Sometimes, the Marvel and DC Universes just have to fight. It comes part and parcel along with any sort of cape, cowl and other superhero attire. While there’s no shortage of fan films, fan comics and video essays depicting the events of fictional dust-ups between characters from Marvel and DC, heroes like Aquaman, Namor the Sub-Mariner and many more met for real in the 1990s.

Ron Marz, Peter David,  Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini's Marvel vs. DC event had all the makings of a slugfest for the ages, and it pit some of comics' biggest heroes against each other. Now, we're taking a closer look at one showdown between two princes who laid their claim to the throne of Atlantis and how it might play out today.

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Arthur Curry, DC’s King of Atlantis, has a long history in comics that stretches back to 1941's More Fun Comics #71, where he was created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. Although he hasn't always gotten respect in the real world, Aquaman is super-strong, capable of lifting over 100 tons and is capable of swimming at over Mach 2, which puts him up there with the speedsters of the Justice League. To top it off, This of course, he also has a degree of cross-species telepathy, which famously enables him to communicate with fish and other sealife. The Arthur Curry who went toe-to-toe with Marvel’s aquatic avenger carried a harpoon on his hand, which not only made using a comb on his luscious mane difficult but it also acted as an additional blade and rope weapon.

On the other hand, Namor is an Atlantean from the Marvel Universe, where he's protected the seas since Bill Everett created him in 1939. Much like the aforementioned DC counterpart, his lineage stems from both submerged and terrestrial people, and he occasionally carries an ancient, mystical trident that boosts his power and both carry weakness to poor water quality. Namor has many of the same general abilities as Aquaman, including super strength, aquatic telepathy and some degree of speed. As one of Marvel's first mutants, Namor can also fly and has a handful of other aquatic powers. He's also famously bonded with the Phoenix Force, which has granted him a number of universal-level cosmic abilities.

During their initial 1990s' showdown, Arthur proved victorious in their battle, which is quite a feat considering how Namor repeatedly fought the Hulk at that time. Although they were fairly evenly matched, the battle was won when Aquaman used his marine telepathy to summon an orca whale to crush Namor.

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Since then, both of these heroes have gone through a number of reinventions that have seen their power levels rise and fall like the tides. Despite that, Aquaman would probably still come out on top in most cases. He's faster and generally less erratic than Namor.

Both Aquaman and Namor have gotten brief considerable power boosts, and Namor's experiences with the Phoenix Force temporarily put him in the same league as some of the strongest beings within the Marvel Universe.

Assuming that the Phoenix isn't a factor, Aquaman would still likely eke out a win, thanks to his superosnic speed, an assortment of useful powers, considerable healing and durability. While they both might be kings of Atlantis in their own world, Aquaman truly is the King of the Seven Seas.

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