Molly Hayes
Encyclopedia
Molly Hayes is a fictional character
in the Marvel Comics
award-winning series, Runaways
. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan
& artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways #1 (April 2003
) with most of the other main characters. Like every member of the original Runaways, she is the daughter of evil villains with special abilities; after the other older Runaways learn more about themselves, they raid Molly's home to find out her mutant abilities had already manifested. Often called "Mol" for short, Molly is the youngest Runaway and her innocence often serves as humor in the series, but she has demonstrated great insight at critical moments.
Molly was originally the team's sole mutant
; despite having telepathic mutant parents, Molly's mutant powers are superhuman strength and invulnerability. She used to be the youngest member of the team, but after inviting fellow mutant Klara Prast
to join, Molly takes comfort in having another mutant and someone her own age. She is extremely proud of her mutant heritage and admires the X-Men
. Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughan played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer Adrian Alphona. Molly was named after Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughan's younger sister, Molly Hayes Vaughan. Her trademark is an expansive lineup of hats displayed throughout the series. In 2009, Molly was named the fourth (out of ten) toughest females in the Marvel Universe
, after Rogue
, She-Hulk
and Ms. Marvel
.
Molly is with friends Alex Wilder
, Karolina Dean
, Gertrude Yorkes
, Chase Stein
, and Nico Minoru
when they observe their parents calling themselves The Pride
and preparing the ritual sacrifice of a young girl. Molly is preemptively escorted away by Karolina while the older children watch the sacrifice commence. They inform Karolina and decide to run away from their homes that very night. After discovering their powers and gifts, the older five kids rescue Molly from her home. Molly awakes from a psychically-induced slumber during the runaways' rescue and sees her mother being threatened by Nico. Molly's mutant powers manifest at that moment in a display of glowing pink hair and eyes. However, Molly first uses her strength to knock Leslie Dean out of the sky, saving Gert. Molly promptly falls asleep from exhaustion and the Runaways take her to their new hideout, a dilapidated mansion called "the Hostel."
Throughout the first volume of the series, Molly is skeptical that her parents were accomplices to murder and is unsure why the group ran away in the first place. However, she is excited at the prospect of becoming a superhero and enthusiastically takes the codename "Princess Powerful," while her teammates dub her "Bruiser." Shortly after their "superhero" careers begin, the Runaways take in fellow runaway Topher, who turns out to be a vampire. He dies by ingesting Karolina's solar-irradiated blood and when Molly witnesses Topher's death, she realizes that the superhero life is not a game, and cries for her mother.
Alex later deciphers a text kept by his parents called the Abstract, and informs the Runaways about their parents' activities as The Pride, their ties to the Gibborim
(the Pride's Biblical
benefactors), and their ultimate goal of exterminating all human life save for the six most loyal Pride members. Molly expresses disinterest in the Pride's motivations, but is excited when Alex plots to disrupt the Pride's ritual sacrifice to the Gibborim. When the Runaways encounter the Pride, Molly witnesses first-hand why she and her friends have been in hiding for months and destroys the sacrifice prepared for the Gibborim. She escapes with the Runaways when the Gibborim attack the Pride for losing the sacrifice. After the Pride's demise, Molly is sent to X-Corp
for foster care, but breaks out with Gert's help and runs away with the rest of the team.
In the second volume, Molly fights under Nico's command and witnesses the future Gert die in Chase's arms as she warns the Runaways about the future supervillain named Victor Mancha
. Molly participates in the search, and during the second fight with Excelsior, Molly discerns Chamber
's fake accent; he is later revealed to be Geoffrey Wilder
in disguise.
After Victor joins the team, Molly accompanies him on group shopping trips under Nico's orders because she believes that Molly is the only individual member of the Runaways capable of bringing Victor down should he betray the team. During the runaways' trip to New York City
to exonerate Cloak
, Molly meets her idol and childish crush Wolverine
, but he scares her and she hurls him out of a church, thereafter maintaining a severe dislike of him. After the Runaways solve the case, they return to Los Angeles, but Wolverine and the X-Men
follow them, looking to enroll Molly in Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters
. After a short altercation, the X-Men leave Molly alone, realizing that it would be unfair to force her to enroll.
