—Tiger Shark (Todd Arliss)So you're back, you slanty-browed coward! Just give Tiger Shark a crack at you... and you'll wish you'd stayed away... forever!
Appearing in "The Spell of the Serpent!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Empire of Atlantis
- ⏴ Lady Dorma ⏵ (Becomes under the influence of the serpent spell)
- ⏴ Ikthon ⏵ (Becomes under the influence of the serpent spell)
- ⏴ Lord Vashti ⏵ (Becomes under the influence of the serpent spell)
- Atlantean Army (Becomes under the influence of the serpent spell)
- ⏴ Warlord Seth ⏵
- Several unnamed soldiers (Becomes under the influence of the Serpent Spell)
- Numerous unnamed Atlanteans (Becomes under the influence of the serpent spell)
Antagonists:
- ⏴ Tiger Shark (Todd Arliss) ⏵
- Lethe-Beast (First appearance)
- Naga ⏵ (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Ancients (Mentioned)
- Destiny (Paul Destine) (Mentioned)
- Neptune (Invoked)
- Var-Tov (First appearance; vision or hallucination)
- Two unnamed Atlanteans (First appearance; vision or hallucination)
- Questers (First appearance; unnamed)
- Karthon (First appearance; unnamed) (Shadow only)
Races and Species:
- Atlanteans
- Mutant Atlantean-Human Hybrids
- Lethe-Beast (First appearance)
- Fish
- Swordfish (Mentioned in narration)
- Dolphins (Mentioned in narration)
- Lemurians (First appearance; unnamed) (Main story and flashback)
Locations:
- Earth
- Atlantic Ocean / Sea of Turbulence
- Atlantis
- Abyss of Doom (First appearance)
- Sargasso Sea (Invoked)
- Atlantis (Only in flashback)
- Pacific Ocean / Sea of Tranquility (Only in flashback)
- Lemuria (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Atlantic Ocean / Sea of Turbulence
Items:
- Helmet of the Ancients (First appearance as Helmet of the Ancients)
- Herb of Healing (Mentioned)
- Warpoon (First appearance)
- Neptune's Trident
Vehicles:
- Unidentified Atlantean Craft
- Atlantean Scout Craft
Synopsis for "The Spell of the Serpent!"
After bringing the Helmet of Power to Atlantis, Namor leaves with Lord Seth to find the Herb of Healing to help restore Tiger Shark to human form. Unfortunately, soon after he leaves, the Helmet of Power transforms into its true form, the Serpent Crown, and takes control of Dorma and the rest of the Atlanteans. Namor fails in his quest to help Tiger Shark and when he returns, is attacked by his own mind-controlled people. He takes the Crown from Dorma and puts it on. He gets visions of the early origins of his people.
Notes
Publication Notes[]
- Cover art: modifications by Romita.
Continuity Notes[]
- When Namor briefly donned the Serpent Crown, he experienced a four-part vision that was presumably meant to be of the origin of his people. However, since some details from this vision are inconsistent with established Marvel history and it has been completely ignored since this comic was published, it seems to been retroactively decided that it was not a true vision of past events after all.
- In the first part of the vision, Namor beheld a reptilian face (only later identified as Naga) that he felt to be evil and incredibly ancient, glaring down at him as if sensing that they were born to be foes. At the same time, Namor saw a strange chart that looked like the modern-day Earth except for the large landmasses that were marked in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These landmasses were presumably meant to be Atlantis and Lemuria, respectively, but what can be seen of the rest of the planet does not match what it should have looked like during the Pre-Cataclysmic Age when Thuria was a major continent.
- The second part of the vision was of three blue-skinned men gathered around a table in a room filled with machines. When the first man stated that Var-Tov's prediction was correct and the Earth's axis was truly shifting, the second man replied that they, who live in the polar regions, must flee their ancestral home at once. The third man added that if they don't, their very cities will crumble about them.
- The third part of the vision was of two men meeting as their race separated. One of them was Var-Tov who stated that half of their race shall flee to the Sea of Turbulence while the others shall flee to the even larger Sea of Tranquility. Var-Tov ended the conversation by expressing his hope that, if their two peoples ever meet again, it will be in peace.
- The last part of the vision that Namor sees before tearing the helmet from his head was a time-lapse of the planet Earth showing the continent in the Pacific Ocean shrinking as it sank into the sea. By the end, both Lemuria and most of North America had been submerged, leaving an Earth that seemed to be almost completely covered by water.
- Although the Atlanteans are mind controlled this issue by the "Serpent Spell", they come to their senses during Sub-Mariner (Vol. 2) #11 where it is shown that Dorma is no longer a Priestess of Naga and instead cares about Namor's safety. Sub-Mariner (Vol. 2) #15 further clarifies this.
