The Treacherous History of Monster Island

Monster Island. This small piece of real estate looms large in the history of the Marvel Universe, owing to its role in not only the foundation of the Fantastic Four, but also to its incredible pedigree of denizens over the years.

Though sometimes obscured on maps, Monster Island sits somewhere in the Sea of Japan, a craggy crest of rock and scrubby vegetation haunted by moaning winds and, often times, an air of hopelessness. The island’s surface offers little in the way of landmarks or artificial structures, but underneath that seemingly desolate exterior lays the caverns of Subterranea. Rumor has it that the tunnels stretch across the entire globe, reaching directly beneath the major cities of the world. If any truth to this rumor exists, only the strange beings called Moloids—the blind tunnel-runners of Monster Island—know for certain.

A small army of monsters live as the other permanent inhabitants of the remote location. Over the years, a who’s who of monstrous notables called the island home, including Googam, Gigantus, Giganto, Fin Fang Foom, and the dreaded Tricephalous. The latter owed its creation to the Deviant race, which once occupied Monster Island away from their enemies, namely humans and Eternals.

Perhaps the most infamous of those who lived on the island called himself The Mole Man. Hiding away from the scorn and ridicule of his peers in the scientific community, the diminutive Mole Man used Monster Island as a hideout during his attempted destruction of the surface world, only to be eventually defeated by the newly-formed Fantastic Four. The heroes flew to the island to confront the man who’d become their lifelong opponent, discovering not only adversity, but a place that would forever be etched into their memories.

In later days, The Mole Man allowed the space-faring Adam Warlock and his Infinity Watch to utilize the island as a base of operations, though the little man himself would later receive the world’s recognition as the governmental sovereign of the island. The Watch experienced many adventures at the site, but abandoned it after a relatively short time there.

Today, little information on the island’s current status travels across the ocean to more civilized places. One hopes that The Thing and The Human Torch will not only find what they seek there during their upcoming journey, but also bring back news to the world of who and what still calls Monster Island home.

Read more in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #2, by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Jim Cheung.