Membership: Boulder, Digger, Landslide, Water Witch

Purpose: Enforcers and warriors of Subterranea

Affiliations: Kala, Mole Man (Harvey Elder), Moloid Subterraneans, the Mole Man's mutates, non-powered Outcasts;
    Water Witch was a part of Superia's Femizons;
    They have had hostile encounters with the Hulk (Robert Bruce Banner), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Rom, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Starshine (Landra), although these are most often misunderstandings.

Enemies: Avalanche (Dominic Petros), Deviants, other Subterranean races (Gor-Tokians, Lava Men, Tyrannoids);
Maria Karsov, Robby Kyle, Claude LeBron, Brad Rossi (athletes of the Olympics)

Base of Operations: Subterranea

First Appearance: (Regular Outcasts): Fantastic Four Annual I#13 (1978);
   (super-powered Outcasts) Marvel Treasury Edition#25 (1980)

History:
(Fantastic Four Annual I#13) - The Mole Man gathered a group of people considered homely on the surface world to dwell with him in Subterranea, as the Outcasts.

BTS - At least four of these Outcasts were bestowed with superhuman powers by Mole Man by unknown means (confirmed in Rom#28).

(Marvel Treasury Edition#25) - Kala, mistress of the Netherworld, joined forces with the Lava Men and began to war against the armies of the Mole Man, in an effort to force him to allow her to have access to the Fountain of Youth; but the Mole Man, still angry at Kala for her previous betrayal of him, refused her. Kala sought to improve her chances against the Mole Man by abducting four athletes from the 1980 (topical) Winter Olympics, and outfitting them with various advanced weaponry based upon their sports of expertise.

   The Mole Man sent his Outcasts to try to stop Kala from obtaining the athletes, but they failed. In the course of the struggle, the Hulk and Spider-Man were drawn into the conflict. Kala managed to drug the Hulk and convince him to fight on her side. Kala and the Mole Man agreed to suspend their war, and to allow the conflict to be settled by a battle involving the athletes (whom Kala coerced into working for her) and the Hulk, against the Outcasts, alongside Spider-Man. The struggle went back and forth until Kala was buried by an avalanche caused by the Hulk. With her helmet shattered, she rapidly aged, and the Lava Men no longer recognized her. Without the Lava Men, she was no match for the Mole Man's forces, but the Mole Man still loved her--he called a truce to the war, and took Kala to Subterranea to live with him.

(Incredible Hulk II#263 (fb) ) - The mutant known as Avalanche went solo, attempting to use his earth-shaking powers to ransom the state of California by threatening to trigger the San Andreas Fault. The upheavals caused tremors all the way down to Subterranea--all four Outcasts were present, and Landslide sensed that the tremors were of unnatural origin, so the Mole Man dispatched him alone to the surface to investigate.

(Incredible Hulk II#263) - Landslide found and confronted Avalanche, which turned into a three-way battle involving the Hulk. The struggle between Landslide and Avalanche was fairly even, until Avalanche caught Landslide off guard and unmasked him, blinding him with the bright light of the surface world. Before Avalanche could press the advantage, the Hulk pulled him away. When Avalanche tried to use his earth-moving powers directly against the organic, super-durable form of the Hulk, the feedback shattered his own arms. The threat over, Landslide returned to Subterranea.

(Rom#28) - Dire Wraiths living beneath the surface of Clairton, West Virginia, began to pull people of the town into the Earth. This resulted in a mistaken-identities battle between Rom (and his ally Starshine) against the Outcasts and other agents of the Mole Man. When the Dire Wraiths revealed their presence, Rom and the Mole Man's agents joined forces against them. Rom banished the Wraiths to a pocket-realm of Limbo.

(Rom#29) - The Mole Man had Digger claw a pathway to the surface so that he could once more see the humans (Steve Jackson and Brandy Clark) who had befriended and aided them in defeating the Dire Wraiths. After briefly glimpsing them, he had Digger seal the hole he had made.

(Iron Man Annual I#12/1) - During the events of the Subterranean Wars, Kala fled Subterranea to gain assistance from the heroes of the surface world. She went to Iron Man, whom she had first encountered years before. The Outcasts, mindlessly obeying orders of the Mole Man that Kala must not be allowed to leave his realm, followed her and attempted to force her to return. The Outcasts attacked Iron Man, and Digger and Landslide grabbed Kala and headed back to their realm. Kala convinced them to take her to the Netherworlders, but the Netherworlders sought to kill her for past actions. However, Iron Man arrived and fought them off, with assistance from Digger and Landslide. The Netherworlders, fearing destruction from her allies, elected to offer Kala their rule once again. However, Kala declined the offer, and left to try to find and rescue the missing Mole Man.

