MODOK

MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental / Mobile / Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense #93 (September 1967). The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former employee of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), an arms-dealing organization specializing in futuristic weaponry, who undergoes substantial mutagenic medical experimentation originally designed to increase his intelligence. While successful, the experiments result in him developing a freakishly overdeveloped head and a stunted body, causing the character's signature look and use of a hoverchair for mobility. After the experiments, he kills his creators and takes control of A.I.M. Following Tarleton being changed back to normal, a new independent being created afterward dubs himself MODOK Superior, becoming the enemy of Gwenpool.

Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, MODOK has appeared in over four decades of Marvel continuity, and starred in the miniseries Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK's 11 #1–5 (Sept.–Dec. 2008), the self-titled one-shot M.O.D.O.K.: Reign Delay #1 (Nov. 2009) and the miniseries M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games #1–4 (Dec. 2020–April 2021), the last of which was released as a promotion for the eponymous animated series M.O.D.O.K. (2021), in which MODOK (and his younger alternate self, the Anomaly) was voiced by Patton Oswalt.

A different depiction of the character made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), portrayed by Corey Stoll as Darren Cross.