Issue(s): Sub-Mariner #21
Cover Date: Jan 70
Title: "Invasion from the ocean floor!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Writer
Marie Severin - Penciler
Johnny T. Craig - Inker

Review/plot:
Namor is still on the run in Manhattan, but Lady Dorma organizes a war party to demand that the surface world return him. She's joined by Warlord Seth, who has returned from exile to learn that Namor was never really dead.

He's got the Horn of Proteus that Namor used in his first Silver Age appearance to summon Giganto; this time Seth summons up a trio of awesome giant sea-turtles.

Namor doesn't actually want war with the surface people so he winds up battling the turtles, but they're eventually led away by Seth, who seemingly dies in the effort.

With the turtles gone, i guess things are chaotic enough that Namor is able to return to Atlantis with his people to be cured without interference from the surface world, although Dorma's assault certainly didn't approve human/Atlantean relations.

Before things got too out of hand, Diane Arliss was able to convince Namor to call the Fantastic Four for help. Unfortunately, the Thing picked up the phone in a bad mood, and since poor Namor is being scripted by the wordy Roy Thomas, the Thing hangs up on Namor before he can spit out the reason for the call.

Arliss then gives Namor a change of clothes, but she doesn't realize that her apartment is bugged, so when the cops show up, Namor assumes she betrayed him.

Then we learn that Namor can't fly when his little feet wings are covered.

This issue felt more like it was just doing what it had to do to get Namor back to his status quo rather than tell a significant story in its own right. The attack on the surface world feels a bit casual; with all these attacks from Atlantis (there's another one coming up in FF later this year) you'd think the US would be ready to respond with a definitive counter-attack by now. I mean how many times do you let another country invade you nuke the ocean or something?

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place soon after the end of the previous issue, with Namor still on the run in New York City. At the end of this issue he's still unable to breathe underwater, something addressed at the beginning of issue #22. The Thing's appearance is context free (Arliss even speculates that he's really an answering machine, but that doesn't seem to be the case).

References:

• Namor has been unable to breath underwater since Sub-Mariner #18.
  
• The Warlord Seth has been on self-imposed exile since Sub-Mariner #9 due to the mistaken belief that he caused Namor's death.
  
• The Horn of Proteus was previously used in Fantastic Four #4.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Mark Gruenwald has a letter here.

The FF's answering machine should totally be Ben being rude to people! Diane Arliss, you're a genius!