Sub-Mariner #70
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSub-Mariner #70 earns its place in Bronze Age history as the first appearance of Piranha, the radiation-spawned humanoid fish villain who became one of Namor's most distinctively grotesque recurring antagonists. Piranha's built-in self-replicating biology — his mutated piranha servants devour him, evolve into identical copies, and the cycle repeats — gave writers an unusually renewable monster concept at a time when the book desperately needed fresh blood. The issue also represents a meaningful moment in the larger story of the 1968 series: writer Marv Wolfman was handed the wheel with just two issues left before cancellation, and his Piranha introduction showed that the Atlantean corner of Marvel still had room for genuinely unsettling creature-feature invention even at the end of the line.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By the time issue #70 hit stands in May 1974, the Sub-Mariner solo series was in its final stretch, having struggled through a turbulent late period that included the death of creator Bill Everett and a wave of creative turnover. Steve Gerber had helmed the preceding issues (#64–69) as part of a last-ditch editorial effort to revive the flagging book, and Marv Wolfman stepped in for the final two issues (#70–71), with George Tuska continuing as penciler and Roy Thomas serving as editor. Wolfman introduced Piranha as a direct narrative outgrowth of the existing Dr. Lemuel Dorcas mythology — Dorcas's abandoned radiation experiments having inadvertently mutated a piranha fish into a humanoid predator — which grounded the new villain organically in the series' established lore. The cover was rendered by Gil Kane, inked by Frank Giacoia.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Piranha (Earth-616), created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciler George Tuska; cover-dated May 1974.
- Piranha's origin is indirect: he is a normal piranha fish mutated into a semi-humanoid form by residual radiation from the experiments of recurring villain Dr. Lemuel Dorcas, who had previously created Tiger Shark and Orka.
- The story follows Namor searching the sunken ships of Bikini Atoll for an ingredient that could cure a plague afflicting the Atlanteans — the overarching plot thread that had driven the series through its closing arc.
- Piranha commands a force of Men-Fish (Aquanoids) in battle against Namor; in a darkly ironic twist, Piranha is wounded during the fight and his own piranha servants turn on him and devour him.
- The issue includes Marvel Value Stamp Series A #98 (The Puppet Master), part of Marvel's 1974–75 promotional stamp program inserted across its line.
- Wolfman scripted only two issues of the series (#70–71) before it concluded with #72 (written by Steve Skeates), making this one of the final creative chapters of Namor's first solo title, which ran from 1968 to 1974.
- The full creative credits: Writer — Marv Wolfman; Penciler — George Tuska; Inker — Vince Colletta; Colorist — Stan Goldberg; Letterer — John Costanza; Cover art — Gil Kane (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks); Editor — Roy Thomas.
- Piranha went on to become a recurring Namor antagonist, later joining the aquatic supervillain team Deep Six, and appeared in Marvel Zombies continuity, demonstrating lasting narrative utility despite his brief debut.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Comic Reader #103 (1974), Namor #9 (1980), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #8 (2018), Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection #5 (2025)
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