Namor has appeared in Marvel Comics since 1939, making him one of the oldest superheroes. He has appeared in a lot of different stories over the years and has gone through a significant number of changes. Like any character with a long publication history, Namor has also had several romantic connections with other characters.
While Namor isn’t quite as prolific a dater as someone like Peter Parker, he has still had a number of different love interests over the years. Some of Namor’s romances are short-lived and ill-advised, while others had a much more significant impact on the ruler of Atlantis.
7/7 Marrina Met A Violent End At Namor’s Hands
Namor and Marrina’s relationship is a tragic one. During her stay in Atlantis to recover, Marrina and Namor began a romantic relationship with one another. The two quickly fell in love and even got married, something Namor didn’t take lightly, as his wife would rule Atlantis with him.
Tragically, a combination of Marrina becoming pregnant, and her unique alien physiology, caused her to transform into an uncontrollable beast known as a leviathan. Namor eventually had to kill her with Black Knight’s Ebony Blade, bringing their romance to a tragic end. It should also be noted that some readers will be a little put off by a romance that ends when a husband murders his pregnant wife because the pregnancy turned her into a monster.
6/7 Namora And Namor’s Relationship Gets Uncomfortable
For a period of time in comics, it was relatively popular to team up male superheroes with a female version of themselves, like Batman and the original Batwoman. Namor’s new partner was a woman named Aquaria Neptunia, nicknamed Namora. Heroes who worked closely together becoming romantically involved wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but Namor and Namora’s relationship was a bit awkward, to say the least.
Sometime after Namora’s initial introduction, her origin was ret-conned so that she was actually Namor’s cousin, and it was only after they were canonically related that they became romantically involved. While not as uncomfortable as similar incestuous pairings in Marvel like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, Namor’s romance with Namora will always be clouded by the fact they’re related.
5/7 Readers Are Told Dorma Was Namor’s Greatest Love, But The Reality Is Darker
Canonically, Namor really loved Dorma and their romance was meant to be a great one. However, it’s hard to ignore all the problems these two had. Before they became a couple, Dorma was so jealous of Namor’s attraction to Sue Storm of The Fantastic Four that she tried to kill Sue, which is a pretty big red flag.
Once Namor and Dorma began dating, she thankfully no longer tried to kill any of his love interests, but this wasn’t the end of their problems. Dorma was later kidnapped and killed by an Atlantean named Llyra who wanted to become queen in her stead. Between Dorma’s murderous jealousy and her subsequent fridging, many readers aren’t likely to look back on this romance with fondness.
4/7 Betty Dean And Namor May Or May Not Have Dated
Betty Dean is one of Namor’s oldest allies in comics. Like Namor himself, her comics appearances date back to 1939, meaning the two have shared a long history on the page. This also means the depictions of their relationship are inconsistent and of questionable canonicity. In some older comics, Betty and Namor’s relationship seems to waver back and forth from being romantic and platonic.
Later, in Namor: The First Mutant #5 by Stuart Moore, Ariel Olivetti, Brian Ching, Rick Ketcham, Don Ho, and Craig Yeung, their relationship is explicitly depicted as a romantic one. However, their relationship in this book is anything but good, with Namor disappearing for months without any word to Betty. It seems readers are left to decide if Betty and Namor were great allies and friends or in a somewhat unhealthy relationship.
3/7 Namor Became A Plot Device For Emma Frost’s Other Relationship
Since Emma Frost’s most famous romance is with her fellow X-Men member, Cyclops, some fans might not know she also had an on-again-off-again relationship. Namor and Emma clearly had a strong attraction to one another when they first met as members of the Cabal, and their romance grew from there.
Unfortunately, Namor and Emma’s relationship became less of its own romance and more a part of a love triangle with Scott Summers. With writers seemingly more interested in pairing Emma with Scott, Namor was framed more as a temptation or distraction from the established couple. This cheapened the romance Namor had with Emma, making it more about drama than their connection.
2/7 Sue Storm’s Affair With Namor Hasn’t Met Its Full Potential
It’s easy for readers to see why Sue Storm would be attracted to Namor. He is passionate, unlike the often-cold Reed Richards. The story of a woman cheating on her emotionally distant husband with a merman sounds like it belongs in a steamy romance novel and there is potential for it to create some interesting conflicts.
While Sue and Namor’s relationship could make for an interesting shakeup to The Fantastic Four’s status quo, it never really goes anywhere. There is also the added issue that Namor has kidnapped Sue in the past. Again, this wouldn’t be out of place for a romance novel, but it seems Marvel isn’t looking to create a steamy romance story with a member of their “first family.”
1/7 Sandy Pierce Is Possibly Namor’s Longest Relationship
Unlike many of Namor’s relationships, his romance with his childhood friend Sandy Pierce might have lasted a long time. The two met at the beach as children. At the time, Sandy was unaware that Namor was actually an Atlantean. When they met again years later, the two became romantically involved.
Eventually, when Atlantis was forced to relocate, Sandy decided to go with Namor. Strangely enough, Sandy simply stopped appearing in comics after this point, making many wonder what happened to her. Since she and Namor met in the 1920s, some fans believe that Sandy simply passed away due to old age. If this is true, that would mean she and Namor’s relationship lasted longer and ended less tragically than his other romances.
