I understand if the Russo Brothers wanted creative freedom to make an updated look for the character…that’s fine, but they need to respect the work that came before and the reasoning for it.
His jewelry: not only are the pieces made of an mix of Jade and Vibranium, in Mayan culture his jewelry shows his status as King and his authority and power in his society. (His earrings and collar are specific accessories meant for Mayan Elite). Not only that, but the Maya associate Jade with the Divine (as he is the prophesied king of Talokan and was named after a deity K’ uk’ ulkan). His Jewelry also provides spiritual protection and may be involved in rituals…Let’s not also forget that Namor is so anti colonizer, that it’s a no-brained that the man would wear his jewels as a way to display pride in his culture and defiance against those from the surface.
In short, the man had drip. As it befits his status.
His Clothing: The costume designers for Wakanda Forever (lead by Oscar winner and legend Ruth Carter) put great effort to reference Native American (specifically Maya) tribal designs. His poncho, his dress (I cannot find the name of the actual garment. I’m sorry) his half shoulder robe, his skirt (I know it has a specific name, again, sorry) his various necklaces and shoulder pieces, even his ceremonial dress with his hand-carved-by-weta-artists headdress…There’s a reason these costumes are in display at museums, people. Because they are that amazing and beautiful, and rich in patterns and textures.
Now we have what seems to be layers of clothing (which we’ve seen Namor wear before, but nothing in fabric this stiff) which doesn’t allow for much movement under water and may hinder combat. So not only does that make no sense we’ve also removed his piercings and the cultural and spiritual significance that goes along with it. Ryan put so much effort to not only give a good antagonist, but to give actually good Native American representation, which is a rarity onto itself. (I’ve been told that people of the Maya population are very happy with this movie). So much so, that in the movie, the Talokanil speak Yucatec Mayan (Namor’s tribe is from Yucatán). Even the name Talokan derives from Tlalocan (one of the Aztec afterlives) but since Mayan doesn’t have that verbal sound they change it to ‘Talokan’. All of these details and analogs to real life Native American culture actually make Namor seem more grounded and real. Now we just got a guy with a really high collar who looks like a 70’s cartoon supervillain. (Can you tell I hate that collar yet?)
I feel like they just decided to disrespect the designers of WF and their work to represent Mayan Culture through the lens of a colored director and to tell a story about the real life effects and trauma of colonization, because…..we want to make a reference to the comic, I guess.
If I’m being honest (based on leaked footage) that coat looks soo generic in both color and material. It’s like they just went and got something at the Marvel studio costume warehouse and gave him that. Now he just looks like a forced gritty/edgy/dark/serious version of the charismatic character we got in a previous film….
Besides, why do we have to change his costume so much but Winston Duke playing M’baku can get away with wearing similar costumes for 3 movies (including IW) and the same haircut for 4. And Mabel Cardona’s (Namora) costume didn’t see any changes from what’s in the trailer.
Now, with that being said, costume changes are inevitable and these updates are meant to show the passage of time. I recognize that we only got glimpses of Namor so they may end up changing things or maybe the jacket is so he can “blend in better. Honestly, I sincerely hope that this is a Namor from an alternate universe. I really do. (And even then, this version doesn’t look particularly interesting, visually.) I don’t want them to take one of the most interesting antagonists in the MCU (definitely the best one since Loki and Killmonger) and turn him into a generic background supporting character.
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