Namor vs. Thor: Who Is Stronger?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally out, and we got introduced to a new super character – one that has been around Marvel Comics since their very first issue in 1939. Namor appeared as the main villain/anti-hero of the story, and the film’s director, Ryan Coogler, dubbed him ‘as strong as Thor.’ But is it actually true? Who is stronger between the two, Namor or Thor?
Thor is absolutely stronger than Namor in the comics and more powerful overall. If the two went head-to-head, Thor would emerge as victorious almost every time. Namor might be an incredibly strong mutant, but Thor is a literal god, and he’s simply overpowered for the Sub-Mariner.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Namor is no pushover. He established himself as an absolute powerhouse in Marvel Comics, with physical attributes unlike many heroes, especially when he’s underwater. However, comparing him to Thor is not really fair. Let me break it down into categories so you can see why.
Strength & Speed
These are usually two separate categories for me, but it would just be two quick points for the God of Thunder, so I’ve decided to make it a single category to make the comparison at least a bit more interesting. Thor is, above and beyond, stronger and faster than Namor.
Namor can move incredibly fast, especially in the water. He can swim faster than a torpedo with ease and reach speeds well over Mach 1. That means the Sub-Mariner can, at his fastest, beat the speed of sound. Thor beats light-speed on countless occasions in the comics. He seamlessly moves at Mach 3 speeds with no effort whatsoever. So, what about their strength?
Well, again, Namor is at his finest under the sea, and once there, he can even match the Hulk at some moments in the comics. Granted, it was early in the Hulk’s tenure as a Marvel character, and he later grew in strength and power, but it still counts.
On the surface, however, Namor slowly loses his strength unless he regenerates in a body of water. Still, it was enough for him to knock out Luke Cage and use him as a billy club to sucker punch and knock out Jen Walters, aka She-Hulk. Superhuman strength is actually Namor’s prime superpower. The reality is, however, it’s not on Thor’s level.
He can easily lift over 100 tons (Thor: Asgard’s Avenger Vol. 1 #46) and has beaten some of the strongest creatures in Marvel Comics, including Red Hulk (Hulk Vol. 2 #26), the Silver Surfer (Silver Surfer #4), the notorious Midgard Serpent (Thor #327), and even Namor himself, but we’ll get there.
I mean, entire planets collapsed as a consequence of Thor fighting for crying out loud! He has this category, and it isn’t even close.
Point: Thor (1:0) Namor
Durability
Thor is insanely durable and has undying stamina. He was seen fighting for decades at a time without ever eating or stopping to rest. Granted, it was a version of Thor more powerful than his usual levels, but still, it was Odinson. He can take a non-held-back power punch from the Hulk and not only survive but continue to fight!
Even if you can somehow hurt Thor (like, for instance, having the full power of a neutron star blast over his back from point-blank range, as we’ve seen in Avengers: Infinity War), all he needs to do is touch his hammer Mjolnir, and he’ll heal up.
On the other hand, Namor has a pretty dope healing factor and durability, too. Like all Atlanteans, his body has the natural ability to heal incredibly fast from wounds, provided that he’s in the water. If he’s not, then the healing factor doesn’t quite work.
However, Namor’s healing factor goes beyond any other Atlantean’s in scope and power. He can heal from the most grueling injuries (although he can’t regrow limbs and achieve similar feats like, for instance, Wolverine or Deadpool), and he can take the mightiest punches.
One time, Namor fought the Hulk, and when they collided, it created an outburst of energy so powerful that it knocked them both out and created a colossal tsunami in the process. And he regenerated from the impact quicker than the Hulk.
The only exception to the Sub-Mariner’s healing powers is his wings. They grew on his legs as a mutation, so they don’t respond to his natural Atlantean healing powers. They need much more time to heal than the rest of their body, even in the water.
I would argue that Thor’s durability and healing are still more powerful than Namor’s, but the Sub-Mariner’s abilities are much more interesting and fun, so I decided to give him a point for style here as well.
