Hello and welcome to Multiversity’s coverage of Marvel’s first original animated series on Hulu – M.O.D.O.K.! For the next five weeks, I’ll be H.O.N.O.R.E.D. (Human Obligated to Notarize Or Recall Extraneous Details) to talk about the first season of the series twice a week. As a longtime M.O.D.O.K. fan, I’m admittedly shocked that such a bizarre property was given its own series, and I’m looking forward to diving into all of the ridiculous fun it has to offer. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the premiere for the series, “If This Be… M.O.D.O.K.!”
1. A.N.I.M.A.T.I.O.N.
Alright, so I’m going to get this out of the way now so we don’t need to come back to this later on. The art style on this series is reminiscent of shows like Robot Chicken, which was inevitable, since it is made by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the animation company behind that show. I’ve been a nerd for a long enough that I used to read “Twisted Toyfare Theatre,” the comic strip feature in Toyfare magazine that helped inspire Robot Chicken and paved the way for this distinct style. As such, this looks very comfortable and weirdly nostalgic to me. It makes me think of a kid playing with their toys and making some nonsense happen, which is appropriate for this story. Plus, like I mentioned, Marvel clearly spent good money on this and the character models for M.O.D.O.K., his daughter, and the A.I.M. personnel look incredible.
2. H.U.M.O.R.
Similar to the art direction, I feel like I’ve got to address the other elephant in the room right away so I can focus on other things later on. M.O.D.O.K. is filled with over-the-top violence and slapstick humor that is common in adult-targeted animation, such as when characters find themselves victim to bodily dismemberment or particularly brutal deaths. This humor will not be for everybody. If I was a teenager watching this show, I would absolutely love these gags, but at this point in my life I feel like I’ve seen this done to death. Some of the jokes land for me, some of them miss the mark. Still, I found that there was enough to enjoy that I caught myself consistently chuckling along.
3. E.X.P.O.S.I.T.I.O.N.
The curse of any first episode is that all of the major players for the series have to be introduced at the same time as the central premise and the world of story. In the case of M.O.D.O.K., the series benefits from playing within the well-established world of Marvel and can immediately dive into the show’s unique family dynamic. M.O.D.O.K.’s family are new to the series, so they need to make an impression quickly. Jodie, M.O.D.O.K.’s wife, is the most well-developed character coming out of the first episode. She wants to have her own career and her ambitions set her up for an engaging character journey. Beyond that, M.O.D.O.K.’s son and daughter fall into tired tropes. I’ll accept that for a first episode, but I’d like to see Lou and Melissa get more attention sooner rather than later.
4. U.N.I.O.N.I.Z.E.
For me, one of the most fun elements of anything M.O.D.O.K.-related is A.I.M., the evil organization that M.O.D.O.K. frequently serves as the head of. There are many great characters to enjoy at Advanced Idea Mechanics, from Monica Rappaccini to Austin Van Der Sleet, but I think that the miscellaneous A.I.M. stooges steal the spotlight. Much in the same way that Star Wars has been able to use Battle Droids and Stormtroopers as both menacing villains and wacky cannon fodder, the generic A.I.M. dude is set to stand out as a classic background character. It’s also telling that the show centers its first episode on making sure that the A.I.M. guys are able to keep their job, because even M.O.D.O.K. knows that they’re the lifeblood of the organization. I can’t wait to see what the show is able to come up with for them in the future.
5. A.I.M.L.E.S.S.
As the title character, M.O.D.O.K. has a lot of weight on his shoulders (and I’m not just talking about his head). Luckily, M.O.D.O.K. shows a lot of range and depth in this first episode, setting him up to be a character worth following. As the show opens, he is riding high as a super-villain, but it quickly becomes evident that M.O.D.O.K. can’t see past his own ego and is in over his head. The closing scene between M.O.D.O.K. and Jodie shows what we already knew, that M.O.D.O.K. is aimless and needs to figure out what he wants to do with his personal life and his career. By positioning M.O.D.O.K. as a man with big dreams who has lost his way and needs to rediscover himself, writers Jordan Blum and Patton Oswald are able to find a very relatable core that can help propel the rest of the series. Beneath the jokes and the violence, this is the most important and most compelling element of M.O.D.O.K. and it gives me faith that this show will have some substance after all.
