The final battle between Shuri and Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was suitably brutal, and with the Talokan leader weakened after being deprived of water, the new Black Panther was able to give him a well-deserved beating. As we're sure you'll recall, that included tearing off one of his ankle wings.
The mutant anti-hero needs those to take flight, but for those of you fretting that the days of him heading up, up, and away are at an end, fear not.
Talking on Disney+'s latest "Assembled" documentary for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fight coordinator Aaron Toney addressed Namor's unexpected injury, starting by reflecting on how those wings factored into his unique fighting style
"It was fun to play around with the wings, you know, special, sort of like, quick attacks. Or him boosting. But also, they said, 'Can we rip the wings off?'"
"They grow back, he'll be fine," Toney confirmed, "but it gives you an opportunity to humanize this God-like character and make him come to her. And so that's playing to Shuri being smart."
The Black Panther sequel ends by teasing Namor's plans to one day call on Wakanda as an ally in Talokan's impending war against the surface world, so we clearly haven't seen the last of the Submariner. It's a little tricky to say when and where he might return, especially as the character being a supporting player in Black Panther 3 runs the risk of feeling repetitive.
The response to Tenoch Huerta's take on Namor has been incredibly positive, though, even after Marvel Studios went back to the drawing board and completely rewrote his origin (which proved to be no bad thing).
While complicated rights issues may prohibit Namor from starring in his own movie or TV series, we're sure he'll be paired up with another character soon. Failing that, pitting him against Kang the Conqueror in one of the upcoming Avengers movies would surely be welcomed by fans.
What are your hopes for Namor in the MCU moving forward?