Mole Man

Did You Know?

• The Mole Man was the first villain the Fantastic Four ever faced, appearing in The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).
• His original name was spelled 'Moleman' as one word; the two-word 'Mole Man' first appeared in The Fantastic Four #22 (Jan. 1964).
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he appears in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser.

Fictional character biography

Harvey Rupert Elder was an American nuclear engineer and explorer. Socially shunned due to his abrasive personality and homely dwarfish appearance, he was also ridiculed for his eccentric theories about a Hollow Earth. In 1956, while following the Monster Hunters, he stumbled upon Monster Isle, then a base of the Deviant warlord Kro. Falling into a massive cave leading to Subterranea, he believed his theories vindicated.

His eyes were permanently damaged when he gazed at a reflective deposit of diamonds. Partially blind and secluded, he dubbed himself the Mole Man and explored his new home. He became ruler of the Moloids and much of Subterranea and Monster Isle. He destroyed nuclear power plants in the Eastern Bloc, Australia, South America, and French Equatorial Africa, attracting the Fantastic Four.

He captured Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch, revealing plans to invade urban areas via tunnels. After releasing a horde of monsters, the Human Torch sealed the entrance. The Mole Man appeared to destroy Monster Isle in an atomic blast. His monsters include Tricephalous, Megataur, and Skreeal.

He also leads a group called the Outcasts. He later stole buildings from New York City, but was thwarted by the Fantastic Four and appeared killed in an explosion. With the Red Ghost, he battled the Avengers using an earthquake machine, capturing Giant-Man. The Wasp freed Giant-Man, who sabotaged the machine, and Iron Man sealed the tunnels.

He was among criminals assembled by Doctor Doom's mind-control device to attack Reed and Sue's wedding. He fought a war against Tyrannus, capturing the Fountain of Youth. He used the original X-Men as pawns in that war. He later trapped the Fantastic Four in a house that temporarily blinded them.

He teamed with Kala, queen of the Netherworlders, and fell in love with her. He plotted to destroy the surface world but was betrayed by Kala and Tyrannus. Later, he and Kala were betrothed. He befriended the Thing, then plotted to raise a new continent at the cost of sinking California, but was thwarted.

He was captured by Lava Men. He attempted to bring peace to Subterranea but was attacked by Fantastic Four clones. He contended with Skrulls and tried to capture a Skrull technotroid egg. He allied with Grotesk and Tyrannus against Deviants led by Brutus, aiding the Hulk and triumphing over Brutus, welcoming back Kala.

He became involved with the West Coast Avengers when a monster attacked Los Angeles. His Moloids were caught in a Skrull revenge scheme. A replacement Fantastic Four (Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Wolverine) was tricked into battling his forces. He later battled the West Coast Avengers with the U-Foes during Acts of Vengeance.

He surrendered his desire for conquest and began assembling a sanctuary for the rejected; two attempts led to deaths of most visitors. He allowed Adam Warlock's Infinity Watch to use Monster Isle as a base. The Watch drove away a United Nations invasion with minimal harm, and the Avengers recognized his rulership. He kept out of cosmic plans.

He caused property damage to help Moloids whose water and food were polluted. He led an attack on New York in The Mighty Avengers, claiming retaliation for his destroyed home, but was humiliated by a female-formed Ultron and arrested. He was behind Chupacabra attacks in Puerto Rico to protect the blood-drinking race, defeated by the Fantastic Four. In Runaways, Nico Minoru used a shrinking spell on him.

He witnessed the Hulk's return, and after Hulk's defeat, trained alien beasts from Sakaar and led them to attack New York, but they awaited Hulk's son Skaar. Tyrannus used magic to pervert the aliens; Skaar's berserker rage made both Tyrannus and Mole Man flee. The Mandarin's White Light Ring approached him to help the rings have revenge on Tony Stark, becoming Mandarin-Six. He and the other Mandarins traveled to Svartalfheim to confront Malekith the Accursed, who had taken rings from three Mandarins.

The Mandarins thwarted Malekith's escape, but he made a pact with Iron Man, disposed of his ring, and escaped. The Mandarins resumed their own paths.

Other versions

An alternate universe version named Harvey appears in Exiles #10, from a Skrull-dominated Earth. Another appears in Heroes Reborn, from a pocket dimension created by Franklin Richards. A version from Earth-1298 appears in Mutant X #9, in a relationship with Callisto. A modernized version appears in Fantastic Four: Season One, talked down during an attack on New York and hired by Reed Richards and Sue Storm.

The Mole King appears in Fantastic Four: House of M #1 from Earth-58163. A zombified version from Earth-2149 appears in Marvel Zombies. Melvin Kurtzman from Earth-77013 appears in The Amazing Spider-Man (1977). Arthur Molekevic from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four, a former Baxter Foundation scientist who genetically-engineered the Moloids.

A version from Earth-6160 appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (vol. 3), a lieutenant of Wilson Fisk and member of his Sinister Six, controlling New York's underground and Subterranea, which is implied to be part of the Savage Land spared from Roxxon's devastation.

In other media

Mole Man appears in The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Paul Kligman. He appears in Fantastic Four (1967), voiced by Jack DeLeon; in Fantastic Four (1978), voiced by Ted Cassidy; in Fantastic Four (1994), voiced by Gregg Berger; in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, voiced by Paul Dobson; in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Ted Biaselli, as a member of Doctor Doom's Lethal Legion with intestinal gas problems; and in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., voiced by David H. Lawrence XVII.

He was intended for the unreleased 1994 film The Fantastic Four, portrayed by Ian Trigger, but renamed the Jeweler due to rights issues. Dr. Harvey Allen appears in Fantastic Four (2015), portrayed by Tim Blake Nelson, a scientist killed by Victor von Doom; prior to re-shoots, this character was to be Harvey Elder. Mole Man appears in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser, as a former enemy. He appears in Fantastic Four (2005), voiced by Barry Dennen; in Marvel Super Hero Squad and Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, voiced again by Ted Biaselli; as a boss in Marvel Heroes, voiced by Roger Rose; in Pinball FX 2; in Marvel Snap; and in the syndicated comic strip Scary Gary.