APPENDIX: SUBTERRANEA
Subterranea is the informal designation for the many networks of underground caves and tunnels that exist miles beneath the Earth's surface. Most of the tunnels of Subterranea were originally carved by the Deviants, a subspecies of humanity who ruled over most of the surface world until their kingdom of Lemuria was sunk beneath the ocean in the Great Cataclysm. The Deviants employed powerful mutates called Rockgnashers to build Subterranea, and engineered species such as the Gortokians to serve them. Eventually, most of the Deviants were driven from Subterranea, leaving behind much of their technology such as Rail-Jet crafts, which joined outposts together. Those who followed the Deviants have made use of Subterranea for themselves, notably the Mole Man. Although the Deviants have made attempts to reconquer their lost territory, the various Subterranean kingdoms remain independent. Some points in Subterranea feature spatial distortions that allow Subterraneans to travel vast distances within minutes. The tunnels of Subterranea extend to remote places such as Monster Island and the Savage Land.
Known peoples and places of Subterranea include:
Abysmia, a
civilization led in the 1940s by the heroic Rockman.
USA Comics #1 (1941)
Eurasia, an
underground city inhabited by the former residents of El Dorado,
Bolivia who mastered Deviant technology.
Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1 (1991)
Gortokians were
bred as slaves by the
Deviants, but rebelled against their masters thousands of years ago.
The Gortokians thrived until recent years when evidently all but
Grotesk was slain in an atomic test.
X-Men #41 (1968)
Lava Men were
Gortokians who worshiped the
demon Cha'sa'dra, and were transformed into inhuman lava-like creatures
by him. Usually ruled by King Basallo or witch doctor Jinku, and once
by Grotesk of the Gortokians.
Journey into Mystery #97 (1963)
Lizard Men were
Deviant-bred creatures who
developed their own underground civilization, but were known to hold
loyalties to the Deviants as late as the 1950s.
Journey into Mystery #64 (1961)
Lyonesse,
inhabited by Deviants who originated
on the planet Armechadon; led by Lord Tantalus, they sought the
eventual conquest of Earth.
Thunderstrike #6 (1994)
The Mole Man
discovered Subterranea from
Monster Island; blinded in the Valley of Diamonds, he employed former
Deviant slaves dubbed "Moloids" in his service, along with vast numbers
of Deviant mutates and abandoned technology. He has also welcomed
fellow misfits from the surface, including the mutates who make up his
Outcasts.
Fantastic Four #1 (1961)
Mole
Monster,
secret son of Mole Man, ruled small part of Subterranea near
Mt.
Rushmore (USA), possibly bordered Mole Man's domain, also welcomed
outcasts; employed similar but stronger "Moloids."
Red She-Hulk #63 (2013)
Netheria was a
former part of Atlantis, and
its people have virtual immortality while they live within its borders;
their queen Kala fell in love with the Mole Man.
Tales of Suspense #43 (1963)
The Skull-Men,
an intelligent race of skeletal beings who lived beneath China in the
1940s and transformed Mark Todd into the Blazing Skull.
Mystic Comics #5 (1941)
Tyrannus was
once Roman emperor Romulus
Augustulus who was banished to Subterranea by the wizard Merlin. Kept
young by the Fountain of Youth and served by former Deviant slaves
dubbed "Tyrannoids," Tyrannus has made and broken various alliances
with Kala and the Mole Man.
Incredible Hulk #5 (1963)
There are also various collections of sewer-dwelling humans, notably in New York where the mutant outcasts of the Morlocks inhabited the Alley, the Night People inhabited sunken Zerotown, the death-worshiping Ungrateful Dead, the Abomination's followers the Forgotten, the King of the Sewers and the Underground defended by the Peacekeeper. Also significant are the San Francisco Underground, a clan of homeless people who were defended by Venom, the Children of the Night of Montreal, Canada who were made to obey the criminal Rok, and the Hyde Park Underworld, a tribe of mutants similar to the Morlocks who lived below London, England.
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