Namor

Born to a human sea captain and an Atlantean princess, Namor McKenzie is a hybrid whose dual heritage grants him extraordinary abilities both above and beneath the waves. Raised in the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, he eventually emerged as its fierce, imperious ruler and defender.

Few characters can claim to have been there at the very birth of Marvel Comics mythology, but Namor is one of them — Bill Everett's imperious creation burst onto the scene in 1939's Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, making him one of the oldest characters in the entire Marvel canon and a true Golden Age original. Across an extraordinary 87-year publishing history, he has shared pages with titans like Captain America, Iron Man, and the Human Torch, appearing in landmark runs through Tales to Astonish, Fantastic Four, and his own Namor, the Sub-Mariner series. With 1,231 catalog appearances and a staggering 70 recognized key issues to his name, few characters carry more weight in a serious collection. If you want to understand where Marvel came from and how it endured, Namor is essential reading.