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.

The character was reimagined as Molly Hayes Hernandez and portrayed by Allegra Acosta in the Hulu Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Runaways.

Runaways creator Brian K. Vaughan played a significant role in the character's subsequent development as well as artist/writer Adrian Alphona.

[2] 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 promptly falls asleep from exhaustion and the Runaways take her to their new hideout, a dilapidated mansion called "the Hostel".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

"[5] In Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1 Beast is waiting for Abigail Brand at what seems to be an outdoor exhibition of fossil animals - as it turns out, it's the La Brea Tar Pits.

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.

[6] 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.

[10] Eventually, Abigail confided in her that she was ageless, and gave her an enchanted cupcake once provided to her by the Enchantress[11] which would enable Molly to stay young forever.

[12] However, while Molly was hesitant about whether or not she should accept, the cupcake was inadvertently consumed by Julie Power, who was visiting the Runaways, turning her into a 13-year-old again.

[11] Originally, Molly's mutant power was superhuman strength, with which she has toppled a giant monster bigger than a skyscraper, tunneled through miles of rock, and broken solid objects over her head.

Nico once used the Staff of One to give Molly a caffeine rush while fighting a giant monster to keep her awake longer.

Even after her parents’ betrayal, even after all of the turmoil in her life, Molly Hayes stands as a bright icon amidst a team of moody teens.

In the beginning of the series, Molly and Chase Stein engage in a big brother/little sister relationship: they bicker, call each other names, and horse around.

Though Xavin was initially hostile towards all the Runaways (except Karolina) she has shown a great amount of concern for Molly's well-being.

When they travel to the past, Karolina introduced Molly to a girl in distress named Klara Prast, to help reach out to her because they are closer in age.

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.

[25] As an adult, Molly has grown into a tall, muscular woman and appears to have outgrown the chronic fatigue she formerly exhibited after using her powers.