What's the deal with the Mole-Men?

[JulianPerez]

Don't you just love how curious and innocent those little guys were?

I wonder, though:

What from their appearances can we deduce about Mole-Man society? Their technology seems advanced. Someone ought to write a sequel, where we have surface people visit THEM (most likely with anti radiation precations) and we get to see their underground world.

What do they do for light? They have eyes, which means they must have (or in their cities, use) some means of illumination.

How did Molemen evolve? Are they mammals? (This would be confirmed by their overall appearance, but they could be something much more exotic.) How would their bodies be different to adapt to underground life? And last but not least, how did or could they have evolved?

Are there any Mole-Women? (And do they, too, have male pattern baldness?) Where do molebabies come from?

[DoctorZero]

Interesting questions.  A pity they never did a sequel, but I suspect budget constraints were a primary reason for this.  If done today I'm certain there would be a trip to the Mole Men's domain.  This is definitely one of my very favorite Adventures of Superman adventures.

[Super Monkey]

actually it was a movie serial.

It will be included in the season one box set.

Now I sure hope that someome releases the 1st two Superman serials on DVD to cash in on Superman Returns.

[Gangbuster]

My response, after just watching this film for the first time. First of all:

1) When this was filmed around 1950, the perception was probably that no life existed six miles beneath the earth's surface. However, in 1960 the Mariana Trench was measured at nearly 7 miles, with plenty of life on the bottom.

2) One would think that if the increased gravity, pressure, and internal heat of Krypton made super-beings, that Molemen would likely also be more resilient on the surface world. However, this was not the case in the  film.

What from their appearances can we deduce about Mole-Man society? Their technology seems advanced....

Molemen are hurt when shot, and get tired when running. That tells me that they did not climb six miles to the surface. They have some sort of transportation. In addition, when one moleman was hurt, two went back to their civilization, and brought back a third moleman with a stungun, a weapon that the other three did not have access to. This tells me that they have law enforcement, and probably a military, judging the way that they blew up the rig at the end of the film.

How did Molemen evolve? Are they mammals? (This would be confirmed by their overall appearance, but they could be something much more exotic.) How would their bodies be different to adapt to underground life? And last but not least, how did or could they have evolved?

As for speculation of HOW they evolved...during the Ice Age, some men huddled in caves went down really far, where it was warmer.

When the doctor operated on the injured moleman, he said that the physiology was almost identical to humans...indicating that they are mammals. At the end of the film, it is revealed that their glow is an effect of phosphorus and not radiation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus

All living things contain phosphorus, but something that sweats phosphorus likely dines on more minerals than we do...metal-eating moles! Also, they seem to have no developed vocal chords, and communicate by sign language. This means that a) their eyes work perfectly, and b) they have illumination with which to see this sign language. I theorize glow-in-the-dark fungus that they can also eat...at least in the beginning. Now they have access to unlimited geothermal energy, and probably create artificial light.

This is what a history degree is good for: memorizing trivial Superman knowledge and speculating about cultures, in order to post messages on the Internet! My mother would be so proud...  :roll: