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Quote1 Fantastic numbered four...I bring you a message from the Mole Man. Please clear the lobby. Quote2
Moloids

Origins[]

Steven Rogers, Moloids (Earth-616) from Captain America Vol 1 358

Moloid skeletons.

About twenty thousand years ago, the Deviants were driven underground by their creators the Celestials during an event referred to as the Great Cataclysm. They settled into a new kingdom that became known as the Netherworld, and cut off from their supply of human slaves began biologically engineering a class of slave workers. Their first attempt created the Gortokians who eventually revolted and fled into the underground caverns. Their second attempt created two races that would be referred to as the Moloids and Tyrannoids. The Gortokians later waged war against the Deviants and drove them away. Without masters to command them the Moloids wandered into what is now commonly referred to as Subterranea. Over the centuries the Moloids lost much of their intelligence and strength due to massive inbreeding and these creatures would become loyal to whomever they deemed to be most powerful.[1] It has since been revealed that the Moloids were also created to act as "anti-bodies" to destroy the so-called Apocalypse Beast and they were programmed to insert them into a massive needle built into Monster Isle should the creature ever return.[2] If this was part of the Deviants original design for the Moloids or some other entity engineered this into their DNA remains unrevealed.

20th Century[]

The Moloids were later discovered by the Inhuman known as Phaeder during the early half of the 20th Century. Having imparted his genetic studies to various human scientists he took particular interest in the work of Herbert Wyndham. In July of 1930, Wyndham was and his colleague Jonathan Drew had relocated to the homeland of Jonathan's wife Miriam on Wundagore Mountain in Transia. There they found rich deposits of uranium, and began building a Citadel of Science. One night, Phaeder appeared to Herbert and showed him a cavern that led to a tribe of Moloids whom he told would assist in building the Citadel of Science and mine the uranium so that Herbert would not have to rely on hired humans to do the work.[3] Soon Herbert began putting the Moloids to work and they built the majority of the Citadel.[4] However the Moloids working on the Citadel eventually fled back below the surface of the Earth after one of their number was slaughtered by the Werewolf Gregory Russoff.[5]

There are no recorded encounters with the Moloids until much later in 1956 when the would-be explorer named Harvey Elder found Monster Isle and its passage into Subterranea.[6] Rechristening himself as the Mole Man, Elder discovered the Moloids and the various other creatures that lived below the Earth and made them his subjects.[7] At least in the case of the Moloids they became willing subjects to the Mole Man.[8] Accounts of the Mole Men's activities leading up to the modern age of heroes is mostly unrecorded. However at some point the High Evolutionary built an entire city which he used to experiment on the Moloids to try and boost their evolution.[9]

Modern Age[]

During the Modern Age, the Moloids where, for the most part, used as pawns to battle the Mole Man's various foes. The first time they were used in a revenge scheme against the Mole Man's first and most constant foes the Fantastic Four who battled the Mole Man on their first adventure.[7] During this revenge scheme, the Mole Man next attempted to trigger a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, intending to rule what remained of Earth's population with ray devices, the Mole Men were utilized to lure the Fantastic Four into a trap but the Mole Man's schemes were ultimately thwarted.[8] A short time later, the Moloids were used to take the Invisible Girl hostage by drawing a whole New York city block to Subterranea, but was foiled again by the combined forces of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.[10] The Moloids were also used when the Mole Man and ex-communist scientist Red Ghost attempted to use an atomic gyroscope to speed up the Earth's rotation, but this plot was foiled by the Avengers.[11] During the battle with the Avengers, four Moloids named Ootie, Umbu, Yonkashi, and Dennis fled to the surface. There they were hunted and persecuted, and one night Ootie sacrificed his life so the others could escape a pair of teenagers with a shotgun. After burying their friend, Umbu, Yonkashi, and Dennis decided to stay on the surface and try to enjoy the lifestyle. While they were able to find a television, other things such as food were hard to come by. While looking through a diner window, they were chased off by the janitor, but he was stopped by a woman named Annie. The three Moloids decided to follow Annie in disguise by climbing up on each other and wearing a trench coat and hat. Annie, an uneducated hick, mistook the three Moloids for a Canadian and took them out to a local roadhouse. There Annie's jealous lover Elmore Leadfoot tried to attack them but the three Moloids dropped their disguise and fled; their subsequent fate is unknown.[12]

Back in Subterranea, the Mole Man used his Moloids in a revenge scheme against the Avengers, completely unaware that they were now under the leadership of Captain America and the team had changed its roster. This, like the Mole Man's other schemes, was an utter failure.[13] The Mole Man was next among the many costumed menaces assembled by Doctor Doom, who manipulated him with his Emotion Changer device to disrupt the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. The Mole Man and his Moloids broke through the reception hall floor but were forced back by the Thing and the X-Men. Ultimately, Mr. Fantastic obtained a time displacer device from the Watcher that sent Mole Man and all of Doom's other lackeys back to their original locations with no memories of their fight.[14] A group of Moloids was encountered by the X-Men while they were on a training mission on Monster Isle. After learning that the Moloids were only foraging for food, the young mutants left them be.[15] Following his last defeat, the Mole Man engaged in more petty pursuits, having his Moloids break into museums in New York to steal ancient artifacts from museums, spoils that he believed the Adventure Club robbed him of decades ago. These thefts attracted the attention of the X-Men's Marvel Girl and the Scarlet Witch, formerly of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who was trying to reform as a superhero. The two frightened the Mole Man and his Moloids away when Wanda posed as the "Marvel Witch". This victory backfired on the two young mutants as the Mole Man soon became smitten by the Marvel Witch and soon returned to the surface to profess his love to her, but ultimately it appears that he quickly lost interest.[16]

