Issue(s): Namor annual #1
Cover Date: 1991
Title: "Never again"
Credits:
Scott Lobdell - Writer
James Fry - Penciler
Erik Larsen - Inker

Review/plot:
The Sub-Mariner's first annual ever (unless there's something from the Golden Age that i'm not aware of) is the most tangential portion of the Subterranean Wars. Note that not only does it not feature any of the characters from the rest of this story, but it's also not by the regular creative team of either the series or anyone associated with the rest of the event. So it's really just a completely random event that just happens to use Subterranean Wars as a backdrop.

Namor's old adviser, Vashti, who remained in Atlantis when Attuma took it over, comes looking for Namor. Vashti is mistaken for a homeless man by a group of thugs. I wonder if it's accurate that thugs would attack homeless people for "trespassing" on property that they have nothing to do with, as seen here. I also think it's a nice touch that Namor would allow the homeless to sleep on his land, but now that i think about it, it's really the least he could do.

Vashti is badly injured, so Namor brings him to Avengers mansion, where he's taken care of by Dr. Kincaid. No wait, that's... Fabian Stankowicz? He's a doctor now?

Vashti is weak, but tells Namor about the Subterranean Wars, which Namor says he was already informed of when he first entered Avengers Mansion. When i read this the first time, i thought that was because Captain America and the Black Widow had made it back to the mansion, but we'll learn in Avengers West Coast annual #6 that that isn't really the case. So maybe Namor just heard from Jarvis about the initial surface incursion by the Subterraneans. Anyway, Vashti begs Namor to not get involved with that, because another group, the El Dorado, are using the wars to further their own interests, and are committing genocide on a group of Moloids. Under Attuma, Atlantis has decided to remain neutral in the Subterranean Wars, so Vashti begs Namor to stop the genocide. Namor is torn, saying that his place is "with the warriors", i.e. going to join the Avengers in battle, but he eventually decides to stop the Doradians.

Jarvis contacts Stingray and asks him to accompany Namor. Not that Namor wants him along.

Namor ditches Stingray but then gets captured while fighting the Dorodians alone. While he's strung up and subjected to intense heat, he has a flashback to his Invaders days, remembering discovering a Nazi death camp.

I've talked before about how i think it's a really bad idea for the Invaders to have come across evidence of the Holocaust, because it's hard for me to buy that they wouldn't devote the entirety of their efforts to liberating these camps. It also just seems like too much of a clash between the lighthearted fantasy of super-heroes in the Golden Age and the real dire tragedy of the Holocaust. But we've seen stories about Captain America having liberated people from concentration camps already, so this isn't exactly new information at this point, although it's much starker here.

At the time, Captain America convinced Namor to let the Nazis be brought to justice instead of just killing them. But now Namor breaks free (with Stingray arriving after the fact to at least knock Namor into some water). And this time Namor says that he was being naive when he let the Nazis be brought to trial.

But before he can kill any Dorodians, he is forced to rescue some Moloids from a cave-in.

The whole story seems really cheap, using the tragedy of the Holocaust for some cheap drama. And of course Namor never does go back to join the Avengers for the rest of the Subterranean Wars.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This is part three of the Subterranean Wars; part four takes place in Iron Man annual #12. Two back-ups from this annual are covered in separate entries.

References:

• A recap of Namor's origin covers events from Marvel Comics #1, Fantastic Four #4, Sub-Mariner #1, and Namor #1, as well as other events like his time with the Invaders, the Defenders, and the Avengers.
  
• Vashti tells Namor that the Avengers are participating in the Subterranean Wars, per Avengers annual #20.
  
• Namor lost his wings in Namor #8.
  
• No footnote, but we've seen the Dorodians before in Avengers #30-31 and Hulk #238-243.

Crossover: Subterranean Wars

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Marvel didn't do any annuals during the Golden Age.

Yeah, annuals were pretty much a creation of the Silver Age. Marvel did, however, publish this: http://mikesamazingworld.com/features/comic.php?comicid=51290 (Don't worry, it's all reprints, as is the similar Captain America book.)

I like the art here. It's good for an annual; probably helped a lot by Erik Larsen on inks.