by In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios finally introduced a live-action MODOK to the MCU, leaving fans immensely divided on how he appeared.
Ant-Man 3 used MODOK as a supplementary antagonist in addition to Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, revising his origin narrative in a distinctive way for his MCU premiere. As opposed to George Tarleton from the books, Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross—whom Marvel brought back after his alleged demise in 2015’s Ant-Man—was identified as the person responsible for the floating head.
In the second Ant-Man 3 official teaser, Marvel debuted the first image of MODK’s full form, with the malevolent creature coming to life in the Quantum Realm under Kang’s control as he sought to avenge Scott Lang.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania MODOK controversy
Fans had conflicting opinions on Corey Stoll’s MODOK’s appearance and role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum, which introduced him to the MCU.
Even while they didn’t believe the final design was horrible, @zohaib24hdj complained that MODK didn’t have any “old wrinkle lines on his face” and that his lips didn’t seem as stretched out as it does in the comics:
“2 things ruined MODOK ’s look: 1. He needed aged wrinkle lines on his face for the classic visual & 2. His mouth needed stretching to the sides of the face, rather than just a cgi human overlay.Both would have been easy fixes, imo. But still I don’t think he looks bad”
Geroge Lopez’s Mr. Electric from The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl was compared to MODOK by @hottrashbabe, who claimed that Lopez’s character looked better:
“incredibly funny that ant man 3 has a $250 million dollar budget and their MODOK looks insanely worse than mecha george lopez from sharkboy and lava girl”
@Spiders_ Might complained that MODOK was essentially Corey Stoll’s visage stuck on the character’s torso since she didn’t think the MCU had made him hideous enough:
“‘Do you hate it because he looks ugly?’
Nah I hate it because it’s the opposite, I expected the MCU to give him the ugliest face imaginable, but instead they just cgi a dude’s face and head on MODK’s body and called it a day
In a way, he’s ugly……but in a bad way”
MODOK had a considerably more favourable response from @conquercomics, who amusingly compared him to Humpty Dumpty from a folk tale:
“I adored MODOK and his stupid little Humpty Dumpty looking ass. Literally.”
The humorous approach was also taken by @replacewythy, who made it quite clear that MODOK is made for killing rather than for his good looks:
“modok’s not designed to look cool. he’s designed, and I cannot stress this enough, only for killing”
MODK has to be “hideous and difficult to look at,” according to @softyellowpetal, who also noted that nothing could make him appear attractive from a CGI standpoint:
“People talkin shit about ugly MODOK looks in ‘Antman 3’ like y’all know he’s supposed to be hideous and hard to look at, right? He’s a giant floating head with a tiny body, no amount of CGI will make him look good LMAO”
Chaiverson referred to MODK as “a slight detriment to the movie,” not knowing whether they were supposed to be making fun of the character or thinking of him as something cool:
“I felt like MODOK was a slight detriment to the movie honestly. There were so many moments with him where I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be laughing or if it was supposed to be genuinely cool. He really didn’t add anything necessary to the plot either.”
For mainstream audiences, this character will push the envelope of weirdness, according to ComicBook.com’s Kofi Outlaw, who called MODOK “the biggest miss” with a central figure in MCU history:
“This one will def stretch the mainstream viewers to the limit in how ‘Rick and Morty’ weird it is. That said: I liked a lot of it. Michelle Pfeiffer is clutch; MODOK may be the biggest miss the MCU has had with a major character. …post credits set up a W I L D Phase 5 to come”
MODOK was handled “pretty damn well” in the MCU, according to @ChrispyGameplay, observing that the character still made sense:
“I’m gonna say it now, Ant-Man handled MODOK pretty damn well. Literally an impossible/unrealistic character to bring to life, yet they made it made sense. What a fun movie, im excited for the Kang setup, Jonathan Majors fuckin rocks man.”
The addition of MODK impressed Fandango’s Erik Davis, who referred to him as one of “the more crazily memorable MCU characters” he had ever seen:
“MODOK is amazing in ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ – don’t let anyone tell you differently. Among the more ridiculously memorable MCU characters imo.”
Can MODOK Become a Favorite in the MCU?
Fans are discussing whether or not MODOK was a success given the diversity of opinions on Ant-Man 3 as a whole, so this is not surprising. It was predicted that his appearance would be hotly contested, especially given that he is one of the silliest characters ever created in Marvel Comics.
Despite the fact that MODOK’s origin in the MCU is a new one given by Marvel, this is yet another instance of the franchise playing on the comics and bringing something fresh to the big screen.
Also, since MODOK was so extensively featured in the first Phase 5 film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, CGI will be a major subject among viewers as Marvel moves forward with additional CGI-heavy projects.
In theatres currently is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
