Sub-Mariner Comics #41

Sep 26

Sep 26 Sub-Mariner Comics #41

The Big Freeze

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Byrrah has allied himself with Communist agents who have come to collect ice from the Antarctic and use it to conceal weapons that they are attempting to smuggle into Central America in cargo ships, thereby avoiding detection. Watching the ships leaving are the Sub-Mariner and Namora, who catch some of the Atlanteans who are helping Byrrah. Learning of this plot, the Sub-Mariner convinces one of the workers by explaining that the Communists will likely then turn the weapons against their people as well. Namor proceeds to have himself frozen in a block of ice in order to be smuggled via the Communists' operations.

Shipped to Central America, the Sub-Mariner is broken out of his block of ice by communist agents; he easily subdues them and learns that they were indeed plotting to betray Byrrah and destroy Atlantis. The Sub-Mariner then smashes their operations and disables the Communists' ship on its return trip to Atlantis, and leaves it adrift at sea to be picked up by the authorities. Namor returns to his home and confronts Byrrah and berates him for dealing with the Communists. To teach him a lesson, Namor then freezes Byrrah in a block of ice, however Namora convinces Namor to let him go after, pointing out that Byrrah has learned his lesson.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner
Namora
Byrrah

Bird of Prey

At the age of 17, Namor was out flying in the air, showing off to his young friends until they get fed up of his boasting and leave. Suddenly, Namor flies into what he thinks is a large bird, but turns out to be a Nazi war plane. The plane attempts to attack Namor, but he is impervious to its weapons and causes it to crash. However the resulting explosion knocks Namor out and when he wakes up he finds himself in his room at the palace with his mother who has preserved the tail of the plane as a trophy commemorating Namor's first victory over the surface world.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner
Princess Fen
Byrrah

Continuity Notes

The events of this story are later visited by Valkyrie and Clea in Giant-Size Defenders #1

The Return of the Nautilus

An art museum has just discovered that an expensive painting of the Nautilus from the story "20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" had been stolen from their fictional art collection and that the thief left a note proclaiming that as a master of the occult he will bring the Nautilus to life. When the story hits the newspaper, it is read by Betty Dean who dismisses it as quackery just like the authorities and relates the story to her friend the Sub-Mariner.

However, two days later a US Navy submarine detects the Nautilus on their radar. Not long after that the Nautilus is sighted all along the US Coast, sinking vessels that it crosses paths with. The government is unable to track the Nautilus and so Betty Dean enlists the help of Namor to find and stop the Nautilus. Namor and a Navy sub finds the Nautilus and Namor is surprised when he sees a torpedo pass harmlessly through the ship. Trying to attack it himself, Namor is shocked by a massive jolt of energy.

However the jolt merely stuns the hero and he follows the Nautilus back to a secret dock and attempts to attack the ship again, there is another tremendous jolt of energy and Namor finds that the Nautilus is gone. Rushing into the nearby cabin, Namor finds that the magician who conjured the ship dead and the painting nearby, however Namor is shocked upon finding it. When he returns it to the museum the curators are shocked as well as somehow, the Nautilus itself is no longer present in the painting.