In fiction, mole people are

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

s who spend their lives underground, often posing a real or potential threat to those who live on the surface.

Subterranean societies

Poster for the 1960 film The Time Machine

A famous example of "mole people" who live under the ground are the

Morlock Morlocks are one of the two fictional species of post-humans created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel ''The Time Machine'' (the other being the Eloi). The origin of the names is not established (with regard to Wells' inspiration or inspiration ...

s, who appear in

H.G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

's 1895 novel ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

''. Other socially isolated, often oppressed and sometimes forgotten subterranean societies, exist in

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. Examples include '' Demolition Man'', ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'' (in the form of "Sewer

Mutants In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

") '' Godzilla vs. Megalon''’s Seatopians, '' C.H.U.D.'', ''

The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British television sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, created, written, and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in th ...

'', '' Us'', ''

Deus Ex ''Deus Ex'' is a series of cyberpunk role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technol ...

'', ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'' and ''

Death Line ''Death Line'' (also known as ''Deathline''; U.S. title ''Raw Meat'') is a 1972 British-American horror film written and directed by Gary Sherman and starring Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Hugh Armstrong, an ...

''. In Marvel comics, the

Morlocks Morlocks are one of the two fictional species of post-humans created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel ''The Time Machine'' (the other being the Eloi). The origin of the names is not established (with regard to Wells' inspiration or inspirations ...

are a society of

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...

outcasts, named after the subterranean race from ''

'', that live in the abandoned tunnels and sewers beneath

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Humanoid moles

Literal races of humanoid moles in fiction include ''

Superman and the Mole Men ''Superman and the Mole Men'' (titled onscreen as ''Superman and the Mole-Men'', but all posters and advertising omit the hyphen) is a 1951 American independent black-and-white superhero film released by Lippert Pictures. Produced by Barney ...

'', ''

The Mole People ''The Mole People'' is a 1956 American science fiction adventure horror film distributed by Universal International, which was produced by William Alland, directed by Virgil W. Vogel, and stars John Agar, Hugh Beaumont, and Cynthia Patri ...

'' (1956), ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

'', ''

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seas ...

'', ''

ThunderCats ''ThunderCats'' is a media franchise, featuring a fictional group of cat-like humanoid aliens. The characters were created by Tobin Wolf and featured in an animated television series named ''ThunderCats'', running from 1985 to 1989, whic ...

'', ''

Johnny Test ''Johnny Test'' is an animated television series created by Scott Fellows, originally produced in the United States by Warner Bros. Animation and later produced in Canada by Cookie Jar Group, Cookie Jar Entertainment. It premiered on Kids' WB ...

'', and '' Saul of the Mole Men''. In

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, the

Moloids The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...

or Mole People are inhabitants of Subterranea, a fictional cavernous realm far beneath the Earth's surface where various species of subterranean humanoids exist. Moloids usually serve as soldiers for the

Mole Man The Mole Man (Harvey Rupert Elder) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a recurring foe of the Fantastic Four and was the first villain they ever faced. His schemes usually consist of ...

, a human from the surface world who discovered Subterranea and subsequently became ruler of the Moloids. Mole Man is frequently an antagonist of the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

References

{{Stock characters Stock characters Science fiction themes Underground cities Fictional moles