Invasion!

In Atlantis, Namora warns the Sub-Mariner that the king's step-son Byrrah is trying to incite the people of Atlantis into a war with the surface world. With his people not having the firepower capable to go on a full scale war against the surface war, Namor goes to confront Byrrah over his plans. Byrrah is angered that the Sub-Mariner would stand in the way of his plans for conquest of the surface world and the two engage in a fight, however it is a fight that Namor easily wins.

In the aftermath of the battle Byrrah decides to come up with a means of starting a war with the surface world and blaming it on Namor. Swimming to the shores of South America, Byrrah fires a canister containing a message at a soldier on guard. The guard finds that it is a written warning, claiming to be from the Sub-Mariner, that an attack is to be launched against the surface. Byrrah then returns to Atlantis where he convinces Emperor Thakkor that he has seen the surface people amassing an impending attack on their kingdom. Disturbed by this, Thakorr agrees to allow Byrrah to form an army to attack the surface world. Soon Namor finds out and is shocked to see that his cousin Namora is among Byrrah's army. The Sub-Mariner swims off to try and find a means to stop the impending battle.

Meanwhile, the Atlanteans attack the shores of South America and the first wave of attacks prove in effective against the superior weapons of the surface dwellers who take Namora as a prisoner. Soon Betty Dean is called in for her expert advice on Namor. She is taken to Namora to question her as to why Namor is attacking the surface world. Namora, jealous of Betty decides to keep the lie alive to satisfy her own desire to be more favorable to the Sub-Mariner. While elsewhere another attack has begun and the Sub-Mariner has arrived to try to stop everyone from fighting. Namor is grazed by a bullet and then taken prisoner by the South American officials. Taken to Betty Dean, Namor insists that he has nothing to do with the attack and convinces the officials to allow him a chance to try and stop the attack.

The Sub-Mariner then swims to Byrrah's command ship and pretending to finally be siding with his step-brother, Namor sends them on a course for an ambush by surface forces. The Atlantean warriors are overpowered and are forced to retreat, while the South American's call a cease fire. Byrrah returns to Emperor Thakorr to inform him that his operation was a failure, Thakorr is furious at this loss, and even more angry when he learns that Namor helped lead his armies to defeat. While back on the surface, the Sub-Marine and Namora are released and they return home. There the Sub-Mariner is shocked to learn that the Emperor has ordered him exiled from his homeland.

Recurring Characters

• Sub-Mariner

• Namora

• Holy One

• Betty Dean

• Byrrah

The Dawn of the Sub-Mariner

When Namor the Sub-Mariner was a young boy, he was sent out by his mother to play with his step-brother Byrrah, but she warns him to be careful of American ships. Namor meets with his step-brother and some other children and they decide to play Atlanteans versus Americans. Proud of his half-American heritage, the Sub-Mariner wants to play the role of an American, but Byrrah and the other boys force him to play the role of an Atlantean in their game.

Swimming to the surface of the Antarctic, the trio of boys construct a boat out of ice and begin playing. Namor dives down in the water and is struck by "bombs" made out of ice by Byrrah and his friend. Thinking them cheats, the Sub-Mariner swims up and capsizes their boat. However as Byrrah and the others splash into the water, the ice shifts sealing the crack and trapping Namor on the surface. Knowing his people can only live on the surface without water for a short period of time, Namor begins to panic and begins searching for another break in the ice so that he can return to his people without suffocating.

He finds none and after stealing a fish from a penguin to eat, the tired Sub-Mariner decides to sleep among a group of seals. While back down below the surface, Byrrah's guilt over what happened to Namor prompts him to go and tell Fen what happened. Fearing her son had suffocated, Fen and some Atlantean warriors drill through the ice to reach the surface. There they find Namor alive and well sleeping among the seals and make a startling discovery: Namor is able to breath on the surface indefinitely.