Point(s): Thor (2:1) Namor
Powers
Again, I want to get this out of the way – Thor has more powers than Namor outside of superhuman speed, strength, stamina, and durability. However, Namor has completely different powers than Thor, and both are very adept at using them.
Thor is the God of Thunder, and he can do so many things that make him so dangerous. He can summon insanely powerful thunder and lightning, along with brutal storms in the form of hurricanes. Once, Thor created a hurricane powerful enough to engulf the entire world!
He has strong energy manipulation skills that are only amplified when he’s wielding Mjolnir. He has telepathic immunity, above-normal intelligence (despite often being considered a dimwit), is an expert strategist, and much more.
And don’t even get me started on the Odinforce. When Thor becomes the All-Father, his insane powers are combined with those of Odin – who is arguably much more powerful than Thor up to that point.
On the other hand, we got Namor, who has a mutant Atlantean physiology, allowing him to possess numerous awesome water-based powers. He has superhuman speed and strength, which are his main powers, as well as durability, stamina, and rapid healing underwater.
He can also speak to and control all marine life, which is absolutely dope. Imagine fighting the dude while having an army of a thousand great white sharks going at you. Of course, he can breathe underwater, but he can also fly with the little wings on his ankles. Naturally, as Thor has control over thunder and lightning, Namor has the same over water.
As in the durability category, one could argue that Thor should take it. However, Namor’s powers are unique, cool, and quite useful, so I’ll give him a point as well for style and to make this a bit more challenging.
Point(s): Thor (3:2) Namor
Fighting Skills
Namor is the King of Atlantis and a very proud, experienced warrior. He’s been in Marvel Comics since literally forever (first appearing in Marvel Comics #1), and growing up; he demonstrated a natural skill in all combat forms.
He also has a prolonged lifespan and has fought in numerous battles, giving him much experience, and making him a highly, highly skilled combatant. However, all that is absolutely nothing compared to Thor Odinson.
Thor is an intergalactic warrior that has been in thousands upon thousands of battles – not just against humans or Atlanteans, but against cosmic beings, entities, and races that go far beyond the powers of any creature on Earth. He once fought the entire army of Frost Giants by himself, laughing while doing it.
And, if you think Namor has had time to harness battle experience because of his prolonged lifespan, how about Thor being alive for thousands of years, spending all of them as an Asgardian top warrior?
Namor is skilled and experienced, but compared to Thor, he’s like a kid trying to poke a bear with a stick.
Point: Thor (4:2) Namor
Mutual Battles
Last but not least, Thor and Namor haven’t had too many one-on-one encounters in the comics. However, those that they did have either ended in a stalemate (because of comic book logic) or Thor won them comfortably.
For instance, in Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising #1, which was a Namor-centric comic, he still didn’t beat Thor, but he did hold his ground fairly well. However, in Invaders #33, he got beaten silly, and Thor didn’t even give it his all.
In fact, he was holding back (as Thor does almost all the time not to kill his opponents with a single blow), and he still knocked Namor out cold. In Thor #1 from 2018, the battle was so one-sided Thor beat Namor off-panel.
Granted, there was the incredibly silly storyline from Avengers #9 in 2018 where Namor stalemated the entire Avengers roster single-handedly (including the likes of thor, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Iron Man, and even Ghost Rider), but hey, you have to give credit where credit is due, I guess.
To conclude – Thor beats Namor comfortably almost every time. If the fight happens out of the water, it’s a no-contest pummelling. The only way Namor can even come close to matching Thor is when the writing is simply poor.
Point: Thor (5:2) Namor
Namor Vs. Thor: Who Wins?
There you go – Thor wins against Namor and does so very comfortably. Don’t listen to Ryan Coogler – the Sub-Mariner is NOT as strong as the God of Thunder. Sure, he has his advantages in some areas, but nothing he can do can jeopardize Thor’s well-being, let alone actually hurt him.
Thor is a god, whereas Namor is not even an Omega Level Mutant. He loses in every category against Thor, and even those categories where we gave him points, it was a stretch, just to make the comparison a bit more interesting. He’s strong and powerful but not nearly on Thor’s level.
