Who Or What Is MODOK And What He Means For The MCU
Image Source: Marvel Database
From concept to design, MODOK is a pretty iconic character. He is one heavy hitter in Marvel Comics, first appearing in issue 94 of Tales of Suspense and becoming a Captain America regular, among other appearances. Outside of a few animated appearances and a non-canon stop-motion show, he has not been on-screen too often. You may be wondering who he is and what he holds for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). We will break it down here!
MODOK was originally George Tarleton, a technician working for A.I.M., the Advanced Idea Mechanics research and development agency. The origin of Tarleton varies in the comics, but they agree that he joined the A.I.M. project to work on the Cosmic Cube or the Tesseract in the MCU canon. Knowing that this device could absolutely wreck the human body, the scientists mutated Tarleton into MODOC, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing.
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Image Source: Villains Wiki
With his enlarged size, the scientists designed a chair for MODOC that not only gave extra support to his body but also boosted his newly found psychic abilities. The enhanced abilities gave MODOC a more intense desire to fulfill his own ambitions. In short order, he turns on his creators and becomes MODOK, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.
Historically, the being had many contacts with other MCU protagonists and antagonists. He becomes a major antagonist for Captain America after a run-in during a rescue mission. The relationship is long-running and made the being a little short-sighted. MODOK also has a history with the Hulk and his associates. He even has a romantic relationship with an associate of Banner. It doesn’t pan out well, but rather than kill her, he returns her to normal.
MODOK has a history with Namor and Doctor Doom as well. Namor was taken prisoner after a battle went wrong, which forced his associate Doctor Doom to rescue the mutant. This was a lost battle for MODOK when the two went after the Cosmic Cube. The device was used to blow up the base, providing a means for the two to escape.
Image Source: IMDb
A. I. M. already made an appearance in the MCU with Aldrich Killian as its founder and CEO. However, he was killed in Iron Man 3. He became relevant again when he was mentioned in Shang-Chi, which makes A. I. M. relevant as well. With their company already established to still be in existence, a version of MODOK is a plausible concept.
The technology already exists in the MCU to some degree for mental-computerized combinations. Doctor Zola, also a Captain America villain, had his brain essentially implanted into a computer system. This could be the basis for MODOK’s concept to come to fruition. While Zola may have been blown up, the plans and research behind the computer brain likely remained intact through digital copies.
With Ant-Man 3 taking place mostly in the Quantum realm, the Multiverse could also come into play. Taking a more robotic approach to the character, a different earth could develop the robotic being and send him off. Seeing as Kang is a known heavy hitter in the movie and that MODOK is “designed only for killing,” the man could bring the being in as a means to an end. The possibilities for MODOK are wide-ranged and could vary in importance.
No matter where Ant-Man 3 takes the character, it likely isn’t the last we see of him. Considering how the future of the Captain America films is being kept under wraps, this could be a setup for Sam Wilson to get his own unique major antagonist.
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Source(s): CBR, Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki [1], [2], Marvel Database
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