(Captain America I#387, 388 - BTS, 389-391, 392 - BTS) - Water Witch was one of the army of superhuman women gathered to Femizonia Isle by Superia, as her Femizons. Presumably, after the destruction of Superia's plans, Water Witch returned to Subterranea.

Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald and Herb Trimpe.

This entry deals only with the super-powered Outcasts. The population of normal Outcasts may receive a separate entry at some point.

The inside back cover of MTE#25 previews a sequel, associated with the 1980 Summer Olympics. While this never happened, the grouping looks almost exactly like the grouping seen in the first Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions mini-series, which was seen a short time later.

Improved and new images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Outcasts have no known connections to:

• The Outcasts, including Rattilore, who are animals mutated by gamma radiation @ Incredible Hulk II#329
• The Outcasts (Cleft, Depth Charge, Flagstone), a team post-wwii canadian mercenaries, formerly associated with Puck @ Alpha Flight I#122/2
• The Outcasts of the Arctic Circle, @ the late 18th Century, who befriended the Frankenstein monster @ Monster of Frankenstein#4
• The Outcasts of the Dark Dimension, ancient wizards mutated and exiled by Dormammu @ Doctor Strange II#72
• The Outcasts of Earth-Age of Apocalypse, of which X-Man/Nate Grey was formerly a member @ X-Man#1
• The Outcasts of Earth-Mutant X, including the combined Cloak/Dagger, who dwell in the sewers, much like the Morlocks @ Mutant X#26
• Outcast, of the Lilin @ Ghost Rider III#41
• Outcast, an alias of Crimson Dynamo/Yuri Petrovitch @ Champions I#7
• Xorak the Outcast, X-Men foe @ X-Men I#33
• ...or any other groups of Exiles or Outlaws

Boulder has no known connection to:

• Boulder, of the Kinsmen @ Marvel Comics Presents I#43/4

Digger has no known connection to:

• Digger, Roderick Krupp, of Nightshift, and the storyteller in the Tower of Shadows @ Tower of Shadows#1
• Digger, Spider-Man foe @ Amazing Spider-Man II#51
• Diggers, armored units used by Roland Treece, @ Venom: Lethal Protector#1

Landslide has no known connection:

• Landslide, Lee Broder, one of the "X-Men" created by Cerebro @ Uncanny X-Men I#360

Water Witch has no known connection to:

• Water Wizard, aka Aqueduct, Peter van Zante, water-controlling criminal @ Ghost Rider II#23
• Wind Witch, Clothhilde, a sorceress executed centuries ago, who was revived briefly in the modern era @ Ghost Rider II#66

The Fountain of Youth is the legendary source of immortality found by Ponce de Leon. This is the source of immortality of Tyrannus. While the original source is most likely the same, this subterranean store should be differentiated from:

• The Fountain of Eternal Youth, of the purple "ogres" of la Hacienda @ Man-Thing I#8
• The Fountain of Forever, in Asgard, used by the Enchantress to observe Earth @ Dazzler I#1

Kala's Netherworld refers to a subterranean realm, formerly called Netheria, which originally was a portion of the Atlantean continent that sank into Subterranea around the time of the Great Cataclysm.
It has no connection to various other-dimensional Netherworlds.

All of the Outcasts, as a consequence of living in dimly lit Subterranea, are extremely sensitive to bright light--for this reason, they wear light-filtering hoods when heading to the surface world. Unless, of course, the writer/artist forgets to put them on...

Boulder Boulder (real name unrevealed) has superhuman strength (Class 25?) and durability. He's a big fan of the bear-hug, as well as throwing rocks and boulders at his foes. --Marvel Treasury Edition#25 (Marvel Treasury Edition#25, Incredible Hulk II#263 (fb), Rom#28, Iron Man Annual I#12/1

Digger Digger (real name unrevealed) has sharp talons, with which he can carve a tunnel through solid ice or earth. These claws can easily rend flesh, and can carve rents into Iron Man's armor. He presumably has some degree of superhuman strength (Class 5?) and durability. --Marvel Treasury Edition#25 (Marvel Treasury Edition#25, Incredible Hulk II#263 (fb), Rom#28-29, Iron Man Annual I#12/1