The Mole Man soon got into a conflict with another underworld ruler, Tyrannus and his army of Tyrannoids. Using his Moloids, the Mole Man cut off Tyrannus from the Fountain of Youth, causing him to revert into an old man. In retaliation, Tyrannus unleashed the Hulk on the Mole Man's forces, defeating him once again.[17] The Mole Man soon learned that the cosmic being known as the Collector had been capturing various monsters and placing them in a massive underground zoo. The Mole Man and an army of Moloids then attacked the facility to free the monsters. The monsters broke free and many ran loose in New York until they were all banished to the Negative Zone by Reed Richards, Giant-Man, the Thing, Hulk and the Beast.[18]

The Mole Man next developed an earth-boring device and used it to collapse one of Tony Stark's factories in order to obtain Stark's new atomic earth digger device.[19] This led to a clash between the Moloids and Stark's alter-ego Iron Man. In order to force Iron Man to surrender, the Mole Man had his Moloids captured Stark's secretary Pepper Potts. However, Iron Man managed to free Pepper and defeat the Mole Man and his minions.[20] Soon Tyrannus returned to resume his conflict with the Mole Man once more. This conflict led to another clash with the X-Men, who battled the Moloids. Ultimately, the Mole Man and Tyrannus were defeated when they were exposed to mists that temporarily wiped out their memories.[21] But eventually the Mole Man's memories returned, and he resumed leadership of his domain.[22]

Sometime after this, the X-Men found themselves once more in the Mole Man's domain when they were trapped underground by a group called the Promise.[23] The Moloids helped their master to imprison the X-Men.[24] But the heroes eventually managed to free themselves and escape the Mole Man's domain.[25] Tyrannus soon resumed hostilities against the Mole Man, when Harvey once again took control of his Fountain of Youth. The Moloids defended their leader from the combined might of the Hulk and Tyrannus' robot minion Mogol.[26] The Mole Man then decided that fighting with the surface world was a lost cause and sought only to live in peace. This peace was disturbed when the United States began drilling a deep hole into the Earth as part of Project Earth Dig, which was to see tons of radioactive waste buried deep below the surface of the Earth.[27] This led to the Mole Man and his Moloids clashing with the Monster Ape, Captain America, and the Falcon. The battle ended when the Monster Ape sacrificed his life and Captain America vowed to stop any digs into the Mole Man's domain.[28]

The Moloids were also involved in clashes with the Fantastic Four when the Mole Man sought a union with the Netherworld ruler Kala.[29] When the Mole Man was betrayed by Kala to Tyrannus, the Mole Man retreated back to his realm with his Moloids a broken man.[30] However, the Mole Man soon resumed his quest for the conquest of the surface world when the opportunity arose not long after. Prior to his scheme to flood the surface with lava, he had his Moloids build a massive laser device to attack the surface but lacked a massive gem that could be the focal point for the laser.[31] But the opportunity arose when the hero Spider-Man and the Kree warrior Captain Marvel clashed with the gem-empowered villain Basilisk who sought to claim the Kree Alpha and Omega Stones. During the course of that battle, the Omega Stone reacted to Captain Marvel's Kree physiology, making it grow in size and trapping Marvel inside. Mole Man's minions detected the massive gem and took it, bringing it to their master.[32] The Mole Man's plans were interrupted when Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic tracked Captain Marvel to Subterranea. Things were further complicated when Basilisk, who had followed Spider-Man, arrived to claim the Omega Stone for himself. The plan ultimately went to bust when Captain Marvel was finally able to clash his Quantum Bands together, allowing him to switch places with Rick Jones, with whom he shared a bonded existence at the time. This caused the Omega Stone to revert to normal, and Reed Richards sabotaged the laser cannon, causing it to explode. The Mole Man seemingly perished in the explosion.[31] Without their leader to protect them, the Moloids became prey to the deadly Lava Men who sought to obtain the Mole Man's laser cannon. This attack drew the attention of the Human Torch and the Asgardian thunder god Thor. The pair fought off the Lava Man and ensured that peace would remain in the region.[33] The Mole Man survived as the blast knocked him into a crevasse and after the heroes left, he ordered his Moloids to sacrifice their lives to create a bridge that allowed him to cross safely back into his kingdom. The Mole Man then learned of Russian doctor Anton Palkov who developed a drug called Optinum, using a rare flower that grew in the region of Trelka once every hundred years. The drug could restore sight and so the Mole Man sent his minions to the surface to steal it. Unfortunately for the Mole Man, this led to another clash with the Hulk, who foiled the Mole Man's plans once again.[34]

The Mole Man next had his Moloids travel up to New York City and kidnap those who were either blind or disfigured to come and live in peace in Subterranea as his Outcasts. However, when the Moloids kidnapped Alicia Masters, this brought the Fantastic Four down on him again. The battle soon ended when those who did not wish to be part of the Mole Man's new society were allowed to go free.[35]

