WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #33, by Dan Slott, R.B. Silva, Luca Maresca, Jesus Aburtov and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
As the kings of two proud civilizations, Black Panther and Namor have rarely, if ever, gotten along. More often than not, the two rulers have clashed with each other, with Namor famously destroying a big part of Wakanda during 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men. Recently, however, T'Challa and Namor seem to have found common ground.
Namor and the Black Panther both appear in the latest issue of Fantastic Four #33, as attendees of the wedding of Doctor Doom. As soon as T'Challa arrives, Namor greets him. The Sub-Mariner guesses that the Black Panther came because of Latveria's promise for a non-aggression pact. Although T'Challa suggests that Namor came for the same reason, Namor denies this. The King of Atlantis claims that he doesn't need allies, and that he only came out of curiosity. In a rather passive-aggressive statement, Namor says he wanted to see which friends and foes came to the wedding to bow to Doom.
The Thing breaks up this discussion before it goes further, but things are definitely tense between Black Panther and Namor. Even so, as soon as Doom attacks the Fantastic Four later on, Namor and T'Challa immediately leap to the aid of their mutual friends. The issue even ends with the two kings side by side with the Fantastic Four, as Doom orders his Servo-Guards to execute them all.
Black Panther and the Sub-Mariner are certainly in peril, and they're not exactly friends, but they also seem to have found common ground. This is part of a recent trend wherein the two kings have been collaborating with each other. The recent "Hellfire Gala," for example, is another big event where the two kings seemed fairly close.
In X-Men #21, by Jonathan Hickman, Russell Dauterman, Nick Dragotta, Sara Pichelli and Lucas Werneck, Namor refused a seat on Krakoa's Quiet Council. Immediately afterwards, it looked as if The Sub-Mariner went to speak to Marvel's Illuminati, a group that included Black Panther.
Not only was this another occasion where Namor and T'Challa refrained from fighting, it was also one where they seemed to be on the same side. The underlying theme here seems to be a common enemy. T'Challa and Namor have united against Doctor Doom and Latveria, while they've also collaborated against Krakoa, which seems to be a potential threat to their respective nations. Moreover, it seems that the two kings have mutual friends in both the Fantastic Four and the Illuminati, bringing them closer together.
The recent civility between Black Panther and Namor is surprising, considering their rather confrontational history. In 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men #8, by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert, a Phoenix-possessed Namor destroyed Wakanda.
This began a frequent back-and-forth between T'Challa and Namor, who developed a rather violent rivalry. The two kings didn't really set aside their differences until 2015's Secret Wars #5, by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, when they worked with the rest of Marvel's heroes to stop God Emperor Doom.
During this brief period, the two warrior kings made an impressive team, preparing Doom for his defeat at the hands of Reed Richards. While they've never really personally seen eye to eye, both Black Panther and Namor have recently continued this trend of putting aside their differences in favor of a shared goal.
In this case, the two kings have been focused on fending off an angry Doctor Doom or staving off a potential threat from Krakoa. As Doom's wedding continues, and as tensions build with Krakoa, it will be interesting to see where this alliance between T'Challa and Namor leads.