January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January. Accordingly, I am dedicating all of January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.
Air Date: 21 May 2021
Directors: Eric Towner and Alex Kamer
Network: Hulu / Disney+
Stars: Patton Oswalt, Aimee Garcia, Ben Schwartz, Melissa Fumero, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jon Daly, and Beck Bennett
The Background:
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, George Tarleton, the “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing”/MODOK first appeared in the pages of Tales of Suspense back in 1967. The deranged, cybernetic would-be conqueror has been a thorn in the side of numerous Avengers and a mainstay of Marvel videogames, though he’s had a tumultuous life on the big and small screen. While I best know the character from his appearances in the 1990’s Iron Man cartoon, most mainstream audiences probably best know him from his infamous appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Reed, 2023). Before that debacle, MODOK received his own adult animated series on Hulu, the first in what was planned to be a bunch of adult animated series before his fellow “Offenders” were summarily cancelled. A stop-motion production in the style of the similarly-themed Robot Chicken (2005 to present), M.O.D.O.K. was well-received upon first airing. Though some found it incomparable to its peers, most reviews praised the vulgar tragicomedy for its workplace humour and entertaining performances. Unfortunately, neither the generally positive reactions or a Golden Trailer Award nomination were enough to produce a second season and M.O.D.O.K. was cancelled after only one season.
The Plot:
After failing to conquer the world, MODOK (Oswalt) loses control of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) when it goes bankrupt and schemes to regain his position while dealing with a failing marriage and a mid-life crisis.
The Review:
M.O.D.O.K. is an adult stop-motion animated series in the same visual style of Robot Chicken, a show I haven’t watched all that much but have enjoyed its zany take on pop culture. However, I used to watch The Adam and Joe Show (1996 to 1999) as a kid and that regularly included segments featuring stuffed toys and action figures, so it’s a style I’ve always enjoyed. M.O.D.O.K. skews more towards the action figure aesthetic; this is especially evident in scenes where MODOK and A.I.M. attack Avengers Tower and battle Anthony “Tony” Stark/Iron Man (Jon Hamm), who’s styled after the Toy Biz “Marvel Super Heroes” action figure. Considering how painstaking stop-motion animation is, I’m surprised by how long each episode is, with each clocking in at around twenty-five minutes; though it’s my understanding that the animation studio, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, used elaborate puppets during filming. The result is a very surreal animation style that perfectly matches the bizarre nature of the show, which is much cruder and ruder than the average Marvel production. M.O.D.O.K. features blood, violence, a touch of body horror (both in MODOK’s unsightly appearance and in a Fly-like (Various, 1957; 1958 to 1989) genetic monstrosity), and some swears, thus firmly setting it as a more adult-orientated show. Additionally, and most prominently, M.O.D.O.K. tackles adult themes such as divorce, mid-life crises, and navigating an increasing unstable workplace undergoing corporate mandated overhauls to be more politically correct and accommodating. As enjoyable as it is to see characters have half their faces melted off, blood and guts burst on the screen, and MODOK’s long-suffering (but endlessly enthusiastic) henchman Garfield “Gary” Garoldson (Sam Richardson) get his arm blown off just for standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s the domestic drama where M.O.D.O.K. really shines. There’s an unexpected pathos laced throughout the show as MODOK desperately attempts to win back his frustrated wife, Jodie Ramirez-Tarleton (Garcia), and the approval of his kids, aspiring supervillain Mental Entity Living to Induce Seriously Sinister Anarchy/Melissa (Fumero) and endlessly jovial Lanky Organism Undeniably Irresistible and Syphilitic/Lou (Schwartz).
MODOK’s family is acutely aware of his evil deeds; it’s hard for them not to be since the only thing he talks about at home is himself, how superior he is, and spinning disastrous failures into overblown wins just because he stole Iron Man’s boot. MODOK’s obsession with destroying the Avengers and conquering the world stems from his childhood, where he was relentlessly bullied for his big head and supervillain-level genius. However, his loving mother (Unknown) encouraged his ambition and he continuously experimented on himself with science and cybernetics in a bid to take over he world and “improve” it with his own twisted version of a utopia. Unfortunately, MODOK’s preoccupation with this goal has caused him to neglect his family: he barely acknowledges Jodie’s success as a self-help guru or her upcoming book launch, Melissa resents him for embarrassing her and not acknowledging her opinions, and Lou, though seemingly cheerful, is hiding his own insecurities behind a happy-go-lucky façade and an amateur interest in stage magic. When MODOK’s reckless spending pushes A.I.M. to the brink of bankruptcy, MODOK’s forced to sell to young, socially aware Austin Van der Sleet (Bennett), owner of tech company GRUMBL, who, despite his assurances, makes so many changes to A.I.M.’s corporate structure that MODOK is eventually reduced to a mere mailman. His frustrations see his marriage crumble; realising they no longer have anything in common, Jodie demands a divorce and kicks MODOK out, forcing him to live in squalor with the family’s underappreciated robot slave, the Super-Adaptoid (Daly). When MODOK’s begging and pleading for a second chance fail, he and Gary break into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division’s (S.H.I.E.L.D.) headquarters and steal a time machine, desperate to undo a past mistake and take Jodie to a Third Eye Blind concert to rekindle their love. However, the attempts fails when she’s angered at him using the jaunt to also try and assassinate Austin and he inadvertently creates the show’s overarching villain when his ineptitude angers his past self and displaces him from time after he shatters the time machine’s Chrono Crystal.
Jodie’s frustration with MODOK is well founded; he’s an egotistical, selfish, obnoxious braggart who causes chaos wherever he goes. At work, MODOK is largely idolised by A.I.M.’s mostly nameless and faceless beekeepers; MODOK shows he cares for them when he begs Austin to keep them employed, but also treats them as disposable pawns when enacting his plans. Jodie feels a degree of the same disregard, constantly feeling second fiddle to MODOK’s greater aspirations, and forces a separation so she can get her life in order. When she starts dating Simon Williams/Wonder Man (Nathan Fillion), Jodie sees her stock and fame skyrocket due to the sordid publicity surrounding Wonder Man and she shamelessly embraces it. She manipulates both Wonder Man and MODOK to promote her book, coldly using the limelight-loving superhero for her own ends, and even injects Lou with a serum to give him a peanut allergy to give him a personality flaw, showing why she’d fall for a supervillain in the first place. It’s clear Jodie and MODOK still have feelings for each other (when trapped in the past, they grow old and rekindle their feelings, only to be erased from time) but they struggle to reconcile even for the sake of their kids. Melissa, though a female copy of MODOK, is actually very popular and has aspirations of being a supervillain but is continuously let down by him ignoring her input. She expertly teaches him how to psychologically manipulate others during a work conference, only for him to default to a grandiose plan for hero worship by opening a portal to the Broodworld. She works hard to give him a makeover, but he ruins his new look by brawling with Wonder Man. It’s doubly frustrating for Melissa considering she’s the most pragmatic of the family. Indeed, when faced with discovering which of them are murderous robot doubles created by Arcade (Alan Tudyk), Melissa doesn’t hesitate to slaughter their doppelgängers either on a whim or by closely watching their body language and behaviour.
Lou is the black sheep of the family. Whereas MODOK and Melissa and even Jodie can be cruel, cold-hearted, and manipulative in their own ways, Lou is kind and jovial, without a care in the world. Not confined to a floating machine like his sister and father, Lou’s free to express his boundless energy, seemingly finding the good in every situation, no matter how dire. The only concern he seems to have is about his upcoming Bar-Mitzvah, and even then he just wants to perform magic for his audience; a desire so great that it drives him to chase after his props when MODOK callously transports them to Asgard. There, he earns the awe and loyalty of the goblin-like Kodolds, setting him against his father but ultimately aiding him in escaping death when he learns the MODOK is just trying to protect him from possible humiliation. While his family love him, Lou’s mostly perplexing to them; he finds a kindred spirit in outcast, sullen goth Carmilla Rappaccini (Zara Mizrahi) and gains a brother when he befriends his robot duplicate, but an overriding concern of MODOK and Jodie’s is that Lou is hiding his pain behind his magic. MODOK’s attempts to be a good father, win back Jodie, and regain control of A.I.M. see him turning to lower-tier supervillains for assistance when big shots like Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Bill Hader) and Doctor Nathanial Essex/Mister Sinister (Kevin Michael Richardson) turn him away. Begrudgingly relying on the Super-Adaptoid for company and transport, MODOK forms a crew consisting of David Angar/Angar the Screamer (Bill Hader), Antonio Rodriguez/Armadillo (Dustin Ybarra), Bruno Horgan/The Melter (Eddie Pepitone), Marion Pouncy/Poundcakes (Whoopi Goldberg), and Alvin Healy/Tenpin (Chris Parnell) to steal Captain Steve Rogers/Captain America’s shield and curry favour. Naturally, this goes hideously awry when the D-listers get distracted by their own personal dramas and incompetence, and when they abandon MODOK after learning he was manipulating them. However, MODOK comes to sympathise with the downtrodden villains and they agree to storm Avengers Tower, only to fall asleep on the trip and the Melter to die from excitement.
MODOK’s abrasive personality and disregard for his underlings means he has many enemies beyond the likes of Iron Man, even within his own company. Most notably, he’s constantly challenged at work by Monica Rappaccini (McLendon-Covey), an A.I.M. scientist whose genius matches, or many even surpasses, that of MODOK. Initially excited to be hired as another disposable beekeeper since she idolised MODOK, Monica slowly came to resent him when he not only undermined her inventions but also took credit for her killing an unnamed Avenger. Monica’s frustrations with MODOK’s leadership lead to her betraying him and siding with Austin, fooling the cybernetic villain with her jelly-like doubles and taking his place as A.I.M.’s “Scientist Supreme”. Despite her lofty position, Monica becomes paranoid when MODOK seemingly embraces his new position as a mailman, but ends up partnering with him when he sells a controlling share of A.I.M. to Iron Man and sets up A-I-M-2 with Gary once it’s revealed that Austin’s masters, a sentient, alien corporation known as the Hexus, plans to brainwash the world with their new GROME device. The exact opposite of MODOK, Austin is an overly friendly and accommodating boss who insists his employees take regular breaks, vacations, and relaxation time. Claiming to idolise MODOK, Austin repeatedly tolerates his abusive behaviour until he’s caught stealing from the company, but eventually turns on his alien masters when they order him to dispose of his beloved dog, though being on the same side doesn’t stop him from being run down by Gary. The show’s ultimate villain is MODOK himself, literally and figuratively. A younger version of him becomes displaced from time and, angered at MODOK’s failures, conspires with the likes of Arcade to kill his family and set MODOK towards world domination. Calling himself “The Anomaly”, this younger MODOK shows his older self that his plans are destined to fail unless his family dies. While MODOK cannot bring himself to sacrifice the ones he loves and is determined to have it all, the Anomaly is not so morally inclined and murders his wife and children, creating a dystopian future where MODOK rules all. However, when he exhausts the energy of the Chrono Crystal and the life of his younger counterpart, the sullen dictator vows to find a way to bring his family back and retain his supreme position, ending the show on an unresolved cliff-hanger.
The Summary:
Though not set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), M.O.D.O.K. is clearly influenced by it in many ways. Avengers Tower, for example is basically a carbon copy of the MCU’s version and Iron Man is a snarky asshole like in the films. Other characters, like MODOK’s crew and the assorted villain cameos, are styled more after their comic book counterparts. Even S.H.I.E.L.D.’s uniform is modelled after the comics and A.I.M.’s employees are all rendered anonymous by their comic accurate beekeeper outfits. MODOK, though, is ironically more akin to his later MCU counterpart than the source material. Rather than being a frothing, maniacal supervillain, he’s an insecure, angry, petty cyborg lashing out at the world around him. MODOK is seen as a lesser-tier villain, even more so than in the 1990’s Iron Man cartoon where he was a glorified henchman; he’s not allowed in the supervillain club and ends up slumming it with D-list villains. When MODOK approaches Iron Man with an offer to buy A.I.M., the armoured Avenger initially believes he’s there for a fight and downplays MODOK’s threat, despite the rotund villain sporting various dangerous weaponry such as buzzsaws, claw arms, and his iconic brain blasts. Thus, just as his kids seek his approval and the likes of Gary and the Super-Adaptoid long to be recognised for their significance, so too does MODOK strive to be acknowledged as a (or the) superior being. His plots and ambitions are lofty and often exceed his grasp, causing him to steal technology from others or claim ownership of victories that weren’t his own. Constantly, desperately seeking approval and acceptance, he initially plans to save a party of investors from the Brood then quickly takes credit for the party-loving Ciegrimites who arrive instead. He manipulates an army of Asgardians into attacking the Kobolds since his systems have been damaged and ends up bleeding out when his younger counterpart fatally wounds him, only to be begrudgingly saved by Melissa.
