by The author of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has admitted that he is uninterested in hearing what fans have to say about MODOK.
Although though moviegoers were aware that the floating head will appear in the recently released movie, it appears that many were still unprepared for him.
The character was changed for his MCU version to become Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross, who had survived his disastrous defeat in the first Ant-Man movie from 2015. He actually made it out of the Quantum Realm and was saved, butt and all, by Kang the Conqueror from Jonathan Majors.
Several of his admirers have expressed their discontent with the way his story was handled in the adaptation as well as the visual effects that were used to create his appearance on screen.
MODOK Supporters Are In The Wrong
Author of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Jeff Loveness discussed his thoughts on MODOK in an interview with Vital Thrills, but he maintained his position on the MCU’s treatment of the antagonist.
Loveness vowed that if the villain from Corey Stoll’s film appeared as an Avenger, “he will be even stupider.” According to the author of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, he “refuses to listen to the fans” who desire a more “serious adaptation” of the character with the big head:
“Uh… if I say yes, I promise you he will be even stupider. I refuse to listen to the fans on this. I will not make MODOK serious. As long as I’m alive, they’re not gonna get that serious adaptation that those four fans want. He’ll be a big dumb head. That’s all.”
The author admitted to Slashfilm that it wasn’t his idea to transform Darren Cross into MODOK.
Loveness said that he “quickly grabbed on that [concept],” but that the idea actually belonged to the filmmaker “Peyton Reed’s idea:”
“Oh, right. I don’t know anything about that. I never read anything like that. I don’t know. It could maybe, but it was never in my time over there. I believe it was Peyton Reed’s idea to make Darren Cross into MODOK, but I immediately jumped on that and pitched real hard on it. I think we kind of built that character together.”
Loveness continued by saying that he’ll always “go to the mat for MODOK” and that the fans who disagree with the villain are “wrong.”
“Let me just say, the people who are divided, they’re wrong. I will go to the mat for MODOK. I am so happy. And it was such a fight. And it was such a labor of love and passion and all that, just to get the comedy balance of this guy. And hey, I’m a big comics guy, I’m sure you are, too. We’re on the internet. People got opinions. Those motherf***ers are wrong. I’m sorry, you want to do a serious take on MODOK? I played that “Avengers” game on PS5, good luck. Yeah, yeah, yeah, come back later.”
He stated emphatically that “[he’]s very happy with what [they] did” to emphasise his point.
“I’ll take all the punches that they want, critiques, whatever, but MODOK? No, no, no, no. I’m very happy with what we did.”
Prior to this, Stoll justified the development of his character, stating that the drastic changes “[work] in the context of Darren’s arc:”
Jeff Loveness, who wrote the script, and Peyton and Paul made a very strong choice to retcon — is that the word? — this new reason for MODOK to be. I think it really works. It certainly works in the context of Darren’s arc.”
Creating a proper MODOK for Ant-Man 3
Loveness would never have been able to satisfy everyone’s needs with a character like MODOK.
One is that the automated bad guy intentionally shocks. No matter how well the Effects are done, MODOK will always appear strange.
Regarding the humorous aspects of the character, given how bizarre he is, it makes perfect sense why the show skewed towards that perspective.
Loveness did cite the most recent Avengers video game as an illustration of an alternative interpretation of the character. It has a tonne of problems and was handled in a generally unpleasant manner, but its narrative is usually one of its few redeeming qualities.
This includes taking MODOK, who is also the character’s initial iteration and goes by the name George Tarleton, seriously. Thus, that game might be for you if you want to perceive the villain in a less humorous aspect.
However, if you’re interested in a copy, you should act quickly because if the game shuts down entirely, it will be far more difficult to locate one.
In theatres all throughout the world, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently showing.