During one mission, Molly gets separated from the team and the Provost
abducts her. He coerces Molly and other children into robbing banks for him. Molly rallies the children to stage a coup, and she finds her way back to the Runaways.
Molly is abducted in a battle with a second incarnation of the Pride, made up of Alex's MMORPG
friends and led by a younger version of Alex's father, Geoffrey
. Nico rescues Molly with Xavin's aid, but Gert dies covering their escape. After Gert's death, Molly asks the Leapfrog, the group's transport, if Gert went to Heaven
, but it cannot reply since Heaven is not on any of the maps in its database. Soon afterwards, Molly begins hearing a disembodied voice she believes is Gert's, and follows its instructions to help revive Victor. She helps Victor rescue Nico from the Gibborim and subsequently joins the team on their cross-country trek to evade Iron Man
and S.H.I.E.L.D.
The voice Molly heard is later revealed to have been Alex's.
Molly is referenced in New X-Men
#42 (November 2007): when Mercury researches for the youngest mutant in the world, Hellion
asks about Molly, who he believes to be five years-old. The Stepford Cuckoos inform Julian he is incorrect.
's psychic message inviting all mutants to a new safe Haven. Molly's non-stop chatter quickly annoys several of the X-Men and Wolverine gives her a tour of the X-Men's new base of operations. Molly begins to annoy Wolverine and the two argue until he insults Molly's parents and calls her a brat, causing her to throw him through the roof.
Wolverine is urged by Cyclops and Emma Frost to take Molly outside, and complies. The two tour San Francisco before they are kidnapped by a villain that was an enemy of the Pride. The villain and his soldiers had attempted to claim a portion of Los Angeles, although the Hayes stopped him, massacring his men and putting him in a traumatizing seven-year coma where he could not close his eyes, all for their own sadistic enjoyment. He recovered and seeks revenge against them by telling Molly her parents were evil and sadistic, having killed innocent people and children. He calls them far worse than any super villain, and ultimately plans on killing her as his final act of revenge. Wolverine and Molly manage to defeat him, though Molly realizes she'll never think of her parents the same way again. She is, however, comforted by Wolverine, who says that despite their villainous ways, her parents must have genuinely loved her in order to "raise a kid as good as her."
is waiting for Abigail Brand
at what seems to be an outdoor exhibition of fossil animals - as it turns up, it's the La Brea Tar Pits
. Brand doesn't show up, and instead it's Molly who walks by. Molly tells him "the guys" have given her homework and asks him to tell her about extinction, but it's clear she actually wants to talk about the Decimation of mutants. She's heard about the Five Lights and clings to the hope, whereas Beast tries to talk her out of getting her expectations too high, until she finally punches him and runs away. He follows and manages to calm her down by telling her that mutant extinction does not mean that they would die any earlier than usually, but just that their children and grandchildren would be normal people. So, he tells her, all they could do was make the best of their lives so that, after all the mutants would be extinct, they would be remembered as having been worthy of their gifts.
Molly inexplicably makes a cameo appearance in New Avengers #7, as one of the applicants Luke Cage
and Jessica Jones
interview as a possible nanny. Molly begins by saying she knows she's underage, but she is cut off. When Daken
, the psychopathic son of Wolverine
seeks the Runaways in Los Angeles, Molly pins him down and angrily asks why he's invaded their home.
, with which she has toppled a giant monster bigger than skyscraper
s, tunneled through miles of rock, and broken solid objects over her head. However, Molly was only able to use her powers for a limited amount of time before she became fatigued and fell asleep. When she first used her powers, Molly fell asleep after only throwing one punch, but as the series continued, Molly has been able to use her powers for increasingly longer periods of time and to greater extremes without tiring. Nico once used the Staff of One to give Molly a caffeine rush while fighting a giant monster to keep her awake longer.
Molly was later revealed to have invulnerability as well, as evident when a member of the Wrecking Crew
smashes his enchanted shovel over Molly's head, causing the shovel to crack into pieces. Despite the fact Molly's mutation is entirely different from her telepathic parents, her eyes still glow a violet-pink when using her powers, just like her parents.
Molly's strength has failed her on two occasions - she wasn't able to punch the adamantium armor of a Doctor Doombot, and she wasn't able to get out of Leslie Dean's unbreakable Majesdanian bonds.
