QUICKIE -- Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. (Hulu Exclusive) 

Season One, Episodes 1-10

Marvel's M.O.D.O.K., or simply M.O.D.O.K., is an American stop-motion adult animated streaming television series created by Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt for Hulu, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The series is produced by Marvel Television.

Patton Oswalt stars as M.O.D.O.K., a supervillain struggling to handle his company and family. Aimee Garcia, Ben Schwartz, Melissa Fumero, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Beck Bennett, Jon Daly, and Sam Richardson also star. M.O.D.O.K. was officially announced with a series order at Hulu in February 2019, as part of a group of series based on Marvel characters that were intended to lead to a crossover special titled The Offenders, with it being produced by Marvel Television. Oversight of the series was moved to Marvel Studios in December 2019 when Marvel Television was folded into that company. The cast was announced in January 2020, with writing and recording completed later. Stop-motion animation for the series is provided by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.

Premise

After spending years failing to gain control of the world and battling superheroes along the way, M.O.D.O.K., having been removed from his company A.I.M. after it falls into bankruptcy and is sold to the rival evil corporation GRUMBL (Just Be Evil), begins to deal with his taunting family while facing a mid-life crisis.

Cast and characters

Main

• Patton Oswalt as George Tarleton / M.O.D.O.K.:
  A floating robotic engineered head who is the former leader of A.I.M. and is obsessed with having control and conquering the world. He dislikes superheroes and his rival supervillains, believing he should be superior to them, before facing a mid-life crisis with his suburban New Jersey family.[1][3][4]

  • Oswalt also voices Anomaly: The younger college-aged M.O.D.O.K. who becomes displaced in time and threatens to wipe out his future self's family so that their plans for world conquest can be secured.

• Aimee Garcia as Jodie Ramirez-Tarleton:
  M.O.D.O.K.'s Judeo-Mexican American wife who questions his role as the superior supervillain. She decides to pursue a new career change after running a mom-blog, earning money to support their family before becoming a supervillain herself, gaining attention from a superhero, which was said to go "beyond expectations for typical sitcom wives".[1][5][3] In episode 8, she uses the pen name Jodie Ramirez-Modok.

• Ben Schwartz as Louis "Lou" Tarleton:
  M.O.D.O.K.'s socially awkward 12-year-old son who is different from the rest of his family, and does not have a care in the world.[1][3][5] He claims his name stands for Lanky Organism Undeniably Irresistible and Syphilitic; the last word that he chose, he admits that he thought sounded cool. The character wears a blue sweatshirt as a nod to Schwartz voicing characters associated with that color in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DuckTales, and Sonic the Hedgehog.[6]

  • Schwartz also voices Lou's robotic duplicate and adoptive twin brother, with the pair being treated as the same person and collectively known as "The Lous."

• Melissa Fumero as Melissa Tarleton:
  M.O.D.O.K.'s 17-year-old daughter who shares her father's appearance. She is the most popular girl at her high school and wants to gain her father's approval as a supervillain.[1][3] She is also openly bisexual.[7] She claims her name stands for Mental Entity Living to Induce Seriously Sinister Anarchy, but M.O.D.O.K. named her after Melissa Etheridge.

• Wendi McLendon-Covey as Monica Rappaccini / Scientist Supreme: M.O.D.O.K.'s workplace arch-nemesis whom he is forced to work with.[1]

• Beck Bennett as Austin Van Der Sleet:
  M.O.D.O.K.'s new boss in his twenties who is from GRUMBL, a large tech company that invests in and takes control of A.I.M., He is also revealed to be in allegiance to Hexus, the Living Corporation.[1][5][4]

• Jon Daly as Super-Adaptoid:
  A robot who has high ambitions as an artist and hates being enslaved as M.O.D.O.K.'s servant. It is revealed near the end of the first season that he always somehow betrays the family and they simply reset him all the time. Despite this, the family sometimes forgets he exists.[1][3]

• Sam Richardson as Garfield "Gary" Garoldson:
  M.O.D.O.K.'s one armed loyal henchman who is constantly optimistic.[1] He is gay as he has a husband named Big Mike who is a trucker.

Guest

• Jon Hamm as Tony Stark / Iron Man: A superhero and the owner of Stark Industries.[8]

• Nathan Fillion as Simon Williams / Wonder Man: A superhero and the owner of Williams Innovations.[8][9]

• Whoopi Goldberg as Poundcakes: A wrestler with super-strength.[10]

• Bill Hader as The Leader: A supervillain with a large cranium and genius intellect.[8]

  • Hader also voices Angar the Screamer: A former rocker turned supervillain with enhanced vocal chords that produce sonic sound,[8] and Drake Shannon / Orb: The usually quiet bartender of the Bar with No Name.

• Kevin Michael Richardson as Mister Sinister: A supervillain and an enemy of the X-Men who specializes in mutant genetics.[11]

  • Richardson also voices Mandrill: A supervillain who was once a scientist that was mutated into a Mandrill hybrid who is currently dating Armadillo's ex-wife and Whirlwind: A supervillain who wears armor that grants aerokinesis.

• Meredith Salenger as Madame Masque: A supervillainess who wears a golden mask to hide her disfigured face.

• Zara Mizrahi as Carmilla Rappaccini: Monica's biological teenage daughter who does not care much for her mother's work. She is Lou's potential romantic interest.

• Dustin Ybarra as Armadillo: A supervillain with enhanced toughened skin and claws that allow him to dig anywhere.

• Chris Parnell as Tenpin: A bowling motif member of the Death-Throws that is equipped with exploding bowling pins.

• Eddie Pepitone as Bruno Horgan / Melter: A supervillain with enhanced heat powers to melt substances. He died shortly after the end of episode 4 from excitement.

• Jonathan Kite as Tatterdemalion: A homeless supervillain who Wonder Man enjoys beating up for no reason.

• Alan Tudyk as Arcade: A circus themed supervillain who kidnaps M.O.D.O.K's family while working with the latter's past self.

No.

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original release date

1

"If This Be... M.O.D.O.K.!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt

May 21, 2021

George Tarleton, a.k.a. MODOK, is the leader of A.I.M. who is constantly challenged by his subordinate Monica Rappaccini and lives in the suburbs with his lifestyle vlogging wife Jodie, his awkward son Lou, his popular teenage daughter Melissa, and the depressed and under-appreciated Super-Adaptoid. As MODOK declares success over stealing Iron Man's boot, he fails to acknowledge Jodie's achievements. He later discovers that A.I.M. is losing money and Austin Van Der Sleet, the head of rival tech company GRUMBL, offers to buy them. MODOK is reluctant, but Austin wins him over with a pitch, However, MODOK discovers too late that he has lost control of A.I.M. To prevent his agents from getting laid off, MODOK tries to stop Austin from signing them away, but ends up accidentally controlling Jodie while she is having a meeting with Austin about expanding her business. MODOK is too late to stop Austin, but convinces him to have his agents keep their jobs. At dinner afterwards, Jodie tells MODOK that she wants a divorce.

2

"The M.O.D.O.K. That Time Forgot!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Geoff Barbanell and Itai Grunfeld

May 21, 2021

Jodie forces MODOK to move out and they find an album for Third Eye Blind, whose concert MODOK and Jodie failed to attend in their college years. MODOK and his A.I.M. subordinate Gary break into S.H.I.E.L.D. to steal a time machine so that MODOK can take Jodie back in time to the concert. She reluctantly agrees, but they arrive too early. MODOK's younger self sees his older counterpart and follows them into the future. MODOK and Jodie have fun at the concert, but she realizes that he is trying to kill a young Austin to reclaim his job. The younger MODOK, angered at his older self's ineptitude, fights him, but the time machine's crystals get shattered and embedded in the younger MODOK's face, displacing him from time. MODOK and Jodie realize they are stuck after inadvertently ruining Monica's future and that they missed the concert because Jodie was pregnant. They watch themselves growing together as a family and prevent themselves from time traveling, but it erases their development and MODOK and Super-Adaptoid move out.

3

"Beware What from Portal Comes!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Brett Cawley and Robert Maitia

May 21, 2021

MODOK has the weekend with his kids while Jodie is set to promote her new book. Austin invites MODOK to a GRUMBL conference as a "guest of honor" and MODOK brings the kids. While Lou enjoys the hotel accommodations, Melissa voices her disapproval of the situation, so MODOK brings her to the party and reveals that he must impress GRUMBL's superiors. However, Austin humiliates him and Melissa deduces that Austin invited MODOK to make him look bad. She teaches her father to exploit other people's flaws so that he can control them psychologically. This works, but he refuses to "play the long game" and decides to summon the Brood so he can save the party. Instead, he accidentally summons Ciegrimites, who party non-stop. Using Melissa's tactics however, MODOK saves the party anyway. Afterwards, MODOK discovers that Melissa simply wants his approval and promises her that she does not need to visit him all the time. Meanwhile, Austin's superiors are revealed to be an unknown alien species.