Mole Man, his Moloids, and his Outcasts next sought refuge under the town of Clairton, where they discovered it was the beachhead of the alien Dire Wraiths invasion of Earth. The Moloids were used to free the captured citizens of Clairton, but due to a misunderstanding, there was a brief clash with the Spaceknights Rom and Starshine.[36] When the Wraiths were defeated. the Mole Man led his minions to a safer location.[37] The Moloids were next used to steal food that was being shipped along a trucking line. This led to a fight with the Heroes for Hire, Power Man and Iron Fist, who were hired to solve the mystery of the missing truckers. The two heroes managed to get out of Subterranea alive, but when they later brought the authorities down into the caverns, they found that Mole Man and his minions had fled.[38]

Following brutal battles against Gladiator[39] and the Champion,[40] the Thing was hospitalized to be treated for his injuries. The news of his hospitalization brought many of the Thing's enemies to attack him there during his moment of weakness. The Mole Man and his Moloids burrowed into the basement of the hospital to launch an attack, but they were driven back by Thor, who had been looking after the Thing's treatment in his alter ego of Dr. Donald Blake.[41] Subterranea soon became threatened by the millionaire cartoonist and entertainer Alden Maas, but the lives of the Moloid race were saved by the Human Torch and the Thing.[42] The Mole Man and some of his Moloids, along with other villains, soon found themselves transported to Earth-1219 circa the year 1985. They were brought there by that world's only mutant and superhuman, Clyde Wyncham Jr., who had been placed in a mental hospital years earlier after being brutally beaten by his mother and suffering brain damage. Having fallen in love with comic books published by Marvel Comics that somehow retold the events on Mole Man's native reality of Earth-616, he became furious when the nurses neglected to transfer his comic book collection after he was moved to a new facility. Seeking revenge, he brought the villains of Earth-616 to his world hoping to get revenge by offering the villains a world bereft of heroes to oppose them.[43]

Soon the villains began terrorizing the people of this world,[44] the Mole Man taking particular interest in kidnapping small children, using his Moloids to do the dirty deed and taking them into the caverns below the Earth.[45] However as the villains raged on, Toby managed to find the portal to Earth-616,[46] and managed to convince the heroes of that world of the danger on his planet.[47] The villains were ultimately defeated and the Mole Man and his Moloids were returned to their home reality.[43]

The Mole Man focused on creating a utopia for his people, admitting even more deformed and maligned surface dwellers who sought a new life. He also developed a device that would push his domain to the surface in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so his people could live there. However, the Mole Man's sanity also began to lapse; believing that he had fallen ill, he began spending time in a private holographic chamber where he could live out his fantasy of being admired by attractive people. It was around this time that the Thing, following a series of personal issues with his teammates in the Fantastic Four, came to Monster Isle on the anniversary of the Fantastic Four's birth, having come to the conclusion that it was the only place that a mutated individual like himself could call home and be accepted for who he was. The Mole Man accepted Ben with open arms and make him the commander of the militia he was building to defend his people once they reached the surface. The Moloids were used in the construction of this new city, but when the Fantastic Four learned that pushing this new city to the surface would cause untold damage to the surface world, they destroyed the device, sinking Monster Isle and seemingly slaying the Mole Man.[48] The Mole Man had survived, but he had become more reclusive than ever, abandoning his Moloids and leaving them at the mercy of the now leaderless Tyrannoids and Lava Men. The Moloids were defended by the Fantastic Four, who stopped the attacks but were unable to stop the Mole Man from being captured.[49] A group of Moloids was later involved in the rescuing of a young girl named Sara who was trapped in a well. The creatures helped bring her to safety, although they briefly clashed with the hero known as Cloak, who misunderstood their intentions.[50] The Mole Man later escaped captivity, but he and his Moloids were attacked and given a humiliating defeat by cloned member of the Fantastic Four created by Aron the Rogue Watcher.[51] Over time, a lone Moloid mutated and was gifted with telepathic abilities. During the so-called Evolutionary War, the High Evolutionary (formally Herbert Wyndham) sent his Purifiers to sterilize the Moloid race, having deemed them an evolutionary dead end. The telepathic cries of the mutant Moloid drew in the mutant heroes known as X-Factor who came to the Moloids aid. Although the Purifiers managed to sterilize many of the Moloids, X-Factor managed to ultimately stop them, even with interference from the eternal mutant known as Apocalypse. The young Moloid mutant was later named Val-Or by the Beast.[52]

