The following article includes spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's premiere weekend kicked off with contrasting reception among critics and audiences. However, one common opinion both groups share is a dislike for the MCU's design of its Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, aka MODOK, who’s already started getting some fan-made artwork more in line with his comic book appearance.
MODOK is hardly the first Marvel character whose movie incarnation or concept has proven to be divisive among comic book fans, as Thor: The Dark World's Malekith or Black Widow's Taskmaster also received backlash. However, Ant-Man 3's secondary antagonist could go on to beat any other creation seen before. Despite all that, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has performed well enough for the MCU's standard in its opening weekend. Some even find Corey Stoll's repurposing as MODOK just as funny as the film’s writers intended it to be.
Overall, artist Subi Özil (@subi.ozil) loved MODOK's masked version. Yet, like so many people online, they took issue with Stoll's deformed human face under the mask, even if the reasoning for trying to recreate Stoll's likeness makes sense on paper. In his MODOK redesign, Özil decided to keep parts of that, but his version has white eyes, a wrinkled face, and hair. The final result looks similar to MODOK's incarnations across all media, not the Billions actor.
Özil's MODOK even has a purple gemstone instead of the red one Stoll bears in Ant-Man 3. However, both colors have seen their fair share of usage in this strange character’s appearances in Marvel's history. This is not Özil's first piece of artwork, as their profile is filled with alternate takes and designs of several superheroes from Marvel and DC, with The Flash's Batman being among his more recent posts.
MODOK is a niche villain in Marvel's history, with some of his more famous appearances coming in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. However, his obscure nature has not prevented many from being taken aback by Ant-Man 3's spin on the character. In Quantumania, MODOK is depicted as a transformed version of Darren Cross, the first Ant-Man's antagonist. Cross is rescued and retrofitted into the floating armor suit he is known for, though very few people could have been prepared to see it without his mask.
Granted, MODOK is far from the only radical change from comics to film in the MCU, as even the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, is different in the movies. Suffice it to say, MODOK's transition from killing machine to oddly designed comic relief will remain controversial for as long as Ant-Man 3 is in theaters.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters.
Source: Subi Özil | Instagram