Namorita

Namorita Prentiss
File:NamoritaJB.JPG Namorita painting by Julie Bell
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Sub-Mariner 50 (June, 1972)
Created by	Bill Everett (writer and artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Namorita "Nita" Prentiss
Species	Homo Mermanus
Place of origin	Atlantis
Team affiliations	Water Children New Warriors Defenders Secret Defenders SURF Soldiers of Misfortune Atlantean Council of Three Fantastic Four
Notable aliases	Kymaera, Hard
Abilities	Fully amphibious physignogmy and suited for high water pressure Super strength, high speed swimming, atmospheric flight<br.> Touch can create burning acid or paralytic toxin<br.> Can become transparent

Namorita Prentiss is a fictional superheroine in the Marvel Universe, commonly known as Nita. She is a mutant clone of her mother, Namora, and a member of the New Warriors.

Fictional character biography

Namora

Namora was the first cousin of Namor, and, like Namor, was a hybrid with superhuman strength and the power of flight. Her mother was human and her father Atlantean.

Namora's sterility created tension with her husband Talan. Upon meeting Vyrra, an exiled Atlantean scientist who had been exiled for practicing the forbidden science of cloning, she requested that he make a clone of her to which she could give birth.

After the clone Namorita was born, Talan was killed by an atomic explosion. Consequently, Namora raised the child in Lemuria. Namora met her (presumed) death at the hands of Llyra, her rival for the affections of a Lemurian prince.

Llyra and Byrrah, another cousin of Namor, decided to deploy Namorita in a plot against Namor, threatening that they would destroy her body if she did not lure Namor into a trap. Namor and Namorita would eventually unite to defeat Llyra and Byrrah; Namor would later be overprotective of Namorita.

Namor introduced the girl to his long-time friend Betty Dean Prentiss, whom Namorita would eventually consider a second mother — she went by the Prentiss name while in the surface world. (Betty Prentiss would eventually be killed by Dr. Lemuel Dorcas, Namor's enemy.)

In issue #4 of Agents of Atlas, Namora is revealed to be alive.

The New Warriors

Some time later, Namorita enrolled in college at Empire State University. During a trip, she was forced to battle long-time Fantastic Four enemy, Terrax. She was joined by five other young superheroes, and after Nita and Nova subdued Terrax by severing his contact with the ground, the six formed the New Warriors. When Namor decided to start a financial empire a short time later, Nita joined him. Around Namor, Namorita was always deferential, but around the Warriors she would act tough.

When Night Thrasher eventually took a hiatus from the Warriors, Namorita led the team. However, the stress of leading the Warriors, the revelation of her cloned nature, and ruling Atlantis during Namor's absence all proved to be too much for her. At a dance bar she became drunk and left with the leader of the Poison Memories gang, who wanted to gain vengeance against the Warriors. He stole information from Namorita's apartment which was used to kidnap many of the Warriors' family members. After the surviving family members were rescued, Namorita's guilt over the incident forced her to leave the Warriors.

Namorita returned to Atlantis, only to be denied entry as the Atlanteans discovered her clone nature. This seemed to be the final catalyst for Nita. An over-saturation of oxygen, coupled with the DNA Vyrra spliced into her at the time of her creation, caused her to change into a closer version of the original Atlanteans. Because of this, Namorita gave herself the name Kymaera. After adventuring with the Warriors, she was captured by those who wanted to experiment on her, only to be rescued by Night Thrasher (who received a tip from the Mad Thinker).

On one occasion, Namorita became covered with pus-filled boils. Her lover Nova saw her in this state and did not speak in time to reassure the emotionally vulnerable Namorita that his feelings for her had not changed. His hesitation sent her over the edge, and she left. A crestfallen Namorita went to take a shower and, to her surprise, her skin returned to its original pink tone. She also shed her pointed ears, webbed hands, and glassy black eyes. Following this transformation, Namorita continued to mutate and developed new powers. She found that she could secrete burning acid or a paralytic toxin and could become transparent. After her breakup with Nova, Namorita briefly dated Johnny Storm, Human Torch and co-ruled Atlantis in a Council of Three with Warlord Seth and the warrior Andromeda . Ultimately, Namorita and Nova came to terms over the break-up.

File:Nitronamorita.PNG

Namorita fighting Nitro in her last battle in Civil War #1. Art by Steve McNiven.

Civil War

Main article: Civil War (comics)

Namorita was among the four New Warriors whose actions sparked the public backlash against masked superheroes which is at the core of Marvel's Civil War.

In Civil War #1, she was within a foot of Nitro when he exploded. Subsequently, she was listed as "deceased" on the website revealing the civil identities of the surviving members of the New Warriors in She-Hulk #8, and in Civil War: Front Line #1 Speedball is confirmed as the only survivor of the blast.

In Wolverine #44, three undercover Atlanteans track down Nitro under orders from Namor to avenge the murder of a member of the Atlantean Royal Family.

In other media

Television

Namorita appears in The 1981 Spider-Man series episode Wraith Of The Submariner. She ends up sick due to pollution caused by the Kingpin.

Video games

• Namorita appears as a NPC in the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. [1] After people in Atlantis take over the city, she sends out a distress call when they kidnap her cousin Namor. While Namor is wounded, she acts as your guide through the Atlantis levels.

Links

• The Women of Marvel Comics Namorita Page
• Namorita's Bio on Marvel.com