BOBO

Real Name: Bobo

Identity/Class: Sub-species of humanity (Homo mermani/Atlantean)

Occupation: Former Atlantean honor guard

Group Membership: Trident Team (Beemer, Thakorr, Namor and unrevealed others)

Affiliations: Elizabeth "Liz" Kendall, Henry Pierce, Sandra "Sandy" Pierce

Enemies: None (though he wasn't a fan of his mother)

Known Relatives: Beemer (brother), unidentified father, Zarina (mother), Namor McKenzie (cousin), Princess Fenn (aunt, deceased), King Thakorr (grandfather, deceased), Queen Korra (grandmother, deceased), Namora (second cousin), Byrrah (cousin), Dara (second cousin), Seth (second cousin, deceased), Arkus (cousin), Immanu (great-grandfather); Stegor, Kamuu, Zartra, Harran, Kalen, Ossem (ancestors, deceased)

Aliases: "Minnow" (nickname used by Beemer), shellhead (nickname used by Namor)

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
                                   formerly old Atlantis

First Appearance: Namor II#1 (May, 2003)

Powers/Abilities: Bobo possesses no special abilities besides those held by typical Atlanteans. His skin is durable enough to survive a shark bite with only minor injuries and he can swim at excellent speeds. Unlike most Atlanteans, Bobo can survive on the surface world indefinitely, even without special gear. Bobo is a skilled wave surfer.

Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 145 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black

History:

(Namor II#1 (fb) - BTS) - Bobo was the youngest son of princess Zarina, daughter of King Thakorr and Queen Korra. He was best friends with his cousin Namor who was destined to rule Atlantis one day. This secretly didn't sit well with Zarina, who felt her oldest boy Beemer should succeed Thakorr instead of the halfbreed Namor. Bobo and Namor grew up together, playing almost every day. They wanted to join the Trident Team, an elite group of warriors led by Thakorr that kept the Atlantean tuna farmers safe from shark attacks. When he was around 16 years old, both Bobo and Namor got a chance to join the Tri-team.

(Namor II#1) - In the early 1930s, on one of their first missions as members of Tri-Team, Bobo and Namor were ordered to help push the great Neptune Net used to catch fish while Thakorr took Beemer and the others on patrol. They were far away when some of the infant Atlanteans drifted from their nearby nursery cove right in the path of approaching sharks. While the Tri-Team scrambled to get back, Bobo risked his life to save the children. Just as he pushed a baby out of harm's way, one of the sharks bit him in the arm.

(Namor II#2) - Namor rescued Bobo in time for the Tri-Team to arrive and secure the area. Later, they were all chastized by Queen Korra for their sloppy performance, though Bobo's grandmother couldn't help but be glad his injuries were only minor. She did however punish Beemer and the other Tri-Team members by making them clean fish at the scaling station. Namor and Bobo watched them work, until Beemer began to needle Namor to provoke his hot headed rival. Not taking the bait, Namor simply dropped a bucket of fish guts over him and left with Bobo. They went to visit Bobo's dad who was busy constructing their new cove, a process that was bogged down by a strange black ooze sipping out of the surface. While Namor went to the surface to surf, Bobo stayed with his father to learn more about coral weaving.

(Namor II#3) - Bobo was excited to hear Namor tell stories about his meeting with the surface girl Sandra "Sandy" Pierce. The two had a brief romantic encounter which left them wanting more. Bobo was also surprised to learn that Namor had met Sandy years earlier when they were children. He figured he must have missed that because he was away at camp that particular Summer. Namor then invited him to come to the surface that evening to meet her, which he hesitantly agreed to. He explained that he didn't have a problem with "dry girls" (a nickname for surface worlders), but was worried about Namor himself. On the way to the surface, Bobo and Namor ran into Beemer and his friends who were looking for some payback. Not wasting any time, Namor tossed a squid he'd brought at Beemer's crotch and announced the animal was the boy's date for the evening. Bobo then quickly summoned a large fish, tossed a net over it and used the animal's speed and momentum to get to the surface. However, he wasn't too eager to go on land but eventually gave in and put on the gill scarf that allowed Atlanteans to survive on land. Bobo and Sandra hit it off, though at first he was a little taken aback by the fact his skin turned blue in the water. When Sandra invited both of them to join her for a fancy soiree at the local country club, Bobo politely declined and returned to Atlantis.

