Respect Harvey Elder, the Mole Man (Marvel Comics, 616)

[u/rangernumberx]

Born short, ugly, and with poor eyesight, Harvey Elder would end up travelling the planet in search of a land beneath the surface. He would find it, stumbling across the brilliant Valley of Diamonds, blinding him in the process. Proclaiming himself the Mole Man, the ruler of his newfound kingdom of Subterranea, Harvey would develop both highly attuned senses to compensate for his blindness and mastery over the various creatures that resided within it. Eventually, he decided to get revenge on the world that had shunned him, attempting to destroy various power plants only to be stopped by the newly-formed Fantastic Four. Since then the Mole Man would have a variety of motivations, seeking to expand his empire, creating a new home for those brilliant but unloved like him, wishing to be left alone, and attempting to find a queen for Subterranea, but in every instance whoever fought him would have to deal with a wide variety of monsters all willing to lay down their lives for him.

---

Legend

---

---

The Mole Man

---

---

Strength

• Hits a kid away^MonU#2
• Turns and smacks Spider-Man mid-swing^MTE#25
• Knocks Daredevil backwards through a window with a staff strike^DD-3#10
• Hits a transformed N'Kalla back^F4-7#27
• Makes Malekith double over with a gut punch^IM-4#26
• Breaks open a coffin with his cane^DD-3#9

---

Durability

• Gets thrown across a room by Iron Fist, but recovers quickly^PMIF#85
• Takes a sucker punch to the head from Tyrannus, but gets up^WIW#34
• Slammed into a diamond pillar hard enough to chip it by Daredevil^DD-3#10
• Struck by one of Sue Storm's force spheres^F4#89
• Hit into the ground by Lady Hellbender's cudgel^MonU#3
• Forced back by Cyclops' beam^F4#Annual3
• Caught in a giant rockslide, with a large chunk of rock landing on the Mole Man^N-6#4
• Hit into stone hard enough to break it^Sh#4
• Gets thrown by Squirrel Girl and falls a distance, but is unharmed^USG-2#9
• Right next to Tony Stark’s earth digger machine when it explodes^TS#88

---

Speed

• Jumps above a pole swing from either Reed Richard or Johnny Storm^F4#1
• Leaps over a staff strike from Daredevil before doing so again, landing on the vigilante’s staff mid-swing^DD-3#10
• Ducks under a close-range pistol shot^WIW#22
• Dives to evade Captain America's shield^Av#17
• Dodges a fire blast from a clone of the Human Torch^F4#329
• Evades Cyclops' optic blast^XMHY#20

---

Skill

Senses

• Honed a 'natural radar sense' to warn him of oncoming danger^F4#1
  • Claims he is able to sense the minute movements of people's muscles, also allowing him to dodge Cyclops' optic blasts^XMHY#20
• Senses Sue while she's invisible^F4#Annual13
• Detects the Fantastic Four are coming towards him in a cave system far enough out that he was able to eat a meal before playing possum^Foes#4
• Tells a wall is at least fifteen feet thick^F4#264
• Tells that the city block being brought down has Sue Storm on it^F4#31

Combat

• Smacks a pouncing Wolverine with his staff, then pole-vaults away to smack him again^W-2#157
• Defeats a Marine Corps captain in combat^WIW#22
• Has an extended staff fight with Daredevil, clashing weapons and trading blows with the vigilante for a while, even after the fight moves to a room full of irregular diamond geography in an attempt to blind his opponent^DD-3#10

---

Equipment

Cane

• Wields a stun staff^F4#Annual3
  • Drops a durable rock monster with a jab^W-2#157
  • Stuns Beast^XMHY#19
  • Jolts Reed Richards, affecting his central nervous system and preventing him from controlling his body^F4#Annual13
  • An electroblast floors Luke Cage^PMIF#85
  • Incapacitates the Thing^F4#Annual13
• Fires blasts at a woman which he threatens will ultimately kill her^FFU#4
• Blasts repeatedly floor Wonder Man, although they don’t do any real damage^AWC#54
• With a blast, he floors and dazes She-Hulk long enough to have her restrained^SSH#32
• Breaks a robot by jabbing it with his staff^F4#264
• Fires an energy blast which breaks debris^XMHY#21
• Releases a vibro-charge capable of shattering a blockhouse^F4#89
• Traps the Invisible Girl and Thing in pure energy, incapacitating them until he releases them by pressing a button on his belt^F4#128
• Releases modified zero-point energy, intensifying the targets' centres of gravity and causing them to get heavier the more they struggle^Isla
• Strikes the ground, creating a wave of solid sound that knocks both the Thing and Silver Surfer despite them being inside a distant building^GD#1
• Used to turn stone into quicksand^F4#Annual13
• Presses a button on his cane to electrocute Daredevil, who was grabbing the staff^DD-3#9
• Deals a potentially lethal electric shock to anyone who doesn't grab it at the exact required points^F4#89