After a time, it appeared that the Mole Man regained his more lucid mental facilities. Later, the Mole Man's monsters were enslaved by a group of Skrulls who were after a rebel named De'Lila who came to Earth to recover an inorganic technotroid egg that had been hidden on Earth.[53] The Mole Man with his Moloids confronted the Skrulls and took them prisoner, demanding to know why they had taken control of his creatures. They were soon interrupted by the so-called New Fantastic Four, a group consisting of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Ghost Rider and Wolverine who had been tricked by De'Lila that the original Fantastic Four were dead and sent on a quest to recover the technotroid. Soon Mr. Fantastic arrived with De'Lila, who had disguised herself as the Invisible Woman to manipulate him into recovering the device as well.[54] It became a race to obtain the weapon, as the original Fantastic Four, their "new" counterparts, the Skrulls, De'Lila, and the Mole Man all sought to obtain it for their own ends. Ultimately, the technotroid hatched and imprinted itself on Mole Man's beast Giganto, who claimed it as its own child. With the device lost to them all and De'Lila captured by the Skrulls, the Mole Man agreed to let all the invaders into his realm go free in order to avoid further damage to his kingdom.[55] However, once they all reached the surface, the Mole Man decided to punish the Skrulls for invading his domain. Both Fantastic Four teams convinced the Mole Man to cease hostilities and return to his home. Just as the situation was diffused, Kristoff Vernard, a one-time "successor" to Dr. Doom, arrived in this time from a few years in the future. He forced another battle between the FF teams and the Skrulls. The resulting fight distracted the Mole Man long enough for Vernard to steal a sample of the technotroid's armor and bring it back to his own era with him.[56]

Soon the Deviants, now under the leadership of Brutus, had returned to Subterranea to reclaim their technology and weapons that the Mole Man and other underground dwellers had exploited over the decades. A group of Moloids, Tyrannoids, and Lava Men fled to the surface, attracting the attention of the Avengers. Other Moloids were used in the conflict with the Deviants after a union between the Mole Man, Tyrannus, and Grotesk, ruler of the Lava Men.[1] Moloids were also used to capture the Hulk's wife Betty Ross and his partner Rick Jones to lure the Hulk into the conflict, a plan that also failed[57] A number of Moloids that fled from the Deviants attack were captured and enslaved by the Keeper of the Flame. These unfortunate Moloids were rescued by the Sub-Mariner.[58] Eventually, Mole Man's consort Kala brought the West Coast Avengers to join the battle. By this point, Brutus had obtained a powerful oscillitron which he planned to use against the surface world. The Avengers attacked and freed their captured comrades. The battle was ultimately ended when the Avenger Sersi revealed that Brutus was not a true Deviant but a Deviant mutate, and he was killed by his minions who then abandoned his quest for conquest. Grotesk revealed his true motives and attempted to use the oscillitron to get revenge on the surface world of wiping out his people in an atomic test; however, the Avengers stopped him. With the so-called Subterranean War now over, the Mole Man recovered an antidote for Tyrannnus' poisoning and vowed to return Kala to her home domain to restore her youth.[59] Around this time, Spragg the Living Mountain revived itself below the planet's surface, prompting Professor Bob Robertson to enlist the aid of both the She-Hulk and her sidekick Weezie. The Mole Man and his Moloids assisted She-Hulk in the battle.[60] The Moloids were later present when She-Hulk was forced into marrying the Mole Man, but managed to get out of the agreement.[61]

One day, he found Adam Warlock and his Infinity Watch washed ashore on his island. The Mole Man invited them in with open arms, offering them to use Monster Isle as their base of operations; they had frequent interactions with the Moloids.[62][63][64][65][66] During the so-called Infinity Crusade, the United Nations launched an invasion force against Monster Isle, and the Mole Man and his Moloids came to the island's defense. They managed to repel the invaders, but they were all slaughtered when the Goddess unleashed her power on Earth.[67] However, the Goddess was defeated and all those slain by her power were restored to life.[68] The Moloids continued to have brief interactions with the Infinity Watch[69][70][71] until the group ultimately disbanded and left Monster Isle.[72]

The Mole Man was caught in a conflict between two cosmic beings who were brothers that had dominion of his native Earth-616 universe, and another Earth from a distant cosmos that saw many of Earth's champions and villains from both worlds cross realities to battle against each other.[73] The Mole Man found himself transported to the other universe with a number of his Moloids, ending up in the Batcave, secret headquarters of the hero known as Batman.[74] During the conflict, both realities were briefly merged creating a world that featured amalgamations of both realities heroes and villains; with whom the Mole Man was merged during this period is unrevealed.[75] When the two realities were restored to normal, the Mole Man and his minions were still in the Batcave and intended to stay there until he was forcibly removed by the Hulk and Superman.[76]

Back in his native reality, the Mole Man found that his Moloids were becoming terminally ill due to the surface world disposing of toxic and nuclear waste in his domain. With their food supply of specific metals tainted, the Moloids required clean food. The Mole Man allowed them to go to the surface to collect some. However, the Moloids began disintegrating metal statues around New York City for sustenance. This led to a brief battle with the Human Torch when the Moloids attacked an art gallery where he was on a date with his new girlfriend Laura Green. The Mole Man stopped the battle to explain what the Moloids were doing, and brought them back below ground to find another solution to his problem.[77] Shortly thereafter, the Mole Man's old foes the Fantastic Four were seemingly slain with other heroes defending the Earth from the psychic entity known as Onslaught.[78] Unknown to all at the time, the Fantastic Four's son Franklin Richards actually subconsciously transported them to a pocket dimension later called Counter-Earth,[79] where they lived a variation of their real lives.[80] During this period where the Mole Man believed the Fantastic Four to be dead, he mobilized all his Moloids and prepared for a massive invasion of the surface world.[81] However, eventually the heroes were found by Franklin and his allies and returned to their native reality.[82] This news did not reach the Mole Man until the eve of his planned invasion. Upon learning the news, the Mole Man called off his invasion for the time being.[81] The Mole Man's kingdom was soon invaded by the alien being known as Terminus.[83] Terminus began infecting the Moloids with his essence in an attempt to use them to restore his bodies. The Mole Man then fled with those uninfected to the town of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. The rebirth of Terminus attracted the Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four to Yorkton where they found the Mole Man and learned of his plight. Terminus then burst through the surface, and while the Fantastic Four literally tore away the Moloids that comprised of Terminus' new body, the Silver Surfer used his Power Cosmic to eliminate Terminus.[84]

