Who is Ant-Man villain MODOK? Bizarre Marvel character explained

Unsurprisingly, the character has long been thought unadaptable to live-action, but those mavericks at Marvel Studios are giving it their best shot, bringing original Ant-Man star Corey Stoll out of retirement for the zany gig.

So far, we've had only a tiny glimpse of the actor's digitally enlarged face, but it won't be long until it's occupying enormous cinema screens across the globe. Here's what you ought to know before then.

Who is MODOK?

MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) was once an ordinary man named George Tarleton, who worked as a lab technician for a dangerous think tank called Advanced Idea Mechanics – better known as AIM.

The group is best known for selling weapons of enormous power to super villains, with the Cosmic Cube being perhaps its most celebrated creation for its sheer destructive capability.

Tarleton was forcibly transformed into a being of unfathomable intellect so that he may better understand the inner workings of the Cube, but he swiftly turned against his creators to become the new 'head' of AIM.

This position brought him into conflict against several Marvel heroes, including the Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man, while he also faced treachery from within his own ranks.

MODOK has been ousted as AIM's Scientist Supreme on several occasions, which recently drove him into an uneasy alliance with SHIELD's Maria Hill and her covert Secret Avengers team.

Though somewhat daft in appearance and often played for laughs, MODOK can be a genuine threat thanks to his enhanced intelligence, telepathy and psionic blasts, as well as the numerous weapons hidden in his so-called Doomsday Throne.

Who plays MODOK in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania?

MODOK is portrayed by actor Corey Stoll in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The genesis of MODOK has been substantially changed for the latest film in the Ant-Man series.

In the 2015 film Ant-Man, Stoll played Darren Cross, a former protege-turned-rival to Hank Pym, who wanted to mass-produce and weaponise his miniaturisation technology for use in war zones around the world.

In this mission, he produced his own suit – dubbed the Yellowjacket – and attempted to kill Pym as well as Scott Lang, who ultimately defeated him by destroying his armour from the inside.

The result was a nasty scene in which Darren was seemingly crushed and obliterated by his own experimental technology, although it now appears that he may have instead been sent to the quantum realm.

Meanwhile, director Peyton Reed has explained that he "loved" bringing the character to the big screen for the new film.

"MODOK has been talked about for some time [and] it felt like the Ant-Man movies might be the perfect tonal place to introduce a live-action MODOK," he explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. "And then when we hit on the idea of who MODOK turns out to be in the MCU that just made sense to us."

Where have I seen MODOK before?

MODOK has been inching his way into mainstream Marvel culture for some time now, beginning with his appearance as a playable character in the 2011 video game Marvel vs Capcom 3 and its Ultimate re-release.

He was also the primary antagonist in the 2020 Marvel's Avengers game, where players saw a more grounded version of his comic book origin story.

Comedian Patton Oswalt is among the character's celebrity fans, co-creating and starring in an adult animated sitcom simply titled MODOK, which was released on Disney Plus in the UK.

Marvel Studios has previously considered featuring the character in Iron Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Agents of SHIELD, but none of these plans ever went forward.

In the 1990s, MODOK was a supporting antagonist in the Iron Man animated series.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is coming to UK cinemas on Friday 17th February 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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