4

"If Saturday Be... For the Boys!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Patton Oswalt

May 21, 2021

MODOK decides to go to a Soho bar, only to discover he lost his status with the other A-list villains. The Leader, Madame Masque, and Mister Sinister challenge him to steal Captain America's shield. MODOK goes to the Bar with No Name and recruits D-list villains Armadillo, Poundcakes, Melter, Angar the Screamer, and Tenpin with the promise that they are stealing money. MODOK calls upon Super-Adaptoid to drive them, but they keep making various stops and MODOK begins to sympathize with the villains. After accidentally revealing his plan and getting Super-Adaptoid stolen by teens, MODOK makes it up to the group by buying them meatloaf, only for Melter to die of excitement in the morning. Meanwhile, Lou posts a YouTube video of him eating ten PayDays and Jodie takes him to A.I.M. to ask MODOK to have the videos removed. Instead, Jodie gets drunk with Monica over MODOK while Lou befriends Monica's daughter Carmilla. Later, Monica creates a serum that will make Lou allergic to peanuts while Super-Adaptoid is kidnapped by the younger MODOK.

5

"If Bureaucracy Be... Thy Death!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Cullen Crawford

May 21, 2021

In a flashback, Monica was excited to work for MODOK, but he took credit for her killing a major Avenger. After attending Melter's funeral, MODOK becomes inspired to perfect his legacy at A.I.M. by firing a black hole gun at Avengers Tower to kill Iron Man, but has to go through various channels that will take three months. Meanwhile, Monica's research into manatee soldiers gets stalled as she has not taken any vacation days. MODOK and Monica decide to team up to get her plans approved and deplete her vacations days. Their plan is successful, but Monica outs the plan to Austin and she and MODOK fight each other. Austin has MODOK demoted while Monica becomes the new Scientist Supreme. However, she is forced to work on GRUMBL approved projects and recalls how MODOK did believe in her work despite his behavior. As MODOK sulks in front of Avengers Tower, Monica's new position is revealed to be part of Austin's plan on behalf of Hexus, the Living Corporation.

6

"Tales from the Great Bar-Mitzvah War!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Lauren Sodja Otero

May 21, 2021

MODOK creates a trash portal to Asgard and accidentally kills Balder when he tosses a shredder down it. Jodie has MODOK look after Lou. While attending Lou's Bar Mitzvah recital however, MODOK becomes annoyed by his son performing magic and throws his wand down the Asgard trash can, but Lou goes in after the wand. MODOK follows, but witnesses Lou being kidnapped by Kobold Goblins and damages his flight mechanism; forcing him to get goats to pull him. He finds his son, but the latter has become a success as a magician and kicks MODOK out when he does not appreciate him. MODOK teams up with some Asgardian warriors and they go to war with the Goblins until MODOK finally admits to Lou that he wants people to like him and build a utopia so that no one can hurt him. Lou uses his magic to pretend to kill MODOK, who happily accepts his hobby. While speaking with the rabbi, MODOK realizes that Lou pursued magic to cope with the divorce. Meanwhile, Super-Adaptoid decides to work with the young MODOK.

7

"This Man... This Makeover!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Yolanda Carney

May 21, 2021

One month prior, Jodie was approached by a publisher who told her that she needs to acquire fame in order for her book to become popular. After encountering Wonder Man, she began a relationship with him in the hopes of having him fight MODOK and increase her publicity. After revealing her current relationship to him, MODOK gets sent into an emotional spiral. At Gary's suggestion, MODOK approaches Melissa to give him a makeover and attends Jodie's book party. After MODOK provokes Wonder Man into punching him, Jodie kicks him out for the attention. However, Wonder Man discovers that she had been using him and tells her that she is just like her husband. Unbeknownst to MODOK and Jodie, the publisher was a disguised Super-Adaptoid acting on behalf of young MODOK, who hires Arcade to assist him further. MODOK reads Jodie's book and cleans himself. As he prepares to give Jodie the divorce papers, she tosses them and takes him back. Meanwhile, Melissa and Lou use a drunk gun and bond over how their parents have changed.

8

"O, Were Blood Thicker Than Robot Juice!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Brett Cawley and Robert Maitia

May 21, 2021

MODOK awakens to a very subservient family who are happy to have him back. However, he eventually discovers that they are robots and that his real family have been kidnapped by his younger self, who intends to kill them. He locates his family, albeit paired up with more identical robots, before everyone learns that they are in Arcade's Murder World and are forced to fight for the real family members. The family manage to get the real MODOK, Jodie, and Melissa, but leave two Lous. Not wanting to kill either Lou, MODOK provokes young MODOK to disavow Arcade, who leaves in anger. Young MODOK damages MODOK, but an angered Jodie rips young MODOK in half and Melissa uses his circuitry to fix MODOK. Following this, the family, the extra Lou, and a reset Super-Adaptoid go to dinner.