Mole Man returned to the section of Subterranea that was below New York City. When his minions became ill from contaminated water, he returned to the surface and instigated a battle between the Thing and the Silver Surfer to create a distraction long enough for the Mole Man to steal a water treatment facility. The heroes realized the ruse and eventually caught up with the Mole Man, but agreed to let him return underground with it when they learned why the Mole Man needed it.[85] However, the Moloids proved to be too sickly to carry the treatment plant without damaging some of its components. Returning to New York to seek out the Fantastic Four, he instead crossed paths with the technorganic being known as Warlock and his allies, Hope and Psimon. The Mole Man kidnapped them to help them instead. After fighting off creatures that had been mutated by the polluted water, Warlock and his friends helped bring the water treatment plant into operation again, but suggested to the Mole Man instead of kidnapping people to help him, he should buy their services, pointing out how easy it would be for him to obtain gold.[86] The Mole Man and his creatures soon became hunted by a group of Morlocks led by a serial killing mutant named Carver who was slaughtering surface dwellers and Moloids alike.[87] The murders of the surface people drew the attention of the NYPD and the heroes Wolverine and Spider-Man. They were attacked by some of the Mole Man's creatures, and during the fight all of the police officers except for Lieutenant Tara Curson were slain.[88] The Mole Man revealed himself to the heroes, and after a brief battle, he convinced them that the rogue Morlocks were responsible. Wolverine tracked down Carver and his minion Fugue, seemingly slaying both in combat.[87] Moloids were also pulled out of time to battle the combined forces of the Avengers and the Justice League of America by the evil Krona.[89] The Moloids later clashed with Major Mapleleaf and Yukon Jack, two members of the Canadian super-hero team known as Alpha Flight who were searching the Mole Man's tunnels looking for the original Alpha Flight who had recently been captured by the alien Plodex. After a brief scuffle, the Mole Man learned that the two heroes hadn't come after his people and set them free.[90]

Having grown lonely and seeking a new female companion, the Mole Man ordered his Moloids to dig a tunnel to Hawaii in the hopes that he might meet a woman. However, the Mole Man's plans happened to coincide with Hercules', who at the time was involved in a reality television series that was recreating the legend of his 12 labors in a modern context. In this instance, Hercules had to tame Giganto and his siblings much like he did when he defeated Diomedes by subduing his four man-eating horses. The Mole Man was frightened back into reclusion when Hercules easily tied up the Gigantos.[91] However, Harvey briefly reverted to type when he attacked New York City again before being defeated by the Fantastic Four once more.[92] During the Christmas holidays that year, the Mole Man was subject to a series of lawsuits being pressed against him by various women he had kidnapped over the years and tried to force to be his bride. The holiday season also apparently made him remember his grandfather, making him quite morose. When one of his Moloids brought him a snow globe promoting tourism in Santa Barbara, California, the Mole Man decided to go on vacation. Uttering the word "Santa" and leaving without telling his minions where he was going led the primitive Moloids to believe that their leader left and would not return until they brought Santa to Subterranea. When the Moloids then began kidnapping mall Santas the Fantastic Four got involved and began searching for their leader. When the Moloids found Namor suitable and their leader still did not return, the Fantastic Four had them promise not to kidnap any more mall Santas.[93]

The Mole Man later returned home and was alerted that the so-called Apocalypse Beast was resurrected and was making its way to Monster Isle and flew on one of his skeels to intercept it.[94] He followed the creature back to his home and with the assistance of the Fantastic Four and Iron Man discovered that his Moloids were specially bred to be antibodies to be used against the Apocalypse Beast and the beings responsible for constructing Monster Isle hidden a massive device that acted like a syringe to inject the Moloids into the invading creature. Reed Richards then injected the Moloids into the Apocalypse Beast causing the creature to invert itself and be launched into space. This apparently left the Mole Man without any Moloids left under his command, leaving him heartbroken.[2] However, Harvey found other Moloids who did not sacrifice themselves to the Apocalypse Beast and continued to rule over them. He was later asked for assistance from Clay Quartermain then-leader for SHIELD's new Howling Commandos, a unit of military-trained monsters during their final attack on the sorcerer Merlin. Mole Man used his technologies to lift Merlin's stronghold out of the ground while the Howling Commandos made their attack; however, Merlin eventually managed to escape.[95]

