When we last saw Namor the Sub-Mariner he had decided to renounce his vow to war upon the surface and instead be a good guy, and the State of New York had reasonably responded with, "Okay, but what about the people you killed while you were a bad guy?" and then Namor essentially just nodded and said, "Exactly. I was a bad guy and now I'm a good guy so it's all cool." and then they put him on trial for murder.
Namor is put on trial and unsurprisingly found guilty, though both the prosecution and the jury don't seem to be interested in the murders so much as the existential threat to humanity that he represents. I am most definitely not a lawyer but I really think that you could argue that this does not represent a fair trial, and Namor agrees with me, though rather than appeal the decision he simply attempts to flee the scene. This is when he learns that he has been systematically drugged to that he will be unable to flee the scene.
The fast-tracked execution goes poorly, as the electric chair merely provides Namor with the jolt he needs to shake off the drugs and wreck the joint. The State of New York has learned an important lesson here: you need to be absolutely sure that your method is going to work if you're trying to kill a super-human.
Marvel Mystery Comics v1 007 sees Namor resume his war against the surface with the blessing of Emperor Thakorr. In an uncharacteristic bit of restraint, he chooses not to escalate it to an international conflict by getting the Atlantean Navy involved.
As the scene of his recent insults New York City is the focal point of Namor's attempt to seek retribution for them, which he initiates by occupying the Statue of Liberty as his "castle." He then goes on to:
- destroy a river patrol boat
- beat up Mayor La Guardia
- smash up an El Train
- pull the mast off the top of the Empire state building and throw it into the street below
(Marvel Mystery Comics v1 008)
- bomb and flood the "Hudson Tunnel"
- crash a passing plane
- let all the animals out of the Bronx Zoo, killing many animals and people
- pull down the George Washington Bridge
There is some effort to show the Human Torch going around and cleaning all of this stuff up before he finally catches up to the Sub-Mariner for the first of their many conflicts, but hundreds of people had to have died during this extended fit of pique even so. New Yorkers should hate the Sub-Mariner forever and I will be very upset if they do not show sufficient animosity toward him going forward.
We will pause here and resume at the confrontation between the Torch and Namor, lest this post get too long.
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