Did Iron Man 2 Hint at Namor The Submariner?

Did Iron Man 2 Hint at Namor The Submariner?

Contrary to popular belief, the Prince of Atlantis fits very neatly into the slate of superhero films Marvel Studios is releasing. Was Iron Man 2 the character's subtle feature film introduction?

Editorial Opinion
By multipurposeponi - May 13, 2010 03:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man 2



The debate amongst comic book fans on whether Namor, the Prince of Atlantis, will be featured in an upcoming Marvel Studios film became heated once Captain America director Joe Johnston announced that the WWII superhero team the Invaders would be showcased in the the entire second half of his film.

According to comic book canon, Namor the Submariner was one of the founding and longstanding members of the team. But that's not the only time Marvel's "first mutant" can fit into the studio's newly established cinematic universe.

I strongly believe that Iron Man 2 provided numerous references to the character. Since we all know how Marvel likes to expand on their hidden Easter eggs down the road, I don't doubt that we will see several more before Namor makes his debut in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Let's take a look at these references and note their significance to Marvel continuity:

1) ORACLE

Oracle Communications is a real world company and sponsor of Marvel Studios' Iron Man 2. They were so heavily involved with promoting the film that they created their own corresponding viral marketing campaign.

In the film itself, Oracle logos were spotted throughout the Stark Expo. The most prominent being the giant dome where the final battle between Iron Man, War Machine, Whiplash and the Hammer drones took place. Oracle's CEO even had a cameo at the beginning of the movie, where he introduced himself and his company to Tony Stark.



In the Marvel Comics world, Prince Namor collected sunken treasures of Atlantis to finance his purchase of a corporation he renamed Oracle, Inc. Under the guise of an international businessman (even taking the surname McKenzie), he used Oracle to sponsor environmental care.



2) S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Target' Map

During the penultimate scene of Iron Man 2, Tony Stark meets with S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury to discuss his tentative place in the superhero team the Avengers. Their meeting was surrounded by four holographic screens, each displaying different events taking place in the Marvel movie timeline. The first showed the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, the second showed a news broadcast of the Hulk's rampage at Culver University, the third showed the crater Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, made when landing in New Mexico, and the fourth had a world map with different areas of interest highlighted.

The map displayed what could easily be surmised to be sightings of the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Black Panther. One area pinpointed over Europe could be a reference to either Captain America's enemy the Red Skull, or his English ally Union Jack. The final area of interest on the map was off of the Eastern coast of Brazil. Could this be the assumed location of the undersea continent of Atlantis?

Almost, but not quite. When comparing the movie image to Marvel's map of Atlantis and it's surroundings, it actually shows that the area is Namor's private quarters; his 'Fortress of Solitude,' if you don't mind the cross-reference. It is located outside of the boundaries of Atlantis itself, which appears to be roughly the size of Australia and located directly off the Eastern coast of North America.





3) Atlantis Discovered?

I have yet to confirm this reference 100%. Though I've seen the film four times, I can never get a close enough look to make out exactly what this image says. What I do know is that I saw a newspaper clipping on Ivan Vanko's workshop wall in Russia. On that clipping I saw two surfaced submarines and the word "Atlantis."



Unfortunately, unless one of you can find a way to clarify the images from this scene, I'll have to wait for it to be released in stores before acquiring a transcription of the paragraph.



If you think that Namor would only have a place in a Captain America film, you're very mistaken. During the Iron Man comic arc Demon in a Bottle, Namor has a predominant role and even has to battle the Iron Avenger. That story line will surely be used for the film Iron Man 3, since the key elements in it have already been introduced to audiences: Tony Stark's alcoholism, Roxxon Oil, vibranium, War Machine, Whiplash and Justin Hammer.

Do you happen to remember how Captain America was found after being frozen in ice for decades? His former Invaders teammate Namor unknowingly found the block of ice containing the hero, who was in suspended animation, and in a fit of rage threw it into the ocean; where he was soon found by the superhero team the Avengers. Let's not forget that Namor was also one of The Avengers' first enemies. An Avengers film showcasing the Atlantis Attacks comic line would more than likely be a very popular adaptation, due to worldwide appeal of the Lost City.

