First Look At MODOK, Marvel’s New Thanos?
The latest Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer gives us a clear look at MODOK and shows he is played by Corey Stoll.
Hype is higher than ever for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania after its latest trailer dropped Monday night. The trailer contained many exciting things for Marvel fans, but none were more exciting than the addition of MODOK, the giant-headed robot that has been tormenting our comic heroes for years. Now, that comic villain is officially entering the MCU, and some fans are already proclaiming him to be the new Thanos.
In the trailer, we only get a brief glimpse of MODOK, so it’s not entirely clear what role the famous villain will play in the film. The plot of the movie seems to center on Ant-Man making a devil’s bargain with Kang the Conqueror to rewrite reality and give him back some of the time he lost with his daughter while trapped in the Quantum Realm. Predictably, the deal goes sideways and Kang uses the opportunity to increase his own power, and it’s likely that MODOK gets created or released during the struggle between hero and villain.
One key detail that has fans scratching their heads is that Corey Stoll is playing the character of MODOK, and if you look closely, you may recognize Stoll’s uncovered face during the trailer (in the MCU, it is actually a mask giving MODOK his trademark “giant head” appearance). It’s worth noting that Stoll played Yellowjacket, the villain of the first Ant-Man movie. Considering that the MCU has gone all-in on the concept of bringing in characters from different multiverses, it is not yet clear whether MODOK might be the same character from a different reality (perhaps one where he created a MODOK suit rather than a Yellowjacket suit) or a different MCU character altogether.
For Marvel fans who only really watch the movies and TV shows, though, the MCU MODOK may come as something of a surprise. Before the character’s inclusion in this latest Ant-Man movie, his most prominent appearance was in the M.O.D.O.K. television show, a stop-motion animation production in which the titular character is voiced by Patton Oswalt. That show (which lasted for only one season) presented the character as something of a sympathetic sad sack, but our brief glimpse of him in the MCU shows him as a villain focused purely on destruction.
Of course, this is closer to the character’s comic book roots. MODOK itself is an acronym, and while the “M” sometimes stands for words like “mental” or “mobile,” the acronym generally means “Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing.” The would-be family man of the television show was a funny and fresh take on the character, but turning him back into a murder machine for the MCU is sure to make comics fans happy.
Judging from responses on social media, even getting a brief glimpse of MODOK in the MCU has countless fans excited to see more. While most fans are just happy to see such a goofy comic concept brought to life, others think MODOK may be getting a sleeper introduction as the next Big Bad once the Avengers inevitably defeat Kang. In that case, only time will tell whether this fan-favorite character can hold a candle to Thanos as a cinematic villain.