Following the super-hero Civil War, the Mole Man became furious over the surface world continuing to pollute his domain and making his Moloids sick. He then launched an attack on New York City shortly after Iron Man had formed a new team of Avengers that were part of his government-backed Initiative program. These Mighty Avengers clashed with Mole Man and his monsters until suddenly Iron Man's armor was taken over by the robot Ultron who reshaped Iron Man's body in the form of his teammate the Wasp.[96] Harnessing the elements and other deadly weapons, Ultron destroyed many of the Mole Man's larger creatures, forcing him to retreat back to his domain before his people suffered any more casualties.[97] A group of Moloids was prisoners of Brood invaders on Monster Isle. They were ultimately rescued by Ms. Marvel.[98] When the vigilante known as the Punisher was seemingly slain by Daken, Morbius the Living Vampire enlisted a number of Moloids to gather up the parts needed to rebuilt Castle.[99]

Four Moloids, Mik, Korr, Turg, and Tong, were exiled from the long-forgotten city of the High Evolutionary. These Moloids were then adopted by the Fantastic Four.[9] Shortly thereafter, the Fantastic Four suffered a tragic loss when the Human Torch seemingly died.[100] The group reinvented themselves into the Future Foundation, an organization that gathered a group of free-thinking intellectuals to better mankind. The four young Moloids named under the old FF's care joined the ranks of the Future Foundation.[101] During this period, something within the High Evolutionary's Forever City was making his Moloids become sentient and abandon him. As it turned out the High Evolutionary's Ascension Engines were causing nearby creatures to be drawn into the Forever City to be assimilated into the race of creatures that lived there, who were incapable of reproducing themselves and relied on assimilation to keep their species thriving. Going to investigate, the Mole Man crossed paths with the Reed Richards of Earth-4280 a member of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds, a group of alternate-reality Reed Richards who were trapped on Earth-616 and were seeking to instigate the prophesied War of the Four Cities in order to gather the energy they needed to return to their home realm. Reed offered his assistance in freeing the Moloids from the Forever City in exchange for the Mole Man's assistance in the War of the Four Cities.[102] To this end the Council of Reeds got the Mole Man to use his minions to attack Old Atlantis, which at the time was under the protection of the Future Foundation. While the heroes were distracted, the Mole Man had his Moloids build a device created by the Council to destroy Old Atlantis. With the destruction of Old Atlantis, the Council including Reed Richards of Earth-12498 built a device that stopped the Ascension Engine. The Mole Man then forced the leader of the Forever City to close his doors to the outside world. However, just at that moment the Inhumans led by their leader Black Bolt returned to Earth and appeared over the Forever City.[103] The Inhumans attacked the Forever City, ultimately crushing the Interdimensional Council of Reeds' plot. As things began to fall apart, the Mole Man fled back to his subterranean domain.[104]

A tribe of Moloids saved and briefly defended by the Hulk when he temporarily lived in the Subterranea.[105] Later, the Mole Man's domain was invaded by the Molans a species of barbaric warriors who lived in the heat planes deep below his own kingdom. Their leader Ra'Ktar easily subdued the Mole Man and took over his kingdom, making the Mole Man his slave an interpreter.[106] Before his defeat, the Mole Man ordered some of his minions to find the "king" of the surface world to help his domain. The Moloids took this order too literally and kidnapped New York City mayor J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson's kidnapping prompted the Avengers to send Spider-Man and the Red Hulk to rescue Jameson.[107] While the Red Hulk stepped into battle Ra'Ktar in Jameson's place however the Red Hulk proved no match against Ra'Ktar and was seemingly slain.[106] While Spider-Man fled with Jameson, the Mole Man convinced Ra'Ktar that since they slew the surface world's champion they should invade the surface world instead. Spider-Man managed to get Jameson to safety and went back to battle Ra'Ktar alone. When Spider-Man managed to humiliate Ra'Ktar in battle, his minions turned on him and the battle ended and the Molans returned to their domain, as did the surface dwellers -- including the Red Hulk who turned out to be alive after all. The experience left Mole Man furious, especially at the fact that he was being pitied by his own minions. However, upon gazing upon a ruined model of New York City, he vowed that it would stand as a symbol of his empire's future.[108]

A number of Moloids were used by Sidewinder to guard his hideout. They were defeated by the Black Panther and Hellstorm.[109] The Mole Man eventually learned that his long unrequited love, Lorna had passed away, The Mole Man resolved to steal her body to keep as his own. Although he knew which cemetery she was to be buried in, he was unsure which grave. As such, he ordered his Moloids to exhume every corpse from the property,[110] Among the corpses stolen was one belonging to Jonathan Murdock the late father of the blind superhero Daredevil. Daredevil followed the Mole Man's Moloids into Subterranea on their next trip from the cemetery. Upon witnessing the Mole Man defiling the various coffins and mixing the remains as they were nothing, Daredevil was consumed with anger and attacked the Mole Man. Harvey easily bested Daredevil in his angered state and had him thrown into a pit to be eaten by one of his creatures.[111] Daredevil survived and attacked the Mole Man. When their battle led them to the Valley of Diamonds, Harvey realized that Daredevil was blind and playing on the heroes' rage, he learned that even though Daredevil came for his father's remains, he would never be able to tell which coffin or remains belong to his father. Mole Man then forced Daredevil to angrily accept that his father's remains were no longer the man who raised him. Daredevil furiously knocked out the Mole Man for making him accept this truth and the masked hero took chunks of the Valley of Crystal. Knowing that all the mixed remains could never be fully recovered or placed in the right crypts, Daredevil had chips of the glowing crystals to be placed on each of the defiled tombstones in tribute to the dead.[110] Moloids also regularly invaded Mister Sinister's domain Sinister London, and were killed on sight.[112]

