We’re a few months past the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and more than a few questions still remain. How did Marvel fumble one of its most treasured titles? Who will replace Jonathan Majors as the Universe’s new big bad, if at all? And, perhaps most pressingly, why didn’t we see more of M.O.D.O.K’s helmet in the film?
For those who need a refresher, M.O.D.O.K is a Marvel villain who first appeared in the original comics in 1967. More recently, the baby-faced organism made his screen debut in Hulu’s 2021 eponymous animation, before taking on live-action form in this year’s Ant-Man threequel, with Corey Stoll taking the reins.
The character was about as divisive as Quantamania itself, with some lauding M.O.D.O.K’s humour and others finding his appearance more than a little bit unsettling. Speaking on the latter point, fans have flocked to Reddit to lament the fact that, because of his unpleasant face, M.O.D.O.K didn’t spend more time in his helmet.
“They should’ve just left M.O.D.O.K with the helmet and scary voice,” a post by Redditor @gbcolor2024 reads. Some users agreed that Marvel should’ve shielded the character to enhance the terror, with one suggesting the team should’ve waited a while longer to reveal his real face to “make him more menacing throughout the film.”
Echoing these arguments, others agreed that the CGI head beneath M.O.D.O.K’s mask “sucked,” with some adding that the character was much more richly explored and visualised in the original comics. Some fans did come to the giant head’s defence, however, arguing that M.O.D.O.K had always been “goofy” by nature, so the comical reveal of his face was appropriate.
“Some characters aren’t supposed to be intimidating or scary,” one Redditor wrote, “and M.O.D.O.K is absolute ‘Exhibit A’ of this fact.” Others agreed that the reveal of Darren “was hilarious,” and aligned with Ant-Man’s more comedic tendencies. “Making a joke out of him was the right call,” another fan added.
In any case, it’s up to the individual viewer to decide whether M.O.D.O.K’s face was worthy of screen time because after all, beauty (or in this case ugliness) is in the eye of the beholder.