The only two problems that I feel would minimize Namor's chances of appearing in Marvel movie continuity would be logistical issues due to the character/film rights, and popularity amongst comic fans; which Marvel does take into consideration for their films. Marvel's senior executive Kevin Feige seemed to have cleared up the first problem last week during an interview with Collider.com. When asked which studios own which comic character's rights, Feige specifically noted that "Universal [Studios] doesn’t have anything." Universal was the only studio contractually allowed to use Namor, and they were planning a solo movie for the character up until 2009, when both a tentative script and director fell through. The second problem I foresee has to do with popularity within the comic movie fan community. Apparently, there should be no worries in that area. In a recent poll conducted right here on ComicBookMovie, which asked fans to choose the Invader character that they feel should definitely appear in Captain America: The First Avenger, the Prince of Atlantis accumulated over 755 votes; which surmounted to 49% of the total vote count.

At this point, I don't have any doubt we will see Namor appear in multiple Marvel Studios films. Unless a studio representative comes out with a contradictory statement, the only thing I am waiting for is a casting announcement.



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FrankDrebin
FrankDrebin - 5/13/2010, 3:20 PM
great journalism multi
Wadey09
Wadey09 - 5/13/2010, 3:23 PM
Multi,
i'm seeing Iron Man 2 for the first time tonight in a little over an hour, and will try to clarify your findings on Vanko's wall.

btw, i do hope that Marvel makes Namor a reality SOON.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 5/13/2010, 3:23 PM
I would luv to see Namor on Film especially because of the relationshp between him and Cap that would be cool in the First Avenger Flick.
thebamf
thebamf - 5/13/2010, 3:23 PM
Awesome article Multi! Namor will be awesome. I hope they make him a badass!
marvel72
marvel72 - 5/13/2010, 3:23 PM
what a find, multipurposeponi.
ManOfIron
ManOfIron - 5/13/2010, 3:25 PM
very well written article! THANK YOU! lol it sucks to read... try to read people's articles that are grammatically incorrect! so thank you for that!

now, awesome article. that does raise a lot of questions. though, i have a bad feeling that Favs only includes these things for his own fanboy benefit.
DCMarvelFreshman
DCMarvelFreshman - 5/13/2010, 3:26 PM
Awesome Journalism indeed @MPP.

I've never known much about Namor, but he does seem like an interesting character to be on the big screen, because there aren't any superhero films based underwater.

And I guess it would be cool to have Namor apart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But I remember someone saying that Namor was owned by Fox. Is that true?
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 5/13/2010, 3:26 PM
I wouldnt read too much into clues as small as these (because it's far more likely that they're just fun little easter eggs for eagle eyed viewers rather than anything that will be referenced in future films) but if Marvel own the rights to the character then I'd say it's very likely we'll see him at some point in the near future..! :)
MONTEZ
MONTEZ - 5/13/2010, 3:33 PM
SWEET! i hope namor makes it to the big screen, and not just as a cameo in cap. the next question is who should play namor? i have no ideas right now, but for sure a no on dewayne johnson. like the guy but not as namor.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 5/13/2010, 3:34 PM
MULTI: Good point! I have to agree that these are pretty specific easter eggs so I suppose that there is a good chance that there was actually a lot of thought put into their inclusion! Oh, and great article man! :)
supercajun
supercajun - 5/13/2010, 3:35 PM
Marvel is also giving him his new ongoing series called NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT.
Paulley
Paulley - 5/13/2010, 3:35 PM
wow it would be cool.. especially as it would pretty much mean DC couldn't do Aquaman.. like Marvel cant do Nova now GL coming to the big screen.

anyway yea rights issue has been brought up alot.. Namor being a FF character and a Mutant.. potentially takes him out of contention but maybe were wrong.. it would be cool if they worked it right
Imran
Imran - 5/13/2010, 3:36 PM
Wow. Great article. I didn't really think about the Oracle thing. That's very intriguing indeed! Bring on Namor!
Urban8er
Urban8er - 5/13/2010, 3:36 PM
I sure hope Fox doesn't own rights to Namor cause seeing him on the big screen DONE RIGHT would be awesome.
MONTEZ
MONTEZ - 5/13/2010, 3:36 PM
multi@ where is that pick from? the top tick of namor, i really like that look. looks perfect for the big scren.
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 5/13/2010, 3:38 PM
Huh, I see that Marvel have just announced a new Namor ongoing: Namor: The First Mutant! Could they be bringing him into the spotlight before his inclusion in The First Avenger? Looks like you might just be onto something here MULTI!

Here's the cover to #1!

