Many Marvel fans want to know how Mole Man has been changed in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The upcoming 2025 movie, which debuts in the US on July 25, 2025, makes numerous alterations to the underground villain who will be played by wrestler Paul Walter Hauser. The character was the very first foe for the superhero team when “Moleman” (as one word) appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 comic in 1961. But the MCU film makes significant changes to Mole Man’s appearance and backstory as part of a modern retelling for the villain. Here’s a breakdown of the important differences between the original Mole Man and the new version in the world of The Fantastic Four 2025 film. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
What are the changes to Mole Man in The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie?
The most significant changes to Mole Man in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that he’s not a dictator of the underground realm of Subterranea, but instead an organizing leader of the Moloids who wants to see his civilization thrive. He also looks far less like a silly, campy villain, though he still has rectangular glasses and a green cape.
These major differences are revealed in a tie-in prequel comic for the movie called The Fantastic Four: First Steps #1, written by Matt Fraction with art by Mark Buckingham. While the comic explains how the team received their powers, it also shows how they became superheroes for the first time when they fought to protect New York City from an underground invasion. This attack from Subterranea is spearheaded by Mole Man, otherwise known as Harvey Elder. Instead of a large pair of blue rectangular frames, he wears metal wielding glasses, and beneath his green cape is a worker’s uniform and a white shirt beneath his cape.
The rampant construction of the city has led to numerous tunnel collapses underground throughout the secret civilization, causing Mole Man to seek revenge. He’s able to command Giganto, a humongous, green monster that appeared in a Little Caesar’s ad for the movie, to wreck the city streets. The Fantastic Four are able to subdue them rather quickly, though, with The Thing clobbering Giganto and Sue Storm rendering it unconscious. When the team is about to attack a female Moloid, Mole Man surrenders, wrapped up in the arms of Mr. Fantastic, and is taken back as a political prisoner.
Imprisoned at The Fantastic Four’s headquarters, Harvey reveals to Sue Storm that he knew her grandfather, J.F. Storm. He was the one responsible for showing him how to become a leader and a labor organizer, skills that Harvey used to unite the Moloids into one society. This is a huge departure from the classic comics where Mole Man is an embittered scientist who wishes to punish the world for mocking his theories that the Earth is actually hollow. Believing that her superpowers were not given to hurt people, she and the rest of the team becomes ambassadors to ensure the integration of Subterranea with the surface world.
Later, Mole Man is shown addressing the United Nations General Assembly at an emergency session, urging them not to bury his civilization in their pursuit for infrastructural progress and to recognize Subterranea as a principality. This ultimately succeeds, leading the team to continue their role as ambassadors for any other new cultures that Earth encounters.
This reimagining of Mole Man provides a significant twist to the plot of The Fantastic Four: The First Steps. It’s been rumored that the character and Giganto appears in the opening shots of the film as a montage of what the superhero team has done in the past. But considering the conclusion of the tie-in comic, it looks like they could become allies in the fight against The Silver Surfer and Galactus.
