The Strangest MODOKs Marvel Ever Introduced Before Ant-Man 3
MODOK is one of the strangest characters in the Marvel Universe, whose recent appearance in "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" (where he's played by Corey Stoll) finally made the cult-favorite villain a household name amid the general public. The Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing has a storied history in the pages of Marvel Comics, as his transformation from scientist to giant-headed supervillain remains one of the most bizarre visuals of any hero or villain in ... well, ever.
Since debuting in "Tales of Suspense #93" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby more than 50 years ago, MODOK has become an Avengers-level threat whose thirst for killing and control has long defined the villain. In "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania," his origin is changed quite a bit to connect with the first "Ant-Man" film and Kang the Conqueror, but his murderous spirit and unusual form remains intact. Like his comic counterpart, murder remains his number one priority, leading him into direct conflict with the heroes trapped in the Quantum Realm.
As weird as normal MODOK is, though, his variants are even weirder. Over time, there have been several alternate versions of MODOK introduced from across the different Earths that are just as unique, if not more so, than the original. While the variants have their own distinct directives, appearances, and ultimate goals, they're all undeniably molded from the original villain.
Ms. MODOK Has A Surprise Hulk Connection
Before becoming Ms. MODOK in "The Incredible Hulk #290, scientist and secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Kate Waynesboro was hired by the Hulk as a lab assistant, which led to a surprise romance between her and the Jade Giant. Unfortunately, the relationship wouldn't last, as she was kidnapped by the Abomination, who tried to deliver her to MODOK in order to draw out the Hulk. However, with MODOK getting the boot from A.I.M., the organization decides to turn Waynesboro into a new version of the deadly villain, using a new experiment to transform her into Ms. MODOK.
While A.I.M. planned on using Ms. MODOK as a weapon to take down Hulk and MODOK, she ultimately rebelled against their attempts to use her as their own killing machine. Referring to herself as a "new entity" who does only as she desires, she briefly offered to join MODOK, even giving her hand in marriage to the Marvel supervillain. But, upon witnessing MODOK kill Abomination, Ms. MODOK determined all life has value, putting her in obvious, direct conflict with the machine made only for killing. Hulk and his transformed former partner teamed up to take down MODOK, leading to a chaotic battle, ending Waynesboro's time as Ms. MODOK, and the villain reverts her back to her human form.
While Ms. MODOK's time was brief, she proved that not all versions of the character needed to be deadly killing machines. The comic also illustrated once again that MODOK, despite his occasional efforts at romance, is always destined to be alone.
BRODOK Was MODOK's Attempt At Reinventing Himself
In Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli's incredibly fun 2018 "West Coast Avengers" run, the young superteam led by Hawkeye was introduced to a new version of MODOK in disguise, who went by the name BRODOK. After adding new romance code to a hunky new body, BRODOK (Bio-Robotic Organism Designed Overwhelmingly for Kissing) tries to pretend like he isn't MODOK with a different appearance, a ruse the West Coast Avengers quickly sees through.
BRODOK, instead of being a giant floating head like his previous form, only has a slightly bigger head than usual. However, when women reject his newly-chiseled physique and unwanted advances, he turns them into monsters – including briefly transforming Kate Bishop into a giant bird and Tigra into a massive, destructive version of herself. Before things got too deadly, the West Coast Avengers manage to turn BRODOK back into MODOK, even though he claims not to be the latter until the very last second.
Despite trading in his usual hilarious form for a Fabio-like appearance, MODOK's personality, even when reprogrammed to focus on love, ends up being his downfall — because even as BRODOK, he doesn't abandon MODOK's killer (and self-centered) ways.
HECTOR Combined The Marvel and DC Universes
In the mid-90s, Marvel and DC's rivalry momentarily ended, when both comics companies merged their universes, creating an entire world of combined heroes and villains known as the Amalgam Universe. In "Iron Lantern" #1 by Kurt Busiek and Paul Smith, readers were introduced to Harold Stark, a combined version of Iron Man and the Green Lantern. In the story, the Iron Lantern brings HECTOR (Highly Evolved Creature Totally Orientated on Revenge) to OA the Living Planet, where he intends to imprison the villain. While his time in the comic is brief, HECTOR is one of MODOK's best variants.
HECTOR is the amalgamation of two big-headed villains in the Marvel and DC Universe — MODOK and Hector Hammond — the latter being a Green Lantern villain who significantly increases his brainpower at the cost of being unable to move his body due to his huge head. This merging is a stroke of brilliance that is just as entertaining as you would hope, and HECTOR nearly overtakes the planet before being stopped by Iron Lantern.
The Amalgam Universe was a strange place, and while Thanoseid (Thanos and Darkseid) and Galactiac (Brainiac and Galactus) are the most oft-remembered villains to spin out of the Amalgam world, HECTOR deserves the same respect. It's doubtful the Amalgam Universe will ever return, given the unlikelihood of a modern inter-company crossover, but HECTOR proved that bringing the two together offered near-limitless creative possibilities.
Don't forget MODAAK and MOODOK (and more)
MODOK is a strange supervillain himself, but across the Multiverse, some of his variants exceed his bizarre nature and existence. While most MODOK variants only made small cameos in stories outside the main Marvel Universe, some are still notable and worth mentioning. For example, on Earth-8311, home to animal versions of superheroes, including Spider-Ham, Captain Americat, and Hulk Bunny, a cow version of MODOK named MOODOK exists. In that world, he was part of the Swinester Six, joining the likes of Doctor Octopussycat, Raven the Hunter, and Ducktor Doom in trying to take down the web-slinging hero.
In Spider-Gwen's Earth-65, MODOK is MODAAK, the Mental Organism Design as America's King, with the design for the villain looking nearly identical to former U.S. President Donald Trump. Earth-65's version of Captain America defeated the villain before he could become too deadly through his evil patriotic methods. The design represents one of Marvel's more obvious and biting satires of recent years.
In Marvel's "Secret Wars: Battleworld" crossovers, several versions of MODOK from across the Multiverse were also revealed. Among them is a Spider-Man counterpart who is essentially a giant Spider-Man mask, a version of Ghost Rider with the Spirit of Vengeance forced to participate in Battleworlds Ghost Races, and an undead version of MODOK who was Frankenstein.
Ultimately, this just goes to show how MODOK is one of Marvel's most iconic villains, and it's great that he's finally getting the widespread recognition he deserves. MODOK has stood the test of time and was adapted to live-action for a reason: he's awesome, and a perfect example of just how wacky comics can get.