What If #41 (1983)

During a battle with Destiny, who was attempting to destroy Atlantis using his Helmet of Power, Namor the Sub-Mariner managed to defeat Destiny and he then swam to the bottom of the ocean, where he buried the Helmet of Power into the ground. While Namor was away, his cousin Byrrah manipulated the Emperor Thakorr into giving up his throne. Using the signet ring given to him by Thakorr, Byrrah used his newfound regent status to imprison Princess Fen, the mother of Namor. Following the imprisonment, Byrrah struck a deal with Warlord Krang to give Krang power in exchange for his service, followed by a similar deal struck up with the High Priest Kormok of the Temple of Neptune. Later that evening, Byrrah spoke to the populace of Atlantis against Namor the Sub-Mariner, turning them against the Avenging Son. Upon Namor's return, the general public of Atlantis spoke down to him and when he went to visit Emperor Thakorr, guards prevented his access to the Emperor. Namor then met with Byrrah himself, who revealed all that had happened in Namor's absence. Angered, Namor left for the time being, opting to not give the Atlanteans reason to suspect him. That night, as Namor slept, Byrrah crept into Thakorr's room and murdered him, as well as the two guards guarding the room. Byrrah then snuck into Namor's room and left the bloody knife by his bed, so that Namor would be falsely accused of murder. The next morning, Warlord Krang arrived in Namor's room with six guards and accused Namor of murder and treachery. As the guards prepared to seize Namor, Namor fought them off and swam through the wall and out into the ocean. Namor was halted almost immediately when the Greek God of the Seven Seas, Neptune, appeared and presented Namor with his trident. The Sub-Mariner declined the offer, claiming that he would never return to such a blind race that would reject without cause. Neptune warned Namor to beware of pride and disappeared with the waves. Weeks later, Byrrah had taxed his subjects of Atlantis into poverty, taking the ring off of a poor man's finger. While the taxing continued, Attuma plotted against Byrrah, as well as Kormok and Krang, who were planning to stage a coup. While Krang was speaking with Kormok, Attuma and his hordes attacked Atlantis. Days later, Namor the Sub-Mariner was still attempted to find solace inside what he thought was a cave. Unfortunately, the "cave" was actually an omnophage, a carnivorous plant creature, which attempted to devour Namor. As Namor struggled against the grip of the omnophage, he was saved by a scout ship from Atlantis itself. The occupants of the ship then announced to Namor that Atlantis was under attack and that they needed the Sub-Mariner's help. Namor declined to help, as the Atlanteans had shunned him in favor of Byrrah. As Namor was swimming away from the scout ship, he noticed a surface ship in danger. Flying high above the ship, he discovered that the ship was on fire and a trio of humans atop a nearby rock. The humans called for help as two of their men were still aboard the flaming vessel. Namor jumped into action and saved the two men onboard. As he flew back to the ground with the men, the crew of the ship thanked him on behalf of the Galapagos Island Scientific Expedition team. The crew invited Namor to stay for a toast and Namor did so, staying with the crew on the Galapagos Islands for a day or two. While on the island, Namor aided the scientific team in retrieving fossil samples from the bottom of the sea until another scout ship from Atlantis came afloat near the Islands, once again beseeching Namor for help against Attuma, revealing that Namor's mother, Fen, had been slain. Angrily diving into the oceans, Namor yelled for Neptune, who once again appeared and offered his trident to Namor. Namor accepted the trident this time and confronted the defeated army of Atlantis. The army was retreating and did not acknowledge Namor when he attempted to rally the troops. Knowing that he would have to confront Attuma himself, Namor tore his way into the Atlantean throneroom, where Attuma demanded that his men seize Namor. Namor pushed the columns from the ceiling, causing it to collapse atop Attuma's men, killing all but Attuma himself and Namor. The two battled furiously, resulting in Attuma's death by Neptune's trident. Following Attuma's defeat, Namor spoke to the populace of Atlantis, revealing that they were now free, but the populace asked why Namor did not return earlier, as Atlantis was now destroyed and the remaining Atlanteans were leaving in self-exile. Soon after, Namor sat atop the throne to Atlantis, despite having no subjects.