Yeah…It’s Gonna Suck: Hulu’s M.O.D.O.K
MODOK, is one of Marvel’s better supervillains. Generally speaking, a comic book supervillain falls into one of two archetypes.
- The Brawn. This guy is the muscle, and muscle is about all that he brings to the party. The Brawn is characterized by low intelligence and is very much a creature of the id. He is driven by his baser desires. And is as quick to anger as he is to drooling lust. He doesn’t eat, he gorges. He doesn’t drink, he gets drunk. His typical weakness is that he has very little self-control.
- The Brain. Pretty much the mirror opposite of the Brawn. Where the Brawn is compelled by the id the Brain is a creation of the super-ego. He is all intellect. Unconcerned with the desires of the flesh, the Brain lives only to expand his mental prowess. His ambitions are as vast as his ego. He views other humans as less evolved organisms barely worthy of his contempt. His typical weakness is his ego.
MODOK is very much a Brain. Created by Stan Lee and designed by Jack Kirby, MODOK is the extreme version of this archetype. In fact, he is nearly a caricature of it.
His brain is the only thing that matters. The rest of his body is a nearly a useless, vestigial appendage.
George Tarleton was a technician at the arms dealing organization Advanced Idea Mechanics. He underwent a process that was AIMed (sorry) at producing higher intelligence; Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing. It succeeded but at the cost of making Tarleton freakishly deformed. He rebelled against his creators, took over AIM, and changed the C in his name into K, for killing.
MODOK has psionic powers enabling him to contact others through telepathy, mentally control individuals or large groups, and generate forcefields able to withstand minor nuclear explosions. Courtesy of A.I.M. technology, MODOK wears a headband that enables him to focus his mental power into devastating mind-beams. And a comprehensive capacity so vast it is nearly precognitive.
He was originally one of Captain America’s enemies. But was powerful enough to be the bane of most of the heroes of the Marvelverse at one time or another.
So, when a HULU series starring MODOK was announced fan interest was aroused.
And then they got see him.
It’s hardly a secret that Marvel Comics is circling the drain and now it looks like Marvel TV has decided to join it.
Animated shows are a major priority for everyone at the moment because people can work on them at home. So when Disney announced it was pulling the plug on Netflix’s Marvel shows it was only natural that they offer their own replacements on a streaming service they own. The announcement was for four original series. Howard the Duck, Tigra, and Dazzler, Hit Monkey and MODOK. They were supposed to be brought together in a separate series called The Offenders.
Tigra and Dazzler were shelved after the entire writer’s room walked out. I’m not sure what they were complaining about. It was supposed to be about “two Woke heroes living in Los Angles.” They had to have been in love with the concept. Who wouldn’t be?
Keven Smith’s Howard the Duck was the next one to go on “hiatus.” Presumably because it was being run by Keven Smith. Leaving only Hit Monkey and MODOK standing when the dust settled.
In case you are wondering; what, is wrong with it? It’s being run by Patton Oswalt. Mystery solved.
The setup for this show is that after decades of trying to take over the world MODOK has run AIM into the ground and has been kicked out by the board. His (Woke) marriage is falling apart, he can’t relate to his kids and he is about to have a mid-life crisis. I’m reasonably certain that you get to hear Patton Oswalt yelling in a manner that is meant to inspire humor (I guess you’d have to call it that).
If you are really, really into self-referential humor then this one is for you.
If you are anybody else then, yeah… It’s gonna suck.
