Fantastic Four Prequel Comic Sets Up Iconic Villain’s MCU Debut, Paul Walter Hauser Tied to Role

Marvel Studios is officially bringing the Fantastic Four into the MCU, and their first movie is almost here. The Fantastic Four: First Steps lands in theaters on July 25, 2025, but fans are already getting a preview of what’s coming, thanks to a new comic from Marvel.

The comic, The Fantastic Four: First Steps #1, gives a sneak peek at the team’s MCU origin. It shows how Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm go into space and end up gaining their powers. Classic origin story stuff, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

This story kicks off something much bigger. The Silver Surfer is on her way to Earth, which only means one thing: Galactus is coming too. And if you know anything about Marvel comics, you know that’s bad news.

Galactus eats planets, and now Earth is next on his list. The Fantastic Four will have to come up with a plan to stop him, while also dealing with a very personal challenge.

Sue Storm is pregnant during all of this, which makes the stakes even higher. The team is trying to save the world while also looking out for each other. But that’s what heroes do.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Doctor Doom is coming too. He’s not in First Steps, but he’s already been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, which is the next big movie after this. So it looks like the Fantastic Four won’t be catching a break anytime soon.

Also, Mole Man is coming to the MCU. And he might be played by Paul Walter Hauser. Hauser has been in movies like Cruella and Richard Jewell, and you might also recognize him from Cobra Kai, where he played Stingray.

Marvel hasn’t officially announced who’s playing Mole Man, but fans online noticed that in leaked panels from the comic, the character looks a lot like Hauser. It’s not confirmed, but the resemblance is hard to ignore.

The official Fantastic Four prequel comic confirms Paul Walter Hauser is playing Mole Man pic.twitter.com/D2BVj5BBuF

— Spider-Fan77 (@spider_fan77) July 5, 2025

In the comics, Mole Man’s real name is Harvey Rupert Elder. He was a scientist who believed the Earth was hollow. Most people laughed at his theories, and at him, so he went underground, literally. He found a hidden world called Subterranea filled with strange creatures, and that’s where he became the villain known as Mole Man.

He’s not the biggest threat in First Steps, but his appearance could set up more for the future. The Fantastic Four fought Mole Man in their very first comic book issue back in 1961, so it makes sense that Marvel would bring him in eventually.

Even with huge villains like Galactus and Doom on the way, it’s exciting to see Marvel still including characters with deeper comic roots. And if Hauser really is playing Mole Man, that’s a strong pick, he’s got the range to make a character like that both strange and fun.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is shaping up to be more than just another superhero origin story. It’s setting up some big things for the MCU, with new heroes, world-ending threats, and a few surprises fans weren’t expecting.

Marvel is clearly going all-in on the Fantastic Four, and if this is just the beginning, there’s a lot more to come.