by In Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, some fresh concept art shows how different the MCU’s MODOK might have appeared.
Certain elements of Paul Rudd‘s most recent film infuriated viewers. After all, it is one of the MCU movies with the lowest rating to date.
But Corey Stoll’s MODOK himself is arguably the most divisive aspect in Ant-Man 3. The debate over the figure has been contentious, with some fans fervently praising him and others vehemently detesting him.
On how the character was portrayed by the actor, Stoll is adamant that it “works in the context of Darren’s arc.”
Jeff Loveness, the writer of Ant-Man 3, is frank about the subject, saying that he “refuses to listen to the fans” when it comes to some of the criticism levelled at him.
It’s not all that unexpected how he responded. After all, folks at Marvel Studios probably spent many sleepless nights trying to make such a ridiculous character work.
Design by MODOK for Ant-Man: Quantumania
Concept artist Aleksi Briclot of the current movie Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania posted some fresh MODOK concept art on his Instagram.
The character of MODOK was initially envisioned by Briclot as“a twisted and fucked up version” of Darren Cross, according to Briclot:
“An early concept for MODOK for ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’. A twisted and fucked up version starting from Darren Cross / Yellow Jacket (played by Corey Stoll) having [to] endure the hard and transforming environment that is the quantum realm. Making him a Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.”
He continued by saying that maintaining the connection to the [original material] is “always a challenge:
“Always a challenge to keep the link with the [source material] from the comics and pushing it further while embracing the whole concept of his roots in the movie. At some point some idea about some quantum geysers emerged, aging, deagging, and transforming things. I jumped on the idea and thought about a twisted reconfiguration (was I thinking about the Fly by Cronenberg? Maybe a little bit in the concept…).”
In order for Darren Cross’ resemblance to be revealed at a later time, the artist acknowledged that keeping it disguised was one of the problems.
Fans received extremely accurate concept art, at least visually, despite the fact that some of it clearly deviated from the original text.
In a sense, viewers saw two different designs: first, the floating human head, and then, this sleeker helmeted appearance.
How well did Marvel Studios capture MODOK?
MODOK as a character is an absurd idea.
Many people once believed that a live-action version of any decent calibre could never have succeeded in portraying the villain.
Despite serious concerns about the final product’s quality, many people firmly feel Marvel Studios did the floating head—and his naked ass—justice. It’s difficult to argue that the outcome, at the very least, looks as good as the comics.
In fact, for some people, that just might have rescued the character. If the design had been drastically different from the recently revealed art, there would probably be even more opposition to the character.
Will MODOK ever be seen again, though? Perhaps Darren Cross has another miracle up his little sleeve after once escaping near death.
Or maybe Marvel will introduce a more closely aligned version of the character with the comics using the Multiverse. Not Darren Cross gets a bigger head in the original material.
George Tarleton, who earlier worked for the terrible corporation AIM, received that privilege. He might still be able to join the MCU.
In theatres all throughout the world, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently showing.