, after Rogue
, She-Hulk
and Ms. Marvel
. In 2008, Marvel.com's list of ten best teen heroes featured Molly as a hypothetical number eleven, citing her too-young age as the reason she could not be on the regular list. In 2007, the Runaways made the list at number five of ten for best teams, citing the best Runaway's moment was when Molly and Victor made their version of the X-Men's "Fastball Special
".
Chase Stein
In the beginning of the series, Molly and Chase engage in a big brother/little sister relationship: they bicker, call each other names, and horse around. Chase always stands up to protect Molly. As the series progresses, Chase and Molly grow apart, primarily due to his romantic involvement with Gert
. In issues #18-#24 of volume 2, Chase distances himself from Molly and the rest of the Runaways to deal with his grief over Gert's death. However, in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways miniseries, Chase expresses jealousy over Molly's growing attachment to Speed
. Though they are not as close as before, Chase and Molly's relationship seems to have been repaired after Chase moved past grieving for Gert.
Victor Mancha
Molly meets Victor when the Runaways abduct him from his high school, hoping to preempt the prophecy that Victor will one day kill the Earth's heroes. Molly adjusts rather quickly to Victor's addition to the team; she spends more time off the battlefield with Victor than most, playing board games with him and pairing up to go shopping. During one of their trips, it's revealed that Nico
has ordered Molly to "babysit" Victor, because she is the only individual member strong enough to take Victor down if he goes haywire. Molly tells Victor that she's not particularly scared of him, and is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his supposed future. Victor surmises that Molly is simply using flattery to get him to buy her favorite cereal, but since she treats him as an equal and consistently spends time with him, he concludes that Molly was not just "sucking up." As Molly's relationship with Chase deteriorated, her relationship with Victor grew stronger.
Xavin
Though Xavin was initially hostile towards all the Runaways (except Karolina
) he has shown a great amount of concern for Molly's well-being. He returned to Earth with Karolina after their failed wedding as the Runaways were attempting to locate Molly after she was abducted by the second Pride; Xavin immediately volunteered to help the search efforts to locate "the hatchling." Xavin is another one of Molly's frequent board game partners; during one of their gaming sessions, Molly expressed her discomfort with Xavin constantly shifting between forms and said that most of the team felt the same way. Despite this, Xavin still fought the Gibborim without hesitation to protect the team, after which Molly admitted that Xavin's consistent selflessness more than makes up for the shapeshifting. The two now share a close camaraderie.
Gertrude Yorkes
During the series, Gert was a quasi-role model for Molly. Gert was usually the one that Molly asked most of her questions to and they were normally paired together to guard the Hostel and their getaway car. When Gert was killed at the hands of Geoffrey Wilder, Molly spent time sitting in front of a photo of Gert in the new Hostel's photo wall. Molly would talk to Gert as if she were really there. She also asked the Leapfrog if Gert went to Heaven (although it was unable to answer because "Heaven" was not on any of the Leapfrog's maps). In at least one instance, Molly seems to gain specific information from an unknown voice only she can hear, which she assumed to be the voice of Gert; in reality it was the voice of Alex Wilder, in an attempt to redeem himself and escape Limbo
.
Klara Prast
When they travel to the past, Karolina introduced Molly to a girl in distress named Klara, to help reach out to her because they are closer in age. Molly invites her to join the team, and together they manage to convince her to come with them to escape her tragic fate of being married to an abusive husband (the graver physically and possibly sexually abusive aspects of which Molly does not fully seem to understand due to her comparatively sheltered life). When Klara is upset by Karolina's seemingly interracial lesbian relationship, it causes a rift between her and Molly, as Molly defends Karolina and cannot relate to Klara's homophobic and racist attitudes, a result of her upbringing. Klara is visibly saddened by the confrontation (her emotions reflected in her roses) and leaves. Later, she returns, beaten by her husband, and the team accepts her back. While the two girls have very different personalities, with Molly feeling young compared to Klara who has weathered a lot of difficulties in her life, they remain close.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
award-winning series, Runaways
Runaways (comics)
Runaways is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series features a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are part of an evil crime group called the Pride. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, the series debuted in April of 2003 as part of Marvel Comics'...
. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan
Brian K. Vaughan
Brian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...
& artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways #1 (April 2003
2003 in comics
-January:* January 2: Kid Colt artist Jack Keller dies at age 80.- April :* Action Comics #800: Double-sized anniversary issue, "A Hero's Journey," by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Duncan Rouleau...
) with most of the other main characters. Like every member of the original Runaways, she is the daughter of evil villains with special abilities; after the other older Runaways learn more about themselves, they raid Molly's home to find out her mutant abilities had already manifested. Often called "Mol" for short, Molly is the youngest Runaway and her innocence often serves as humor in the series, but she has demonstrated great insight at critical moments.
Molly was originally the team's sole mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
; despite having telepathic mutant parents, Molly's mutant powers are superhuman strength and invulnerability. She used to be the youngest member of the team, but after inviting fellow mutant Klara Prast
Klara Prast
Klara Prast is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Comics award winning series, Runaways. The character first appeared in volume 2, #27 and was created by writer Joss Whedon and artist Michael Ryan, the lone character Whedon had mentioned he would add when he began his tenure of the...
to join, Molly takes comfort in having another mutant and someone her own age. She is extremely proud of her mutant heritage and admires the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughan played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer Adrian Alphona. Molly was named after Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughan's younger sister, Molly Hayes Vaughan. Her trademark is an expansive lineup of hats displayed throughout the series. In 2009, Molly was named the fourth (out of ten) toughest females in the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, after Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
, She-Hulk
She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 ....
and Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
.
Production
Molly was one of the few Runaways to actually keep the name she had in Brian K. Vaughan's original proposal; she is named after Vaughan's younger sister, Molly Hayes Vaughan. However, in the original pitch for the series, Molly's parents were Hollywood actors. This would eventually become the cover story of Karolina's parents. Also, Molly's sibling-like relationship with Chase was originally supposed to be with Gert. Molly was supposed to be thirteen years old in the original pitch instead of eleven.The Pride
Alex Wilder
Alex Wilder is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. He was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters. Like every member of the original Runaways, he is the son of evil...
, Karolina Dean
Karolina Dean
Karolina Dean , also briefly known as Lucy in the Sky, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways #1 with most of the other main characters...
, Gertrude Yorkes
Gertrude Yorkes
Gertrude Yorkes , is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
, Chase Stein
Chase Stein
Chase Stein , is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. He was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
, and Nico Minoru
Nico Minoru
Nico Minoru , is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. Created in 2003 by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, the character first debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
when they observe their parents calling themselves The Pride
Pride (comics)
The Pride are a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain team, a criminal organization that controlled the Los Angeles area of the Marvel Universe. As they are the parents and the initial and more prominent foes the Runaways have faced, they are perhaps the team's greatest enemy to date...
and preparing the ritual sacrifice of a young girl. Molly is preemptively escorted away by Karolina while the older children watch the sacrifice commence. They inform Karolina and decide to run away from their homes that very night. After discovering their powers and gifts, the older five kids rescue Molly from her home. Molly awakes from a psychically-induced slumber during the runaways' rescue and sees her mother being threatened by Nico. Molly's mutant powers manifest at that moment in a display of glowing pink hair and eyes. However, Molly first uses her strength to knock Leslie Dean out of the sky, saving Gert. Molly promptly falls asleep from exhaustion and the Runaways take her to their new hideout, a dilapidated mansion called "the Hostel."
Throughout the first volume of the series, Molly is skeptical that her parents were accomplices to murder and is unsure why the group ran away in the first place. However, she is excited at the prospect of becoming a superhero and enthusiastically takes the codename "Princess Powerful," while her teammates dub her "Bruiser." Shortly after their "superhero" careers begin, the Runaways take in fellow runaway Topher, who turns out to be a vampire. He dies by ingesting Karolina's solar-irradiated blood and when Molly witnesses Topher's death, she realizes that the superhero life is not a game, and cries for her mother.
Alex later deciphers a text kept by his parents called the Abstract, and informs the Runaways about their parents' activities as The Pride, their ties to the Gibborim
Gibborim (comics)
The Gibborim are a group of comic book characters in Marvel Comics' award-winning series, Runaways. They were created by author Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona...
