Ultimate Fantastic Four: Tomb of Namor, Part 2
Issue: #25
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Greg Land
Inker: Matt Ryan
Colors: Justin Ponsor

A man bursts out of the ocean near the Atlantis mission’s ship. The crew believes him to be Namor, a king of Atlantis. Johnny immediately flames on and attacks. He demands to know what Namor did with the three Fantastic Four members who had been exploring below. Namor fights back, and Johnny is flung onto the deck of the ship, igniting the flammable materials nearby. The explosion throws him into the ocean.

Reed’s elastic arms wrap Namor up as Sue forms an air bubble around Johnny and brings him to the surface. Ben punches Namor, ending the fight. Professor Storm gratefully embraces his children, as their mother looks on.

Namor is taken to the Baxter Building in restraints. Dr. Storm says he’s the last survivor of Atlantis. They won’t know what happened until they decode the ancient texts. Namor interrupts, and tells them it was a strike by their enemy country Lemuria. The others are stunned at his ability to speak English; he informs them that he’s been awake and listening to them for an hour, and that his race was much more evolved than theirs, allowing him to pick up their language (such as it is) very quickly.

Namor, Johnny and Ben trade insults for a while, until Namor points out that he’s committed no crimes and was merely defending himself earlier. Dr. Storm wants to talk with him, but Namor isn’t interested. He is, however, willing to talk to Susan, who is much better looking and younger. Her father objects, but her mother sends the two off for a walk through New York.

Later, Dr. Storm approaches Reed, who’s looking in on an experiment he’s running – miniature virtual Ultimates babies he’s created in his spare time. He’s also overseeing the creation of machine called the Fantastic Oh-Five. Dr. Storm wants him to help her decode the Atlantean language.

Meanwhile, Namor and Sue are walking through Central park, followed by H.E.R.B.I.E.S., floating robots that are sending pictures of the couple back to the Baxter Building. Namor remarks that seeing New York is like walking through history – his people had evolved far beyond where humanity is right now. He particularly notices the smells, most of them unpleasant, except for Sue who smells like cherry blossom. He comments that she’s chosen a boyfriend who abandons her for his work. Then he picks her up and jumps them both out of the park, leaving the robots behind.

Sue wants to discuss the secrets of Atlantis, but Namor has other ideas. When she tells him to let go, he refuses, and she throws him into the side of a truck. He strikes her across the face as the H.E.R.B.I.E.S. arrive; Namor quickly disables the robots. At the Baxter Building, Reed has deciphered the Atlantean writing, and finds to his horror that they’ve got the wrong idea about Namor. He’s not a king, and the building in which they found him was not a tomb – it was a prison.

Submitted By: Seldes Katne