Though the movie does have its defenders, it’s probably fair to say that 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Qauntumania is generally viewed as a misfire for Marvel Studios, and M.O.D.O.K. wound up being one of the most widely lambasted aspects of the movie.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his allies encounter the “Mental Organism Designed Only For Killing” (“that’s really M.O.D.O.F.K.”) when they arrive in the Quantum Realm and land on Kang’s (Jonathn Majors) radar. It’s not long before he unmasks and reveals himself to be the first Ant-Man’s villain, Darren Cross (complete with actor Corey Stoll’s massive CG face), who somehow survived as a… giant head with baby arms and legs.
Kang discovered Cross after he was banished to the Quantum Realm, kitted him out with tech, and made him his henchman. Towards the end of the film, Cassie (Kathryn Newton) tells Darren to stop being a dick, so he does (if only she’d said that to Kang, eh?), and sacrifices himself to defeat his master and save the day.
It was always going to be difficult to adapt a character like M.O.D.O.K. for the screen (the fact that he looks silly is kind of the point), but for many fans, the version introduced in Quantumania simply looked a bit too ridiculous. Now, concept artist Constantine Sekeris has shared some of his early designs for the villain, and we think you’ll agree that something like this probably would have worked a lot better.
Ant-Man 3 was released during a bit of a bad patch for the MCU, with the next instalment in the franchise, The Marvels, emerging as the lowest-grossing Marvel Studios film of all time. The studio would later announce a new “quality over quantity” initiative, with fewer movies and Disney+ shows released on a yearly basis.
Super-Hero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together, with Hope’s parents Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Scott’s daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought possible.
Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania also stars Jonathan Majors as Kang, David Dastmalchian as Veb, Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as Quaz and Bill Murray as Lord Krylar.
The MCU threequel is now available to stream on Disney+.