(the Pride's Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
benefactors), and their ultimate goal of exterminating all human life save for the six most loyal Pride members. Molly expresses disinterest in the Pride's motivations, but is excited when Alex plots to disrupt the Pride's ritual sacrifice to the Gibborim. When the Runaways encounter the Pride, Molly witnesses first-hand why she and her friends have been in hiding for months and destroys the sacrifice prepared for the Gibborim. She escapes with the Runaways when the Gibborim attack the Pride for losing the sacrifice. After the Pride's demise, Molly is sent to X-Corp
X-Corporation
The X-Corporation is a fictional institution from the X-Men comic book series by Marvel Comics. This organization was created to ensure the protection of mutant rights throughout the world due to the increasing number of mutants....
for foster care, but breaks out with Gert's help and runs away with the rest of the team.
Runaways
Victor Mancha
Victor Mancha is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. He was created by author Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #1 . Like the original runaways, Victor has a supervillain for a parent; his father is the robot Ultron...
. Molly participates in the search, and during the second fight with Excelsior, Molly discerns Chamber
Chamber (comics)
Jonothon "Jono" Evan Starsmore, better known as Chamber or Decibel, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men and the New Warriors....
's fake accent; he is later revealed to be Geoffrey Wilder
Geoffrey Wilder
Geoffrey Wilder was a fictional super villain in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. Geoffrey led the Pride, the super villain crime ring of Los Angeles. He was the father of former Runaway Alex Wilder.-Fictional character biography:...
in disguise.
After Victor joins the team, Molly accompanies him on group shopping trips under Nico's orders because she believes that Molly is the only individual member of the Runaways capable of bringing Victor down should he betray the team. During the runaways' trip to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to exonerate Cloak
Cloak and Dagger (comics)
Cloak and Dagger are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the . They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.-Publication history:...
, Molly meets her idol and childish crush Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, but he scares her and she hurls him out of a church, thereafter maintaining a severe dislike of him. After the Runaways solve the case, they return to Los Angeles, but Wolverine and the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
follow them, looking to enroll Molly in Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
. After a short altercation, the X-Men leave Molly alone, realizing that it would be unfair to force her to enroll.
During one mission, Molly gets separated from the team and the Provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
abducts her. He coerces Molly and other children into robbing banks for him. Molly rallies the children to stage a coup, and she finds her way back to the Runaways.
Molly is abducted in a battle with a second incarnation of the Pride, made up of Alex's MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
friends and led by a younger version of Alex's father, Geoffrey
Geoffrey Wilder
Geoffrey Wilder was a fictional super villain in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. Geoffrey led the Pride, the super villain crime ring of Los Angeles. He was the father of former Runaway Alex Wilder.-Fictional character biography:...
. Nico rescues Molly with Xavin's aid, but Gert dies covering their escape. After Gert's death, Molly asks the Leapfrog, the group's transport, if Gert went to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, but it cannot reply since Heaven is not on any of the maps in its database. Soon afterwards, Molly begins hearing a disembodied voice she believes is Gert's, and follows its instructions to help revive Victor. She helps Victor rescue Nico from the Gibborim and subsequently joins the team on their cross-country trek to evade Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
and S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
The voice Molly heard is later revealed to have been Alex's.
Molly is referenced in New X-Men
New X-Men
New X-Men was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise. After the end of Grant Morrison's run on X-Men , titled New X-Men, the title was used for a new series, New X-Men: Academy X, serving as a continuation of the second volume of New Mutants...
#42 (November 2007): when Mercury researches for the youngest mutant in the world, Hellion
Hellion
Hellion is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute before its closing and is a member of the X-Men's training squad. He first appeared in New Mutants, vol. 2 #2.-New Mutants, vol...
asks about Molly, who he believes to be five years-old. The Stepford Cuckoos inform Julian he is incorrect.
Mollifest Destiny
In Runaways #10, the Runaways travel to San Francisco after Molly receives Emma FrostEmma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
's psychic message inviting all mutants to a new safe Haven. Molly's non-stop chatter quickly annoys several of the X-Men and Wolverine gives her a tour of the X-Men's new base of operations. Molly begins to annoy Wolverine and the two argue until he insults Molly's parents and calls her a brat, causing her to throw him through the roof.