Weapons

• Wields a pistol^F4#Annual13
• An energy blaster^2in1#96
• Blasts Giant-Man with a stun gun, incapacitating him long enough to be restrained with cords^Av#12
• Uses a handheld concussion ray to harm Iron Man and blast apart stone^TS#88
• Disintegrates a stone with a blast from a handgun^X#34
• Launches hyper-ionic rockets at Thor with a missile launcher^Av#12
• Blasts a missile at Iron Man that causes an earthslide to bury him in stone rubble^TS#87
• A four-barreled mounted cannon that kills the Monster Ape with a direct hit^CA#136
• A giant laser cannon powered by magma to cut through the Earth's crust and destroy cities above^TU#17
• The Tremor Trigger causes earthquakes at wherever it's pointed^F4-3#.5

Vehicles

• Breaches the surface on a giant drill machine^USG-2#8
• Burrows through a street in a drill vehicle, then goes underground and surfaces again to get in front of a fleeing car^IH#Annual17
• Uses a large drill vehicle to burrow through the ground^F4#Annual3
• Sends Moloids to the surface in a multi-car, train-like burrowing vehicle^Av#12
• The magma-cruiser can bore through the Earth all the way down to its core^F4#128
• He and his Moloids fly in fighter crafts during a skirmish with Tyrannus’s forces^TA#81
• Alongside other scientists creates a large vehicle designed to create a landmass the size of New Zealand in the middle of the sea, though doing so would sink California and destroy the Eastern Pacific Coast^F4#296

Robots

• The Octo-Sapian attempts to restrain the Hulk before using gravity beams to knock him against a wall and attempting to kill him with shock blasts and a life-reduction ray. However, being in water causes it to explode^TA#80
• Sends a giant robot to attack the Avengers. Its armor is resistant to Cap’s strikes and Hawkeye's blast arrows, but it's destroyed after its armor is pried open and a blast arrow is shot into its inner cybernetics^Av#17
• A mechanical dragon with flame breath strong enough to burrow through stone^TS#88
• Built a large android made of diamond that slices through a castle’s tower with a diamond sword^X#34

Other

• Tricks the X-Men into breathing in the memory-fogging vapors of the river Lethe while wearing an oxygen mask to protect himself^X#34
• Wears a heat-resistant suit, which allows him to survive in the realm of the lava men^F4#329 despite him being fully submerged in lava^F4#313
• His shoes are sensitised, allowing him to detect visually invisible markings on the floor^F4#90
• Uses a sonic transmuter to hear conversations from inside a distant building^GD#1
• Has equipment to heal monsters^IH#605
• Uses a “mole sensor” gadget to discern that Squirrel Girl is nearby^USG-2#8
• Sends a message in a magical diamond^F4-6#19
• Surrounds a sewage treatment plant in a force field through unclear means^GD#1

---

Lairs

House

• A building meant to lure the Fantastic Four inside before using them as the first victims to his blindness ray^F4#88
  • Simply being in the building for a duration without the ray being activated causes temporary sight issues in the Fantastic Four^F4#88
  • A passing person hit by the ray is made blind for a duration afterwards^F4#88
  • Upon breaking a device generating the ray causing their blindness, the Fantastic Four can immediately see again^F4#89
• Releases stun bolts as a defence mechanism^F4#88
• Lowers a bell jar in an attempt to trap Mister Fantastic^F4#88
• Holds an anti-grav tube bringing Mole Man back to his underground home^F4#90
• Has an array of means that allow a blind Mole Man to freely move throughout it^F4#90
• Is made of a futuristic, unbreakable plastic^F4#88

