Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is shaping up to be a pivotal entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of the reasons fans are excited about the upcoming film is its main antagonist, Namor the Sub-Mariner (played by Tenoch Huerta). One of the oldest and most morally-complex characters in the history of Marvel Comics, Namor's MCU debut will see the mutant ruler of Atlantis (re-imagined in the film as a Mesoamerican-influenced kingdom known as Talocan) lead his nation into battle against Wakanda, which is still grieving the loss of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, aka Black Panther.
While it's currently unclear what drives Namor to declare war on Wakanda in Wakanda Forever, he and T'Challa have a long-standing rivalry in comics. Fueled by a combination of conflicting ethics and bitter anger over heinous acts that each of them has committed against the other, Namor and T'Challa's blood feud has had disastrous consequences for each of their kingdoms and the rest of the world.
Black Panther and Namor's Rivalry Began With Marvel's Illuminati
The rivalry between T'Challa and Namor began with the creation of the Illuminati, a top-secret team of heroes formed in the aftermath of the Kree-Skrull War. Made up of some of the most powerful and influential members of the superhero community, the Illuminati served as a sort of superhero shadow government, with its members regularly meeting to share information and plan contingencies for world threatening events. While Namor was quick to join the ranks of the Illuminati, T'Challa refused to have anything to do with it, arguing that the organization had no right to influence the world from the shadows -- setting the stage for his and Namor's ideological conflict.
While T'Challa and Namor's animosity towards each other was initially limited to irreconcilable differences in their ethical codes, 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event saw the two fight on opposite sides of a conflict over whether to allow Hope Summers to bond with the Phoenix Force. After falling under the influence of the Phoenix, Namor launched an all-out invasion of Wakanda, personally drowning thousands of the country's citizens with his hydrokinetic powers. Forced to watch his subjects die at the hands of Namor and his mutant allies, a grief-stricken T'Challa renounced his marriage to Storm and declared all mutants enemies of Wakanda.
Wakanda's Shuri Reignited Agression With Namor
Although T'Challa would eventually forgive Storm and the X-Men for their roles in the destruction of Wakanda, he still harbored a deep grudge against Namor, who showed little to no remorse over the massacre. When the Marvel Universe began to suffer from the effects of multiple multiversal Incursions, Namor reached out to Wakanda and offered a tentative truce, arguing that the threat to their reality was more important than their feud. Unfortunately, while T'Challa was willing put his hatred aside for the greater good, his younger sister Shuri took advantage of Namor's absence from Atlantis and invaded the undersea nation, killing countless Atlanteans in the process.
Eager to pay Wakanda's assault against his people back a thousand-fold, Namor gave into his worst instincts and gave into revenge. When Thanos and the Black Order invaded the Earth in search of the Infinity Stones and Thanos' illegitimate son Thane, Namor falsely told the Black Order's leader Proxima Midnight that the Time Stone was in Wakanda. Without hesitation, the Black Order laid siege to Wakanda, dealing the nation yet another devastating blow. To add insult to injury, Namor later destroyed one of the alternate Earths that was about to collide with Earth-616 before revealing his role in the Black Order's attack, driving an infuriated T'Challa to impale him with a spear.
'Wakanda Forever' is Inspired By Namor and Black Panther's Aggression
While T'Challa and Namor's murderous vendetta against one another hasn't resurfaced since the two's near-fatal last encounter, it's safe to say that neither of them has forgotten about it. Having each committed mass murder against the other's citizens, Wakanda and Atlantis are essentially locked in a microscopic version of the Cold War, and neither is likely to back down anytime soon. As nations with proud warrior cultures, both Wakanda and Atlantis see violence as the only true answer to violence, and their citizens' mutual loyalty to their respective leaders means that each will follow them into battle whenever the conflict resumes.
Regardless of how T'Challa and Namor's rivalry goes from here in comics, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's interpretation of the war between Wakanda and Atlantis' is already shaping up to be one of the MCU's most exciting conflicts. With early trailers hyping up both Namor and Talocan's assault on Wakanda and the African nation's grief-fueled counterattack, the conflict between these nations will likely be a pivotal moment in the history of the MCU, even if Namor and T'Challa never come to blows on the big screen.