Wolverine is urged by Cyclops and Emma Frost to take Molly outside, and complies. The two tour San Francisco before they are kidnapped by a villain that was an enemy of the Pride. The villain and his soldiers had attempted to claim a portion of Los Angeles, although the Hayes stopped him, massacring his men and putting him in a traumatizing seven-year coma where he could not close his eyes, all for their own sadistic enjoyment. He recovered and seeks revenge against them by telling Molly her parents were evil and sadistic, having killed innocent people and children. He calls them far worse than any super villain, and ultimately plans on killing her as his final act of revenge. Wolverine and Molly manage to defeat him, though Molly realizes she'll never think of her parents the same way again. She is, however, comforted by Wolverine, who says that despite their villainous ways, her parents must have genuinely loved her in order to "raise a kid as good as her."
Heroic Age
In Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1 BeastBeast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
is waiting for Abigail Brand
Abigail Brand
Special Agent Abigail Brand is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics' universe. Her first appearance was a cameo in Astonishing X-Men #3 , and she was introduced fully in Astonishing X-Men #6 . She was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.-Origin:Abigail Brand is the commanding officer of...
at what seems to be an outdoor exhibition of fossil animals - as it turns up, it's the La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
. Brand doesn't show up, and instead it's Molly who walks by. Molly tells him "the guys" have given her homework and asks him to tell her about extinction, but it's clear she actually wants to talk about the Decimation of mutants. She's heard about the Five Lights and clings to the hope, whereas Beast tries to talk her out of getting her expectations too high, until she finally punches him and runs away. He follows and manages to calm her down by telling her that mutant extinction does not mean that they would die any earlier than usually, but just that their children and grandchildren would be normal people. So, he tells her, all they could do was make the best of their lives so that, after all the mutants would be extinct, they would be remembered as having been worthy of their gifts.
Molly inexplicably makes a cameo appearance in New Avengers #7, as one of the applicants Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
and Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones
Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos. Jones debuted in the series Alias as an embittered former superheroine who had used the aliases Jewel, Knightress, and currently Power Woman...
interview as a possible nanny. Molly begins by saying she knows she's underage, but she is cut off. When Daken
Daken
Akihiro, also codename as Daken is a fictional comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Daken is the mutant son of Wolverine and his deceased wife Itsu...
, the psychopathic son of Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
seeks the Runaways in Los Angeles, Molly pins him down and angrily asks why he's invaded their home.
Powers and abilities
Originally, Molly's mutant power was superhuman strengthSuperhuman strength
Superhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
, with which she has toppled a giant monster bigger than skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s, tunneled through miles of rock, and broken solid objects over her head. However, Molly was only able to use her powers for a limited amount of time before she became fatigued and fell asleep. When she first used her powers, Molly fell asleep after only throwing one punch, but as the series continued, Molly has been able to use her powers for increasingly longer periods of time and to greater extremes without tiring. Nico once used the Staff of One to give Molly a caffeine rush while fighting a giant monster to keep her awake longer.
Molly was later revealed to have invulnerability as well, as evident when a member of the Wrecking Crew
Wrecking Crew (comics)
The Wrecking Crew is a team of four fictional supervillains — Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, and the Wrecker — that appears in Marvel Comics. While not featured on the cover, the Wrecking Crew's first appearance is in Defenders vol. 1, #17 in November 1974.-Fictional biography:The Wrecking...
smashes his enchanted shovel over Molly's head, causing the shovel to crack into pieces. Despite the fact Molly's mutation is entirely different from her telepathic parents, her eyes still glow a violet-pink when using her powers, just like her parents.
Molly's strength has failed her on two occasions - she wasn't able to punch the adamantium armor of a Doctor Doombot, and she wasn't able to get out of Leslie Dean's unbreakable Majesdanian bonds.
Reception
In 2009, Molly was named the fourth (out of ten) toughest female in the Marvel UniverseMarvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, after Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
, She-Hulk
She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 ....
and Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
. In 2008, Marvel.com's list of ten best teen heroes featured Molly as a hypothetical number eleven, citing her too-young age as the reason she could not be on the regular list. In 2007, the Runaways made the list at number five of ten for best teams, citing the best Runaway's moment was when Molly and Victor made their version of the X-Men's "Fastball Special
Fastball special
The Fastball Special is a popular tag-team move in superhero fiction. In a Fastball Special, a hero with superhuman strength literally throws a willing partner toward a target. The maneuver first appeared in the Marvel Comics series Uncanny X-Men #100, when Wolverine had Colossus hurl him in a...