9

"What Menace Doth the Mailman Deliver!"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Geoff Barbanell and Itai Grunfeld

May 21, 2021

MODOK decides to become the perfect employee at A.I.M. by becoming a mailman. However, everyone is confused by his behavior, with Monica believing that he is plotting to remove her as Scientist Supreme and becoming paranoid. Hexus tells Austin to move up the launch of the GROME, a smart device, to commence their invasion more quickly. When Austin learns that they plan to kill his dog Sherlock, he tries to stall the device's completion, but MODOK reveals that he can fix the flaws and is assigned to it. Gary believes that Austin is to blame for MODOK's behavior and plots to kill him. Monica's paranoia worsens and she accidentally fuses Austin with Sherlock, though she later undoes this. After completing the device, MODOK unexpectedly meets with Iron Man and has him buy his and Monica's A.I.M. shares. Iron Man buys the company, thwarting Hexus, while Gary kills Austin. Appreciating her work, MODOK invites Monica and Gary to join his new company, A-I-M-2 while Hexus plots revenge on MODOK.

10

"Days of Future M.O.D.O.K.s"

Eric Towner and Alex Kramer

Jordan Blum

May 21, 2021

As the Lous prepare for their Bar Mitzvah, MODOK and Jodie realize that they need to bring other kids to the party. MODOK has Melissa take him to the mall so that they can invite other kids through the guise of them auditioning for a show, but MODOK ruins it. As MODOK invites his friends to the party, the Lous admit that they simply want to dance with their father and he complies. Melissa learns through Whirlwind that MODOK appreciates her ice skating and Jodie tells MODOK that she is not ready to get back together, but wants to stay close. However, young MODOK arrives, having faked his death. Calling himself the Anomaly, he prepares to kill MODOK's family, but freezes time. He reveals to MODOK that across multiple timelines, he always fails. He does succeed in one, but only after his family dies. Loving them dearly, MODOK struggles with the decision, but the Anomaly makes it for him and kills them. In MODOK's utopia, the Avengers are dead and MODOK has the Anomaly tortured to death in a failed attempt to bring his family back.

The Verdict

Look, this isn't going to take long at all as I really don't have much to say about this series at the moment. 

Overall, I thought this series was a hit or miss comedy with MODOK's misadventures of failing both as a supervillain and husband/family man. I still don't get how he landed a Hispanic wife and family in the first place is beyond me. 

Fun fact: This series' continuity exists on Earth-1226, named after creator Jordan Blum's son's birthday. 

Early on in the season, A.I.M. is sold to GRUMBL (Just Be Evil) upon bankruptcy, thanks to MODOK's mismanagement of the organization's assets and budget. Monica Rappacini/Scientist Supreme (who happens to appear in the Square Enix-made Marvel's Avengers video game in the same role ironically enough) is his arch-rival but found themselves forced to work together by the end of the season. 

It took me only about two episodes into this season and I completely stopped trying to make sense out of all of this and just turned my brain off to enjoy the comedy. This show is essentially the Marvel Comics-focused attempt at being a mash-up of both Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken and DC Universe/HBO Max's adult comedy, Harley Quinn, based on that character. I initially hated the family dynamic, but I warmed up to the idea by the time the season was over. Lou is just as entertaining as some of his voice actor, Ben Schwarz', other roles - Ducktales' Huey, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Leonardo, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Melissa is just as manipulative, if not more so, than her own supervillain father, and his MODOK's wife, Jodie, is career-driven and a completely likeable character as the positive beacon of light in MODOK's life. You can understand why he tries so desperately to fix their broken marriage while they are on the edge of a potential divorce as I wouldn't want to lose that sunlight in my eternal darkness that is the sad state that is MODOK's life either. I will admit that I found the divorce subplot was meh at best, but I understand why they went that route to solidify MODOK's fall from grace at the start of the series.

I thought that Young MODOK/The Anomaly played an integral part to MODOK's story here too. He was originally setup as a final boss of sorts for this season to be the antagonist that we were led to believe that MODOK would defeat to get his life back in order. In reality, he was trying to correct the course of MODOK's failures in the present to offer him a better future where he has success in his schemes of global conquest. The Anomaly came to the conclusion that MODOK would only find success in his future if he were to destroy his family as The Anomaly saw them holding MODOK back from his "true" path.  

Watch It or Don't Bother?

M.O.D.O.K. is worth a watch if you have nothing else on your watch queue, but at the same time, I didn't find the comedy anywhere as memorable nor as hilarious as the moments in both DC's Harley Quinn and Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken, both of which this show pulls ideas and concepts from. At the same time, that's not a knock on the show as a whole, nor the voice acting talents behind the characters. Patton Oswalt was made to play this character in a role like this. 

I'm still laughing to myself that Veronica Palmero AKA Aimee Garcia is voicing MODOK's wife of all people in this show.