Namor the Submariner made his debut in the pages of Timely Comics' Marvel Comics #1 in 1939, beating Aquaman to the page by two years. He would go on to fight alongside Captain America during World War II, later returning in the pages of Fantastic Four as an antagonist to Marvel's First Family.
In the decades that followed, Namor has been portrayed in both heroic and villainous lights, though we'd classify the King of Atlantis as an anti-hero. As it happens, so does Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta.
Talking to Empire (via The Direct), the actor clarified, "Latin-Americans are always the bad guys in Hollywood movies. And now we are the heroes - or an anti-hero, in this instance."
Later, Huerta would go on to say that he hopes Namor's MCU debut will do for Hispanic audience members what Black Panther did for Black moviegoers back in 2018. "We [Latin-Americans] are making something to be proud of in Hollywood," he'd add, teasing what sounds like an important role for Namor in this sequel.
While all signs do point to Namor being Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's big bad, the character has always had a rivalry with T'Challa on the page, so that spilling into the MCU makes sense. For most fans, they just want Namor to have a future beyond this movie as he has far too much potential to just be a one-and-done antagonist.
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters on November 11.