(Namor II#4) - Sandra brought her friend Elizabeth "Liz" Kendall with her when she went to meet Namor and Bobo at the pier. While Namor and Sandra went off together to Atlantis, Bobo remained near the surface with Liz who had trouble finding her sealegs. They spent an enjoyable afternoon together, playing ball games and quietly developing feeling for one another.

(Namor II#5 - BTS) - On the eve of his second cousin Namora's (see comments) birthday party, Bobo was late to the festivities because he was helping his father deal with the crude oil leaks messing up the construction of their home.

(Namor II#5) - When Bobo arrived at the luxurious banquet the Atlantean royal family had thrown, he was overjoyed to see the equally lovestruck Liz again. Seeing her son fall for a "dry girl" infuriated Zarina. During dinner, Liz became ill and needed to return to the surface. Bobo was ready to accompany her, but Zarina ordered him to stay and finish his meal, which he grudgingly agreed to.

(Namor II#6) - Some days later, Bobo and Namor went back to the surface to meet with Liz and Sandra at their local country club. Not wanting to be seen by anyone, especially not their parents, Sandra took Liz and the boys to Claris Point where they'd have more privacy. However, Liz's parents did spot them and they were outraged their daughter wasn't trying to charm millionaire's son Troy Tranter (the Kendalls were near bankruptcy and wanted Liz to marry into a wealthy family). Bobo and Liz had a romantic interlude, during which he assured her that he didn't think less of her because she got sick down deep.

(Namor II#6 - BTS) - Liz got pregnant as a result of her encounter with Bobo. At the same time, Namor had met Sandra's father Henry Pierce, a down on his luck oil prospector looking for a new vein for his rig operation. Figuring he could kill two bird with one proverbial stone, he arranged for Pierce's rig to drain the oil reserve underneath Atlantis.

(Namor II#7 - BTS) - Liz's parents forbid her from seeing Bobo again, insisting that she focussed her attention on Troy Trantner. When Sandy came by to get Liz for another trip to Atlantis, she refused to go. Instead, she asked Sandy to tell Bobo she'd be waiting for him at Claris Point because she had something important to share. At the same time, Zarina was absolutely adamant that Bobo broke off his relationship with Liz as well.

(Namor II#7) - Eventually, Bobo managed to slip away to meet Liz. The two young lovers shared a passionate embrace at sunset, but a teary-eyed Liz then told him they could never see each other again.

(Namor II#8) - Bobo got frustrated when Liz wouldn't explain the real reason her parents didn't allow them to see each other. He returned home to Atlantis where he encountered Thakorr, Beemer and Korra at Henry Pierce's drill that didn't drain away all the oil as promised but only made the seepage worse. Beemer was ready to tear down the rig then and there, but Namor was able to convince the king and queen to give Pierce one final chance. Swimming away with Bobo, Namor was annoyed his friend hadn't backed him up during the argument. This infuriated the lovesick Bobo, who told his cousin to stop believing the entire world revolved around him. Bobo then told Namor what happened, prompting Namor to promise he'd talk with her. Watching him go up to the surface, all Bobo could say was "Just don't make it any worse". He then returned home to find his father waiting for him. Though sympathetic to his son's feelings towards the surface girl, he told Bobo it could never work out in the long run, besides he shouldn't forget he belonged to his own people. His father's racist remarks left Bobo stunned.

(Namor II#8 - BTS) - Namor found Liz sitting at the spot on Claris Point where she'd said goodbye to Bobo. Namor comforted the overly emotional girl.

(Namor II#9) - Bobo spent some time at the rig site when Henry Pierce went down to oversee an overhaul designed to stop the spillage. He noticed how Namor continued to ignore his girlfriend Sandy, preferring to discuss the construction process with Henry instead. As a result, the scheming Zarina sent her son Beemer to flirt with Sandy, hoping to send Namor into a jealous rage that would further discredit him in the eyes of the Atlantean people. If it wasn't for the intervention of Queen Korra, the two youths would have come to blows over the incident. Later, Namor vented his frustrations about Beemer and Sandy's flirtation to Bobo, who calmly explained what was really going on: Sandy only did it to make him jealous and Beemer always tries anything to make Namor look stupid. He then advised Namor to spend some more time with Sandy, or else he really would lose her. Namor returned the favor and told him of his encounter with Liz, urging him to go see her. He followed his cousin's advice, snuck up to the surface world and went to the Kendall residence where the family was just entertaining Troy Tranter over a lobster dinner. Suffering from another bout of nausea because of her pregnancy, Liz excused herself to run for the bathroom. There, she found Bobo waiting for her. They talked about what had happened, with Liz revealing that not only was she pregnant with Bobo's baby, Troy was also about to propose to her even though they didn't love each other (she was doing it for the money and he only wanted to go through with it to appease his rich father). Bobo convinced her to turn the proposal down.