By this time, the Human Torch was found to be still alive and rejoined his comrades in reforming the Fantastic Four which operated within the Future Foundation. Before going on a mission through time and space, Reed Richards appointed Ant-Man, She-Hulk, Medusa, and the Torch's pop-star girlfriend Darla Deering as their replacements during the four minutes they were gone. However something went wrong and the Fantastic Four did not return as planned and were presumed lost, leaving their replacements to operate in their place. This was not met with a positive reception, especially when the Mole Man—who found the original Four's replacements an insult to their legacy—launched an attack on New York. Even though they were caught off guard, this new incarnation of the Fantastic Four was able to defeat the Mole Man and send him fleeing.[113] The Mole Man later contacted the Moloids within the Future Foundation and although they hated him they agreed to provide him with a "Starheart" device.[114] However, his intended use for the device has as yet been unrevealed. The Mole Man later attacked the Jean Grey School for mutants, prompting Wolverine—the school's headmaster—to mobilize his X-Men to deal with the battle, although the reason for the Mole Man's attack and the outcome of the battle are unknown, the Mole Man likely lost.[115]


Alternate realities[]

Heroes Reborn[]

Moloids lived in Subterranea in Heroes Reborn.[116]

Mutant X (Earth-1298)[]

Moloids (Earth-1298) from Mutant X Vol 1 9 001

The Moloids followed the Mole Man and Callisto.[117]


Earth X (Earth-9997)[]

The past history of the Moloids on Earth-9997 mirrors that of his Earth-616 counterpart. In recent history, Reed Richards went to the Valley of Diamonds in Subterranea and used the diamonds to fund his vibranium experiments.

Initially, the Mole Man was angry for this affront, but the mutation of mankind was the salvation for the Mole Man and his Moloids. No longer the objects of scorn, they embraced the new world with love and joy. They are like tourists on this new world. They have heard the theory that Richards is responsible for the changes on Earth, and therefore, he is like a saint to them. His name is revered as the man who set them free.

Earth-5692[]

Moloids from Exiles Vol 1 10 0001

The Moloids were forced to flee their underground home when Galactus arrived to eat the planet.[118]

Earth-6034[]

Moloids (Earth-6034) from FF IM Big in Japan Vol 1 4 0001

In the year 12425 AD within the husk of the Apocalypse Beast, a subset of Moloids who were sent up into space to defeat the Beast have gained vastly superior intelligence to their mainstream counterparts. With their world dying, a Moloid couple have prepared a ship for their son, Noah, whom they fire off into space in the hopes that he might live a happy life elsewhere in the universe.[2]

Earth-6799[]

Spider-Man (1967 animated series)

Earth-12311[]

Moloids (Earth-12311) from Secret Wars Journal Vol 1 4 0001

The Moloids left Technopolis with Mole Man to the Shield and helped him build his kingdom underneath it.[119] Note: The Moloids of Technopolis like all residents of Technopolis, wore a mini Iron Man Armor and were the only non-human residents shown to also be infected by the illness.

Earth-13584[]

Moloids (Earth-13584) Dark Avengers Vol 1 185

The Moloids were among the Subterraneans that the Thing promised to protect when he take care of the Mole Man's kingdom.[120]

Earth-20051[]

One day, mobster Cedric Cedrino stumbled upon the Mole Man's domain while trying to escape from a hit on his life. There he convinced some of the outcast Moloids to form a gang with him which were dubbed the Caps. When the Caps assassinated members of rival gangs, they later expanded to more ambitious crime when they kidnapped US Senator James Onyango. The NYPD then enlisted the air of the Mole Man as well as the former spy known as the Black Widow and the mutant weather witch Storm to shut down the gang. When they finally caught up with Cedrino and the Caps, the Mole Man was so impressed by Cedrino's accomplishments he decided to take him on as the lieutenant in his underworld army. When the Black Widow and Storm protested this, the Mole Man pointed out they had no choice if they wanted to get out of his tunnels alive and allowed them to leave with the kidnapped Senator.[121]

Earth-57780[]

Moloids from Spidey Super Stories Vol 1 52 001

Spidey Super Stories

Earth-58163[]

Fantastic Four House of M Vol 1 1 page 5 Moleoids

The Moloids of the House of M were seemingly as intelligent as their leader, The Mole King, but weren't very good fighters. They were eradicated by The Fearsome Four.[122]

Earth-807128[]

James Howlett (Earth-807128) and Moloids from Wolverine Vol 3 69 001

The Moloids of Earth-807128 are thought to be World Cleansers, supposedly released by the planet to cleanse it of humans. As the population of the species grew too high to be sustained by the Earth, they destroyed San Francisco and River City among other places, they were known to be active in Europe and Asia.[123]

Earth-61610[]

Moloids from Mrs

A group of Moloids were seen, accompanied by Mole Man, in line awaiting entry into the afterlife.[124]

Earth-TRN841[]

