Walter Newell first appears in the title "Tales to Astonish" as an oceanographer working for the United States government. The character encounters the human/Atlantean hybrid hero Namor the Sub-Mariner and his lover Lady Dorma, whilst supervising the construction of a domed sub-sea city whose purpose is to harvest food for mankind. The city, however, is destroyed by the villain the Plunderer. Newell becomes a perennial character in the title "Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner" and aids the hero and Dorma against the villain Tiger Shark and is coerced by the government into investigating the disappearance of water from the Earth's oceans. This is attributed to aliens who are believed to be in league with Namor. Ordered to capture Namor, Newell develops a suit based on the form of the sea creature the manta ray, and as 'Stingray' captures Namor, who was weakened at the time. Newell, however, believes Namor to be innocent and allows him to escape.