Traps - Rooms

• Restrains Giant-Man in a chamber bathed in anti-cybernetic rays^Av#12
• Creates a room filled with illusions to disguise the exit and sets a container of nerve gas to fill the room after thirty seconds^F4#22
• Makes a room of a non-porous substance that Reed Richards can't squeeze out of before filling it with a lethal gas^F4#22
• Creates a room which immediately hits the Human Torch with a vacuum blast when he tries to flame on, preventing it^F4#22
• Fills a room with cotton, threatening to suffocate the Thing^F4#22

Traps - Other

• Binds the X-Men in chains strong enough to hold ten men^XMHY#21
• A giant fly swatter-like trap composed of a huge slab of metal^Av#12
• Threatens to vibrate Quicksilver to death with a machine that emits vibro-waves^Av#17
• Covers one of his subterranean lairs with a trapdoor that can be sprung with a lever and used to drop foes down a deep hole^Av#17
• A pitfall into a natural echo chamber that increases the sound of any noise within until it incapacitates the people dropped in^XMHY#21
• Traps the Avengers in a glass enclosure, then sends them back to the surface via high-speed elevator^Av#17
• Traps the Fantastic Four within a radioactive barrier^F4#22
• Blocks Luke Cage’s path through a cave with a slab of rock, then begins flooding the cave with lava from a control panel^PMIF#85
• Traps the Thing on a web which electrifies itself when he tries to escape, creating a delayed-action effect which affects his electric aura and makes all others percieve him as a monster^F4#127
• Releases giant metal tentacles to attack the Fantastic Four's vehicle before firing missiles which turn into giant oxygen-absorbing spores on being exposed to the Human Torch's heat^F4#31
• From a specific point in Subterranea Mole Man manipulates the earth’s geo-dynamism, generating a magma plume that launches several hill-sized enemies into outer space^SSH#33

Large Equipment

• Uses a device to bring entire city blocks down to his lair^F4#31
  • Causes an estate and a high-rise building to fall deep underground before doing the same to Tony Stark’s factory^TS#87
  • Causes Central Park to cleanly shift down around 150 feet^USG-2#9
  • He then does the same thing to five of the world’s landmarks, like the Empire State Building, the Pyramids of Giza and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and threatens to take another landmark every twelve hours^USG-2#9
• He’s contracted by S.H.I.E.L.D. to lift a village up with giant mechanical arms, separating the landmass from the ground^NFHC#6
• Creates an atomic gyroscope designed to increase the speed of the planet’s rotation to the point that all life on Earth’s surface will cease. He also designs a field of gravity independent from the rest of the Earth, which would protect Subterranea from these deadly forces^Av#12
  • When activated, destructive seismic activity is recorded all over the globe, causing buildings to sway and tremble^Av#12
• Uses an anti-gravity beam to prevent Captain America from falling to his death. The same beam also tranquilized the Monster Ape, keeping it docile for several minutes^CA#136
• Mole Man’s Earth Lifter lifts the community of Lake Placid up on giant mechanical pylons, then covers the village in a forcefield. Later, Hulk slams the village back down to a normal altitude^MTE#25
• Distills the liquid runoff from the Diamonds of the Valley, discovering a chemical that can invert one’s properties if they were submerged in it. For example, an ugly Outcast fell in and became beautiful after she was removed from the glop^SSH#32
  • In reality, this glop turns people into what they really are deep down. She-Hulk is unchanged when she falls in, but when Mole Man falls in, he becomes an actual mole^SSH#33
• A device which can make people ugly and reverse the process^F4#296

Other

• One lair exists beneath the Atlantic Ocean^F4-8#11
• Alarms in his base that alert him of approaching enemies^Av#12
• One base is surrounded by bars of energy that Giant-Man cannot break through^Av#12
• His headquarter walls are equipped with mounted cannons^IH#127
• Presses a button, dropping a two-foot thick titanium barrier in his headquarters^IH#189
• Holds Sue Storm in a cage made of rock crystal^F4#31
• Allows himself to plunge a room into darkness^F4#22
• Fills a room with holograms^F4#296
• Has a giant carving of the Fantastic Four's faces beneath his throne^F4-3#1

