Let’s face it; the hype surrounding Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has reached a point of self-sufficiency; after that hauntingly charismatic trailer and its subsequent ethos as a surefire high point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Phase Four theatrical efforts, there’s no doubt that people will be lining up in spades come November.
But it just wasn’t enough for Tenoch Huerta, who will be bringing storied antihero Namor the Sub-Mariner to life in his MCU debut when the film releases. Having first appeared in Marvel Comics way back in 1939, Namor seems to be serving as Wakanda Forever‘s primary antagonist, who takes his fight to the surface world when his kingdom, Talocan, becomes jeopardized by Wakanda’s recent publicity.
And it was Huerta who confirmed in an interview with Empire that Namor will in fact be a mutant in the MCU canon, just as he is in the comic books.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given that Namor is widely labeled by Marvel themselves as “the first mutant,” but with X-Men hype seeming to ramp up every other day, this confirmation feels like another big step forward towards an important era in the MCU’s mythos.
And somehow, someway, this news managed to be inflammatory in some corners of the internet.
The flames, of course, have less to do with Namor’s status as a mutant and more to do with the MCU’s Kamala Khan having been confirmed as a mutant before Namor was, but given that Namor is far older than Kamala, these already negligible complaints will likely be even more so as we learn more about him.
Fret not, the news was still widely received as expected.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases to theaters on Nov. 11.