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Ranger14
Ranger14 - 5/13/2010, 3:39 PM
Nice stuff, Multi! I would love to see Namor as part of the Marvel CBM world!
Talontd
Talontd - 5/13/2010, 3:41 PM
This is an AWESOME article!!!! Props @MPP!
jazzman
jazzman - 5/13/2010, 3:45 PM
very nice work MultiPurposePoni
WolvieCBM
WolvieCBM - 5/13/2010, 3:46 PM
You have seen the film four times already? Nice! I watched it two times so far and I will see it probably one more time... But this is a really good article for the fans...Great job @Multi!
CallMeSnake
CallMeSnake - 5/13/2010, 3:47 PM
Submariner?????!!!!!

Yes, please
JoshWilding
JoshWilding - 5/13/2010, 3:47 PM
Has anyone here been reading Ed Brubaker's The Marvels Project? How awesome would it be to see an adaptation of that? :) In my opinion, that's exactly the feel that Cap's movie should have!

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secretasianboy
secretasianboy - 5/13/2010, 3:51 PM
hmmm cool i'm really gald people like you find stuff like this
I'm convinced they might be making a Namor movie now
THEMRTERRIFIC
THEMRTERRIFIC - 5/13/2010, 4:03 PM
Good Work!
Ryden
Ryden - 5/13/2010, 4:07 PM
I'd love to see a Namor movie, he's an awesome character....good detective work there Multi ;) I would have never have noticed that small clipping on Vanko's wall :D
TheMyth
TheMyth - 5/13/2010, 4:09 PM
Great work MPP!!! Dunno if anyone knows this, but the 'real life' search for Atlantis in the science community actually postulates that the sunken continent is in the neighborhood marked on the SHIELD map. It's been some years since I read anything on this, but I remember specifically an article some featuring ruins off Africa's Atlantic coast that resemble ancient roads, more specifically, something of an ancient 'Interstate hub' in that area, Canary Islands keep popping in my head for some reason regarding this. This is old knowledge floating in my brain so specifics are long gone ;) so I encourage anyone to verify this.

I saw it for my second time last night. IM2 is SOOOO full of eggs it's crazy.
Ranger14
Ranger14 - 5/13/2010, 4:14 PM
TheMyth@ Yes, you are correct. It is quite a bit north of the map location in IM2 though.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2255989.ece
http://www.crystalinks.com/atlantislocations.html
peterparker420
peterparker420 - 5/13/2010, 4:15 PM
MULTI- LOL I noticed that too (on the map I mean)
I just never put two and two together!

But I did notice the BLACK PANTHER referance!!

I have NOT figured out WHO come's from
the VERY top of the map and WHO is next
to that on the right?? basiclly the TWO
spots on the very top are a mystery to me.

BillyBlack
BillyBlack - 5/13/2010, 4:24 PM
Heahahaheh another great bit of gum-shoeing man.

So Namor's a fave? Does this mean we could see a MultiPurposeNamor this halloween?

I'd pay admission price to see you rockin the scaled speedo and winged booties ;)
TheMyth
TheMyth - 5/13/2010, 4:28 PM
Ranger14, Thank you sir! To me, all the things I've read and heard about Atlantis, I think that would be the spot if it ever existed, especially considering the 'Atlantean' artifacts/evidence they've found from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean.

Peterparker420, Well, the NYC mark is most likely the Hulk/Abomination battle in TIH, while the European mark is most likely Red Skull, though I first thought of Dr. Doom (just impulse for that one, though it's VERY unlikely)
flames809
flames809 - 5/13/2010, 4:29 PM
wow didnt see that
TheMyth
TheMyth - 5/13/2010, 4:32 PM
MrTerrific, lol, you have the 'fatal T' drawn on your face.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 5/13/2010, 4:35 PM
Definite nod ..whether they proceed to tie it in to Namor himself via Cap remains to be seen. I was never a big fan but thats because I never really read his stuff. I believe The Deep is great.
DannyDreg
DannyDreg - 5/13/2010, 4:47 PM
Sorry, I'd still would rather see an Aquaman film get made before Namor. I'm a DC. :)
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 5/13/2010, 4:48 PM
fantastic article! Submariner FTW!!

I definitely agree that Namor absolutely should be in the Invaders!

I don't know why anyone would have a problem with that.

I mean mo Marvel = mo betta
Phinehas
Phinehas - 5/13/2010, 4:50 PM
Another cool well-made CBM would be cool for us fans, whether its risky for Marvel or not. But then again, if it sinks the company (wink wink) it would prove harmful for lovers of this stuff too. But how could it? Water action is cool! Look at the scene in the latest Airbender trailer with the giant wave. You know that that is the money shot! Equally, as a DC fan, an Aquaman would be ripe as well.
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