(Namor II#10) - Bobo watched from outside how Liz repeatedly turned down Troy's proposal, until the millionaire's son decided to leave. He then returned to Atlantis to find his brother Beemer had kidnapped Sandy and injured her father Henry (Beemer was furious when Sandy rejected his unwanted romantic overtures and decided to have his revenge). Thakorr sent out the royal family to find them, but before Bobo could join Namor on the search he was pulled to the side by his mother Zarina who wanted to know what Bobo would do if Namor found Beemer first, making sure he'd remain loyal to his own blood. Trying to ignore this chilling threat, Bobo found out that Beemer had taken Sandy to the drill site. When he caught up with Namor and told him where Sandy was, he had to stop the young Sub-Mariner from flying off the handle for his girlfriend's safety. By the time they arrived at the drill site, they spotted Sandy trapped right underneath the drill while Zarina was trying to talk Beemer out of his plans, telling him kidnapping was not the way to earn the respect of Atlantis. Once again, Bobo stopped Namor from making any rash decisions, pointing out that Beemer must have Tri-Team members ready to lower and activate the drill as soon as he attacked. Coming up with a makeshift plan, Bobo agreed to swim up to Beemer and keep his brother talking while Namor took care of the Tri-Team members on the platform. However, Namor's attempts to disable the drill were mistaken by the Tri-Team as Beemer's agreed on signal to activate the device. While Namor struggled to prevent the drill from going down, Bobo tried his best to free Sandy before the deadly drill would reach her. In the end, he was dragged off by Beemer who didn't want his brother to waste his life saving a dry girl. Luckily, Namor succeeded in jamming the drill's mechanism with a piece of pipe moments before it would have killed Sandy. Bobo was the first to reach her and freed the girl from the restrictive netting that kept her trapped in the first place. Bobo and Sandy were then startled when Namor sped by, vowing to kill Beemer for what he'd done.

(Namor II#11) - Bobo was accidentally injured while he tried to stop his brother and cousin from killing each other. The fight between Namor and Beemer was eventually stopped by the royal family's arrival, though Beemer was already pretty banged up. The scheming Zarina used this to her advantage, spreading the rumor that the prince cared more for a dry woman than his own cousin. When Bobo tried to correct his mother, she became furious with him and claimed this meant he had picked a side in this conflict and it wasn't hers. She disowned him right then and there, ordering the boy to get out of her sight, because she didn't want to see him again. A little while later, Bobo visited Namor who had been placed under house arrest following his assault on Beemer. They talked about Zarina disowning him and how little that mattered to him: as long as he loved Liz, Bobo felt he didn't belong in Atlantis anymore. Namor accompanied Bobo to the surface to witness his reunion with Liz. Once they hit the beach, the overly enthused Bobo accidentally yanked the breathing unit from his gills, causing him to collapse, gasping for air on the beach, an image that shocked everyone around them. They soon got another shock when Sandy told them Liz's parents had discovered she was pregnant and had sent her away to have the child without causing embarrassment in the community. Bobo vowed to wait for Liz's return, telling himself and the others he would learn to breathe air and wait for her to come back.

(Namor II#11 - BTS) - Figuring destroying the already controversial oil rig in the heart of Atlantis would make her son even more popular, Zarina urged Beemer to go out and wreck the structure. When he did, all of Atlantis got covered in a spill of crude oil.

(Namor II#12) - Bobo briefly returned to Atlantis with Namor to help with the rescue efforts following the massive oil spill. When Thakorr announced the Atlanteans were going to move to a new settlement somewhere in the Arctic, Bobo decided to return to the surface world to wait for Liz and their baby to return. He said goodbye to Namor, who assured his "shellhead" cousin they would see each other again.

Comments: Created by Bill Jemas & Andi Watzon (writers), Salvador Larroca (pencils), Danny Miki (inks).

So, Namor has a cousin who impregnated a surface girl in the 1930s and decided to stay on the surface to wait for her? How romantic... But how problematic for the Sub-Mariner's overall continuity. Where's Bobo now? Did he survive into the modern age and if so, what became of his offspring? He or she would be a hybrid like Namor, perhaps possessing similar superhuman powers.

Also, for some unknown reason 1930s surface worlders were apparently all aware of Atlantis' existence and totally cool (if not slightly racist) to see them walking around in public.