WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, now in theaters.
Avengers: Endgame may have a little nod to Namor the Sub-Mariner, the classic comics character long rumored to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.
At the beginning of the film, as Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow receives mission reports from the surviving Avengers, Okoye (Danai Gurira) mentions an earthquake in the Atlantic Ocean. When Natasha asks what she's doing about it, Okoye replies, "It's an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it."
Okoye may come to regret the decision not to look into the earthquake, as this might not be a natural phenomenon. In Marvel comics, the Atlantic is home to Atlantis, the sunken civilization ruled by Prince Namor, also known as Sub-Mariner. The son of a human man and an Atlantean princess, Namor has a unique genetic makeup that grants him amazing powers: the ability to breathe underwater and superhuman strength, agility and stamina, among others. Although arrogant and distrusting of surface dwellers, Namor is a friend of Captain America and has proved himself a hero on more than one occasion.
Of course, Namor and Atlantis haven't appeared in the MCU, yet. However, Marvel Studios has certainly teased the possibility. In Iron Man 2, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury brought Tony Stark to an outpost to explain why Black Widow hadn't selected him for the Avengers Initiative. A map in the background highlights areas of interest. Intriguingly, one of those appears in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, in roughly the same area as the edge of the African Plate.
This may well be a coincidence, but those rarely happen in the MCU. It also comes after Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said the aquatic antihero could appear, despite some complicated rights issues; to Feige, it's only a matter of if and when. Additionally, Doctor Strange 2 director Scott Derrickson teased the Sub-Mariner's appearance in March, in a deleted tweet containing a comic book cover featuring Doctor Strange and Namor, accompanied by lyrics from the Jimi Hendrix Experience song "Are You Experienced?"
As such, those tremors may not be tremors, but rather a shift in Atlantis that could expose Namor and his people to surface dwellers. If that's the case, this may spell trouble for Okoye and the rest of Wakanda, as the African nation and Atlantis recently went to war in the comics.
Following the runaway success of Aquaman, Marvel would be remiss to skip this opportunity. Plus, now that the MCU is down a few heroes, the Avengers are going to need all the help they can get.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos.