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1955 Namor: The Battle of Wakanda
Open on happy scenes in Talokan. But in a darker corner, away from prying eyes, a figure with their face obscured by clothing asks a nervous Talokanil if everything is ready.
Cut to S.H.I.E.L.D. team (Peggy, Howard, Jacqui and Brian Falsworth and James Braddock) en route to a Roxxon oil rig in the Atlantic ocean. They flew to Mexico in Howard's new jet and went by helicopter from there.
Howard (to Peggy): Hey, Peggy, how are you? Seems like Agent Sousa is still on your mind.
Peggy: Mind your own bloody business. Jacqueline: Oh but is he though Peggy? Do tell.
P (to Brian, exasperated): I suppose you want to know too?
Brian: I'm not getting involved.
P (sighs): My grieving process is private but I am just fine, thank you. Happy now?
(Awkward pause)
H: Have you heard from Adam Brashear lately?
P: Will you keep your nose out of my personal life and focus on the task, please.
J: We just don't like to think of you all lonely.
P: Well, that's very sweet Jacqui, but I really am fine. In fact, I often think I would be better off without any men in my life.
(Pointedly looks at Howard)
H: Ouch…I was just trying to be a good friend.
P: No, you were being nosey. Now, we are heading into a potentially delicate and dangerous situation here. All the pertinent information again please Howard.
The rig has put in reports of attacks and sabotage by blue people that escape, seemingly unaided, into the ocean. It is Homo Mermanus, the Talokanil.
They land and have a brief discussion with the rig manager when they suddenly come under attack again. This time it's a full on assault by Talokanil in air breathing respirators ("Didn't know they had those…" says Howard). Having Spitfire (Jacqui), Union Jack II (Brian) and Howard's dehumidifying weapons prove quite handy. James Braddock seems to be holding his own as well.
Meanwhile, back at Talokan, the nervous Talokanil from the opening scene rushes to tell Namor about S.H.I.E.L.D. assaulting a patrol team from an oil rig in the Atlantic.
He rushes off, full of rage, taking Attuma and Namora and some of the royal guards with him. He leaves his old friend Bobo in charge.
They arrive at the rig and see S.H.I.E.L.D. doing exactly what the nervous Talokanil had said, but they see that this is no patrol, the unit is too large for a patrol. They aid the unit and is about to kill James when he sees Peggy and she yells for him to stop. He ceases hostilities and angrily asks Peggy 'where is the peace of which we spoke when we last met?'
She explains that they were investigating reports of sabotage when the rig was subjected to an assault. They were just trying to defend themselves.
As Namor has a soft spot for women he relents and asks a nearby trooper if this is true. The trooper spits at his feet and says that he would make peace with the humans when all they do is harm the ocean. That they should fear the Talokanil.
Namor is too angry at the insubordination to entertain the point. He goes to strike the trooper when another grabs him and then they are all suddenly coming for him, holding him down, trying to beat him. He resists. Attuma, Namora, Brian and Jacqui try to help him while the others resume their defence of the rig workers taking refuge inside. They seem to be a legitimate target for the Talokanil. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are surprised by the level of hatred towards humans and the sudden attack on Namor.
Meanwhile in Talokan, Byrrah (Namor's old rival) is taking advantage of the absence of the King (and his Tri-Team) to stage a coup. It has been planned meticulously in advance with former Royal Guard Krang while they were both in exile. They have amassed significant forces amongst disaffected/exiled Talokanil, enough for two teams. Byrrah has planted sleeper agents in key roles (royal guards, military, courtiers etc) who can take the loyalists by surprise.
The Royal guards and the army are mostly killed or arrested trying to protect Namor's old friend Bobo. Bobo is arrested and remaining loyalists have to submit to Byrrah or flee.
Back at the rig, our heroes are dogged and eventually drive the rebels back into the sea. The rebels yell that Krang will deal with him (in Talokanese obvs).
Namor is full of rage, again, and wants to rush back to Talokan. Peggy points out it's probably a trap. He goes anyway, taking Namora and Attuma with him. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents try to get the rig workers and themselves to safety in Mexico.
On the way to Talokan, the Tri-Team (Namor, Namora, Attuma) encounter fleeing loyalists. They warn Namor not to go back as Byrrah has successfully staged a coup.
Once Namor has admonished them for fleeing he asks about Bobo.
They say he is alive but being held.
He asks the loyalists for help. Only to glad to atone for fleeing, they agree to cause a distraction under the pretense of a small insurrection against Byrrah. Using the distraction, they sneak in and free Bobo. Unfortunately they get seen during the escape and Bobo is mortally wounded protecting Namor.
He tells them a loyalist soldier told him that Krang's forces are leading a land invasion to Wakanda as they have the metal they need to build the weapons, equipment and infrastructure necessary to conquer the surface world. He says they will head to the Mediterranean Sea and follow the Nile all the way to Lake Victoria.
Bobo dies.
Unable to retake Talokan without support, with a dead best friend and a potential breaking of the 'if you leave us alone, we'll leave you alone' treaty he has with the US, Namor is livid. He has Namora and Attuma head off to round up the fleeing loyalists, while he recklessly heads to Lake Victoria alone.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. team are in the middle of a briefing in Mexico about the oil rig siege and the political climate within Talokan. They receive reports blue people in the Nile at various points in Africa over the past few days (Egypt, Sudan and then today in Uganda). Not a coincidence that Talokanil rebels stage a coup on Tuesday and then Talokanil are sighted along the Nile by the weekend, thinks Peggy. Howard surmises that they might be heading to Wakanda to plunder their vibranium to make weapons and equipment. They wonder how many rebels there might be. The Nile is at its fullest in September and could potentially conceal many fighters if they were patient in the build up.
Peggy asks Howard how long, he says at least 24 hours even with the jet.
Peggy says we need to leave, now, and they all scramble. Peggy sees that Howard isn't moving and asks him if he's waiting for it in writing. He says there is one person that can get there faster than us. Peggy reluctantly concedes and says she'll make the call. Howard calls ahead to his contacts in Wakanda. Then they set off.
Namor is swimming as fast as he can. He is even faster than regular Talokanil and is set to get there before S.H.I.E.L.D.
Meanwhile, we see the final cohort of Krang's rebels arrive to Lake Victoria in Wakanda at night, the ones from the rig fight. He congratulates them on their diversion and laments that S.H.I.E.L.D. was there to save Namor's life. Telling them to rest he takes another team onto the shore of the lake. They move in formation with new, longer lasting respirators and weapons stolen from Talokan in the first uprising. As they carry out basic tests of their weapons the Wakandan border tribe arrives to investigate but the initial wave are outmatched. Then the shelling starts and we see tanks and aircraft on the way. The rebels are driven back into the lake.
They regroup, quickly strategise and spread along the lake and start using their superior strength and speed to overpower infantry and heavy ordnance. Their vibranium spears and newly invented hydrobombs are a blow to the Wakandans, but the battle is still very much on.
We cut to underwater and a rebel soldier is stealth tackles by something super speedy. And another. And another. It is, of course Namor. He tries to do it again but has lost the element of surprise. He grabs the first rebel but another one grabs him and slows him down. Soon they are all piling on. Namor manages to wriggle free and swims as fast as he can up past the surface into the air. He narrowly dodges a spear which is caught by Adam Brashear, The Blue Marvel. Namor is about to engage in battle with him, when he reassures him that they both seem to be there to stop the invasion. Adam is very powerful but has to hold back in case he destroys everything around him. They patrol the shore and succeed in driving most attacks back into the lake. The Wakndans see this strategy from the two outsiders and aid them in doing so.
Things go quiet. Krang changes tack and a large rebel force rush the rear of the Wakndan forces, taking them by surprise and causing some damage.
Then the Black Panther! King T'Chanda and his Dora Milaje arrive and are a match for the Talokanil rebels. He is also powered by vibranium and they are all equipped with vibranium weapons and better trained to fight on land.
Adam stays to try and hold the shore with the border tribe. Namor heads over to help the Black Panther with the surprise attack along with other Wakandan forces.
Namora, Attuma and the loyalist Talokanil forces arrive and Namor has them cut off the escape route through the Nile.
The surprise attack runs out of steam and all the rebels are forced back into the lake.
Namor calls Krang forth to represent the group. He says he has been denied an honourable challenge for the throne. Byrrah waited till he was called away by Krang's distraction and sneaked onto the throne like a coward.
He asks if Krang is a coward too. He says "Won't you come and 'deal with me?'?".
This is too much for Krang who shows up and accepts the challenge. There is some consternation from the others but King T'Chanda says they must respect others customs, this is for honour.
They arm themselves with Talokanil vibranium spears and battle.
Krang is a very strong member of his species but Namor is stronger and faster. Namor bests him after a tough fight, but Krang will not yield. He rises again and again and is beaten down each time. It is brutal and plays out in front of everyone. Krang is only stopped when he is mortally wounded. He says Namor is soft and lets the surface dwellers do what they want, poison the sea etc. Namor says Krang was impatient and Talokan's time will come.
Then S.H.I.E.L.D finally turns up. Other African defence forces turn up and the lake is surrounded. The rebels are now trapped and leaderless. They try to make a break for it but between Namor, the loyalists, Black Panther, the Wakandans, S.H.I.E.L.D., the superhuman and the forces from the countries surrounding the lake they are all captured. They then have to listen to Namor's speech about how the one they believed in is gone, a fine warrior who was riled by Byrrah into rash action. How they all saw from this battle that Talokan was not ready for it…yet ("Yet?" says Peggy).
"Byrrah is weak, not Namor. Namor has shown you his strength. Byrrah is jealous and petty. He does not care for Talokan like you. He will not fight for Talokan like you…" etc.
He ends up convincing most of them. Those that still disagree are taken prisoner and Namor sends them back to Talokan. He will join them.
He speaks to Peggy, Howard Adam and King T'Chanda asking to keep their 'let's leave each other alone ' treaty. Peggy agrees. King T'Chanda appreciates that Namor may want to keep the existence of his nation quiet and has made arrangements with the generals from the other nations for their promise of secrecy. Namor says their discovery could destroy their nation. King T'Chanda agrees and has similar reservations. He asks Peggy, Howard and Adam if they will keep his nation's technological prowess secret. Howard says they could help a lot of people. T'Chanda responds by saying that if the rest of the world sees that Africa has something, they will try to take it. They would be fighting battles everyday. He doesn't want that for his people. Namor doesn't want that for his people either. Peggy agrees to the request.
They both offer to help take back Talokan. Namor appreciates the offer but says his people would tear them apart in the water. Peggy hopes they don't cross paths again because that will mean that Talokan has peace. King T'Chanda says he hopes that Wakanda and Talokan can be allies again in the future.
Adam says his powers will work underwater. Namor declines the offer saying that he must show his people his strength and heads after his team after trying to kiss Peggy's hand ("oh lord" says Peggy (as in another man in her life that someone doesn't need)).
Adam offers her a lift home. She thanks him for his kindness but declines. She says she prefers a seat belt and a parachute when flying.
Post credits:- Namor looking at the sunrise as his forces gather and prepare for the battle ahead. Namora says we are ready. Namor says, then let's go home.
1955 Namor: The Battle for Talokan
Follows straight on from the previous movie and details the Battle for and recapture of Talokan. Byrrah is scared, as well as weak and petty and is cruel to his supporters as a result. This leads to many of them turning on him which helps the loyalists no end.
At the end Namor deems him unworthy of an honourable death and sentences him to the rest of his days in prison. Byrrah loses it in a massive fit of jealousy and tries to kill him but Namor is too wily for that and returns the favour, saying he should have taken prison.
Namora and Attuma also star.
1957 The Blue Marvel
The movie is set on the west coast of America. That is where we first meet Adam in Agent Carter s2, so it makes sense that he and his family would settle somewhere familiar.
We open on a homeless veteran, disheveled clothes and an unshaven face, but has kept himself in shape. He is begging for money.
A young man of colour drops a coin into his cup but it phases through, landing on the sidewalk. He is confused but the vet explains it happens sometimes.
The young man is verbally abused by some racist douches. He is in the middle of sticking up for himself when the veteran intervenes. The situation gets violent causing the vet to dissociate because of his PTSD. He is in full flashback for a moment. When he comes back to himself, one of the douches is beating him up (he also has douchey views about homeless people). He reacts instinctively and strikes the man and he flies across the road, crashing into a vehicle. The driver is shaken but unharmed.
Local police take notice and chase the veteran and the innocent man, who run together initially. The young man is angry because he felt he had it under control. The vet then draws attention away from the young man and manages to get the police to pursue him instead, then disappears after rounding a corner.
Cut to a family scene at the Brashear’s new home. Adam Brashear, Marlene, now Adam's wife, and their young son Kevin are still trying to come to terms with civilian life after Adam was told to stop superheroing by the President. Marlene has changed her name to Candace to hide that she is ex-S.H.I.E.L.D., but has a good fake CV which includes telephone exchange operator and talent agent. So she is quite employable whereas no one will touch Adam with a barge pole except for offers to be a super-mercenary, which would mean he was breaking the law.
She is therefore the sole wage earner and Adam stays home to look after Kevin. They are both frustrated because they know they could be doing more, but the family unit is a happy one nonetheless. Trying to do the right thing no matter the cost.