Many episodes have great moments in them, either spontaneous scenes of violence, workplace gags where MODOK is taken to human resources, or emotionally charged explorations of MODOK’s fragmented family life. “The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot!” was a pivotal episode not just for exploring MODOK and Jodie’s past but also for introducing the younger MODOK, who isn’t held back by the domestic drama that befuddles his elder’s life. The plot twist of the Ciegrimites being so party hard that they literally dance people to death was fun, but I really enjoyed watching Melissa teach her dad how to emotionally manipulate people into seeking validation from him, and Monica’s desperate attempts to get out of using her corporate-mandated vacation time in “If Bureaucracy Be… Thy Death!”, which also showed how low MODOK will stoop to be seen as a great villain. “This Man… This Makeover!” showed a darker side to Jodie, who becomes consumed by the fame being associated with Wonder Man brings her and her book, to the point where she disregards Wonder Man’s very real feelings for her and manipulates MODOK into embracing his base instincts just to make headlines. “O, Were Blood Thicker Than Robot Juice!” promises a reconciliation for the family, only to reveal that Jodie, Melissa, and Lou have been replaced by Arcade’s robots. Arcade then forces them to fight to the death against multiple robotic duplicates, a fight easily won by the real family not because they know each other so well, but because Melissa eagerly resorts to violence. I loved the satirical take on corporate greed that comes to the forefront in “What Menace Doth the Mailman Deliver!”, where the Hexus’ plot to control and conquer the world is seen as a heinous by-product of their dislike of Austin’s puppy. This episode also commentated on society’s dependence and love for smart technology like Alexa by having the GROME brutally murder people when activated. The show ends with a surprisingly emotional gut punch in the aptly named “Days of Future M.O.D.O.K.s”, where MODOK’s forced to see that the only way he’ll conquer the world is if his family dies before his eyes. He’s complicit in this and is brought no joy at being the undisputed master and ruler of the world, but is sure to torture the Anomaly to death to both see glimpses of his family and make him pay for making him endure such a loss.
Thus, MODOK’s characterisation may irk fans of the character. He’s a very co-dependent, egotistical narcissist, one who takes his family for granted and demands adulation without really earning it. The juxtaposition of this gruesome supervillain cackling away with his minions and bludgeoning his enemies retreating to suburban mundanity is amusing. MODOK’s efforts to destroy his enemies and retake his company are seen as equal to his attempts to win the favour of his kids and deal with his messy divorce, casting him as a desperate and clingy villain whose knee-jerk reaction is to blast his way out of every situation. Eventually, he embraces his wife’s teachings and tries to turn his life around, then braves Arcade’s death trap to save them when they’re replaced by robot doubles, ultimately refusing to kill them but, paradoxically, also not trying to save them when they’re targeted by the Anomaly. I loved the biting wit and satire at work in the show, and the explosive violence. Seeing the dolls get torn to shreds, guts and gore splattering everywhere, was really fun and the occasional swears really hammered home that this was a different sort of Marvel project. The animation was commendable, with the dolls and puppets showcasing a lot of personality, none more so than MODOK, expertly brought to life by Patton Oswalt as an insecure, unpredictable villain burdened by time and family life and desperate to make his mark on history. It’s a shame the show was cancelled without a proper resolution as the door was left wide open for more episodes. There were many plot threads left dangling that promised greater things in another season and plenty of places for the characters to go, especially as M.O.D.O.K. wasn’t afraid to explore surreal, colourful, and obscure aspects of the Marvel Universe. I really enjoyed the marriage of suburban drama with violent, over-the-top comic book action; seeing MODOK struggle to adapt to corporate policy and appease his children was as enjoyable as his fight for world domination. He might not be a completely faithful rendition of the character, but he’s endlessly more interesting here due to how complex and layered he is, with the show emphasising that he can be a serious threat if given sufficient motivation.
My Rating:
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy M.O.D.O.K.? What did you think to his characterisation as a struggling family man and villain? Did you enjoy the animation style and the various cameos spliced throughout the show? What did you think to Austin, Hexus, and the satirical commentary on corporate synergy? Which of MODOK’s family was your most or least favourite, and did you enjoy the family drama? Would you have liked to see another series, or at least a resolution to the ending? What are some of your favourite MODOK stories? Share your thoughts on M.O.D.O.K. in the comments and then go check out my other sci-fi content on the site!
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