There appears to be various issues with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” currently in cinemas, but one of the more divisive elements is the inclusion of the iconic giant floating head character M.O.D.O.K. from the comics.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
The film incorporated the character and changed his backstory so that he’s actually the first “Ant-Man” film’s villain Darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) who has changed into the giant flying head with little arms and legs following his suit’s malfunction warping his body and sending him to the Quantum Realm.
Kang (Jonathan Majors) has rebuilt him into M.O.D.O.K. and in the new film he’s Kang’s most lethal underling who captures Scott and Cassie at one point. Some have liked the character for at least bringing some whimsy, others have complained about how off-putting he is. All have criticised the quality of the VFX.
Now, the film’s writer Jeff Loveness has defended the character’s appearance here and confirmed he fought to include him in the film. He tells Slashfilm:
“I will go to the mat for MODOK. 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… We’re on the internet. People got opinions. Those motherf—ers are wrong.”
Loveness adds that he adores the delusional character’s ending: “I think that death scene is my favorite that I’ve ever written. I love it so much.” He also says there’s no point in doing a serious version of the character:
“I’m sorry, you want to do a serious take on MODOK? I played that ‘Avengers’ game on PS5, good luck. 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.”
Loveness also says he had a cameo in the film that was cut, a scene in which his character talks back to M.O.D.O.K. who blows him up with his laser.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is now playing in cinemas everywhere. Check out the just released character poster below.
