Sam Raimi’s classic Spider-Man movie trilogy may appear to only feature one superhero, but Raimi actually populated his cinematic universe with multiple popular heroes — if you believe the adaptations and novelizations made of the films. With fans now speculating MCU’s third Spider-Man film could introduce a live-action Spider-Verse and possibly bring back previous versions of Spider-Man, now’s a perfect time to re-examine the Raimi-Verse… which may have given audiences the first cinematic version of fan-favorite character Namor the Sub-Mariner!
One of Marvel’s original superheroes (and its first mutant character), the Sub-Mariner originally appeared in the comics during the World War II era where he fought against (and later with) the original android Human Torch and Captain America. Later, Namor made the jump to modern Marvel Comics when he reappeared in The Fantastic Four and established himself as both a supervillain and a superhero.
As a character, Namor’s powers and backstory are impressive. He’s the son of an Atlantean princess and a human sea captain who fell in love. If this sounds strangely familiar to the DC superhero Aquaman, you should know that Namor the Sub-Mariner appeared years earlier than Aquaman in a 1939 issue of Marvel Comics #1 (Aquaman/Arthur Curry would debut a couple years later in 1941).
Namor also differs significantly from Aquaman in another way — instead of being raised on land under a human name (like Aquaman was raised as Arthur Curry), Namor grew up beneath the sea in the undersea kingdom of Atlantis and was fully aware of his royal lineage from the start. This caused him to develop a more arrogant and privileged attitude, as he saw himself as superior to surface folk. Much of this was also due to the fact that Namor is one of Marvel’s first homo-superior beings, a mutant with powers that go beyond ordinary humans or Atlanteans.
Like all Atlanteans, Namor can breathe water, swim superhumanly fast, and survive in the crushing ocean depths. However, he can also breathe air and has far greater strength than his fellow Atlanteans. He also has wing-like fins on his ankles which somehow allow him to fly like the Greek God Hermes. His mutant brain grants him a telepathic rapport with marine life (not unlike Aquaman) and he’s been known to use sea monsters as his servants. Most notably, his mutant physiology gives him a tremendously long life span, which explains why he looks basically the same age today as he did back in World War II.
So, how did such a distinctive character like Namor, the Sub-Mariner go completely unnoticed in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2? Well, like most of the cameos in the Raimi films, Namor’s appearance was very subtle. Fans of the original Spider-Man trilogy know that the screenplays routinely name-dropped several prominent Marvel characters. In Spider-Man, Peter Parker protests “I’m not The Thing” when he’s put in a wrestling cage match, referencing the Fantastic Four member. In Spider-Man 2, J. Jonah Jameson considers the name “Doctor Strange” as an alias from Doctor Octopus, before realizing “it’s taken.”
In the novelizations of the films (written by Spider-Man writer Peter David), the cameos go even further. An injured wrestler who’s carried off in a stretcher during Peter’s debut appearance as Spider-Man is later identified as Jack Murdock, the father of Daredevil/Matt Murdock. J. Jonah Jameson also receives calls from Bruce Banner and Reed Richards while telling Peter Parker that alliterative names are more memorable.
Namor’s cameo, however, actually appears on screen in Spider-Man 2. Shortly after Peter Parker quits being Spider-Man and throws his costume into the trash, a garbage man (played by actor/writer Brent Briscoe) finds the suit and brings it to the Daily Bugle. Jameson is overjoyed by the revelation that Spider-Man has “abandoned his sad little masquerade” and decides to hang the suit in his office, but first he has to deal with the garbage man who wants a reward.
In typical Jameson fashion, the cheapskate publisher tries to lowball the man by offering him fifty bucks — to which the garbage man angrily responds, “I could get more than that on eBay!” Jameson finally tells his secretary Betty Brant to give the man a hundred dollars and snidely adds, “throw in a bar of soap.”
In the movie, the scene ends right there. But in the Spider-Man 2 novelization, David adds an extra scene where Betty, ashamed of the terrible way her boss treated the man, secretly pads his paycheck. The man notices and suddenly bows to her in a regal manner, letting her know that he was once royalty but no longer remembers what kingdom he used to rule. Betty jokingly suggests the man once ruled Atlantis, causing the man to consider her words thoughtfully.
How does this indicate that the garbage man is really Namor, the Sub-Mariner? Well, in Fantastic Four #4, it’s revealed that Namor lost his memory sometime after World War II and became a homeless man in New York’s Bowery district where he was routinely bullied by other derelicts. Discovered by Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) who shaves off his beard and recognizes his face from an old comic book, Namor finally remembers who he was when the Torch drops him in the ocean, causing the shock to restore his lost memories.
In Raimi’s Spider-Man universe, Namor unfortunately hasn’t encountered the Human Torch yet and still has only the faintest recollection of who he really is. On the other hand, he’s found some gainful employment as a garbage man and is a bit more street-savvy. One can only hope that he recovers his identity soon, although if he does make another appearance it won’t be by his original actor Brent Briscoe who passed away in 2017.
While Peter David was probably just having fun creating Easter Eggs for Marvel comic book fans to find in his Spider-Man movie novelizations, the fact that Namor’s existence is now canon in the Raimi universe does offer some interesting speculation for the later adventures of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. Although Maguire’s involvement in future Spider-Man films remains complete fan speculation at this point, if he does re-appear, perhaps we’ll get a few mentions of his team-ups with Daredevil, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, and Namor the Sub-Mariner?