Recurring Characters

• Sub-Mariner

• Princess Fen

• Holy One

• Byrrah

• Meranno (Unidentified)

Continuity Notes

• This story is revisited and expanded upon in Saga of the Sub-Mariner #2. That issue reveals that the unidentified child playing with Byrrah in this story is Meranno, the Atlantean who will become a Nazi operative named U-Man during World War II as seen in Invaders #3.

Human Torch -- Fugitive at Large!

The Human Torch and Toro learn of a startling trend of diamond thefts and rush off to stop one theft operation after another, however as they are trying to stop one robbery, the robbers escape and another robbery begins elsewhere in the city. The flaming heroes are unaware of the fact that the communist spies behind the operation -- who seek to steal the diamonds to fund spy operations -- are tracking their movements via look-outs that are equipped with walkie-talkies.

Getting wise to the fact that somehow the thieves have some sort of trick up to their operation, the Torch and Toro throw off their surveillance by creating flaming decoys of themselves and watching back as the spies fall for the decoys. Spotting the spies getaway car, the Torch and Toro try to stop them, but they get away when the two heroes are struck by the car. But the Torch only lets the spies think that the two heroes were killed in the collision in order to follow them back to their hideout.

The Torch and Toro race after the spies and track them to their hideout within an retirement home. Burning their way inside, the two heroes quickly have their flames extinguished and they are tied up. The spies then inform them that they intend to steal the diamonds on display at a nearby museum. Left alone, the Torch and Toro burn through their ropes. They race to the museum where they are too late to stop the theft, and what's worse, someone has framed the Human Torch for the robbery.

The Torch and Toro melt through their handcuffs and chase after the spies knowing that they are trying to flee the country by boat. They chase them out near the Statue of Liberty and ignite their boat. The spies then flee into the statue and climb to the top. There the Torch confronts the spies who suddenly fall off the torch of the Statue of Liberty. When the Torch and Toro race down to check on the dead bodies they find them strangely on fire. The Torch surmises that it was the statue's torch of freedom that burned the communist spies.

Recurring Characters

• Human Torch

• Toro

Vengeance

At the home of Betty Dean, the Sub-Mariner gets an important letter from Professor Zunbar asking for his immediate assistance. Going to Zunbar's lab to see what help the scientist needs, Namor soon finds himself captured by Zunbar's robots. The scientist explains to the Sub-Mariner that he intends to unlock the secret of creating creatures that can breath underwater and so far his experiments have been an utter failure and that he has chosen to capture the Sub-Mariner in order to learn his secrets.

Namor is locked in a cell where he is soon brought food by Zunbar's assistant a beautiful but cruel woman. She shows Namor an amphibious creature they have named Elmer that has taken a fancy to her and is afraid of water. Later, Zunbar's robots come and take both the Sub-Mariner and Elmer to the professor's lab to be experimented on. Zunbar explains to the Sub-Mariner that he intends to perform a brain transplant, placing the Sub-Mariner's mind in Elmer's body in order for him to perfect his technique.

However before he can begin his surgery, the Professor is warned by his assistant that the police are surrounding the building. Suddenly both Namor and Elmer break free of their bonds. Fighting through the robots, the Sub-Mariner grabs Zunbar's assistant and locks her in a cell for safe keeping. When Elmer tries to get into the cell, Namor knocks the creature out and goes looking for Zunbar, but Elmer revives and chases after him. Attempting to flee via the elevator shaft, Namor is stunned when the elevator car breaks his descent on it's way up to Zunbar's lab.

Climbing back out of the shaft, the Sub-Mariner is forced to face Elmer when the elevator door opens containing police and Betty Dean. The creature suddenly grabs a bundle of unstable nitroglycerin that is laying around and is about to throw it when Namor grabs a hose and uses it to spray Elmer. The force of the hose sends Elmer crashing out a window and as he falls the nitro explodes killing the creature. Namor and the authorities then apprehend Dr. Zunbar.

Recurring Characters

• Sub-Mariner

• Betty Dean