as well as the original android Human Torch and a Tarzan clone dubbed Ka-Zar the Great. As such, it constitutes the genuine flashpoint for the Marvel Universe to follow, and Namor himself holds the honor of being Marvel's first hero (as well as their first mutant, a distinction that would grow in importance many decades later). But while many Subby fans are familiar with the basics of his origin and its appearance in Marvel Comics #1, not many know the full story of the debut that might have been, nor do they know the exact details of Namor's bloodthirsty introductory adventure.

The Sub-Mariner's origin story, as created by Bill Everett, was actually set to appear first in an eight-page feature in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, a promotional comic produced by Funnies, Inc. that would have been available through movie houses. No evidence has ever been found to substantiate that the issue was ever printed for consumer use, and promo copies were only discovered years later - in 1974 to be exact - in the publisher's home. While most of the premiere issue featured innocuous "funny animal" stories, there amid the bright colors and happy woodland creatures lurked a much darker tale with violence, intrigue and a certain amphibian adventurer with a considerable grudge against Man and the surface world.

While the world did not meet Prince Namor in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 as originally planned, his saga was saved from oblivion by publisher Martin Goodman, who was seeking out material for the first in a new line of comics under the Timely banner. A comic book series dubbed Marvel Comics would establish a new era in edgier, more pulp-oriented superhero storytelling, and the Sub-Mariner would at last have his debut with the first issue in October 1939. Four new pages were added to the eight already completed for Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, and Namor's origin was revealed to comic book readers across the nation.

And what an origin it was! Fans of Namor and his anti-heroic ambiguous allegiances may not even realize that his first appearance was so cloaked in darkness and extreme violence. In his debut outing, Namor encounters some human divers on a salvage operation and gleefully cuts their oxygen lines, stabbing one to death and crushing the other diver's head inside his helmet! Granted, the amphibious prince initially believes the divers to be robots of some sort, but when he returns their ruined bodies to the Atlantean court as trophies for his monarch, he is surprised - but not disturbed - to learn that they are in fact "Earth-men. " In fact, Namor is elated by the two murders and his subsequent destruction of their entire ship with all hands aboard, which he accomplishes with his bare hands. In the depths of the sea, the king-like "Holy One" and Namor's mother, Fen, praise the pink-skinned hybrid and declare that he has struck the first blow in a "war of revenge." These Atlanteans are out for blood, and the Sub-Mariner is their ultimate weapon.

Fen then relates how many years ago, she was sent to spy on a South Pole-based human scientific expedition led by Commander Leonard McKenzie - a man she would grow to love and who would become the father of Namor himself. The expedition caused devastation to the Atlantean society below, killing many and leaving them a depleted race...until now. Despite her attachment to at least one human male, Fen shows no signs of remorse for Namor's actions, and charges him to take the fight to the surface. Using his strength - equal to that of "a thousand Earth-men" - and guile, Namor assumes the role of the "Avenging Son," armed with a sharp blade and a burning anger for human beings. And this is a superhero?

Could it have been this excessive violence, this gleeful delight in death and destruction and the none-too-subtle streak of racially-charged revolution, that stayed someone's hand when it came time to release Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1? Could some theater manager, or perhaps a consortium of such individuals, have seen the Sub-Mariner tale through advance copies and been repulsed by the story's frank depiction of terrifying force and overwhelming hatred for another race? If so, that would explain why the otherwise family-oriented issue was never officially released into movie houses, and why Namor's debut had to wait until Marvel Comics #1, where it would fit more appropriately with other pulp-inspired adventures. While we may never truly know the reason, this seems to be a logical theory until other evidence comes to light to refute it.

This belief does in fact mesh with a similar theory put forth by Overstreet Advisor Matt Nelson in an article that first appeared in Comic Book Marketplace #31. The article traced the origins of both Motion Picture Funnies Weekly and Marvel Comics in order to establish that the MPFW version of the Namor origin was indisputably first, and the principle piece of evidence for this conclusion was the tiny but telltale blank box at the Sub-Mariner's feet in the closing panel of the Marvel Comics #1 origin story. Copies of MPFW carried the legend "continued next week" in that panel, clearly indicating that the Marvel Comics version came later, eliminating the "next week" notation due to its own monthly schedule. That second appearance of Namor's origin would also add those four extra pages which were created by Everett to fill the required page allotment.

Marvel Comics #1 would have an additional distinction in that it would be the only issue with that precise title. With issue #2, the series would become Marvel Mystery Comics, eventually hosting another historic event (alongside The Human Torch series) as the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner met and clashed for the first time, beginning a long tradition of superhero crossovers that continues to this day. Decades later, when the Marvel Age was ushered in by The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and his cohorts would in very short order revive Subby, the Torch (first in spirit and then in the flesh...so to speak), and even Ka-Zar, making them all an integral part of the burgeoning Marvel Universe of the 1960s.

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