Namor Must Have Had A Very Good Press Agent!!

Ladies and gentlemen,the Four Horsemen!

Wait...what?!?

Hitler, Mussolini, Death...and Namor?!?!

It's the second half of 1941, and while the U.S. isn't in the war yet (as evidenced by the lack of Hirohito is that quadrumvirate of destruction), Namor, like many of the Timely heroes, has had a grand old time fighting Nazis.

But continuing German/British/Russian naval battles are hurting Atlantis!

Refugees from other undersea civilizations have come, seeking the Sub-Mariner's help!

Man, some weird looking dudes live under the sea...

So, they'll unite to end the war!! Huzzah!!

But Princess Rathia has more ambitious goals...

Presenting the best use of quotation marks in Golden Age history:

"Friendlier." Snort.

Anyway, Namor is letting his nether parts do the thinking, and he dreams...

So he sets out to conquer the world.

The Human Torch tries to warn everybody...

...but it's tough in the era of fake news!

As an aside, the Torch does find time to go warn his jungle buddy Ka-Zar!

[Note: that's the Golden Age Ka-Zar, not Kevin Plunder who would end up in the Savage Land. 'nuff said!]

So, yes, the jungle character is having animals build a giant ark to protect themselves against tidal waves caused by Atlantean war machines! Because comics!!

BTW, check out Namor's new fascist fashions!

Anyway, Namor captures the Torch, and uses mind-control drugs to get him to blow up vital wartime shipping!!

Ah, but when the Torch sees the American flag, that's enough to snap him of Namor's spell!!

In the meantime, as we saw in yesterday's post, Namor managed to conquer Gibraltar, destroy the Italian navy, briefly capture Berlin, and march on Chicago with mechanical whales!!

But the Torch managed to thwart him, and now has Namor on the run. Which means, it's time for the amazingly convenient renunciation of the taking of thousands of lives!!

Let's note--there was no "spell" here. No magic, no mind control, no telepathy. She just got "friendly" with Namor and Lady Macbethed him into trying to conquer the world.

But just like a Star Wars movie, saying "Gee, I'm sorry" is enough to forgive genocide!!

He does, she's captured (and never seen again, ever), and...

"You must behave"?!?!? Talk about soft on crime!!

I wonder how often these events came up at Invaders meetings...

From Human Torch #5[b] (1941)