Peggy Carter, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an official visit as she has volunteered as Adam's ‘handler’ to ‘make sure’ he isn't superheroing. They joke about whether he is superheroing, chat about family life and Peggy coos over the baby. While she is doing this she writes a note to say their place is bugged. Candace had figured as much. She gives them each a tiny in-ear communicator, newly invented by Howard Stark. She then takes her leave.
She leaves Adam changing Kevin's diaper and Candace reading a magazine, whilst they secretly await instructions. After she is safely on her way she communicates the incident with the homeless veteran, the young man and the racist thugs. Adam can respond to some of it as he can pretend he is talking to the baby. Candace will respond while pretending she is fascinated by what's in the magazine.
Peggy goes on to say that S.H.I.E.L.D. examined the thug and found traces of zero matter on him. She adds that the veteran was reported to have ‘simply disappeared’.
When Adam comes back he sees that Candace has written ‘Conner?’ on the bottom Peggy's note. He silently concurs.
Peggy tells him there will be an advert in the paper tomorrow for a factory worker and that Adam should come for an interview.
In this “Interview” Peggy and Howard make an agreement that Candace will search for Conner in communication with Peggy while Adam and Howard try to recreate the machine that cured Adam of his intangibility back in Agent Carter s2.
Both teams succeed in their task. Candace and Peggy locate Conner and convince him to come in peaceably when they mention Adam’s name. They bring him in and Adam and Howard stabilise him. They theorise that further treatments may cure his intangibility.
Seemingly more stable now, a freshened up Conner goes out for a walk with Adam and Candace. Conner wants to superhero with him and is very angry about the racist Presidential edict. A racist incident on the street towards Adam and his family causes Conner to flip out and accidentally disintegrate a guy.
Police arrive quickly on the scene while Adam is trying to talk him down. However, Adam is arrested for it after Conner disappears.
Conner reappears and goes ape when he finds out what happened to Adam as it wasn’t his fault and destroys the police station, freeing Adam but killing, maiming or hurting many. Conner tells Adam that they can stop this, end racism, make the world a more equitable place. Adam asks how many lives that would cost and knows it wouldn’t achieve Conner’s aims anyway. This leads to their first battle. People see the return of the Blue Marvel and see that he is trying to stop this destructive character.
Conner disappears again. Adam is now a fugitive too.
Conner tries to make up for his mistakes and tries to superhero but he is starting to become unstable again and needs more treatment, but is stressed and fuelled by guilt. Every time he uses his power more zero matter damage is caused. Adam manages to track Conner down with Candace and a Howard gizmo, but realises he is unwittingly causing a zero matter singularity to emerge putting the city in danger and possibly the state and beyond if it can’t be controlled. It is starting to pull things into the dark dimension as it is essentially a wormhole between the two.
He warns Conner, but Conner wonders if it would be such a bad thing if the human race was wiped out, reasoning that people are the problem with the world. Adam tries to talk him down while they battle. But as the fight goes on Conner’s readings show that it is too late to cure him and he will explode and the singularity will continue to grow.
As per Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel;
"if i can sync with his energy and release a large enough positive plasma charge I might be able to initiate a chain reaction causing him to implode.”
The gang realise that Adam's plan could well work, but may cause a large antimatter explosion. Adam and Candace revisit doing the right thing no matter the cost. He takes Conner out of earth's atmosphere and he implodes, ending the Dark Dimension singularity. Everyone thinks the Blue Marvel died in heroic sacrifice, but S.H.I.E.L.D.’s advanced tracking equipment shows that he is re-entering the atmosphere. They allow the world to go on thinking he died (“Anti-man defeated by Blue Marvel sacrifice!” scream the headlines).
S.H.I.E.L.D. do get reprimanded for ignoring the Presidential edict but the White House accepts there were mitigating circumstances.
Adam returns and the Brashears realise they will have to live their lives on the run. They are sorry that their son won't have much of a life, but are glad they can go back to making a difference (covertly, of course).
Post credits:- Namor shows the Brashears to their new underwater base. It was called in as a favour by Peggy and the Talokanil were happy to build it for him as a thank you for his help at the Battle of Wakanda. Namor questions why he doesn't ignore the disrespectful edict and use his powers to rule the surface world. Adam and Candace explain that they have a calling to do the right thing, no matter the cost, to help those that cannot help themselves.
Namor concedes that he would do the same for his people.
We end as they check out the (secretly) provided S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment that will allow them to monitor world events.
There will be rumours of The Blue Marvel helping those in need for years to come.