Of all the discourse to come out of the release of the divisive Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, a passionate debate about MODOK has been one of the loudest aspects of the discussion. From people loving the goofy character, to absolutely hating him, Corey Stoll’s literal killing machine has caused quite the debate, and now Ant-Man 3’s writer Jeff Loveness is defending the choices made regarding MODOK, and he was so passionate about it he dropped an F-bomb.
This divisive character floated into the MCU as Scott and Cassie were trying to escape Kang. We find out MODOK, or Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, is actually Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket from the first Ant-Man. The reveal in the movie is quite funny, and seeing Corey Stoll’s return to the MCU, by way of his face being stretched out while he has itty bitty arms and legs is a sight that’s hard to forget. While speaking with /Film, Jeff Loveness defended the choice to make MODOK silly, and explained why he thinks people are wrong about the human-turned-outrageous machine.
Let me just say, the people who are divided, they're wrong. I will go to the mat for MODOK. I am so happy. And it was such a fight. And it was such a labor of love and passion and all that, just to get the comedy balance of this guy. And hey, I'm a big comics guy, I'm sure you are, too. We're on the internet. People got opinions. Those motherfuckers are wrong. I'm sorry, you want to do a serious take on MODOK? I played that 'Avengers' game on PS5, good luck. Yeah, yeah, yeah, come back later.
It’s clear that Loveness loves the outrageous nature of MODOK, and when he put him in the movie, he wanted to keep that campy, funny tone alive. When it comes to the fans who didn’t like MODOK, and are mad about the decision to put him in the movie the screenwriter said:
I'll take all the punches that they want, critiques, whatever, but MODOK? No, no, no, no. I'm very happy with what we did.
In another interview with Vital Thrills, Loveness continued to defend the choice to make MODOK a really funny character, noting his love for slapstick comedy, explaining:
And the dumb comedy guy in me, man, I cannot believe that I got to do MODOK in that way! I got to do a comedic, fun, stupid version of MODOK and even if it divides people or whatever, I will go to the mat for MODOK. I will bleed out for MODOK!
While many didn’t like MODOK or this movie, I quite liked the unexpected decision. Seeing the Marvel movies introduce some of the funnier, more outlandish, characters from the comics is really exciting. Clearly, Loveness has a similar opinion, because he absolutely loved incorporating this silly character into the MCU, and is passionate about defending the choice to put the killer robot head in the film.
You can watch the Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription, and be sure to keep up with the 2023 film schedule to find out when the next MCU project is set to hit theaters.
Along with MODOK, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has caused a lot of debate among the fans, a lot of it negative. From the inclusion of Corey Stoll’s new character to the controversial ending, this movie took some big swings that hit home runs for some fans and did not please others.
No matter how you feel about MODOK or Quantumania, one thing is true, this movie will influence the MCU in a massive way moving forward. The film’s end credits set up Kang’s big future in the MCU, and it’s clear that the events that went down in the Quantum Realm will impact upcoming Marvel projects, MODOK, mayhem and all.
