Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania might be the joint-worst MCU movie ever made (go check out Rotten Tomatoes if you don’t believe it), but at least it has given us the magnificent meme machine that is M.O.D.O.K. Comic book fans had been dreading how the movie was going to adapt the infamously goofy-looking villain for the screen all along, and their fears were confirmed when Corey Stoll’s Humpty Dumpty henchman made his cinematic debut, bare behind and all.
Whatever your thoughts on the MCU’s M.O.D.O.K., though, just be aware that things could’ve been even worse. Whatever the faults of the Darren Cross interpretation of the big-headed bad guy, we’ll take him any day over the wildest M.O.D.O.K. variant in Marvel Comics history, who just happens to be a take-off of Donald Trump.
Back in 2016, in the run-up to Trump’s term of office, Marvel decided to skewer the then-Presidential candidate by turning him into the most ridiculous of supervillains. In Spider-Gwen Annual #1, we meet Samantha Wilson, a gender-flipped Sam Wilson and the Captain America of Earth-65, which is also home to the eponymous Spider-Gwen. In the comic, Samantha’s Cap defeats a briefly appearing antagonist who proclaims himself to be M.O.D.A.A.K. (Mental Organism Designed As America’s King).
The intention from the creators was certainly in the right place, although honestly, the image of Trump’s orange-hued head blown up to gigantic proportions is the stuff of nightmares. Kudos to the artist, though, they managed to accurately portray the size of his hands.
While Quantumania thankfully resisted the urge to adapt the Trump M.O.D.O.K. for the MCU, unfortunately it is a fact that he likewise rose to power in the Earth-616 timeline. Various references in the likes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage, and Daredevil confirm that Trump replaced Matthew Ellis (who appeared in Iron Man 3) as POTUS. His successor in the MCU isn’t Joe Biden, however, but President Ritson (Dermot Mulroney’s role in the upcoming Secret Invasion).
So, next time you feel like complaining about M.O.D.O.K.’s freakish CGI or his mentally-scarring Minions moment, take a moment to feel some pity for the universe out there where M.O.D.A.A.K. appeared in Quantumania.