Moloids (Earth-TRN841) from Spider-Man Deadpool Vol 1 46 001

After the Mole Man was mutated into a giant monster, the Moloids started living inside him in order to feed him with surface beings. When the Mole Man attacked Spider-Man, Deadpool and the Underground, the Moloids exited from him and attacked the heroes, but they were killed when the Mole Man fell on them because of the heroes.[125]


Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Night Vision

Average Strength Level

Weak

Habitat

Habitat

Underground

Gravity

Earth

Atmosphere

Earth

Miscellaneous

Type of Government

Monarchy

Level of Technology

None

Cultural Traits

Wear loincloths

Representatives

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Avengers Annual #20
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 FF/IM: Big in Japan #4
  3. Silver Surfer Annual #1
  4. New Mutants Annual #4
  5. Fantastic Four Annual #21
  6. Marvel Universe #7
  7. 7.0 7.1 Fantastic Four #1
  8. 8.0 8.1 Fantastic Four #22
  9. 9.0 9.1 Fantastic Four #575
  10. Fantastic Four #31
  11. Avengers #12
  12. Avengers Classic #12
  13. Avengers #17
  14. Fantastic Four Annual #3
  15. X-Men First Class #3
  16. X-Men First Class (Vol. 2) #6
  17. Tales to Astonish #80
  18. Marvel Monsters: Monsters on the Prowl #1
  19. Tales of Suspense #87
  20. Tales of Suspense #88
  21. X-Men #34
  22. X-Men: The Hidden Years #21
  23. X-Men: The Hidden Years #19
  24. X-Men: The Hidden Years #20
  25. X-Men: The Hidden Years #22
  26. Incredible Hulk #127
  27. Captain America #135
  28. Captain America #136
  29. Fantastic Four #127
  30. Fantastic Four #128
  31. 31.0 31.1 Marvel Team-Up #17
  32. Marvel Team-Up #16
  33. Marvel Team-Up #26
  34. Incredible Hulk #189
  35. Fantastic Four Annual #13
  36. Rom #28
  37. Rom #29
  38. Power Man and Iron Fist #85
  39. Fantastic Four #249
  40. Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6
  41. Marvel Two-In-One #96
  42. Fantastic Four #263264
  43. 43.0 43.1 Marvel 1985 #6
  44. Marvel 1985 #2
  45. Marvel 1985 #3
  46. Marvel 1985 #4
  47. Marvel 1985 #5
  48. Fantastic Four #296
  49. Fantastic Four #313
  50. Marvel Comics Presents #9
  51. Fantastic Four #329
  52. X-Factor Annual #3
  53. Fantastic Four #347
  54. Fantastic Four #348
  55. Fantastic Four #349
  56. Spider-Man / Fantastic Four #3
  57. Incredible Hulk Annual #17
  58. Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual #1
  59. Avengers: West Coast Annual #6
  60. Sensational She-Hulk #32
  61. Sensational She-Hulk #33
  62. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7
  63. Infinity War #2
  64. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #14
  65. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #16
  66. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #19
  67. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #22
  68. Infinity Crusade #6
  69. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #26
  70. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #28
  71. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #34
  72. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #42
  73. [[DC Versus Marvel 1|[[w:c:dc:DC Versus Marvel #1|DC Versus Marvel 1]]]]
  74. Marvel Versus DC #2
  75. Marvel Versus DC #3
  76. [[DC Versus Marvel 4|[[w:c:dc:DC Versus Marvel #4|DC Versus Marvel 4]]]]
  77. Fantastic Four: Unplugged #4
  78. Onslaught: Marvel #1
  79. Heroes Reborn: The Return #1
  80. Fantastic Four (Vol. 2)
  81. 81.0 81.1 Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #1
  82. Heroes Reborn: The Return #4
  83. Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #3
  84. Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #4
  85. Galactus the Devourer #1
  86. Warlock (Vol. 5) #4
  87. 87.0 87.1 Wolverine (Vol. 2) #157
  88. Wolverine (Vol. 2) #156
  89. JLA/Avengers #4
  90. Alpha Flight (Vol. 3) #4
  91. Hercules (Vol. 3) #4
  92. 4 #21
  93. Marvel Holiday Special #2005
  94. FF/IM: Big in Japan #3
  95. Nick Fury's Howling Commandos #6
  96. Mighty Avengers #1
  97. Mighty Avengers #2
  98. Ms. Marvel (Vol. 2) #22
  99. Punisher (Vol. 8) #1112
  100. Fantastic Four #588
  101. FF #1
  102. FF #3
  103. FF #5
  104. FF #9
  105. Incredible Hulk (Vol. 3) #13
  106. 106.0 106.1 Avenging Spider-Man #2
  107. Avenging Spider-Man #1
  108. Avenging Spider-Man #3
  109. Villains for Hire #0.1
  110. 110.0 110.1 Daredevil (Vol. 3) #10
  111. Daredevil (Vol. 3) #9
  112. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 2) #14
  113. FF (Vol. 2) #2
  114. FF (Vol. 2) #3
  115. Wolverine and the X-Men Annual #1
  116. Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) #1
  117. Mutant X #9
  118. Exiles #10
  119. Secret Wars Journal #4
  120. Dark Avengers #185
  121. Black Widow & the Marvel Girls #4
  122. Fantastic Four: House of M #1
  123. Wolverine (Vol. 3) #67
  124. Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos #2
  125. Spider-Man/Deadpool #46
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