Water Witch Water Witch (real name unrevealed) can control water in all of its forms. Her Dowsing Rod may be the source of her abilities, or it may be a focus. She can project ice, water, or steam in various fashions. In one instance, however, she panicked and thought she would drown when she fell through broken ice into freezing waters--this may have been the first time she got to actively try out her powers. The Water Witch briefly left the group to check out the offer of Superia to join her Femizons--this seems out of character, but she could have been sent to investigate (i.e. spy) for the Mole Man. --Marvel Treasury Edition#25 (Marvel Treasury Edition#25, Incredible Hulk II#263 (fb), Rom#28, Iron Man Annual I#12/1, Captain America I#387, 388 - BTS, 389-391, 392 - BTS

The four Olympic athletes were forced into serving Kala, and were pitted against the Outcasts. Kala cheated the whole time, but the Olympic athletes did their best to keep it fair, and destroyed any unfair tactics being used by her.

Maria Karsov (Russian figure skater) received slashing, razor-sharp "Super-Skates". She was pitted against the Water Witch, in a simple game of tag, with each of them being "it." She saved the Water Witch from the Lava Men's device that was melting the ice below her, and later managed to tag her when the Hulk shattered all of the ice around them.  --Marvel Treasury Edition#25

Robby Kyle (Canadian hockey champ) received a "super stick that fires power pucks". He was pitted against Boulder, who attempted to throw rocks into the goal that he was defending. He fought off several attempts, and even destroyed the Lava Men's flame shooter, which was launching fire rings at Boulder. However, when the Hulk shattered the ice below everyone, it knocked Robby off balance long enough that Boulder was able to get in the goal. --Marvel Treasury Edition#25

Claude LeBron (French Bobsledder) received the "Bombsled, armed with fiery flame-cannons" (what other type of flame-cannons are there?). He was pitted against Digger, who was to attempt to prevent his trip down a downhill run. Digger carved an alternate path in the ice and obstructed his initial path. The Lava Men destroyed the obstruction, allowing Claude to slide past to victory, although he felt no pride in a victory "so cheaply won." --Marvel Treasury Edition#25

Brad Rossi (American skier) received "Rocket Skis and Power Poles, capable of incinerating an enemy." He was a former classmate of Peter Parker at Midtown High School. It was his fiancée, Heather Ryan, who was captured by Kala, aged to a geriatric state, and held hostage to force Brad and the others to fight for her. He was pitted against Landslide, who was attempting to stop him from getting past him on a downhill run. He managed to vault over the chasms created by Landslide and win the race. He then turned around and raced toward the housing where Kala was holding Heather. The Hulk fell over a ledge and ended up rolling into a giant snowball that destroyed the housing, freed Heather (who had regained her youth), and exposed Kala to the surface air. --Marvel Treasury Edition#25

images: (without ads)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p2-3, pan1 (Main Image - Landslide, Digger (holding Maria Karsov), Boulder, Water Witch)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p30, pan2 (Landslide, Boulder, Digger, Water Witch)
Incredible Hulk II#263, p16, pan6 (Landslide uses his powers against Avalanche)
Iron Man Annual I#12/1, p12, pan2 (Digger (holding Kala), Boulder; Landslide, Water Witch (background))
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p34, pan3 (Headshot - Boulder)
Rom#28, p17, pan5 (Boulder, holding Rom in a bear-hug)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p8, pan2 (Headshot - Digger)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p5, pan4 (Digger using his talons)
Iron Man Annual I#12/1, p24, pan1(Headshot - Landslide)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p4, pan3 (Bodyshot - Landslide)
Iron Man Annual I#12/1, p16, pan4 (Headshot - Water Witch (being shocked by Iron Man))
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p7, pan2 (Water Witch uses her powers to freeze Spider-Man)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p39, pan2 (Maria Karsov)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p39, pan4 (Robby Kyle)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p39, pan3 (Claude LeBron)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25, p39, pan1 (Brad Rossi)

Appearances:
Fantastic Four Annual I#13 (1978) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Treasury Edition#25 (1980) - Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant & Bill Mantlo (writers), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Bruce Patterson (inks), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#263 (September, 1981) - Sal Buscema & Bill Mantlo (writers), Sal Buscema (artist), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rom#28 (March, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rom#29 (April, 1982) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (pencils), Chic Stone, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Al Milgrom & Rick Magyar (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Iron Man Annual I#12 (1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers), Tom Morgan (artist)
Captain America I#389-392 (August-September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)