Summary
- Namor and Mole Man both fit the role of supervillains in Marvel Comics, but Namor's complex motivations and alliances with superheroes make him more of an anti-hero.
- Mole Man, on the other hand, refuses to work with superheroes and is solely focused on destroying Marvel heroes to achieve his goals.
- The debate over who was Marvel's first supervillain comes down to how fans define the term "supervillain" itself, but Mole Man's destructive tendencies and desire to rule the world make him a strong contender.
Marvel superheroes have been gracing comic book pages ever since the 1930s, with the debut of the Human Torch, the Angel, the Masked Raider, and Ka-Zar in Timely Comics' Marvel Comics #1. This issue also featured the introduction of Namor the Sub-Mariner, the first supervillain to combat the heroes that would ironically join their fight against evil in World War II. However, peace rarely lasts with this character as he frequently attacks human armies and heroes for fear of them taking over his undersea homeland. These conflicting behaviors lead many fans to consider him more of an anti-hero than a Marvel supervillain.
Those fans rejecting Namor's claim for this spot often argue that the first supervillain in the modern sense wouldn't debut until Marvel's revamp in 1961 with The Fantastic Four #1, created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, George Klein, Christopher Rule, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek. This issue featured the Mole Man, a subterranean human bent on taking over the surface world with his army of monsters. The character's long history has seen him attack cities and kidnap numerous women in an attempt to both rule the world and receive adoration. Deciding which character fits this role comes down to how fans define the term "supervillain" itself.
Mole Man And Namor Are Marvel's Earliest Larger-Than-Life Villains
Comic book villains have been around since the first pulp stories were published in the early twentieth century. Most average evildoers range from bank robbers to disgruntled businessmen, especially in early comics. Yet the role of supervillain goes beyond these typical crooks and encompasses characters that exhume larger-than-life personas that present a formidable threat against superheroes. Namor's role in Marvel Comics #1 fits nicely within this definition. His indomitable will and desire to lead an army against the surface world make him a formidable threat to superheroes and the world itself.
Mole Man also fits the criteria of a supervillain. In his first appearance in The Fantastic Four #1, the villain attempted to destroy the titular team with his army of monsters and machinations spread out over Monster Isle. It took the combined ingenuity and power of the entire Fantastic Four to subdue the villain and his army of monsters, which would have proceeded to wreak havoc on the rest of the world. The threat he posed in this early issue, combined with a clear desire to rule and destroy those who get in his way, earns him the supervillain mantle alongside Namor.
Namor's Villainy Set The Precedent For Complex Antagonists
One of the main reasons fans are drawn to the character of Namor is his complex motivations. Despite his prickly personality, most of the character's motives are tied to his desire to protect the people of Atlantis. This is made clear from Namor's first appearance in Marvel Comics #1, created by Bill Everett, Paul Gustavson, Ben Thompson, and Carl Burgos. In this story, Namor, egged on by his mother and fellow Atlanteans, attacks a group of sailors entering their territory. Readers soon learn that Namor is planning to wage war against the humans for the deaths of his people at their hands 20 years earlier.
While not as developed as later stories, this issue helped establish Namor as a villain who would go to any length to protect his people—regardless of how violent the means. Readers can debate whether his methods are justified, but his motivations are a stark departure from more one-dimensional villains such as Red Skull: those who want to conquer and exert power for personal gain. To his credit, Mole Man's character receives more depth than this in his backstory, growing up shunned by society because of his appearance and taking revenge on the world that rejected him. Yet his singular goal of wreaking havoc makes him less defined than Namor and other complex villains.
Namor Is Willing To Form Alliances With Heroes
Despite being one of the first villains introduced in Marvel Comics, Namor soon becomes one of the most important allies of Marvel's earliest heroes. In All Winners Comics #19, created by Bill Finger, Al Avison, Syd Shores, Vince Alascia, and Bob Powell, readers find the aquatic contender teaming with his long-time rival Jim Hammond, a.k.a. the original Human Torch, Captain America, and a host of other heroes in a fight against the criminal Isbisa. Many of the other heroes are slow to trust the Sub-Mariner and instigate a temporary falling out, but his desire to fight for a greater purpose leads him to reconcile with the team. Other early Namor team-ups include the Giant-Size Invaders series where the character fights alongside the Allies in World War II.
It's easy to find Marvel villains willing to team up with other villains to achieve their goals, whether it's the Sinister Six, the Masters of Evil, or The Black Order. It's much harder to find would-be villains who choose to work with heroes. Too often the ideals and personalities of these groups conflict so much that it's difficult to make any progress toward their shared goals. Namor, though often running into conflict with heroes, in the end, puts aside his differences and collaborates with the rest of the team, such as assisting the Illuminati despite his reservations about working with Iron Man. This stands in stark contrast to Mole Man's complete shunning of heroes.
Mole Man Refuses To Work With Superheroes
For all his pride, Namor regularly teams up with the Avengers and other superhero teams to protect his people. Mole Man, on the other hand, behaves like a classic supervillain in that he rejects all opportunities to collaborate with do-gooders. The character is almost always working to destroy the Marvel heroes when the two groups encounter one another. This differs significantly from Namor's anti-hero personality, one who cares less about who they work with and more about whether they can help him achieve his goals.
Namor and Mole Man, antagonists from the Timely Comics era and Marvel's rebrand, respectively, both fit the role of supervillain. They're willing to use violence to achieve their goals and often pursue ends that bring them into conflict with superheroes. However, Namor's many partnerships with superheroes over the years and complex motivations make him less of a supervillain and more of an anti-hero. Mole Man's destructive tendencies and desire to rule the world with his army of monsters make him a much better fit for the role of Marvel's first supervillain.