The Sub-Mariner has had enough tragedies in his life to justify his Jerkass behaviour, and more so than any superhero should endure.
- In Sub-Mariner #8 (1968), Namor is in the midst of another brutal fight in New York. Before he can do anymore harm, a lone person emerges to talk him down. Namor instantly recognizes this person and is calmed. While Namor wishes to speak further, this person leaves just as quickly as arriving. The issue ends by revealing that it was Namor's former Love Interest, Betty Dean, who is now an old woman and a widow.. Details on this incident can be found here
.- Namor reunites with and loses his aging father all in the same issue (#46).
- In issue #67, Namor accidentally collides with a World War 2 war ship as he is fleeing Orca. The ship was ferrying nerve gas cannisters, which implode on impact, mortally poisoning Namor before falling as a mist on the people of Atlantis far below. What follows are a set of very harrowing scenes as Atlantean citizens, including women and children, choke to death in their own waters. When Namor returns in the following issue to see the limp bodies of his people, all seemingly dead save for him, he flies into a panic and begins tearing down the nearby buildings in rage and grief- blaming himself for his people's death.
- The tragic death of Namor's childhood sweetheart Dorma in 1971, as detailed here. The villainness Llyra had kidnapped Dorma and imprisoned her in a tank of water, while she impersonated Dorma and almost became Namor's bride. But on the wedding day itself the ruse was exposed, and in a fit of vengeance Llyra killed Dorma. Dorma barely has time to tell Namor those three words, before she dies. And Namor, proud prince of the ocean, screams out her name while holding her body in his arms.
- And in 1972 he found his father Leonard McKenzie, only to lose him again thanks to the machinations of Llyra. Details can be read here.
- The "King in Black" comic has Namor think back on his childhood days, when they were simple and peaceful. This bit of nostalgia stands out for Namor, normally a proud and unsentimental character.
- Namor: The Best Defense and The Invaders (2019) provides glimpses into Namor's life between World War 2 and Namor's eventual Sanity Slippage as he declares war on the Avengers in Avengers (2018); of which there are many examples of this.
- We for one get Namor's perspective on the events, confirming that his arrogance is a nasty case of Inferiority Superiority Complex. Namor is deeply insecure about his anger issues, considering himself a slave to them, and has tried to work on them in the past with little to no success (in particular because his anger issues, coupled with his massive strength, alienates and risks causing harm to any potential allies). In The Best Defense we also get direct confirmation from Namor himself that these bouts of anger are PTSD, from having spent most of his formative year as a World War 2 soldier. He gets tunnelvisioned, dissociates and only comes to after the damage is done. It's likely that part of the reason he considers the Human Torch one of his closest friends is because Jim Hammond is the only one who can incapacitate Namor long enough for him to come back to his senses again - few other people spare Namor a thought.
- Speaking of the above, another bittersweet moment comes off of The Torch realizing - maybe a few decades too late - that Namor is still stuck in World War 2 and if they had perhaps just been a little patient with him he wouldn't be sitting in the late 2010s with missiles aimed at just about every living being daring to step on his lawn.
- The Invaders reveals that Namor had his own "Bucky", a human medic by the name of Tommy. Namor, weakened, got to him in time to watch him get his head pierced by a Nazi's bullet and stayed with his body until he passed out. This was Namor's first encounter with grief, but when he turned to drinking and sex to cope Captain America never caught the drift and accused him of being soulless rather than offering him support. Bucky and Captain America were declared dead shortly thereafter and Namor, not knowing how to deal with the emotional distress - decided that the easiest way to avoid war was perhaps to make sure there were no humans to wage it.
- This plotline leads into the first issue of the Sub-Mariner when Namor then was forced to return home only to have history repeat itself; his people getting destroyed while Namor was detained, suffering Mind Rape at the hand of Destine. Having all of his trauma return at once thanks to Hammond caused his anger issues to become worse than ever before. He then gets put through the same scenario again in the 1990s Sub-Mariner at the hand of a villain who outright states Namor "harbors a terror for it (amnesia)".
- Charles Xavier's attmempt att "curing" Namor's PTSD by accidentally putting him through more Mind Rape. Third time's the charm and this time Namor fraying mind seems to have snapped for good.
- Namor despairing over Randall's death, then showing up to talk with Bucky at a bar and pleading with him to believe Namor when he says he wants to stop hurting people but is not in control of himself anymore. Namor is about to hand himself in willingly, but the Fantastic Four attack him at this moment triggering another lapse in his sanity.
- Namor smiles at the thought of dying in space towards the end of The Best Defense.
- Namor's Humiliation Conga in Avengers (2019) culminating in him getting abandoned by his own people, something which according to Namor: The First Mutant was one of his greatest fears. After redeeming himself fighting Mephisto alongside the Avengers, he willingly lets himself be incarcerated. Our last view of Namor, is him sitting in the shadows of his cell, breaking down in despair.
- The fact that, as Jim Hammond and Steve Rogers have both shown on several occasions, if you just show Namor some respect, give him a little space and treat him with some patience; he will actually calm down, even joke with you and give thanks when thanks are due. Most of the conflict with him come from people thinking of Namor as a villain, treating him as a villain and thus making him feel justified in his paranoia. Even when possessed by the Phoenix in The New Avengers #29, Namor decides to talk to Captain America out of gratitude for him showing some faith in him, even when the rest made a fool of him for it.
- Some, like Ammadeus in Atlantis Attacks, don't have much of a choice however as Namor tends to have a "punch first, ask later" policy when he perceives he's been tricked.
