‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Actor Tenoch Huerta Attempts To Justify Removal Of Atlantis
John F. Trent
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actor Tenoch Huerta, who plays what Marvel Studios is calling Namor, recently attempted to justify the removal of Atlantis from Namor’s back story.
Tenoch Huerta as Namor in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
In Namor’s first appearance, Marvel Comics #1, it’s revealed Namor is the son of Commander Leonard McKenzie, the captain of an American expedition ship named the Oracle, and the blue-skinned Atlantean princess Fen.
By Fantastic Four Annual #1, published in 1963, Namor was crowned “Prince of Atlantis, Emperor of the Deep, Lord of the Seven Seas, and Supreme Commander of Undersea Legions!”
Fantastic Four Annual #1
However, Marvel Studios is eschewing Namor’s entire back story and the fact that he’s the Prince of Atlantis. Instead he will be the ruler of a kingdom called Talocan, and will “be inspired by the culture and history of Mesoamerica” according to Empire.
Not only did Empire confirm that this so-called Namor is “inspired by the culture and history of Mesoamerica,” but Huerta addressed the complete change of the character’s backstory saying, “You can take Atlantis from Greek myth, or you can adapt from a real culture.”
Source: The Saga of the Sub-Mariner #1
His comments make absolutely no sense whatsoever given promotional photos for the film still show that the people from Talocan have blue skin like the Atlanteans from Marvel Comics.
People with blue skin like those shown in the promotional photos for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever do not exist and have never been documented as existing. They are not a real culture.
(L-R): Alex Livinalli as Attuma and Mabel Cadena as Namora in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
That’s not to say there haven’t been people with blue skin. The Fugate family of Kentucky was famous for having blue skin caused by high levels of methemoglobin in their blood.
It’s also possible to get blue skin by drinking colloidal silver.
Lupita Nyong’O as Nakia in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
Talocan also appears to be based on Tlālōcān, one of thirteen realms that ancient Aztecs, who also engaged in ritual human sacrifice, believed to be part of the afterlife.
According to a number of Aztec documents, the people believed that this realm was ruled by a deity called Tlāloc and his companion Chalchiuhtlicue. It was specifically inhabited by individuals who died from drowning or lightning or diseases associated with the deity.
The Dora Milaje in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
As for Huerta’s claim that Atlantis is from Greek myth, it’s not true. Atlantis was not taken from Greek myth, but as part of the Greek philosopher Plato’s works Timaeus and Critias, where he discusses how the Atlanteans became a significant power in the Mediterranean until they were defeated by the Athenians and their allies. After their defeat they turned to wickedness and impiety and were destroyed by a number of earthquakes and the sea.
There is speculation as Britannica documents that Atlantis was a real location, “The story of Atlantis, if Plato did not invent it, may in fact reflect ancient Egyptian records of a volcanic eruption on the island of Thera about 1500 BCE. This eruption, one of the most stupendous of historical times, was accompanied by a series of earthquakes and tsunamis that shattered civilization on Crete, thereby perhaps giving rise to the legend of Atlantis.”
Angela Bassett as Ramonda in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
While Huerta attempted to justify the change from Atlantis to Talocan as one being myth and the other being real, a claim that is demonstrably false, he also revealed to Empire that Namor will be a mutant.
He also detailed why Talocan will even show up in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pointing to T’Challa’s decision to reveal Wakanda to the world at the end of Black Panther.
“That decision puts Talocan in jeopardy,” Huerta says. “And Talocan has to take action to protect themselves.”
(L-R): Dorothy Steel as Merchant Tribe Elder, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Danai Gurira as Okoye in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
The official description for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reads, “In Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
The description concludes, “As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 11, 2022.”
Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
What do you make of Huerta’s attempt to justify the removal of Atlantis from Namor’s background?
NEXT: Namor Actor Tenoch Huerta: “I Wouldn’t Be Here Without Inclusion”
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