".
Relationships
Although Molly enjoys being independent and a superhero, she is still a pre-adolescent girl who wants to have fun. Most of her close relationships are based on who is willing to spend the most time playing with her. Molly also has a tendency throughout the series to gravitate towards people that she can look up to as a big sibling.Chase SteinChase SteinChase Stein , is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. He was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
In the beginning of the series, Molly and Chase engage in a big brother/little sister relationship: they bicker, call each other names, and horse around. Chase always stands up to protect Molly. As the series progresses, Chase and Molly grow apart, primarily due to his romantic involvement with GertGertrude Yorkes
Gertrude Yorkes , is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
. In issues #18-#24 of volume 2, Chase distances himself from Molly and the rest of the Runaways to deal with his grief over Gert's death. However, in the Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways miniseries, Chase expresses jealousy over Molly's growing attachment to Speed
Speed (comics)
Speed is a fictional character and member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Universe. His appearance is patterned on that of Quicksilver and first appeared in the comic book Young Avengers #10...
. Though they are not as close as before, Chase and Molly's relationship seems to have been repaired after Chase moved past grieving for Gert.
Victor ManchaVictor ManchaVictor Mancha is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. He was created by author Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #1 . Like the original runaways, Victor has a supervillain for a parent; his father is the robot Ultron...
Molly meets Victor when the Runaways abduct him from his high school, hoping to preempt the prophecy that Victor will one day kill the Earth's heroes. Molly adjusts rather quickly to Victor's addition to the team; she spends more time off the battlefield with Victor than most, playing board games with him and pairing up to go shopping. During one of their trips, it's revealed that NicoNico Minoru
Nico Minoru , is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. Created in 2003 by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona, the character first debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
has ordered Molly to "babysit" Victor, because she is the only individual member strong enough to take Victor down if he goes haywire. Molly tells Victor that she's not particularly scared of him, and is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt regarding his supposed future. Victor surmises that Molly is simply using flattery to get him to buy her favorite cereal, but since she treats him as an equal and consistently spends time with him, he concludes that Molly was not just "sucking up." As Molly's relationship with Chase deteriorated, her relationship with Victor grew stronger.
XavinXavinXavin is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She is a Super-Skrull in training, created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 2 #7...
Though Xavin was initially hostile towards all the Runaways (except KarolinaKarolina Dean
Karolina Dean , also briefly known as Lucy in the Sky, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways #1 with most of the other main characters...
) he has shown a great amount of concern for Molly's well-being. He returned to Earth with Karolina after their failed wedding as the Runaways were attempting to locate Molly after she was abducted by the second Pride; Xavin immediately volunteered to help the search efforts to locate "the hatchling." Xavin is another one of Molly's frequent board game partners; during one of their gaming sessions, Molly expressed her discomfort with Xavin constantly shifting between forms and said that most of the team felt the same way. Despite this, Xavin still fought the Gibborim without hesitation to protect the team, after which Molly admitted that Xavin's consistent selflessness more than makes up for the shapeshifting. The two now share a close camaraderie.
Gertrude YorkesGertrude YorkesGertrude Yorkes , is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics award-winning series, Runaways. She was created by author Brian K. Vaughan & artist Adrian Alphona, and debuted in Runaways vol. 1 #1 with most of the other main characters...
During the series, Gert was a quasi-role model for Molly. Gert was usually the one that Molly asked most of her questions to and they were normally paired together to guard the Hostel and their getaway car. When Gert was killed at the hands of Geoffrey Wilder, Molly spent time sitting in front of a photo of Gert in the new Hostel's photo wall. Molly would talk to Gert as if she were really there. She also asked the Leapfrog if Gert went to Heaven (although it was unable to answer because "Heaven" was not on any of the Leapfrog's maps). In at least one instance, Molly seems to gain specific information from an unknown voice only she can hear, which she assumed to be the voice of Gert; in reality it was the voice of Alex Wilder, in an attempt to redeem himself and escape LimboLimbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
.