Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is going to be a huge entry for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For one, it’ll be the first time audiences see Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror since they last saw one of his Variants in Loki’s first season. But that villain won’t be alone—as originally reported by The Direct, he’ll be joined by the iconic MODOK.
Standing for Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, the big bad is classically seen as a gigantic oversized floating head with small arms and legs. In fact, Patton Oswald recently starred in an animated comedy from FX focused on the big bad.
In the source material, the character was once named George Tarleton, a worker for Advanced Idea Mechanics. The evil company then began experimenting on him, where they gave him superhuman intellect. This led to an enlarged cranium and his oversized appearance. He also happened to gain psychic powers and an advanced throne to sit on.
So, what will the character look like in the MCU? Well, based on reaction to the footage shown at San Diego Comic-Con, he’ll look both different but similar.
A Big Change for MODOK in the MCU
During San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel Studios showed off the first footage of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The teaser showcased the first look of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang taking in his newfound fame, Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, a foreboding Kang performance from Jonathan Majors, and the reveal of Bill Murray joining the MCU.
There was also the official revelation that MODOK would be joining the threequel. The trailer only showcased what seemed to be a single shot of the character—but that was enough to confirm a key change.
It seems the character will be fully robotic. Audiences reported that the visual of a massive face is still intact, but instead, it’s with the interrogation of a large golden face with crimson red eyes—indicating it all to be mechanical.
No further information was available as to who may be playing the character or if there are any organic elements at play.
How Will Marvel Studios Change MODOK’s Appearance?
When it comes to MODOK, if he was ever to be adapted into the MCU, it was clearly going to come with some big changes. Even with all of that, it does seem Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has retained the visual spirit of the character—especially if audiences were able to recognize him so quickly.
There’s still the big question of who’s playing him. Will the character be the same person from the comics who has not yet been hinted at in the MCU up to this point? Or will it be someone else entirely?
Given how it seems Kang’s threat will be in the Quantum Realm, hence the movie’s title, does that mean MODOK helms from there? Could he be the result of someone being trapped, much like Janet van Dyne was for so long?
It may be a good bit before fans get to see the footage for themselves. Maybe there’ll at least be a public trailer to go alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s debut on November 11 later this year.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17, 2023.