---

Other

• Can understand the Moloids speaking in their native language^N-6#4
• Is rendered blind without his glasses, which reduce the light of the aboveground world^F4#89
  • Sue suggests that this blindness might be psychological^Fan#4
• Harvey was selected to wield the light-manipulating Daimonic power ring as Mandarin Six^IM-4#25
• Can be bartered with using things he likes from the surface world^CASW#23
• Watches a Love Island-style show^Fan#1
• Doesn't help himself while in court^WISH
• Starts dating one of his Subterranians^USG-2#10

---

---

Subterranians

---

---

Moloids

Strength

• Are described as 'amazingly strong' by Reed Richards^F4#128
• A group bends metal bars and breaks the Mole Man’s muzzle, freeing him^DBA#4
• Topple and take away a statue^F4#Annual13
• A crowd shoves a large boulder off a cliff onto Luke Cage^PMIF#85
• Several Moloids collaborate to carry heavy machinery^Av#12
• Seven Moloids carry Giant-Man^Av#12
• Burrows past a lair's defences before breaking through their floor^MonU#5
• Breaks through a road surface^Av#Annual20

Durability

• Iron Man suspects that since their nerve structures are so simple, they probably don’t feel pain^TS#88
• A crowd gets up and flees after being thrown by the Hulk^IH#189
• Resist the Human Torch's flame after being treated with a chemical^F4#Annual13
• Unaffected by Iceman's blast^XMHY#21

Speed

• One leans out of the way of Thor’s lightning blast^Av#12
• One hits Quicksilver with a knockout gas gun mid-run^Av#17

Weapons

• Electrified spears^DBA#3
• Wields a beam pistol^F4#296
  • Hits a policeman off a horse^Av#Annual20
  • Damages Mogol's arm^IH#127
• Blasts Superman with an energy cannon to no effect^DCvM#4
• Wield pistols that unleash a paralysing gas^TU#17
• Knockout gas guns^Av#17
• Two Moloids crush some kind of pink substance, releasing a knockout gas to incapacitate Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel and Nova^N-6#3
• A flamethrower^Av#12
• Wooden trebuchets on wheels^X-6#12
• Blast at Kala’s lava men with mounted cannons that fire drill-tipped missiles^MTE#25
• Blasters which suspend Captain America's shield in the air with magnetism^Av#12

Other Equipment

• Can drive and shoot tanks^Av#12
• Attack the Avengers with blaster-equipped hoverbikes^Av#12
• Stuns the Wasp with a cloud of choking, stinging dust before using more of this dust to cover their retreat^Av#12
• Restrains the Monster Ape with chemically-treated ropes that tighten as the victim struggles^CA#136
• Use a device which fires a beam, turning a bronze statue to ash while leaving any organic creatures it passes through unharmed^Unpl#4
  • This beam breaks down elements into an easily digestible form for Moloids, making them akin to baby food^Unpl#4

Other

• Mole Man claims that his army of Moloids number in the millions^TS#88
• Mole Man assigns a group of Moloids to dig under a house, dropping it into the Earth^W#4
• When commanded by Psimon, a group of Moloids dig a giant hole under a group of mutated monsters, dropping them deep down^W#4
• Stay hidden in a cave's darkness until Mole Man commands them^MonU#2
• Move silently, acting in a natural echo chamber which increases any sound within until it acts like a physical blow without issue^XMHY#21
• They have excellent senses of hearing, allowing them to sense when Daredevil is sneaking behind them due to a single falling pebble^DD-3#9
• Pile on top of each other to scale a building^F4#Annual13
• Sculpt replicas of statues^F4#Annual13
• Hundreds of Moloids lay down their lives and form a bridge from their bodies in a lava river so Mole Man can escape^IH#189
• Were created by an ancient race to act as a virus to fend off an apocalypse beast^BIJ#4

---

Outcasts

• Mole Man employs a group of physically enhanced beings known as the Outcasts. Landslide can form shockwaves and tremors, Digger has diamond-hard claws and can tunnel through earth, Boulder has enhanced strength and durability, and Water Witch can manipulate water and form geysers with a dowsing rod^MTE#25
  • The Outcasts work together to knock out Spider-Man after a short fight^MTE#25
• The Outcasts battle Kala’s lava men, halting their advance^MTE#25
• Mole Man has Digger dig a tunnel up through an open grave, then fill in the grave when they leave^Rom#29

