Who Are The Snail People From MODOK Episode 3?
Contains spoilers for "Marvel's MODOK" Episode 3
"Marvel's MODOK" is filled with plenty of Marvel Comics Easter eggs and it's a joy to try to figure out the properties from which the writers and producers have pulled them. But some of the references are so obscure it's easy to think they've just been made up for the purpose of the Hulu series. Although part of why the show is so funny is the way it pokes fun at the absurdity of the Marvel universe, it also puts the spotlight on some underutilized characters and villains. Sure, MODOK (Patton Oswalt) was the main villain of the "Marvel's Avengers" game, but he hasn't really been given the right platform to thrive until the series debuted. The series takes MODOK in a new direction, one which fans have never seen before, exploring the ridiculous nature of the villain as he tries to balance supervillainy, running A.I.M. and also serving as the head of his family — pun intended. Although that doesn't work so well when an ambitious tech company called GRUMBL acquires A.I.M. and MODOK has to work for a smarmy, young entrepreneur named Austin Van Der Sleet (Beck Bennett).
And in typical supervillain style during "MODOK" Episode 3, the title character attempts to wipe out the GRUMBL leadership using a portal to an alien world which is home to the bloodthirsty race known as the Brood. But his plan went slightly awry because the Brood had partied to death with a bunch of (checks notes) ...snail people? Sure. Why not?
The Ciegrimites are the snail people from MODOK Episode 3
So who are the partying Ciegrimites who put an end to the Brood using their hedonistic lifestyle? Well, in the Marvel Comics universe (via Fandom), they're known for making extremely potent alcohol, which they use to trade with other races in exchange for technology and ships to take them around the galaxy. It doesn't help that 7% of their atmosphere is made up of alcohol, so they're pretty much drunk all the time.
They've got a taste for the wild side of life, but they just don't know when to take a breather, and, in "Marvel's MODOK," the alien races they party with literally drop dead because the Ciegrimites take things too far. Their saliva makes other partygoers think they can continue to the point of extreme exhaustion, suggesting that their bodily fluids can act as some kind of illicit substance. We don't even want to know what happened to the guy who has sex with one of the Ciegrimites in a cupboard.
The shell-wearing aliens first debuted back in 1982, in "Hercules" #4, and were created by Bob Layton. They've appeared a handful of times throughout Marvel Comics over the years, occasionally bumping into cosmic heroes like Thor, Quasar, and Nova. Let's hope they never make it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, eh? Knowing Star-Lord, he'd actually sleep with one of them.