Marvel Fans All Agree That Wakanda Forever Absolutely Nailed Namor's Characterization
Namor has always been somewhat of a loose cannon in Marvel comics, and it looks like "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is keeping up with that aspect of the character. Within the aforementioned movie, Namor (Tenoch Huerta) hails from Talokan, which is an underwater city that borrows heavily from pre-Colombian Central American civilizations. Namor's background history is changed in the movie from his comic book counterpart, and he's essentially one of the first mutants in the MCU due to his mother ingesting a vibranium-laced herb at the time of her pregnancy. This herb allows Namor's compatriots to survive underwater while also granting him super strength, physical resistance, and the ability to fly on account of his winged feet.
Worshipped as a god, Namor is primarily motivated by his intense love of his homeland. Of course, being considered a god probably helps to cement his adoration of Talokan, and he will do whatever it takes to make sure that his country stays safe. As such, Namor has no problems with aggression and murder when it comes to the protection of Talokan, which is one of the reasons why Namor soon finds himself coming to blows with Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Wakanda. Both Talokan and Wakanda possess vast reserves of vibranium, which has helped catapult their respective civilizations from a technological standpoint, but it can also put a target on their backs. Now that "Wakanda Forever" has premiered, it seems like several comic fans are pointing out that Namor is an absolutely perfect representation of his comic iteration, but why?
Fans are loving that Namor is a justified jerk
As mentioned earlier, Namor has always been somewhat hard of a character to pin down. Sometimes he is a villain aligned with the very worst, and other times he lends a hand to the heroes of the world. The only thing that remains consistent in many of these stories is that Namor always acts on what he believes is in Atlantis (Talokan)'s best interest. Even Marvel themselves have pointed out that Namor makes frequent war with the surface world, mainly to show that his country will not be trifled with in the most violent way possible. Considering Namor's behavior in both comics and "Wakanda Forever," it should come as no surprise that fans have loved that his characterization has remained the same.
Over on Reddit, u/ContinuumGuy said, "Namor is such a d*** and at times an outright a******, and yet you can't help but find him in some ways noble in how much he wants to protect his people. In other words, they f****** nailed his characterization." This statement caused u/ajdragoon to reply, "You got this right away from his intro scene. Is straight up charming at first, even when being threatened, but then he becomes downright threatening himself when there's any hint of putting his people in danger. So good."
Fans love that Namor has remained morally grey yet understandable
Others also felt the same way about Namor's onscreen representation staying true to his comic book persona. U/unifiedcoaching stated that Namor is one of their favorite characters and that they had always hoped that when he finally made his first live appearance, they would do the character justice. They then added that many of the comments about Namor have made them realize that they did nail his characterization. U/Virgogh added, "I love MCU Namor, hope to see more of him in the future. Having vibranium in another part of the world is going to be a game changer, unless they handle it like the dreaming Celestial, and decide to just never mention it again."
On Namor's motivations, Tenoch Huerta has spoken to the LA Times about his character and said, "He's a guy who's trying to protect his family. He's protecting his culture. He's protecting his city and the things that he loves the most: his memory, his legacy and his heritage. I think everybody, all around the world, can understand his motivations." In other words, it seems like Huerta believes that Namor's drive is understandable, even if his actions are morally grey. At least Namor's characterization in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" maintains the ambiguous nature of Namor, allowing him to have some noble traits while at the same time not exactly being a full-blown hero or villain. Namor always did have a fair amount of nuance in this department, and "Wakanda Forever" certainly does the character justice.