Warning – The article below contains spoilers as it goes back to one of the plot twists in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” So please go ahead if you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want to know.
Hitting our theaters this Wednesday, February 15th, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania marks the start of Phase V of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where it introduces a little more of the new big bad. Namely, Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, who we already saw at the end of Loki Season 1.
Touted as the future adversary of the Avengers, the latter is not the film’s only antagonist. As the trailers have revealed, MODOK is also part of it. Or the acronym Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing (Organisme Mental Solement Destiné à Tuer, if we wanted to translate it into French), and a character with a head as big as his arms and legs are small.
In the comics, his real name is George Talleron, a technician for the criminal organization AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) who voluntarily transformed himself into a being powerful enough to analyze the cosmic cube seen in the first movie. Captain America. And that’s how he turned into this ridiculous being who is gifted with telepathy and can generate a psychic beam.
MODOK in the comics
That’s what comics show. Or the stop-motion animated series available on Disney+, which unfortunately only had one season (probably so as not to conflict with the plans of the MCU, from which it was independent), and its side craft, black humor, violence. And his anti-hero’s bad temper made him a bit of a jerk.
On the big screen, MODOK changes its identity. As some may have guessed in the rare trailer footage in which he appeared, we see Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) in costume. Or the first Ant-Man villain, who was thought to be mortal but was actually transported to the quantum universe, where he believes he can exact his revenge when Scott arrives there.
MODOK in “Ant-Man 3”.
“When we started developing the story, we liked the idea of MODOK lurking in the shadows of the MCU and wondered how it would play out in live action.”Peyton Reed explains when we ask him about the reason for this twist. “And looking at Kang and how she might have met Scott Lang, we figured she might need some beasts.”
“And I came up with this idea. At the end of the first movie, we saw Darren Cross undone, but basically reduced to a blob as he spun around. We assumed he was dead … but he landed in the Quantum Realm, where he was. Found by Kang’s forces And transform into something completely different?”
Corey Stoll liked the idea of being able to return to the Ant-Man saga, but in a different way and in a different context.
“I remember the day I called Corey Stoll to pitch the idea to him: he was laughing on the other end of the line. Corey was a comic book fan when he was little, so he knew exactly who I was talking about. He liked the idea of being able to return to the Ant-Man saga, but in a different way and in a different context. That’s why we went in that direction.”
If you didn’t know the character and his presence in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania intrigued you (which is understandable), you can turn to the comics or the animated series dedicated to MODOK to learn more about him.
Peyton Reed’s comments were collected in Paris on February 15, 2023
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
