Does Namor Die in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has taken the world by storm. This highly anticipated movie introduced both the new Black Panther and a new anti-hero to the MCU, and as such, it resulted in some of the most exciting action scenes we’ve had the pleasure of seeing on screen. The conflict between Shuri and Namor eventually reached epic proportions, and the two traded blows, with Namor taking a severe loss near the movie’s end. Considering everything we’ve seen, Shuri overpowering Namor due to him drying out, fans are wondering, does Namor die in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, or did he survive the severe damage that Shur caused him?

Namor survived in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Even though Shuri practically dried him out, it takes a lot more to kill him. Yes, he was dehydrated and severely weakened, but he recovered just fine. Both Shuri and Namor survive the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and even form an uneasy alliance by the end of the movie. Namor returns to Talokan with the rest of his warriors and is currently alive and well in the MCU.

Now that we’ve covered that Namor survived in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it’s time to analyze how and why Shuri decided to spare him in the end. If you’re interested in more, stay with us!

How did Namor survive being dried out in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?

For the most part, characters introduced to the MCU tend to be a lot weaker than their comic counterparts, and while this is true for Namor as well, his trademark abilities and strengths made it to the movie. We’ve seen him flying, controlling water, we’ve seen his superior strength, and for a moment, it looked like Namor could singlehandedly take down Wakanda. He is the strongest among the Talokanil, which is why they worship him as a god.

But his abilities and super strength are not the only things that got transferred to the MCU, his main weakness, being away from the water, made it to the screen as well. This is what Shuri decided to abuse when she made her drying machine. Namor (as well as the rest of Talokanil) are strongest when they are in the water. It’s their element that they have complete mastery over, and being cut off from the source of their powers tends to reflect badly on their powers, stamina, and durability.

Namor is no exception to this rule. He might be able to breathe on the surface, but still, he needs to be submerged in water from time to time to keep his abilities at peak performance. And while dehydration won’t kill him, it will significantly weaken him, just enough for an inexperienced new Black Panther, as Shuri is, managed to take him down. Namor survived being dried out, and Shuri simply because she spared him. She could have easily taken his life but decided against it.

How did Shuri defeat Namor in Black Panther 2?

Shuri, after taking on the mantle of Black Panther, devised a strategy to lure Namor into the huge drying machine that should take away at least a portion of his power and leave him highly vulnerable. They managed to lure Namor to the drying machine, and when things took a turn for the worse, Shuri’s quick thinking led her to lure Namor further into the desert.

Even though Namor is, in theory, vastly more powerful than Black Panther, even the more experienced Black Panther, the combination of dehydration and the fact that he is nowhere near water proved to be hard to overcome. Namor and Shuri fought, with Shuri being impaled by a spear and Namor losing his ankle wing. Shuri damaged his ankle wing, which proved to be essential for Namor to lose his dominance over the skies. Namor was now weak, dehydrated, and desperate to get to the water.

His desperation to reach the water was the only thing that stopped him from killing Shuri with the spear. It’s something she abused to gain the upper hand once again, with Namor finding himself at the lethal end of the spear. Shuri could have killed him then and there but decided against it. Namor is far more useful to Wakanda alive than dead. Also, it was time to stop the vicious cycle of destruction and death.

Namor survived the encounter because Shuri decided to spare him. The two announced the newly-formed uneasy truce between the two powerful nations, with Namor’s soldiers instantly retreating.

Did Namor survive?

Namor did survive the events of the movie. He and his army of super-charged Talokanil returned to the Talokan to continue their secret existence. Namor was still worried, of course, about what the surface world was up to, and he was still not excited about the idea of Talokan being discovered. Still, he decides to honor his new alliance with Wakanda by painting a mural in his chambers that depicts the event that transpired during the conflict with the nation. He is, however, met by his cousin Namora, who is highly disapproving of his decision not to finish Wakandans.

Namor convinces his cousin that the act of him yielding to Black Panther was not an act of weakness. It was a calculated move on his part to further empower this underwater nation through the alliance with Wakanda. Namor was aware that the surface world would come for Wakanda, and then Wakanda would ask Talokan for help since they have no other allies to speak of.

This, for a moment, calmed down Namora, but it didn’t seem like it reassured her completely that Namor was simply not a weakling bending his knee for the surface dwellers.

As you can see, Namor survived his debut in the MCU, and while the standalone movies in out of the question, we have no doubt that Namor’s adventure in the larger scheme of things is far from over.

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