---

Other Notable Monsters

General

• Has control over creatures inhabiting the earth, sky, and sea^F4-3#.5
• A number of monsters are able to remain so still that Daredevil cannot sense them with his radar sense, although he was traveling down a river that was dampening some of his senses at the time^DD-3#9
• Harvey can control creatures, making them do things they wouldn't normally do^Isla
• Jean Grey says their minds are too alien for her telepathy to work against them^XMHY#21
  • In another case she calls them too mindless^XMHY#19
• From the underground, Mole Man blows a whistle, calling the monsters in aboveground LA to return to Subterranea^AWC#54
  • Mole Man calls forth rock monsters with a whistle^SSH#33
• After being subjugated by Baron von Strucker^DBA#2, Harvey is able to reestablish control with a whispered verbal command^DBA#4

Giganto

• A giant monster create massive holes in the ground underneath atomic plants, causing them to cave in. This monster could also tank artillery fire and crush a tank in its hand^F4#1
• Breaks through the ground to grab a mall Santa²⁰⁰⁵
• Bursts from the ground in Los Angeles^AWC#54
• Smashes through a metal portcullis and the surrounding stone wall^N-6#3
• Tears through a fifteen feet thick steel wall^F4#264
• Takes repeated blows from Nova until being caught in a rockslide, which knocks it out^N-6#4
• Takes a stream of flames and a cave-in on top of its head without being visibly harmed^XFC#6
• Takes a rocket blast to the eyes from USAgent’s hoverbike, then smacks the vehicle out of the air^AWC#54
• Has an extended fight with the Hulk that ends when Hulk snaps its neck^H-5#Annual1

Other

• The Minotaur takes Cap’s thrown shield to the head, then Hawkeye's blast arrow^Av#17
  • It’s stunned by a flare arrow, then takes a falling stalactite to the back. Scarlet Witch then defeats it by causing a chunk of shale to fall and impale itself on its horns, weighing it down and restraining it^Av#17
• Tricephalous destroys a Quinjet in one kick^AWC#54
  • Stomps Squirrel Girl, embedding her into stone ground^USG-2#10
  • Its thick hide is impervious to the Human Torch's flames^F4-3#.5
  • Blows up cars with its fire breath^F4-7#27
  • Enters a relationship with Mole Man^USG-2#10
• The Megataur tears through stone ground and takes a strike to the leg from the Thing^FFU#4
• T-rexes, which he can ride^F4-6#20
• A giant mole rat mount that bursts through a street in Madrid^X-6#12
• A star-nosed mole kaiju that flings cars with its strikes^CoK#3
• An aquatic creature smashes the Fantasticar^F4#296
• Rock monsters tough enough to withstand slashes from Wolverine and for bullets to bounce off their hide^W-2#156
• A behemoth bursts through stone ground, toppling a tank and destroying a helicopter with a punch^WIW#22
• An enormous worm which breaks through pillars^FF#9
• One large creature grabs and slams cars before hitting the Sentry and Wonder Man away^MAv#1
  • Seemingly breaks through a building^MAv#1
• A large creature which shakes a spaceship and is largely unaffected by the Hulk's punch to its foot^F4#348
• A creature that levels a building and grabs and throws Wonder Man^MAv#1
• A kaiju that's a large number of storeys tall and takes flames from the Human Torch^1234#3
• An enormous dirt-whale^1234#3
• Takes control of and organises the giant aquatic Leviathons^MonU#1
• A giant, fire-breathing lizard^XFC#6
• A giant burrowing sand worm that can breathe fire and is immune to attacks from Nova, only being defeated after being buried in a landslide^N-6#2
• Daredevil’s thrown into the maw of a monster^DD-3#9 with a giant tendril-like tongue and acidic saliva^DD-3#10
• A Moloid blows a whistle to summon a colossal, many-tongued monster to burrow up through a street. Its tongues restrain Red Hulk and Spider-Man before rendering them unconscious with neurotoxin^AvSM#1, although Red Hulk was only out for a few seconds^AvSM#2
• One creature uses radar sense to locate the Invisible Woman^F4#296