Arrrr... I Be The True Sub-Mariner!

When it comes to formal occasions or matters of court, we can probably picture the Sub-Mariner not only wearing his crown but also decked out in royal raiment, while also including perhaps a pendant or two along with his trident; otherwise, he can almost always be seen au naturel amongst his subjects or even when traveling to the surface world. But in early 1973, his fellow Defenders didn't even bat an eye at a new accessory he began sporting on his left earlobe:

Aye, matey, a single earring, which materialized out of the blue in the middle of an adventure without explanation--or, rather, an explanation that the other Defenders would be privy to.

And so our ear is turned to another piercing

---

Marvel Trivia Question

---

What was behind Namor's decision to don an earring--and what became of it?

We can trace Namor's earring back to writer/artist Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner's original artist who stepped in to handle the scripting and art on the character's book for a brief period in the early 1970s. It was then that Everett introduced Namorita, Namor's young cousin who was used by his enemies (Llyra and Byrrah) to lure him into a trap. After the pair of villains were defeated, "Nita" developed a harmless infatuation for Namor before he arranged to leave her in the care of his dear friend, Betty Dean Prentiss; but before they parted, Nita wanted Namor to have a memento of their time together.

That took place in November of 1972; consequently, a few months later, Namor was seen wearing the earring as he battled with the Defenders:

We learned later that not only did the earring have mystic properties, but it could also be used to provide two-way communication between Nita and Namor--a feature which Nita took advantage of often enough, since she had a habit of finding herself involved in situations that her fellow college students somehow were able to avoid.

Mystical properties or not, the earring had its limitations--while Nita also overlooked giving her cousin a copy of the instruction manual for the thing.

By the time the earring began appearing in The Defenders, Everett had passed away at the age of 55; and those writers and artists who succeeded him on Sub-Mariner apparently had no wish to continue having either the earring or Nita make appearances. The earring's background was never explored (at least at the time), and so its only apparent function--providing a link between Namor and Nita--would be rendered moot once Nita's role in Sub-Mariner was reduced. By that time, other artists in the book were turning in work that didn't feature the earring at all.

Though for awhile, if you looked closely, you could see where the book's later artists placed a stud on that earlobe, which seemed a very thoughtful gesture that in a way paid homage to the character's creator.

The earring continued to appear in Sub-Mariner until July of 1973 (when Everett's posthumous work for the book had been exhausted), and in The Defenders until the following month.