Namor Represents The Kang Dynasty’s Big Challenge Besides The Multiverse

Namor’s involvement in ***Avengers: The Kang Dynasty** poses a major challenge for the upcoming Phase 6 film. Tenoch Huerta debuted as Namor during Phase 4’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever*, adapted from Namor the Sub-Mariner, one of Marvel Comics’ original characters who debuted back in 1939. Namor had been long-anticipated in the MCU, and his introduction didn’t disappoint as he went toe-to-toe with the forces of Wakanda and the MCU’s new Black Panther, Shuri, as well as introducing audiences to his underwater nation of Talokan, a representation of Atlantis from the comics.

Despite a brilliant introduction in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Namor’s future in the MCU is currently unclear. While Marvel Studios owns the film rights to Namor, the distribution rights belong to Universal Pictures. This means Namor probably won’t be appearing as the protagonist in any Marvel Studios project. Marvel skirted this issue with the Hulk by including him as a secondary character in projects like the Avengers films and *She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, so this could be where Namor’s MCU future lies. Since the Hulk has seen a huge amount of development this way, Namor’s future MCU appearances can answer some burning questions left after Wakanda Forever*.

Related: MCU Just Made Marvel’s Original Mutant Explanation Impossible

Black Panther 2 Revealed Namor As An MCU Mutant

Much like his character backstory in Marvel Comics, the MCU’s Namor was confirmed to be a mutant in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, marking the third time a mutant has appeared in the franchise following Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel and Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While Namor is a member of the Talokanil, his mutation grants him varying gifts that others in the underwater society don’t possess. This includes the fact that Namor can breathe oxygen outside the water, unlike other Talokanil, has pointed ears, wings on his ankles, and an elongated lifespan that has allowed him to rule over Talokan for centuries.

The MCU’s introduction of mutants has so far been very slow, with Phase 4 only briefly touching on the subject, but as the Multiverse Saga continues to grow, more mutants are expected to emerge. This is likely to happen before Phase 6’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, especially with projects such as Deadpool 3 expected to debut a plethora of new mutants into the franchise. Even so, many questions still surround the mythos of mutants in the MCU, and Namor’s elongated life only adds fuel to the fire, as it’s still unclear exactly how long mutants have been living in the background of the franchise.

Avengers 5 Writer Teased Namor’s Involvement In The Kang Dynasty

Even though the exact trajectory of Namor’s MCU future hasn’t yet been revealed, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty writer Jeff Loveness, who also penned Phase 5’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has revealed that Namor will probably have a role to play in the MCU’s next Avengers flick. During a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Loveness mentioned that he’s “excited to write Namor,” suggesting the Talokan King will be included in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. It’s unknown whether this will be Tenoch Huerta’s next MCU appearance as Namor, or if he’ll pop up before then, but Loveness’ comments imply that mutants will have a part to play in the upcoming film.

As the only two Avengers films in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars are expected to rival Infinity War and Endgame in scale. It’s assumed that most MCU characters will show up in the Phase 6 projects, and there is speculation that Marvel characters from outside the MCU will also be involved, which could see the return of heroes from Fox’s X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, and Sony’s Spider-Man films. Whether this leaves enough room for MCU characters to get the focus they need is up for discussion, but Namor’s potential involvement in *Avengers 5* certainly boosts excitement for Loveness’ next MCU project.

Several MCU Mutants Will Be Involved In Avengers 5

The inclusion of Namor in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty suggests that other mutants will also be integrated into the project. So far, this would only include Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan, who was confirmed to be a mutant in the final episode of Ms. Marvel on Disney+. Kamala’s next appearance in The Marvels alongside Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau will surely develop her character further, gearing her up to be a part of Phase 6’s epic Avengers films. However, new mutant characters will be introduced to the MCU before The Kang Dynasty releases, so there’s no doubt these heroes will be included too.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been confirmed to be reprising their X-Men franchise roles in the MCU’s Deadpool 3, bringing Deadpool and Wolverine to the MCU. Bridging the gap between the Fox and Marvel Studios franchises means that several other X-Men characters could debut in the MCU during Deadpool 3, helping to make the existence of mutantkind common knowledge. While this is great news for the MCU’s future following Avengers: Secret Wars, it creates even more questions surrounding the MCU’s mutants, many of which The Kang Dynasty will need to work very hard to answer.

Avengers 5 Needs To Answer Burning Mutant Questions

Nobody expected Ms. Marvel to explain the backstory of the MCU’s mutants, especially since Kamala Khan had only just discovered her abilities, and wasn’t named as a mutant until the show’s final moments. However, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had the opportunity to provide more explanation, but faltered, only providing confirmation of Namor’s MCU mutation in passing. Since Namor has practically been confirmed for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the MCU’s Phase 6 has a new challenge to overcome, as mutants will need to be explained in more detail, while the threat of Kang the Conqueror and the concept of the multiverse will also need to be included.

The crux of this problem lies with the specific nature of Namor’s mutation in the MCU, since one of his abilities manifests itself as a remarkably long lifespan. In the MCU, Namor was born in the 1570s, which makes him over 450 years old during his Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debut. This poses a huge question concerning where the world’s mutants have been during previous MCU projects. Ms. Marvel in Phase 4 made it seem as though individual mutations were only now starting to emerge, but Namor’s existence means mutants have secretly been around for centuries.

The absence of mutants in previously MCU projects was due to Fox owning the film rights to the characters, but since Disney acquired Fox properties in 2019, including the rights to mutants, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, there now needs to be an in-universe explanation for where mutants have been all this time. With each new project that releases featuring mutants, their backstory in the MCU seems to become even more confusing. In Marvel Comics, mutants date back to the dawn of humanity, and if this is the case in the MCU, ***Avengers: The Kang Dynasty*** will have some serious ground to cover.

Originally published at https://screenrant.com on April 29, 2023.